West Marine Case free essay sample

Once West Marine can determine their root cause for error in their supply chain, corrections can be made. Decision Criteria Analysis of alternatives Perhaps the easiest approach to the acquisition of BoatU. S. is to leave BoatU. S. ’s current demand and forecast planning untouched and separate from West Marine’s planning processes. This would be inexpensive and non-disruptive to the current corporate culture. The drawbacks, however, could be a slow steady decline in profitability and reliability of the BoatU. S. brand, hence the reason for the acquisition in the first place. However, management can use the testament of various metrics in the Supply Chain at West Marine since the EB Marine acquisition, and implement a SOP and CPFR system into the BoatU. S. brand line. The benefits to implementing such a comprehensive SOP and CPFR plan are clear in the literature such improved customer satisfaction, increased in-stock percentages (2-8%), and inventory reductions of 10-40%. We will write a custom essay sample on West Marine Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Lapide) These benefits will be a crucial help to the BoatU. S. brand and better align them with their competitive competencies. Which includes catering to a more sophisticated boater who highly values customer service. Improving in-stock percentages will solve a current problem in BoatU. S. ’s stores with high volume/high margin items missing from stores; perhaps adding to customer service as well. (p. 21) Also, the reduction in inventory will contribute to relieving the dilapidated distribution center in Maryland. Giving management time to evaluate the need for a new better planned warehouse, or renovate the current one for more efficient operations. Recommendations and Justification of Decision Our team proposes West Marine’s management proceed with the acquisition of BoatU. S. and immediately devise and implement a strong Sales and Operations Planning strategy to strengthen the internal demand planning and forecasting within BoatU. S. To accomplish this, top management must take a top-down as well as a bottom-up approach with clear financial performance goals. First, comprehensive information systems must be installed to collect accurate point-of-sale and warehouse data and report it in a way managers can make decisions. Here are my thoughts. While the adoption of the CPFR has shown improvement in supply chain issues, they need to incorporate a SOP program to shape the demand and improve forecasting and planning. Having recently adopted the CPFR standards, are they up to implementing another big endeavor such as this? I think they should take on the acquisition of Boat US as a pilot program. Not only should they adopt the current CPFR standards that have shown improvements, but they should also begin the top down and bottom up planning efforts as described in the SOP literature. As I mentioned in an email, the case narrative doesn’t mention any in-depth planning from the top- level management. They do state that product clusters have people responsible for setting prices and determining margins independently. Also, West Marine’s performance measures are pretty much all financed based, that is they are focused on ROI, EPS and so on. By focusing on the collaboration with the suppliers, they are addressing concerns such as stock outs and delivery times, but how are these translating in to the overall company goals?

Federalism in Political Culture essays

Federalism in Political Culture essays The Significance of Federalism in Political Culture The United States government is constructed of many systems and ideas which, when bound together, create the Democratic government utilized by the country. All of the different things, in most cases compliment each other and therefore, work together. Two examples of this are the system of federalism and the idea of political culture. They make up some of the important aspects of the government and its operation. Federalism is the system the United States uses as a frame for its government's power distribution when it comes to policies, procedures, and the likes. It is what maintains the power between the different levels of government, be it the National, state, or local governments. It also defines and separates these power possessors, while protecting the rights and profits of each. There are many opinions and theories concerning the success of such a system, depending on a person's outlook on the subject. However, despite its pros and cons, it can be said that if nothing else, it at least gets more citizens involved in politics. That is a important aspect that it brings, especially when it Political culture is a particular way of thinking in regard to how political and economic life ought to be carried out by a country's government. These notions may not always be shared by the country as a whole. There will always be different ideas, which leads to political subcultures. Depending on the situations of each person and each community, they will have their own beliefs in how the government should be doing things. Specific things that are taken into consideration when it comes to political culture are liberty, equality, civic duty, individual responsibility, and democracy. Federalism is the system that political culture works within. They flatter each other in that federalism gives political culture an outlet t ...

The Work of Remix in the Age of Digital Reproduction Essay

The Work of Remix in the Age of Digital Reproduction - Essay Example Burton defended himself saying that it was an artistic project, which had no commercial purpose, and stopped the distribution. However, Downhill Battle organised an online protest, which was called â€Å"Grey Tuesday† and the copies of â€Å"the Grey Album† were posted on the internet6. They declared that â€Å"We cannot allow these corporations to continue censoring art; we need commonsense reforms to copyright law that can make sampling legal and practical for artists†7. The controversy over the Grey Album accelerated as EMI together with Sony/ATV Publishing tried to stop online distribution of the Album. However, EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) analysed the situation and concluded that there was no federal copyright protection for sound recordings before 1972: â€Å"Because the White Album was released in 1968, it appears that EMI has no federal copyright rights in the sound recording†8. The dispute over mash-up of Grey Album poses a number of lega l issues with regard to copyright law and digital sampling. The American Copyright Law limits the exclusive rights of copyright owners in a number of ways including â€Å"fair use† and â€Å"licensing†. Fair use, which means â€Å"reasonable and limited use of a copyrighted work without the author’s permission†, added to the copyright statute in 1976.9 Furthermore, licensing allows anyone, who wants to record their own version of a musical composition, to get a licence for it. 10 However, this compulsory licensing cannot be applied to sound recordings. As Vrana notes â€Å"to this day, a record company’s right to duplicate the recordings it has produced may not be exercised by others without the company’s permission; the protection is airtight, and, unlike... This "The Work of Remix in the Age of Digital Reproduction" contemporary American and Australian Law on musical creativity. Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd v Miyamoto is one of the rare cases in Australia with regard to the digital sampling. A number of recording companies sued five DJs for copyright infingement due to their remix CD. DJs defended themselves by stating that they did the CD in order to satisfy consumer demands. Since the DJs took entire songs to make a remix CD, the Court did not take â€Å"substantial part† into consideration and the judge found five DJs guilty for the infringement of copyright law. This case cannot be considered as a precedent for smaller amounts of digital sampling, since the entire songs were taken. American and US courts have been allowing very small portions of digital sampling for years, but a recent decision in Bridgeport Music Inc v Dimension Films Inc span the wheels of justice into the opposite direction. In Bridgeport case, two se conds of a rap song was copied for the movie called â€Å"I Got the Hook up† and repeated five times for the duration of seven seconds each. Although a District Court and Middle District Court held that the amount taken was de minimis, thus, it cannot be considered copyright infringement; the Court of Appeals overruled this decision by declaring â€Å"even where a small part of a sound recording is sampled, the part taken is something of value†. The decision clearly blocks further samplings and it makes it impossible for creative artists to experiment with sample music without a licence.

Organisation and behaviour Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Organisation and behaviour - Assignment Example Coca Cola has a dynamic organizational structure. This enables the entity to address the countless managerial challenges it encounters. The entity organizational structure combines various managerial structures. The managerial models include functional, central, production and regional management. The fusion of these models generates a dynamic structure, which suits Coca Cola. The regional management enables the entity to address regional challenges, which the entity is encountering. The entity adopted a regional structure, which ensures the distribution of its products in the various sections of the globe where it has clientele. This kind of structure also ensures that the location of its production facilities enables reduction of cost and unproblematic accessibility of its products to its clientele. Regional management also enables the entity address variation in culture globally. The variation in regions means that organizational culture will vary depending on the geographic locat ions. However, the organizational culture is largely similar despite the variation in geographic location. Coca Cola organization culture entails various aspects such as team building, performance management, training and motivating employees. The organization has also established certain values which the entity seeks to inculcate in its employees. The virtues ensure that there are good inter-employee relationships. Furthermore, these values ensure proper service to the clientele. Coca Cola’s organizational culture is a vital constituent of the entity’s corporate governance policy. Coca Cola’s corporate culture is friendly and innovative. It seeks to improve the employee’s career by ensuring that employee progress professionally. Professional advancement is an imperative way of motivating employees. Motivating employees is a vital since it will boost productivity in the entity. The organization has laid emphasis on teamwork. Organizational teams are critical since

The Question of State Rights and the Cause of the American Civil War Essay

The Question of State Rights and the Cause of the American Civil War - Essay Example In fact, the issue of slavery only served as a trigger that eventually let loose the war that was waiting to happen due to animosities between the states, particularly those in the South, and the federal government. These animosities are based on the contrasting stand regarding the issues of state rights and the powers of the federal government when it comes to the administration of the states. It was during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln that the issue of slavery became such a contentious and divisive issue in the country. Most of the states in the North have made into law the abolition of slavery but the South continued to defend it as a very important aspect of the economy. However, Lincoln strongly pushed for the abolition of slavery on a nation-wide scope. This angered the South who also had supporters or lobbyists within the halls of congress. In a debate with a pro-slavery political figure, Lincoln said, â€Å"I believe we shall not have peace upon the question until the o pponents of slavery arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or on shall become alike lawful and in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.†i This point only antagonized further the states, particularly in the south. This stance from the president himself only encouraged the Southern States to consider seceding from the Union and to establish their own sovereign country which would naturally continue to promote slavery as a means of utilizing manpower for its economic activities. This conflict also highlighted the unresolved debates that occurred during the founding period of the country. Such issues were once sidelined intentionally or were relegate to the background while the country was still trying to establish itself politically and economically, especially because it had just won independence. However, it did not take long for such antagonisms to grow into actual conflicts. All it took was for the federal government to insist on it’s the laws at the expense of the states for these to happen. A particular event that led to the sharpening contradictions evidently between the North and South, but actually between the federal government and the states, was what happened in the Nullification Crisis in 1832. At that time, a federal law was made that introduced tariffs in order to discourage foreign competition with the products of the industry which were largely found in the North. However, such law put the South at disadvantage because of its dependence on imports. Through their own interpretation of the Constitution, key political leaders of the South insisted in nullifying the said tariff law. They pointed out that â€Å"should the federal government exceed its delegated powers by, for example, enactive a protective tariff, a state had the power to declare such an action unconstitutional and therefore null and void within it s boundaries.†ii This is exactly the same attitude that the Southern states had when the North and the federal government moved for the abolition of slavery. Due to the fact that such legislation would put it at such great disadvantage many of the states in the South actively sought exemption from it. From the perspective of the federal gover

Project report on construction

Project report on construction CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION The performance of the construction industry has a major influence on the economic, infrastructure, agricultural and technological development of a country (R. Chudley, 1995). Construction is increasingly becoming highly technical and sophisticated with high standard of quality and specification. These coupled with clients demand for value-for-money requires the efficient employment of equipment which can largely improve productivity in the construction industry. The general aim of every construction is to produce a structure that can provide the required functions at the most reasonable cost, within a given time frame and at the required level of quality. Mechanization is one of the ways by which these could be achieved. The fast developing construction industry now heavily depends on equipment to achieve the high demands of quality project delivery. Equipment implies the machinery, tools (other than craftsmens personal tools) used in the contractors yard, workshop or site. Generally, equipment are introduced to contracts to increase the rate of output, reduce overall building cost, achieve high output standards often required by present day designs and specifications, eliminate heavy manual work thus reducing fatigue and carry out activities which cannot be done manually or do them more economically ( R. Chudley, 1995). The introduction of equipment to a contract does not however necessarily result in economic savings unless the contract work is so organized that machines are fully utilized or operate for continuous periods at full capacity that is about 85% of its on-site time, their use will not be economical. To be economic, equipment must be fully utilized and not left standing idle since equipment, whether hired or owned, will have to be paid for even if it is non-productive (R. Chudley, 1995). Heavy equipment will be needed for excavation, haulage, lifting and transportation of materials and people during the construction of a project in order to meet all the clients specifications. Contractors stand to gain from the use of equipment in the form of increased output per employee, increased productivity from equipment leading to overall profits. Unfortunately, performance of construction firms in the industry has been affected by several constraints with lack of access to finance arguably the most critical of these constraints. At least, it prevents contractors from procuring all necessary resources for their construction works including equipment (Eyiah A and Cook P, 2003). It is against this background that this investigation has been conducted to find the equipment acquisition methods being used by Ghanaian contractors as well as the problems the contractors encounter when acquiring equipment for their construction. 1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The highly technical and standardized nature of current construction designs and high demands in terms of quality coupled with often short contract durations undeniably demands the use of equipment. They play an increasingly important role in building as well as civil engineering operations and both time and a lot of money can be saved by acquiring and using them. Heavy equipment are needed for excavation, haulage, lifting and transportation of materials and people during the construction of a project thus performing an operation faster, more economically, safely and with a better quality and finish. Notwithstanding such great achievable benefits, it requires substantial capital to procure equipment, set up plant management departments and even use the equipment. It often requires very large bank guarantees, collaterals, high interest rates on bank loans, sometimes cumbersome bureaucratic procedures to acquire funds to purchase plant or equipment. This is probably why most Ghanaian contractors still depend heavily on manual labour to execute their projects. On large and complex projects of long durations, it may be practical to purchase plant or equipment for a specific job and resell at the end of the contract. The problem here is that fluctuations in prices on our current market may make it difficult to forecast costs with certainty. Equipment holding firms often do not offer favorable and attractive conditions for the acquisition of equipment to encourage contractors to use equipment on the projects. Very few of the contractors can meet the required conditions before procuring most needed equipment. Again, equipment holding firms are usually found in the urban areas of our country which are almost always far away from most of the construction sites warranting high haulage costs from the plant depot. Purchasing a plant or equipment could also tell greatly on the finances of the firm as a very large sum of money may be locked up in purchasing the plant which then has to be worked at a good utilization level to recoup investments made into it. Finally, purchasing equipment is sound investment if there is enough work ahead to keep it fully employed. Some estimates suggest the equipment must be working regularly for three to five years to recover the capital outlay. However the situation in Ghana is that of many contractors competing for very few projects. Construction firms cannot be assured of regular projects to fully utilize their investment in equipment therefore they rather do not invest in it all or when they do, it is very minimal. All the aforementioned problems collectively contribute to the reason why most of the contractors are unable to acquire the necessary equipment for construction works and thus leaving construction in Ghana still very labour intensive. 1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The main aim of this study is to investigate the existing equipment acquisition methods in use in the Ghanaian construction industry as well as the problems that the contractors encounter when acquiring equipment with the view to recommending better and more effective practices in the construction industry. Specific objectives of the investigation are to: * Find out existing equipment acquisition options used by the Ghanaian contractor. * Identify problems faced by the Ghanaian contractor in acquiring equipment for construction works. * Examine existing arrangements (if any) made between equipment hire and manufacturing companies and the construction companies. * Recommending better acquisition options as well as solutions to some of the major problems the contractors face when they try to acquire equipment. 1.3 SCOPE OF WORK A number of firms within the D1 and D2 of contractors by the Ministry of Water, Works and Housing and the Ministry of Roads and Transport in the Kumasi Metropolis will be identified, selected and studied. The equipment items that will be covered under the study will include general equipments, earth moving, lifting, transporting and excavation equipments. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION: CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT Equipment plays an increasingly important role in building as well as civil engineering operations, and both time and money can be saved by the efficient use of mechanical aids. Equipment implies the machinery, tools (other than craftsmens personal tools) and other equipment used in the contractors yard, workshop or site. These may range from small hand held power tools to larger and more expensive equipment such as mechanical excavators and cranes. The aim of any construction activity or project is to produce a structure of the right quality and standard at an optimum cost within an acceptable time frame. The use of equipment for construction becomes necessary where using manual labour will not help achieve the projects objectives. Generally, equipment are introduced to contracts for one of the following reasons: * Increased production. * Reduction in overall construction costs. * Carry out activities which cannot be carried out by the traditional manual methods in the context of economics. * Eliminate heavy manual work thus reducing fatigue and as a consequence increasing productivity. * Replacing labour where there is a shortage of personnel with the necessary skills. * Maintain the high standards required particularly in the context of structural engineering works (R. Chudley, 1997). 2.1.2 SOME COMMON CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT USED DURING CONSTRUCTION. Presented here is a brief description of some of the important construction equipment that may be used during the construction of a building project. 2.1.2.1 EARTH MOVING MACHINES The equipment described here include the bulldozers, graders, scrappers etc that are used to move massive volumes of excavated materials during construction. BULLDOZER The primary earth-moving machine is the heavy-duty tractor, which when fitted with tracks to grip the ground and with a large movable blade attached in front, is called a bulldozer. The bulldozer as shown in fig 2.1 below may be used to clear brush, small trees, debris, remove boulders, and level ground. They may even be used as towing tractor or a pusher to a scrapper. They consist essentially of a track or wheel mounted power unit with a mould blade at the front. Many bulldozers have the capacity to adjust the mould blade to form an angledozer which can tilt the mould blade about a central swivel point. They become even very useful especially in civil engineering projects, which often require the moving of millions of cubic meters of earth. These bulldozers are however not appropriate for final leveling and cannot be used for loading thus requiring other equipment to load. TRACTOR SHOVEL These are sometimes called loaders or loader shovels and primary function is to scoop up loose materials in the front mounted bucket, elevate the bucket and deposit the material into an attendant transport vehicle. Tractor shovels are driven towards the pile of loose material with the lowered bucket. The speed and the power of the machine will then enable the bucket to be filled. To increase their versatility, the tractor shovels can be fitted with a 4 in 1 bucket enabling them to carry out bulldozing, excavating, lifting and loading activities. Like the scrapper, the tractor shovel is not suitable for work in rocks and waterlogged areas and will require a crawler tractor to work in the latter condition. GRADERS Somewhat similar to scrapers are graders which are self-propelled, wheeled machines with a long, inclined or vertically adjustable steel blade. Graders are primarily finishing equipment; they level earth already moved into position by bulldozers and scrapers. They are similar to the bulldozers in that they have a long slender adjustable mould blade, which is usually slung under the centre of the machine. The mould blade can be suitably adjusted in both the horizontal and vertical planes through an angle of 300 the latter enabling it to be used for grading sloping banks. This John Deere grader seen in Fig 2.2a below has a laser leveling unit mounted on its blade which constantly adjusts the height of the blade to ensure that the ground is made precisely flat. The low motive power of a grader does not generally allow for use in excavations. A grader cannot load nor move spoils of significant quantity over a long distance. It is bulky in size and therefore not suitable for work in small and/or confined areas and corners. SCRAPERS A scraper is a machine that may be pulled by a tractor or may be self-powered and consists of a blade and a bowl or container. The bowl is lowered to cut and collect soil where site stripping and leveling operations are required involving large volume of earth. The soil may then be released so as to form an even layer of a predetermined thickness or be carried off for disposal elsewhere. To obtain maximum efficiency, scrappers should operate downhill and as much as possible have smooth haul roads and hard surfaces broken up before scraping. Scrappers are not suitable for use in waterlogged areas and in rocky grounds. They cannot be used in loading and also would need transportation between sites. [Microsoft Encarta 2006; R. Chudley, 1997] 2.1.2.2 EXCAVATORS These form part of the main equipment items that are often used in construction. They are primarily used to excavate as well as load different types of soil. Each different type of excavator has specific soil conditions where it works best. Below is a brief description of some of the common excavating equipment found in construction. All of them can easily be classified under one of the following categories: Multipurpose, General or Universal and Purpose Made excavators. MULTI-PURPOSE EXCAVATOR Multi-purpose excavators like the one shown if fig. 2.4 are fitted with a loading and excavating front bucket and a rear backactor bucket. When in operation using the backactor bucket, the machine is raised off its axels by rear mounted hydraulic outriggers or jacks and in some models by placing the front bucket on the ground. TRENCHER A trencher is designed to excavate trenches at constant width with a high degree of accuracy and speed. It can cut trenches of widths between 250 and 450mm and up to 4.00m deep. It consists of a number of excavating buckets mounted on a continuous mechanism on a vertical boom. The boom is lowered into the ground to the required depth to be excavated. The spoil is then transferred along a cross conveyor to deposit the spoil along the side of the trench. A trencher as shown in fig 2.5 is most suitable for long and deep trench excavation and it also gives a fairly accurate and clean trench width and would therefore not require further trimmings to sides of trenches it excavates. A trencher cannot load materials it excavates and also unable to work in rock. SKIMMER Skimmers are used for surface stripping and shallow excavation work up to 300mm deep where a high degree of accuracy is required. They usually requires attendant haulage vehicles to remove the spoil and they also have to be transported between sites on a low-loader. The restricted nature of the bucket movement does not allow high output rates as compared with other over site excavating equipment. A skimmer requires a large operational area and is therefore not recommended for work in small and restricted areas. BACKACTOR Backactors are about the most common excavating equipment used in construction. They are suitable for trench, foundation and basement excavations especially in restricted areas. They can be used with or without attendant haulage vehicles since the spoil can be placed alongside the excavation for use in backfilling. Unlike the face shovel, they excavate by moving the bucket towards the chassis of the machine. It then raises the bucket in a tucked position to discharge the excavated material through the front open bucket. They can also be used to load hard but broken down materials. They require a low-loader transportation between sites and trenches excavated using the backactor may need other equipment for trimming to obtain desired smooth edges. Shown below in fig 2.6a and b are pictures of a John Deere and CAT backactors respectively. FACE SHOVEL The primary function of this machine is to excavate against a face or a bank above its own track or wheel level. It is suitable for clay and can be used in excavating and even rock which needs to be loosened, usually by blasting prior to the excavation. A face shovel has the added advantage of loading materials excavated into dump trucks. It can also be used extensively for relocating spoils within a given radius or short distance and for heaping spoils for future use. Face shovels like the one shown in fig. 2.7 above usually require attendant haulage vehicles for the removal of the spoil and a low-loader transportation between sites most especially in developed areas. They are also not suitable for deep excavations. 2.1.2.3 TRANSPORTING EQUIPMENT These are mainly used for the transportation of personnel, materials, machines and equipment from one site to the other or from one location to the other within a relatively large site. They range from conventional saloon car to the large low loader lorries designed to transport other items of builders equipment between construction sites and the equipment yard or depot. VANS These transport vehicles range from the small two person plus a limited amount of materials to the large vans with purpose designed bodies such as those designed to carry sheets of glass. The vans can be supplied with an uncovered tipping or non-tipping container mounted behind the passenger cab for use as a pick-up truck. LORRIES Lorries which are usually referred to as haul vehicles are available as road or site only vehicles. The road haulage vehicles have to comply with all the requirements of the concerning vehicle usage which among other requirements limits size and axle loads. The site only vehicles are not so restricted and can be designed to carry two to three times the axle load allowed on the public highways. They are also designed to withstand the rough terrain encountered on many construction sites. Lorries specifically designed for the transportation of large items of equipment are called low loaders and are usually fitted with integral or removal ramps to facilitate loading equipment onto the carrier platform. PASSENGER VEHICLES These can range from a simple framed cabin which can be placed in the container of a small lorry or pick-up truck to a conventional bus or coach. These vans can also be designed to carry a limited number of seated passengers by having fixed or removable seating together with windows fitted in the van sides thus giving the vehicle a dual function. DUMPERS Dumpers are used for horizontal transportation of materials ranging from aggregates to wet concrete on and off construction sites generally by means of an integral tipping skip. Highways dumpers or dumper trucks are similar but larger design and can be used to carry materials such as excavated spoil along the roads. A wide range of dumpers are available with variuos carrying capacities with hydraulic control for either a side, front or elevted tipping. They are designed to traverse rough terrain but they are not desinged to carry passengers. Shown above in fig. 2.8a and 2.8b are shown a standard site dumper and a dumper truck respectively. FORK LIFTS These are used for horizontal and limited vertical transportation of mterials positioned on pallets or banded together such as brick packs. They are generally suitable for construction sites where the building height does not exceed three storeys. They are available in three basic forms namely staright mast, overhead and telescopic boom (shown in fig. 2.9a-c) with various height, reach and lifting capacities. HOISTS Hoists are designed for vertical transportation of materials, passengers or both. Material hoists are usually mobile and they can be dismantled, folded onto the chassis and moved to another position or site under their own power or towed by a haulage vehicle. Passenger hoists are designed to carry passenger passengers although they most can be capable of carrying the load of passengers as well as materials. 2.1.2.4 CRANES Cranes are lifting devices designed to raise materials by means of rope operation and move the load horizontally. Crane types can range from simple rope and pulley to complex tower cranes but most can be placed within one of three groups namely: static (operate from a fixed position), mobile (operating position can be changed by cran under its own power) and tower (can be operated from a fixed position or rail mounted to become mobile) cranes. Several forms of cranes can be identified. Some of these are listed below: * Self propelled cranes * Lorry Mounted cranes * Track mounted cranes * Gantry/Portal cranes * Tower cranes Below in fig. 2.10 is shown the different types of cranes used in the construction industry. 2.1.2.5 Concreting equipment these equipment perhaps fall among the group of equipment that may be readily found on most constrction sites since concrete usually forms a large propotion of the materials used in construction.Concreting equipment can simply as classified under the following headings: mixing, transportation and placing. CONCRETE MIXERS These are used in mixing concrete especially in large volumes. Apart from the very large output mixers most concrete mixers in general use have a rotating drum designed to produce concrete without segregation of the mix. Most small batch mixers are of tilting drum type with outputs up to 200 lit/batch. They are generally hand loaded which makes the quality control of successive mixes difficult to regulate.Medium batch mixers can achieve outputs up to about 750lit/batch and may be designed with a tilting drum mixer or as a non-tilting drum mixer with a reversable drum. These mixers usually have integral weight bacthing loading hoppers, scrapper shovels and water tank thus giving better qualtity control than the small batch mixers. The pictures shown in fig. 2.11 and 2.12 are the very common 10/7 concrete mixer and 6m3 capacity ready mix concrete machine. EQUIPMENT FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE. Wheel barrows are the most common form of transporting concrete in small volumes. However for large volumes of up to about 600 litres, dumpers are more appropriate. Ready mixed concrete trucks are used to transport mixed concrete of volumes between 4-6m3 from a mixing equipment or depot to the site. Discharge can be direct into placing position via a chute or into some form of site dumper such as a dumper, crane skip or dumper. VIBRATOR After placing concrete in its formwork, excavated area or mould, the concrete must be properly worked around any insets or reinforcement and finally compacting the concrete to the required consolidation. This can be done to some degree satisfaction using tamping boards or rods but most appropritely using vibrators. Poker vibrators consist of a hollow steel tube casing in which is a rotating impellar which generates vibrations as its heard comes into contact with the casing. [Microsoft Encarta 2006; R. Chudley, 1997] 2.2 EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION Generally, a construction company has two options in acquiring equipment: it may either own machinery and equipment or hire it. Management must decide early on whether the equipment needed on site is to be hired or purchased outright, if it is not already available within the company. Purchasing equipment is sound investment if there is enough work ahead to keep it fully employed. Some estimates suggest the equipment must be working regularly for three to five years to recover the capital outlay [J.E. Johnston, 1981]. The decision to purchase will invariably have important financial consequences for the firm, since considerable capital sums will be locked up in plant, which must then be operated at an economic utilization level to produce a profitable rate of return on the investment .In recent years however, the growth of the independent equipment hire sector of the construction industry has greatly facilitated this latter option and approximately 50-60% of equipment presently used on projects is hired. Many firms however prefer to hire only those items of equipment which are required to meet peak demand or specialized duties [F. Harris and R. McCaffer, 2001]. 2.2.1 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS The introduction of equipment to a project does not necessarily result in economic savings since extra temporary site works such as road works, foundations, hard standings and anchorages may have to be provided at a cost which may be in excess of the savings made by using the equipment. The site layout and circulation may have to be planned around equipment positions and accommodation. The full advantage of employing the equipment can only be realized if the equipment is well managed, both on and off the site, and this requires a thorough understanding of the economic aspects of using equipment and vehicles. For example, a crane will become expensive if the design does not allow a fairly continuous programme of work whilst it is on the site. To be economic, plant must be fully utilized and not left standing idle since equipment, whether hired or owned, will have to be paid for even if it is non-productive. Full utilisation of equipment is usually considered to be in the region of 85% of on site time, thus making an allowance for routine daily and planned maintenance which needs to be carried out to avoid as far as practicable equipment breakdowns which could disrupt the construction programme. Many pieces of equipment work in conjunction with other items of equipment such as excavators and their attendant haulage vehicles therefore a correct balance of such equipment items must be obtained to achieve an economic result (R. Chudley, 1995; R.E Calvert et al, 1996). 2.2.3 EQUIPMENT POLICY 2.2.3.1 OWN ALL EQUIPMENT The policy practiced by many enterprises is to purchase, or lease long term, most of the equipment needs and thereby provide availability at all times, with the added advantage of the prestige attached to demonstrating the use of owned equipment. However, much capital will be locked up in the equipment, which must become capable of generating a sufficient rate of return. A major disadvantage of this strategy is the problem of maintaining adequate levels of utilisation. Equipment holdings are usually built up to service a growing demand, and will become a heavy liability in the case of an economic recession. Any available work may then subsequently need to be undertaken to sustain the fleet, since equipment cannot easily be sold in a declining market. 2.2.3.2 HIRE ALL EQUIPMENT Many specialist hire/rental firms offer the supply of equipment now on the open market. To take advantage of this facility avoids both the responsibility of maintenance and the tying up of capital. The equipment may be hired for a specified period and often times the equipment operator also is provided by the equipment supplier. The main disadvantage of hiring is that the hire rate depends on market forces and suppliers are largely beyond the control of the hire, except for limited negotiation between competing firms. 2.2.3.3 A COMBINATION OF HIRE AND OWN A mixed policy of owning and hiring equipment may be the preferred option. For example, regularly required items might be purchased and hiring adopted only to smooth out demand (Edwards D.J, 2003). F.T. Edum-Fotwe (1990) writes that serious consideration should also be given to the extent to which the equipment is to be operated before an acquisition decision is made. He outlines the following factors concerning the level of operation of a equipment: 1. Acquire equipment new and operate to a down value and sell it. 2. Acquire second-hand equipment and operate to scrap value. 3. Acquire equipment new and operate to scrap value. 4. Acquire a second-hand equipment and operate to a down value and resell. 2.2.4 FINANCING OF EQUIPMENT A firm, having decided to buy a equipment instead of hiring, has the following methods of paying for the equipment. 1. Cash or outright purchase 2. Hire Purchase 3. Credit Sales 4. Leasing 5. Hiring 2.2.4.1 CASH OR OUTRIGHT PURCHASE When using this option, the buyer pays cash or immediately at the time of purchase, thereby providing tangible asset on the balance sheet. Obviously, this option is only possible if cash is available and therefore presupposes that profits have been built up from investors such as shareholder, bank loans, etc. Also, some large or technically unusual contracts sometimes include monies to permit the contractor to purchase the necessary equipment at the start of the project [F. Harris and R. McCaffer, 2001]. R. Chudley, 1997 simply identifies some of the advantages of outright purchase as: 1. Equipment availability is totally within the control of the contractor. 2. Hourly cost of equipment is generally less than hired equipment. 3. Owner has choice of costing method used. J.E. Johnston, 1981 however advices that besides the purchase price of a equipment, consideration should be given to the following points: 1. Capital outlay and interest charges 2. The cost of maintenance and repairs 3. The cost of transporting equipment between sites 4. Insurance premium and 5. Standing time on site. When examining the need to own equipment, the following points must be considered: 1. Will the item of equipment generate sufficient turnover to provide an adequate rate of return on the capital employed? 2. Is ownership of the equipment, rather than obtaining it by some other method, absolutely necessary for the business? 3. Is outright purchase the only way of acquiring the equipment? [F. Harris and R. McCaffer, 2001] 2.2.4.1.1 COST OF OWNING AN EQUIPMENT The cost of owning and operating construction equipment is affected by factors such as the cost of the equipment delivered to the owner, the severity of the conditions under which it is used, the cares with which the owner maintains and repairs it and the demand for used equipment when it is sold which will affect the salvage value. In his report, Effects of equipment breakdown on civil and building construction works, Markus S. Clarke (2001) identified the costs involved in owning and operating equipment as: i. Depreciation When a unit of equipment is placed in operation, it begins to wear out. Regardless of the care in maintaining and repairing it, the equipment will wear out or become obsolete and has to be replaced. The owner of the equipment has to provide a reserve fund to replace it when it is worn out. Where the contractor fails to include an appropriate allowance for depreciation of his equipment in his estimate, there will be no funds available to replace the equipment when they become aged or obsolete. ii. Maintenance and repairs The cost of maintenance and repairs varies considerably with the type of equipment, the service to which it is assigned and the care it receives. The annual costs of maintenance and repairs is expressed as a percentage of the annual cost of depreciation or independent of depreciation and it must also be sufficient to cover the cost of keeping the equipment operating.

Cuba: Then and Now Essay -- Comparison Contrast Government Politics P

Cuba: Then and Now In the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Spain relinquished all sovereignty over Cuba. For a time, the policy of the United States toward Cuba was somewhat ambivalent. The Teller Amendment at the beginning of the Spanish-American War had pledged the restoration of Cuba to the Cubans. However, at the same time the United States was determined that it would not be placed after the war with Spain in a worse position in regard to its vital interests in Cuba than it had been when Cuba was a Spanish possession. The two men most closely associated with the U.S. relationship and administration of Cuba were Elihu Root, Secretary of War, and Leonard Wood, Governor General of Cuba. At his Washington desk, Root spent considerable time keeping a sharp eye on the Cuban constitutional convention and directing the overall campaign.1 On the scene in Havana was Doctor Leonard Wood who had gone there as commander of the Rough Riders in 1898. His first major administrative task in Cuba after the war was in Santiago province where the death rate was two hundred a day, and the filth was terrible. After burning the dead bodies in town, he curtailed the inflation and cleaned up the refuse. In addition, Wood saw that jails were inspected and that schools were secularized. Because of his accomplishments in Santiago, he was appointed Governor General of Cuba on December 12, 1899. He kept the post until the formation of the Cuban Republic in 1902. Wood did well as governor of the â€Å"Pearl of the Antilles.† On September 7, the Chicago Record-Herald reported that Cuba was on the high road to more prosperous times than it had ever experienced. There was no distress among the population of 1,572,797 other than what might be found under... ...is point from 1901-34 aroused increasing bitterness, as Root’s interpretation was not followed. On May 29, 1934, it was abrogated by the United Sates. 11 Lyman Abbott, Reminiscences (Boston and New York: 1915), 438. 12 Congressional Record, 58 Cong., 2 sess., 3379; 180 U.S. 109 (1900). 13 New York Times, September 10, 1901, 5, c. 4. 14 Philip C. Jessup, Elihu Root (New York: 1938), I, 324. 15 Edmond Wood, â€Å"Can Cubans Govern Cuba?† The Forum, XXXII (September, 1901), 66-74. 16 Congressional Record, 56 Cong., 2 sess., 3344-45, 3348, 3375. 17 See above, 33-34. 18 New York Times, September 8, 1901, 3, c. 5. 19 Literary Digest: A Weekly Compendium of the Contemporaneous Thought of the World, XXIII (September 7, 1901), 274. 20 Nation: A Weekly Journal Devoted to Politics, Literature, Science and Art, (September 5, 1901), 180, c. 1.

Book Report: The Hunger Games Essay

Characters: * Katniss Everdeen (girl on fire)

Demagoguery and How to Pronounce It

Demagoguery and How to Pronounce It Demagoguery and How to Pronounce It Demagoguery and How to Pronounce It By Maeve Maddox As the 2016 US presidential election campaign slouches toward November, the words demagogue, demagogic, and demagoguery make frequent appearances in the media. For example, in a Sunday morning interview with Rachel Martin, NPR stalwart Mara Liasson remarked on the reaction of other Republican candidates to Donald Trump: â€Å"They’re talking about the demagoguery and the authoritarian, violent rhetoric.† What drew my attention to the radio interview was Liaison’s pronunciation of the word demagoguery. She pronounced the second g with a soft sound: /dem-uh-GAHJ-er-ee/. Both g’s in demagoguery are â€Å"hard.† The spelling gue is always pronounced /g/, as in tongue, league, and prologue. Demagoguery is defined as â€Å"the principles or practices of a demagogue.† In modern usage, a demagogue is â€Å"a political leader who appeals to the passions and prejudices of the mob in order to obtain power and further his own interests.† An unlimited Google search for demagoguery and demagogue gives the following results: â€Å"demagoguery† about 508,000 results â€Å"demagogue† about 484,000 results A search for demagogue limited to the year 2000 brings about 2,260 results. Of the ten summaries that come up on the first page of results, nine refer to definitions and discussions of the word. Only one refers to a politician as a demagogue: â€Å"He’s a Demagogue, That’s What He Is: Hodding Carter on Huey Long.† The Ngram Viewer goes only to 2000. On the graph, the word demagogue peaks in 1862 and then drops precipitately. Note: The noun demagogue is verbed by some speakers: Hes merely made use of an existing, flawed system to demagogue his way into the hearts and minds of angry low-information voters, of whom there are a lot. The OED and the Howjsay pronunciation site give /dem-uh-GAH-gik/ (both g’s â€Å"hard†) as the first pronunciation and /dem-uh-GAH-jik/ (second g â€Å"soft†) as an alternative pronunciation. Merriam-Webster gives only the hard g pronunciation: /dem-uh-GAH-gik/. Note: When I began this post, I did not think it necessary to remark on the pronunciation of the o in demagogue. However, a friend told me that she heard NBC’s Brian Williams pronounce demagogic with a long o as well as with a soft g: /dem-uh-GO-jik/. Broadcasting networks do have pronunciation guides. Perhaps their announcers don’t always remember to consult them. American pronunciation for the three words- demagogue, demagogic and demagoguery- is with short o (as in hot) and hard g (as in got): /dem-uh-GAHG/, /dem-uh-GAH-gik/ and /dem-uh-GAHG-er-ee/. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Spelling Test 1How to Punctuate with â€Å"However†Is "Number" Singular or Plural?

Finding a Paying Market in Homeschoolers

Finding a Paying Market in Homeschoolers Most writers are always on the lookout for ways to earn a little extra cash with their craft. One of those ways kind of fell into my lap, and I face-palmed myself for not thinking about it before. A friend asked if I would teach a writing class at her homeschool co-op. I homeschooled my own children for 18 years, and it never occurred to me to offer my knowledge to other homeschoolers. Here are a few things you need to know to break into a local homeschool group. ==They plan classes for the following year in January. September of one year isn’t too early to approach them with your class ideas for the next year. ==Co-ops have wish lists to include their course needs and requests from parents. Many of those wishes go above and beyond what most homeschooling curriculums offer. For example, most parents teach grammar at home, but can’t teach their children how to write a novel. Perhaps a journalism class, with a bimonthly printed newspaper, would be a good addition to the co-op’s class list, or teaching a freelancing class where students could actually submit stories and articles to magazines that accept writing from kids. theclaremontreview.ca/#!writing-submissions/c1bm7 http://kidspiritonline.com/help/ newmoon.com/content/?id=1006type=1 http://polyphonyhs.com/submit/ skippingstones.org/submissions.htm stonesoup.com/stone-soup-contributor-guideline/ teenink.com/Submissions/guidelines.php) ==Offer different ideas, reaching different age groups. While they may already offer a journalism class for high school age students, maybe teaching elementary students how to write and illustrate a picture book would complement the co-op’s needs. Many groups use IEW for creative writing classes. You can find out more about that curriculum at their website (http://iew.com). Study it and come up with an idea that is different, a need that isn’t already met. ==Write course descriptions and be specific. You don’t necessarily have to have your lessons planned out for the entire year, but you do need to know, and be able to communicate, what your plans are for the class. Create a syllabus to give students at the beginning of the year. ==Some parents want grades for their children to add to transcripts. Depending on what the parents are doing at home with their children, they may need you to grade, even if it just a pass/fail type of grade. Talk with the homeschool co-op to see what they require. ==Some co-ops will allow you to charge an extra fee for printing or supply costs. For example, when teaching a picture book class, you may need fancy paper, markers, stencils, and other art supplies for the children to use. This is a one-time fee for the year that allows you to purchase what is necessary for the benefit of the class. ==Expect a wide range in class number. You may only end up with a few students or up to as many as twenty, depending on the size of the co-op, scheduling conflicts, or simply the number of students interested in taking your class. ==Don’t be surprised if they require a background check. After all, you are working with their children. Teaching writing to homeschool students can be fun and exciting as well as profitable. To find a homeschool co-op in your area, visit http://a2zhomeschooling.com/regional/regional_worldwide_homeschooling/ or home-school.com/groups/ for list

Psychology Behind Substance Abuse Research Paper

Psychology Behind Substance Abuse - Research Paper Example From the report it is clear that  more and more people presently are turning towards substance abuse for seeking relief from the distress of many everyday annoyances like paralyzing sense of failure, broken relationships, and other complex tragedies of life.  Thid discussion stresses that  most of the people turn towards the option of drug abuse when they are psychologically saturated from the aggravated worries and this saturated point tempts them to abuse drugs so that they may be able to negate or exchange their blackened depression for positive pleasure or psychological reward. Whether the substance used by the abuser is a stimulant or a depressant, it helps him/her in temporarily forgetting the harsh or ruthless realities or failures of life. Psychological assessment helps in identification of the fact that the patient is habitually and inadequately using drugs because he/she is obsessive about seeking denial from mounting depression. The psychological disorder of substanc e abuse can be managed by effective communication with the patient rather than abruptly referring him/her to a rehabilitation centre without any psychological therapy. The initial euphoric sense that is experienced by a substance abuser serves as a potent psychological pleasure or reward for him/her, which is immediately followed by strengthened feelings of self-confidence in case of a stimulant abuse and relaxation in case of a depressant intake. The street name for such potent and weird psychological effects is rush, which is the bait for all drug abusers who desperately seek refuge from the brutal challenges of life which they find too hard to manage. Psychological analysis of rush reveals that this is experienced by a substance abuser because of the stimulation of the pleasure reward pathway in brain that results in excessive dopamine release, which is responsible for the regulation and transfer of drug and producing the overpowering sensations of pleasure, indulgence, confidenc e, and ego gratification. This gratifying but unearned psychological reward modulates the brain of a substance abuser in such a way that he/she develops a persistent longing for the preferred drug. 4. Rebellion and defiance lead to substance

Health insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Health insurance - Essay Example Therefore, this paper will look into a health advertisement and discuss it in its fullness. Health and health insurance as a topic is important in most people’s lives. Decisions on what the best medical policies are suitable for an individual and their families as well as what medical services are best suited for them often take center stage in planning. Therefore, companies and medical providers have the obligation to research and find out what consumers need and how effectively they can provide these needs. They have to take into consideration; the pricing, the treatment, cause of the drug as compared to its complements, then advertise it in a manner that will captivate the consumers and make them want to try it. Advertisements assure the target market of how effective the product is and how well- tested it is should be included to erase any fear of bad and severe side effects or otherwise. There is an advertisement of the Swiss drug maker, Novartis, on multiple sclerosis disease that says â€Å"Hey MS, Take This!† (Olson). The advert is about people who refuse to let the disease control their lives. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord. These parts of the body are the central and core parts that control most, if not all the other body parts. Multiple Sclerosis can affect the body hindering an individual’s perfomance as well as personal independence; thus, making them rely on assistance for the rest of their lives. The advert shows people with the Gilenya drug on their tongues that are stuck out (Olson). This shows that they are willing to fight against any disease that may want to affect their bodies neurologically or otherwise. The text â€Å"Hey MS, Take This!† (Olson). The graphics of extremely good-looking and healthy persons brings out the defiance nature that we should adopt against any condition. It is encouraging and shows a positive fighting spirit and the strength that