Consumer Protection Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Consumer Protection - Research Proposal Example As a trainee solicitor with Wise and Wise solicitors, I am instructed by my supervisor, Margaret Andrews to interview the company's new client, Mr. Richard Williams and then report my findings back to her. Below is my report which contains two main sections. The first section deals with the items Mr. Williams purchased from Bobby's local garden center and his legal position. The second part, on the other hand, is likewise going to handle those items purchased by our client from Mr. Stanley Robinson. After interviewing our new client Mr. ... For him to carry out this task successfully, he needed some items he could only get from Bobby, his local garden center. At the garden center, he paid for the items by cheque. Among these items was a Venus de Milo Statue, which he decided to take home with him in his car. He arranged for the other items to be delivered later. Incidentally, it emerged later that the Venus de Milo Statue had been sold to another customer and Bobby needed ourBobby'st to take it better the store for a refund of the full price, on the other hand,y, this is not what our client had bargained for. The statue is one of the objects excluded from the laws of price fraud 2 because it does not have a standardized price (Howells & Wilhelmsson, 1997). An object lacking a standard price is referred to as an object of exclusion 3 (Boom & Loos, 2007). Thus to determine the right amount of refund involving an object of exclusion becomes a weighty obligation. But on the other hand, the law provides that society has an obligation to protect the consumer. There is a great assertion that the seller should not deceive the consumer either by concealing any imperfection or suppressing any relevant information about the item being sold (Sadeleer, 2006). In the case of Mr. Williams, there is no blemish in the item itself and thus virtually the consumer has no basis to claim that he has not received what he settled to purchase. Therefore it is my advice to our client that he stays put with the Statue as it is rightfully his (Howells & Wilhelmsson, 1997).

Nature Versus Nurture and Psychological Changes Essay Example for Free

Nature Versus Nurture and Psychological Changes Essay Students who have achieved mostly distinctions- Your work is detailed and well written, showing an excellent understanding of the developments through the life stages. You have shown an excellent knowledge of growth and development throughout the human lifespan and the physical and psychological changes of ageing. You show an excellent understanding of the potential effects of life factors and events on the development of the individual. Students who have achieved mostly merits- Your work is detailed, showing a good understanding of the developments through the life stages. You display a good understanding of growth and development throughout the human lifespan and the physical and psychological changes of ageing. You show a good understanding of the potential effects of life factors and events on the development of the individual. Students who have achieved mostly passes- You have understood the key aspects of the developments through the life stages. You have shown a basic understanding of growth and development throughout the human lifespan and the physical and psychological changes of ageing. You show a basic understanding of the potential effects of life factors and events on the development of the individual. Comments if they have achieved P1-P5 (pick and choose depending what they have achieved) You have achieved P1 because you are able to describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each of the life stages of an individual. Well done! You have achieved P2 because you are able to explain the potential effects of five different life factors on the development of an individual. Well done! You have achieved P3 because you are able to explain the influences of two predictable and two unpredictable major life events on the development of an individual. Well done! You have achieved P4 because you are able to explain two theories of ageing. Well done! You have achieved P5 because you are able to explain the physical and psychological changes which may be associated with ageing. Well done! Comments if the students have achieved M1-M3 (pick and choose depending what they have achieved) You have achieved M1 because you are able to discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of an individual. Well done! You have achieved M2 because you are able to discuss two major theories of ageing in relation to the development of the individual. Well done! You have achieved M3 because you are able to discuss the effects on self- esteem and self- confidence of the physical changes associated with ageing. Well done! Comments if the students have achieved D1-D2 (pick and choose depending what they have achieved) You have achieved D1 because you are able to evaluate how nature and nurture may affect the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of two stages of the development of an individual. Well done! You have achieved D2 because you are able to evaluate the influence of two major theories of ageing on health and social care provision. Well done! Comments for the ‘The ways in which it can be improved further’ section- Comments if the students still need to achieve P1-P5 due to failure or non-submission (pick and choose depending on what they have not achieved) In order to achieve P1 you need to clearly describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each of the life stages of an individual. In order to achieve P2 you need to explain the potential effects of five different life factors on the development of an individual. In order to achieve P3 you need to explain the influences of two predictable and two unpredictable major life events on the development of an individual. In order to achieve P4 you need to be able to explain two theories of ageing.In order to achieve P5 because you need to be able to explain the physical and psychological changes which may be associated with ageing. Comments if the students still need to achieve M1-M3 due to failure or non-submission (pick and choose depending on what they have not achieved) In order to achieve M1 you need to be able to discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of an individual. In order to achieve M2 you need to be able to discuss two major theories of ageing in relation to the development of the individual. In order to achieve M3 you need to be able to discuss the effects on self- esteem and self- confidence of the physical changes associated with ageing. Comments if the students still need to achieve D1-D2 (pick and choose depending on what they have not achieved) In order to achieve D1 you need to be able to evaluate how nature and nurture may affect the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of two stages of the development of an individual. In order to achieve D2 you need to be able to evaluate the influence of two major theories of ageing on health and social care provision. Comments for the ‘How to make this improvement section’- (I have used Alicia’s comments for this section because they relate well) Try to ensure that you have covered each criterion fully before handing it in for marking. You could have written in more detail and given fuller explanations of the points you made. Show that you have carried out independent research into the key concepts. Ensure that all sections of work are included in your folder when it is handed in for marking. You could have aimed for a higher grade / attempted the higher criteria. Check your work carefully before handing it in for marking. You could have attempted all of the Merit / Distinction criteria. Use the resources on Moodle and carry out your own research on the higher criteria. Hand work in more often so that you receive more frequent feedback on how to  improve your work. Improve attendance in lessons. Ask for guidance if you do not understand the higher criteria. Improve punctuality and attendance in lessons to ensure that you do not miss important sessions when new work is being covered. Research information independently, in order to gain a greater understanding of key concepts. Add full references within your work and a bibliography at the end of each section.

Influences of a Teacher Essay -- Learning Education Essays

" A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."-Unknown What does a teacher do? Well, besides giving out tons of papers, numerous tests, and stories that the students aren't interested in reading (or just too lazy to read), teachers are responsible for creating the future leaders of tomorrow. In today's society one may find advancement difficult without a formal education. Education is one of society's institutions that helps to infuse in our younger generation the norms, values and morals of the world we live in. Teachers lead their students on the trip to success. Have you ever wondered how you would have gotten where you are today, or how you will get where you will be tomorrow without a great instructor? According to a private pedagogical survey of sources (teachers and students), some of the main qualities of teachers should be discipline, motivation, and above all, respect. I have interviewed three teachers and three students from the High School, Middle School, and Elementary School levels. How do we define discipline? When most people hear the word "discipline" they imagine an eighty year old, six foot five matron holding a long stick, preparing to give some outspoken child his just punishment. In modern terms, having a disciplined classroom is simply the act of maintaining structure and consistency in the working environment. Discipline is hard to achieve in a class where the teacher and students are viewed as equals. In this form of study, students will tend not to listen to the teacher when the time comes to work or be productive. In his article, " I'll ... ... able to apply what they learned. Just think, the positive influence of a teacher today creates the successful individual of tomorrow. Works Cited Cheney, Lynne V. " P.C. Alive and Entrenched" The Presence of Others:Voices that Call for Response. 2nd ed. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J.Ruszkiewicz. New York: St Martin's Press, 1977. 112 Haffamier, Suzanne & Lauren. Personal Interview. 6 Mar. 1999 Harr, Kerry. Personal Interview. 8 Mar. 1999 Schwartz, Arnie. Personal Interview.7 Mar. 1999 Shaw, Megan. Personal Interview.6 Mar. 1999 Thom, Chris. Personal Interview. 8 Mar.1999 Zawodniak, Christian. "'I'll Have to Help Some of You More Than I Want To'":Teacher Power, Student Pedagogy." The Presence of Others:Voices that Call for Response. 2nd ed. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St Martin's Press, 1977. 127- 130.

Try Something New for 30 Days

Try something new for 30 days. Do you believe that by doing something new for 30 days can change our life? Is this possible†¦? The great American philosopher Morgan Spurlock says that 30 day challenges or trying something new for those days will change our life. Matt Cutts was ordinary computer scientist who couldn’t make a progress in his life. Nevertheless, after reading this book he had learned many things and made changes in 30 days. The question is will his idea does work to everyone..? I like this ideas a lot and definitely support it in right way and I believe that 30 days are enough to make changes in our life.It is an opportunity to start something new, and try something that you always wanted to do. Perhaps, it is all about adding new or subtracting â€Å"bad† habits and trying to set a goal or plans to accomplish in 30 days. This article shows us how Matt has made his life better by doing simple changes. First, if we want to make our life better, we shou ld set positive goals, than move forward and work to add a new habit, than try to stop unhealthy behaviors and habits. It means that we need to make simple changes like Matt did. For example; he was a computer dupe, however he had tried new simple things in 30 day which he had never done.Certainly we also can do it and make a better life. The best way to do these 30 day s challenges is to understand what we really want, than to be in the mood of it, and last thing is just start it. As a result it will give us many positive benefits. Furthermore, people can force their self to do many activities and become an organized. People who have bad habits as a smoking or drinking can change it by adding a new one. Smoking may replaced by some healthy foods. Consequently those changes can give an opportunity to keep their money also their health.Second is adding new habits, it can be everything which people have always wanted to do, however in 30 days it might change their life. I had a friend , who had no idea about music, but he has started to sing and singing became his habit. Now he is making good music career. In conclusion I would like to mention that many people fare afraid to do something new, because they got accustomed to these things. However Matts article motivated us to do something new by giving his advices and examples from his live. We can use his idea to control our goal, to schedule tasks and projects and make our life better.

Organizational Behavior at Accenture Essay

1. Introduction This paper gives an overview of the organizational behavior (Organizational Structure, Culture, and Leadership) at Accenture– the last organization I worked with. Accenture is an international management consulting, technology services and outsourcing organization, with approximately 0.25 million people and clients in more than 120 countries. It has generated net revenue of US$ 27.9 billion for last fiscal year i.e. 31 st August 2012. (Accenture,2012) 2. Organizational Structure 2.1 Accenture’s Structure – At A Glance Organization’s structure divides the organizational activities and co-ordinates them to achieve the aim of the organization. Accenture is organized into various partially overlapping industry areas that allow the clients to choose from a variety of integrated consulting services. It upholds four global operations workforces: 1. Consulting 2. Servicing 3. Solutions 4. Enterprise Table 2.1 highlights five operating groups and their respective 19 industry groups within the organization. (Accenture Facts,2012) Financial services Banking Capital Market Insurance Health & Public Services Health Public Services Communications , Media & Technology Communication Electronics & High Tech Media & Entertainment Product Automotive Air, Freights & Travel Services Consumer Goods & Services Industrial Equipment Infrastructure & Transportation Resources Chemical Energy Natural Resources Utilities Table 2.1 The figure below displays the organizational chart of Accenture and explains how different sub-units interact with each other. Exam Number: B031449 Page 3 of 11 Figure 2.1 Accenture’s Organizational structure (Source: Official board, 2012) 2.2 Analyzing the Structure of Accenture Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) defined seven key elements of organizational structure and in this section, we will see how they relate to Accenture as an organization. It can be easily inferred from the organizational structure (Figure 2.1) and Work group division (Table 2.1) that Accenture is a large complex organization that requires its employees to be highly specialized in the tasks allocated to them to ensure that quality work is delivered. In order to make sure that all the employees are highly skilled with respect to their tasks, an intense induction takes place in the beginning of their journey in the organization. Accenture follows a tall organizational hierarchy structure due to its diverse workforce and workgroups where Span –of –Control for a Manager depends on the size of the project. Within the solutions workforce, in a single project, following hierarchy exists: Figure 2.2 Hierarchies in a project For example, Span of Control for the project in which I worked was a 96: Designation Programmers (10) Senior Programmers (8) Analyst Programmer (6) Team Lead (4) Manager Span of Control One Team lead , supervises 24 resources One Manager supervises 4 team-leads. So total Span of Control = 96 The tasks in each project in the Solutions workforce are departmentalized into different submodules i.e. Analysis, Design & Build, and Testing. Department of Analysis is responsible for creating business artifacts that detail out client’s requirement and proposed solution to achieve it. These artifacts are then passed to the Design & Build Team who create the high-level design documents and develops the products which client has asked for. Once the product is delivered, it is then passed on to the testing team to ensure that the final product is as per the business artifacts and there are no issues encountered. Accenture is highly formalized organization, where each project while working on a client’s requirement has to adhere to the policies, procedures and norms set by Accenture as well as the clients. This is one of the key approaches to gain the client’s trust. Since project managers have the authority to take decision related to their respective projects, we can call Accenture as highly centralized organization. 3. Organizational Culture Culture is embedded and reflected in every aspect of an organization. As stated by Ravasi, D., Schultz, M. (2006), organizational culture is a lay down of shared intellectual assumptions, which guide understanding and action in an organization by defining suitable behavior for diverse situations. Figure 3.1 is a three-layer model for organizational culture developed by Edgar Schein (2004). Figure 3.1: Schein’s three levels of culture – Source (Bohine, Markham, 2003) Insight on Accenture’s Culture 1. Schein’s three levels of Culture a) The first level i.e. Observable level is the most visible layer. Table 3.1 highlights few of the Surface manifestation of culture at Accenture Manifestation Ceremonials Course Norms Slogan Symbol Accenture Fun Fridays, sporting events, monthly birthday celebrations, quarterly awards Greenfield training for the new employees where the number of days varies from 1 week to 6 weeks depending on the employees Code of Business conduct led by multiple policies High Performance Delivered Accenture has six core values (Accenture Core Values) – Stewardship: Fulfilling our obligation of building a better, stronger and more durable company for future generations, protecting the Accenture brand, meeting our commitments to stakeholders, acting with an owner mentality, developing our people and helping improve communities and the global environment Best People: Attracting, developing and retaining the best talent for our business, challenging our people, demonstrating a â€Å"can-do† attitude and fostering a collaborative and mutually supportive environment Client Value Creation: Enabling clients to become high-performance businesses and creating long-term relationships by being responsive and relevant and by consistently delivering value. One Global Network: Leveraging the power of global insight, relationships, collaboration and learning to deliver exceptional service to clients wherever they do business Respect for Individual: Valuing diversity and unique contributions, fostering a trusting, open, and inclusive environment and treating each person in a manner that reflects Accenture’s values. Integrity: Being ethically unyielding and honest and inspiring trust by saying what we mean, matching our behaviors to our words and taking responsibility for our actions Rewards and Recognition in Accenture: Accenture has various ways of acknowledging an employee’s contribution towards achieving the â€Å"High Quality† work. In addition to promotion, few of the awards given by Accenture (specific to solutions domain) are: ACE Award – Accenture Celebrates Excellence is an award given on quarterly basis to the employees who show outstanding performance during a quarter in their respective industrial groups. The nominations for these awards are forwarded by the project manager along with the citation to justify the nominations. Innovator for the quarter – This category of award is held at different project levels and is awarded to an individual or group of people who have innovated something to either add value to the client or helped in increasing automated work to save on efforts. Star of the month – This category of award is also held at project level where the work of an employee performing extraordinary is acknowledged. Propel Awards – This category of award is held at industrial group level where the employees are awarded against different criteria’s e.g. Adding Value to Client, Organizing quality work and anticipating critical situations etc. Celebrating Performance – Celebrating performance is a tool through which Team leads and above acknowledges the work of an individual by giving them some points. These points can be redeemed via a shopping catalog holding a range of different things. c) The third level i.e. basic assumption is invisible layer. It is the perception held by individuals concerning human behavior. As mentioned earlier, this cannot be seen but felt by the individuals and hence is difficult to be described in words for any organization. 2. On analyzing Accenture based on different Cultural framework and Cultural typologies it can be said that Accenture falls into Role culture and Communal culture. The justification for this goes below: ï‚ § Accenture is very much driven by its policies, procedures, and rules, which makes it high on formalization aspect. Figure 2.1 clearly shows the level of hierarchy that Accenture has. Managers at top of the hierarchy work as per their roles and specializations that make Accenture a highly centralized organization and hence putting it into a Role culture. However, if we deep dive to the lowest division i.e. the Projects, the task to be achieved is allocated at the Managerial level and is then cascaded down to different team members based on their expertise. The aim of the team is to ensure the task is delivered on time and with a high quality. For example, in my projects, there were times when a task demanding high expertise on specific domain were assigned to the senior programmers instead of the team leads. This clearly displays that the project division is on to the Task culture i.e. high formalization, low centralization where people are acknowledged based on their expertise and not just position. ï‚ § Accenture has very strict entry criteria and employees who suit the working environment are selected. Once the employees are in the company, another level of assessment happens to check the skills to identify which project who the employee be best suited for. During an initial phase in the project, the employees are giving an intensive training about the core values of Accenture as well as the client that they are working for. The roles and goals for each individual are made clear right from the beginning and each employee is expected to have a degree of flexibility to switch the roles as and when required. All these characteristics make Accenture falls into the category of Communal culture i.e. High Sociability and high solidarity. 4. Leadership Walt Disney said, â€Å"You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality† (Disney, 2011) Accenture groups skills, competencies, and personality traits of effective leaders into three vital pillars (Accenture Leadership): Visionary Evangelist- They see possibilities and inspire others with their vision; they know where the company is headed and what its customers will value in the future. Relationship Builder-They enlist the support and capabilities of others by building loyalty, motivating and engaging. Manager of Execution- They provide structure, discipline and a sense of priorities to get things done. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard (1998) described the concept of situational leadership. Situational leadership is an approach of identifying the most effective way of motivating, directing, and supporting employees to get the work done. Whether it is the leaders at the top of hierarchy (CEO) or the leaders at the lowest division (project managers), leadership style in Accenture varies depending upon the situation. Figure 4.1 Situational Leadership Model (Source: Davidmerzel, 2012) How Leadership style works in Accenture When an employee is new to a project or the organization, it is ensured that a counselor and a supervisor are assigned to him. It is supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that the employee understand the norms and the working culture of the project and Councilor helps the employee with the career aspirations and issues (if any) faced by him while working in the project. In other words, it can be said that supervisor acts as the coach and councilor supports the employee at the same time. Supervisor and the Councilor are not the same person and it is the councilor who remains the same throughout the journey in Accenture where as supervisors keep of changing as when an employee progresses. Once an employee displays the ability and the skills required to tasks assigned (i.e. generally at Analyst Programmer level), the work is then delegated where very few directions and support are required. At no point in Accenture, you would find a leader portraying the directive leadership. Support and mentoring is always provided until an employee is capable to work on his own. 5. Synopsis Accenture is an organization on the move, one that is engaged in a good range of projects in various locations. Its culture varies from one extreme to another depending on the client and the geographical location of the office in which one reside. Employees, working at the client site, particularly for extended periods, find themselves following client’s culture as well as Accenture’s. It has a youthful environment that helps in making contacts, which lasts as an employee moves from project to project. In spite of the youthful, work-hard/play-hard atmosphere, employees strictly adhere to Accenture’s high standards, which require dedication and discipline on behalf of the employees. People at Accenture genuinely respect and admire each other. Willingness to help others and strong interpersonal skills are more common that being self-centered. This can be easily seen by the prompt responses of peers in different cities and countries towards any technical query being raised at the company’s portal. To summaries, Accenture surely is a strong cultured and centralized organization where the core values of the organization and client’s both are kept in mind and at the same time its ensured that employee’s professional aspirations are also met. I would definitely say a great place to work! 6. References (Arranged alphabetically) 1. Accenture, 2012 – About Accenture Available at: http://www.accenture.com/gb-en/company/Pages/index.aspx Accessed on: 26th October 2012 2. Accenture Core Values: Living Accenture’s Core Values [online] Available at: http://careers.accenture.com/gben/working/overview/values/Pages/index.aspx Accessed on: 26th October 2012 3. Accenture Facts,2012 – Q4 Fiscal 2012 Available at: http://newsroom.accenture.com/fact+sheet/ Accessed on: 26th October 2012 4. Accenture Leadership: Why Leadership and Culture Matters [online] Available at: http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture_Why_Leadership_and _Culture_Matter.pdf Accessed on: 27th October 2012 5. Accenture Logo – Accenture UK Limited [online] Available at: http://www.enterprisemanagement360.com/company/accenture-uk-l imited/#.UIqNsm_Mjsw Accessed on: 26th October 2012 6. Bohine, Markham, 2003

Geographical Investigation Essays

Geographical Investigation Essays Geographical Investigation Essay Geographical Investigation Essay Geographical Investigation:How and why does quality of housing vary through different areas in Sheffield?1) Identification of a question:I am investigating housing quality in Sheffield because I think that it is interesting to see how housing quality varies throughout the different areas (wards) in Sheffield. I also think that it is a good topic to base my investigation on because the topic of housing has lots of different aspects to study and is manageable within time available.2) Development of strategy:I will gather my primary data by visiting different areas throughout Sheffield and assess the quality of the environment and the housing. I will also gather secondary data from Sheffield library about housing and trends. I will do this by looking at the local census and see if there is any useful information contained in them that I could use. The library is not the only place where useful information can be gathered, I could go to local estate agents in Shef field and also look on the internet at how house prices differ in the areas that I am studying to see if any trends or patterns can be established.3) Collection of data:I will collect the data using the housing quality indexes, of which an example is shown below (fig 3.1).Fig 3.1:Worst Scenario12345Best Scenarios1Ugly HousesAttractive Housess2Runned Down and Neglected AreaWell Maintaineds3Many Vacant HousesNo Vacant Housess4NoisyQuiets5Filthy/ Much LitterCleans6Congested With TrafficNo Traffics7No VegetationVegetations8HostileWelcoming and Safes9Large Amounts of GraffitiNo Graffitis10No Front GardenLarge Front Gardens11High Rise HousingDetached Housings12No Drive/ Area for ParkingGarageI am using an index because it is an accurate way of collecting data from different types of housing and having sufficient information to compare and draw an accurate conclusion from that data. Another reason that I chose to use an index is that not all of the data was collected by me.As there were to o many areas to cover so if all the people in my group went by the same guidelines we would be able to draw a more accurate conclusion and there would be less chance of error in the results. During the field trip we noticed that our index did not include whether or not the houses had parking spaces or not so we included it whilst collecting the data. We did this because we thought that it would be very useful in helping us to distinguish whether or not the housing was of good quality of not. Other than that no other changes were made during the field trip.The survey points that we selected to do the environmental and housing checks were strategically placed. We did seven checks 1km away from the city centre, seven checks 3km away from the city centre and seven checks 5km away from the city centre (shown in fig 3.2). The points were going out towards the North, North East, South East, South, South West, West and North West edges of the city. We did it this way so it would be going th rough as many of Sheffields different wards as possible and give spread of data over the whole city.Another reason why the survey points were located where they were was because of easier access, nine of the points were located close to main tram lines and the other 3 points were accessed using a car. This meant that on the first day the data was gathered in enough time to visit the library and estate agent for additional information. We then returned to Sheffield to do the other 9 housing quality indexes and gather additional information on house prices and trends. No housing quality checks were carried out to the West of the city because that is the area where mainly industry is located and there are very few houses.4) Analysis, evaluation and interpretation:The results of the environmental and housing quality indexes are shown in Fig 4.1. The general pattern that is shown is the further that the survey points get away from the city centre, the greater the total number of points t hat that area has received. This means that the general quality of housing improves as it gets further away from the city centre. The annotated photographs in Fig 4.2 also show this. Fig 4.3 shows four of the different models of urban form. The information gathered proves that it is the Manns model theory for a UK city which is more likely suited to Sheffield. The scatter graph (Fig 4.4) also shows this trend.Another reason why Manns model is more suited to Sheffield is the difference between the East and the West sides of the city as shown in Fig 4.5 and Fig 4.6 (Mann-Whitney test). The two highest mean scores from the whole survey (4.42 and 4.83 points) were also gathered from the West side of the city, this is shown in the line graph (fig 4.4). the better quality of environment is also shown in the map fig 4.7 which shows that the highest house prices are towards the west of the city. I think one of the main reasons that the poorer housing is located towards the East is, the East is where most of the industry in the city is located. This may mean that most of the working class populations are located in the Eastern end as it is closer to their place of work and therefore cuts down transportation costs.Most industry in the city was originally located towards the East of the city because of prevailing winds and rivers (River Don) taking the pollution eastwards away from the city. One reason why houses are more expensive towards the West of the city than the East (Fig 4.7) is because there is less chance air pollution. The Mann-Whitney test results show the possibility that the difference between the East and the West sides of the city occurred just by chance is only 3.2%. This shows a clear difference between the two sides of the city and I am 96.8% sure that the difference did not occur by chance.5) Presentation of a summary:I think overall the results I obtained are quite accurate and as I predicted. I think I have successfully established how and why housi ng quality varies throughout different areas in Sheffield. What I have established is that generally the quality of housing increases going further away from the city centre. I have also found that there are differences in quality between the East and the West sides of the city. If I were to improve my study I would do an extra group of environmental checks so the study reaches out further away from the city centre, for example a further 2km.This would mean all off Sheffields areas (wards) were included in the survey as about 5 wards were missed out due to lack of time. I also think that the results may have been more accurate if all of the different environments were assessed by the same person, as different people may give areas more/ less generous scores than others as they may have a different opinion on how many points it is worth.

Free Essays on Human Factors In Heads Up Displays

HUMAN FACTORS IN HEADS UP DISPLAYS From the first Wright flight to today’s high performance aircraft there has been one common piece of hardware, the pilot and their unmatched human abilities. In today’s aircraft though, a huge influx of cockpit information coupled with the most crowded skies in aviation history it is not uncommon for aircraft to highlight the lapse of or lack of human ability. With this in mind aviation has begun an all out battle in combating the limiting human factors in aviation, while maximizing the beneficial human factors. The Heads Up Display or HUD is proving itself to be one of the prime time players. HUD’s have came along way from their maiden flights â€Å" in military applications back in WWII as illuminated gun and bomb sights†(Professional Pilot, Oct 1998, P. 82) to today’s sophisticated devices with holographic data displays. Heads Up Display’s are compromised of four major components. These components are a central computer, control unit, overhead projector and holographic combining lens, which together provide the pilot with an approximate 30-degree by 25-degree field of view. â€Å"HUD’s range from simple field of vision repeaters of flight instrument readouts† (Professional Pilot, Feb 1997, P. 60) to fully integrated full function HUD’s which display such information as TCAS and diversion path vectors. These user friendly pieces of equipment are all illuminated green to provide the maximum visual acuity at all levels of light all while allowing â€Å"unwanted symbols to be removed from view by an anti-clutter feature† (Interavia, Jan/Feb 1997,p.32). At the very least any type of modern day aircraft HUD can be used as a cross-reference for conventional heading devices and attitude indicators. 2. When visibility is poor, pilots are forced to rely on six different instruments that give data about speed, direction, how fast they’re ascending or descending and altitude. ... Free Essays on Human Factors In Heads Up Displays Free Essays on Human Factors In Heads Up Displays HUMAN FACTORS IN HEADS UP DISPLAYS From the first Wright flight to today’s high performance aircraft there has been one common piece of hardware, the pilot and their unmatched human abilities. In today’s aircraft though, a huge influx of cockpit information coupled with the most crowded skies in aviation history it is not uncommon for aircraft to highlight the lapse of or lack of human ability. With this in mind aviation has begun an all out battle in combating the limiting human factors in aviation, while maximizing the beneficial human factors. The Heads Up Display or HUD is proving itself to be one of the prime time players. HUD’s have came along way from their maiden flights â€Å" in military applications back in WWII as illuminated gun and bomb sights†(Professional Pilot, Oct 1998, P. 82) to today’s sophisticated devices with holographic data displays. Heads Up Display’s are compromised of four major components. These components are a central computer, control unit, overhead projector and holographic combining lens, which together provide the pilot with an approximate 30-degree by 25-degree field of view. â€Å"HUD’s range from simple field of vision repeaters of flight instrument readouts† (Professional Pilot, Feb 1997, P. 60) to fully integrated full function HUD’s which display such information as TCAS and diversion path vectors. These user friendly pieces of equipment are all illuminated green to provide the maximum visual acuity at all levels of light all while allowing â€Å"unwanted symbols to be removed from view by an anti-clutter feature† (Interavia, Jan/Feb 1997,p.32). At the very least any type of modern day aircraft HUD can be used as a cross-reference for conventional heading devices and attitude indicators. When visibility is poor, pilots are forced to rely on six different instruments that give data about speed, direction, how fast they’re ascending or descending and altitude. The a... Free Essays on Human Factors in Heads Up Displays HUMAN FACTORS IN HEADS UP DISPLAYS From the first Wright flight to today’s high performance aircraft there has been one common piece of hardware, the pilot and their unmatched human abilities. In today’s aircraft though, a huge influx of cockpit information coupled with the most crowded skies in aviation history it is not uncommon for aircraft to highlight the lapse of or lack of human ability. With this in mind aviation has begun an all out battle in combating the limiting human factors in aviation, while maximizing the beneficial human factors. The Heads Up Display or HUD is proving itself to be one of the prime time players. HUD’s have came along way from their maiden flights â€Å" in military applications back in WWII as illuminated gun and bomb sights†(Professional Pilot, Oct 1998, P. 82) to today’s sophisticated devices with holographic data displays. Heads Up Display’s are compromised of four major components. These components are a central computer, control unit, overhead projector and holographic combining lens, which together provide the pilot with an approximate 30-degree by 25-degree field of view. â€Å"HUD’s range from simple field of vision repeaters of flight instrument readouts† (Professional Pilot, Feb 1997, P. 60) to fully integrated full function HUD’s which display such information as TCAS and diversion path vectors. These user friendly pieces of equipment are all illuminated green to provide the maximum visual acuity at all levels of light all while allowing â€Å"unwanted symbols to be removed from view by an anti-clutter feature† (Interavia, Jan/Feb 1997,p.32). At the very least any type of modern day aircraft HUD can be used as a cross-reference for conventional heading devices and attitude indicators. 2. When visibility is poor, pilots are forced to rely on six different instruments that give data about speed, direction, how fast they’re ascending or descending and altitude. ...

Requisitos ciudadanía para hijos nacidos fuera EE.UU.

Requisitos ciudadanà ­a para hijos nacidos fuera EE.UU. Los hijos de ciudadanos que nacen fuera de los Estados Unidos podrà ­an adquirir la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense desde el momento de su nacimiento si se cumplen una serie de requisitos. En este artà ­culo se detalla en quà © casos y con quà © requisitos un ciudadano americano transmite la nacionalidad a sus hijos nacidos en el extranjero segà ºn la ley actual, que aplica a todos los nacidos a partir del dà ­a 14 de noviembre de 1986. Para los nacidos en fechas anteriores aplican otras leyes y debern consultar cules eran los requisitos que aplicaban en el momento en que nacieron. Cabe destacar que, en la actualidad, las reglas para obtener la nacionalidad de EE.UU. por padre o madre aplican a los descendientes de estadounidenses por nacimiento o por naturalizacià ³n. Puntos Clave: ciudadanà ­a estadounidense por derecho de sangre El padre o la madre estadounidense pueden transmitir la ciudadanà ­a de EE.UU. a sus hijos nacidos en otro paà ­s si se cumplen una serie de requisitos.Los requisitos son diferentes segà ºn el estado civil de los padres y nacionalidad de los padres:padre y madre estadounidense y casados entre sà ­padre o madre estadounidense casado con extranjeropadre estadounidense solteromadre estadounidense solteraEl progenitor estadounidense debe probar haber residido en EE.UU. antes del nacimiento del hijo.Es aconsejable solicitar el Certificado de Nacimiento en el Exterior y/o pasaporte estadounidense tan pronto como nazca el hijo. Ciudadanà ­a estadounidense para nacidos fuera de EE.UU. por aplicacià ³n del derecho de sangre Por el mero hecho de ser hijo de ciudadano estadounidense no est garantizada la ciudadanà ­a de EE.UU. Para obtenerla es necesario cumplir con una serie de requisitos, que varà ­an segà ºn el estado civil de los padres y si uno o ambos son estadounidenses Los dos padres son ciudadanos estadounidenses y son matrimonio Si tanto el padre y como la madre son ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos y estn casados entre sà ­, todos los hijos de ese matrimonio nacidos fuera de EE.UU. son ciudadanos estadounidenses desde el momento del nacimiento del hijo. El à ºnico requisito que se pide es que siempre al menos uno de los padres hubiera tenido residencia en Estados Unidos o cualquiera de sus territorios antes del nacimiento de los hijos. En este caso no se pide un mà ­nimo de tiempo de residencia. El padre o la madre es estadounidense y est casado/a con una persona extranjero/a El hijo de este matrimonio es estadounidense desde el momento de su nacimiento siempre y cuando: el progenitor estadounidense ha residido en EEE.UU. mà ­nimo cinco aà ±osal menos dos de esos aà ±os los haya vivido tras cumplir los 14 aà ±os de edad. El padre es estadounidense y no est casado con la madre, que es extranjera Segà ºn la nueva Seccià ³n 309(a) de la Ley de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (INA, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) y que se ha modificado recientemente, el hijo nacido fuera de EE.UU de padre estadounidense y madre extranjera cuando ambos progenitores no estn casados entre sà ­ es ciudadano estadounidense si se cumplen todas las exigencias siguientes: El padre ha residido en EE.UU. por al menos cinco aà ±os. Como mà ­nimo dos aà ±os de residencia tuvieron lugar despuà ©s de que el pap hubiera cumplido los 14 aà ±os de edad.Se debe probar de un modo convincente y que no deje lugar a dudas que el menor es hijo biolà ³gico de quien afirma ser su padre.El padre debe comprometerse por escrito a apoyar financieramente a su hijo mientras à ©ste es menor de 18 aà ±os de edad. Adems, el padre deber legitimar al hijo segà ºn una de las siguientes maneras: a) segà ºn las leyes del lugar de residencia; b) se puede presentar  documento donde una corte establezca que la relacià ³n filial entre el ciudadano americano y su hijo nacido en el extranjero o c) mediante una declaracià ³n jurada en la que se reconoce la filiacià ³n.   La legitimacià ³n debe haberse completado antes de que el menor cumpla los 18 aà ±os de edad. Cabe destacar que la ley cambià ³ recientemente para estos casos de transmisià ³n de ciudadanà ­a estadounidense. La vieja Seccià ³n 309 (a) exigà ­a ms tiempo de residencia en EE.UU. al padre pero permità ­a transmitir la ciudadanà ­a a un hijo hasta los 21 aà ±os de edad. Las personas nacidas fuera de EE.UU. hijas de padre estadounidense soltero que tenà ­an ms de 15 aà ±os pero menos de 18 a fecha del 14 de noviembre de 1986 pueden optar por pedir que se les aplique la seccià ³n vieja o la nueva, cualquiera que le sea ms conveniente. La madre es estadounidense y no est casada con el padre, que es extranjero Los nacidos el 11 junio de 2017 o antes adquieren la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense por su madre si à ©sta ha vivido en Estados Unidos o alguno de sus territorios de un modo corrido por al menos un aà ±o. Sin embargo, las reglas son distintas desde la sentencia de la Corte Suprema 137S. ct167 (2017) Sessions vs. Morales-Santana. Asà ­, en la actualidad, para que los nacidos fuera de EE.UU. con fecha posterior al 11 de junio de 2017 adquieran la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense, sus madres solteras deben cumplirse los mismos requisitos de tiempo residido en EE.UU. que aplican a los varones solteros. Es decir, deben haber residido al menos 5 aà ±os en los Estados Unidos de los cuales 2 tienen que ser despuà ©s de haber cumplido los 14 aà ±os. La madre es estadounidense y tiene un bebà © en el extranjero que genà ©ticamente no es suyo Los avances en la medicina permiten casos en los que una mujer puede recurrir a una donacià ³n de à ³vulos y asà ­ llevar adelante un embarazo y tener un hijo que no es suyo desde el punto de vista genà ©tico. Es lo que se conoce en inglà ©s con las iniciales ART. En estos casos, la madre podr transmitir la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense al nià ±o siempre y cuando las leyes que aplican en el lugar del nacimiento reconozcan a la mujer como la madre legal del infante. Si eso es asà ­, luego aplicarn las reglas generales explicadas anteriormente: si la madre est soltera o casada y, si à ©ste es el caso, si lo est con un ciudadano, un nacional o un extranjero. Cà ³mo probar la residencia en Estados Unidos por el tiempo requerido No hay excepcià ³n a esta regla, no se conceden waivers. Se cumple el requisito si se ha vivido en cualquiera de los 50 estados que conforman la Unià ³n Americana o en uno de sus territorios: Puerto Rico, Guam, Islas Và ­rgenes Americanas, Islas Marianas del Norte, Samoa Americana y otras islas y atolones no habitados de forma permanente. Tambià ©n se  computa como tiempo vivido en los Estados Unidos  o uno de sus territorios el tiempo transcurrido en el extranjero en las siguientes situaciones: sirviendo en el Ejà ©rcito en condicià ³n de honorabilidadtrabajando para el gobierno de los Estados Unidos o ciertas organizaciones que pueden calificarsiendo hijo dependiente de una persona en cualquiera de las dos situaciones que se acaban de seà ±alar La prueba de residencia se realiza  llenando el formulario DS-5507 y presentando pruebas. Una parte de este formulario aplica sà ³lo a los padres varones no casados para cumplir con la obligacià ³n de comprometerse a mantener a sus hijos hasta los 18 aà ±os. Entre los documentos que se pueden aportar par aprobar la residencia destacan: Diplomas de estudios de liceo (high school) e incluso el yearbookCalificaciones de estudios universitarios (transcripts)Informes de la Administracià ³n de la Seguridad SocialRecibos de haber recibido un salarioPago de impuestos (tax returns)W2Pasaportes actuales o expirados con sellos de entradas y salidasInformes militaresRà ©cords mà ©dicos o de vacunasFotos familiaresY cualquier documento que sirva para probar la presencia continuada de una persona en Estados Unidos por el tiempo exigido. En general los oficiales de las oficinas consulares son flexibles con el tipo de documentacià ³n presentada, siempre que sirva a su fin y sea autà ©ntica. Estn entrenados para detectar casos de fraude. Quà © hacer cuando un nià ±o estadounidense nace en el extranjero El padre o la madre estadounidense debe contactar lo ms pronto posible con la Embajada o Consulado que corresponda segà ºn el lugar de residencia y hacer una cita para solicitar solicitar un pasaporte estadounidense para el menor o un Reporte Consular de Nacimiento en el Exterior (Consular Report of Birth o CRBA, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). Tambià ©n se le conoce como FS-240. La forma a cumplimentar es la DS-2029. Tambià ©n es posible solicitar al mismo tiempo ambos documentos. Este Reporte Consular de Nacimiento en el Exterior se debe solicitar despuà ©s del nacimiento, tan pronto como sea posible. En todo caso, siempre antes de que el menor cumpla los 18 aà ±os de edad. No se emiten Consular Report of Birth a ninguna persona mayor de 18 aà ±os. Si no es posible hacer el trmite inmediatamente despuà ©s del nacimiento, deber realizarse, en todo caso, antes del primer viaje del nià ±o o nià ±a a Estados Unidos. Si un menor tiene derecho a la ciudadanà ­a americana por padre o por madre no puede ni entrar ni salir de Estados Unidos con un pasaporte extranjero con visa ni sin visado bajo el amparo del Programa de Exencià ³n de visas. Cabe destacar que con el Reporte Consultar de Nacimiento no puede viajar internacionalmente. Deber solicitarse para ese menor que es ciudadano su propio pasaporte. Para ello llenar la planilla DS-11, seguir las instrucciones y prepararse para presentarse con el infante en el consulado en la fecha y hora de la cita. Dà ³nde solicitar informacià ³n sobre ciudadanà ­a En caso de dudas, se puede contactar en inglà ©s con la Oficina de asuntos legales de Directorio de servicios para ciudadanos en el extranjero, del Departamento de Estado, escribiendo un correo electrà ³nico a ASKPRIstate.gov. Tambià ©n es posible contactar con el consulado u oficina consular que tiene competencia sobre el lugar en el que se reside habitualmente. Cambios relevantes en la leyes de Ciudadanà ­a El 31 de diciembre de 2010 el Departamento de Estado dejà ³ de emitir Certificados de Informe de Nacimiento (Certificate of Report of Birth, forma DS-1350). Ahora sà ³lo se emiten los Consular Report of Birth Abroad. Pero los Informes emitidos antes de esa fecha siguen siendo vlidos y una prueba de identidad. Con anterioridad a 1978 las personas estadounidenses nacidas en el extranjero porque adquirieron la ciudadanà ­a a travà ©s de uno de sus padres acababan perdià ©ndola si no residà ­an por un tiempo en los Estados Unidos. Muchas personas dejaron de ser estadounidenses por esa razà ³n. En la actualidad podrà ­an recuperar  la ciudadanà ­a  y en muchos de los casos el à ºnico requisito a cumplir serà ­a prestar el juramento de lealtad a los Estados Unidos. Los interesados pueden contactar con el Departamento de Estado o preguntar a la embajada o consulado ms cercano. Casos en los que la ciudadanà ­a no se trasmite automticamente En ocasiones la ciudadanà ­a se puede adquirir despuà ©s del nacimiento y antes de cumplir los 18 aà ±os por ser  hijo de estadounidense. Estos son los casos y los requisitos que se deben dar: Por adopcià ³nPor ser hijo de una persona que se convierte en ciudadana por naturalizacià ³n. Es lo que se conocà ­a como  ciudadanà ­a derivada.Por uno de los abuelos en el caso de ser hijo de estadounidense que no puede trasmitir la ciudadanà ­a por no cumplir con requisitos de residencia en Estados Unidos Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Masculinity and Fight Club Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Masculinity and Fight Club - Movie Review Example Masculinity allows Palahniuk to unveil problems and weaknesses of pop culture and place a modern man in this new society. The main character, an unnamed narrator, suffers from depression and anxiety caused by poor job conditions and low salary. It assumes that a line of demarcation can be clearly drawn between tyranny and liberation, between inside and outside, and works to reify these binary oppositions. To some extend, fatally mortgaged to bourgeois individualism, it insists (like so many twelve-step programs) that one can obtain a cure by an act of will (which looks to me far more like an act of repression). Thesis The theme of masculinity helps the author to depict the culture of violence, cruelty and oppression created by pop culture and its values. For as the narrative makes clear, the sexual identity is finally revealed to be fictive, which is to say, strictly relational and dependent upon the roles assigned the participants by a particular scenario. The narrator describes his state as: "This week the insomnia is back. Insomnia, and now the whole world figures to stop by and take a dump on my grave "(Palahniuk 1999, p. 88). In becoming a spectacle, "another man," the main character accedes to the new economy of desire that insists on the unique nature of identities. It also bears witness to the vexed relation between the political and the sexual in American culture and the fact that queer identities at once disrupt the binary opposition between the public and the private and reinforce the belief that the private is the central determining feature, not just of subjectivity, but of the social as well (Connell, 2005). The symbol of the fight club is the main image of masculinity which reflects a true nature of human relations and social values. The rules of the Fight Club are described as: "The first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club. The second rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club" (Palahniuk 1999, p. 87). According to the logic of identification, the male subject, as Palahniuk so clearly suggests, can be defined as identifies with and is possessed by '"an other". For as a subject, the narrator is always split into a masculine-and sadistic-half that delights in displaying his prowess and his marksmanship, and a feminine-and masochistic-half that delights in being used as a target. His project, as man and as writer, is to master the femininity that constantly gets in his way, the femininity at which he aims and does not aim, to write his way "out." Similar to the narrator, other characters are also involved in masculine culture and cannot avoid its impact and social significance. Tyler Durden and Robert "Bob" Paulson reflect masculinity and become a part of mass culture. For Tyler Durden, among all the ostensibly revolutionary projects, none is more important than their subversion of the differences between the public and the private spheres. The new settlement, especially under the terms of the domestic revival, works to

Canadas Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Canadas Economy - Essay Example In specific, Canada has also been one of the sufferers of economic recession and experts have specified that although there have been adverse effects of economic recession, however, Canadian authorities were very effective in overcoming issues and challenges, and thus, were and still are successful in running the Canadian economy in an efficient manner, especially since the past 2-3 years. While the Canadian government received applause from the economic analysts, they had to confront criticism from some experts as well, as they criticized that while running the economic matters of the country, authorities and especially the Bank of Canada have shown ineffectiveness and uselessness. While comparing performance of the Canadian government with G7 states, its graph is going down, and it is imperative that the government with collaboration of the Bank of Canada should take crucial steps to avoid the downfall that will result in adverse impact on different sectors of the country. For this purpose, the paper will try to identify and evaluate the role of the Bank of Canada and the government of Canada in running the economy. In addition, the paper will strive to converse about different economic changes brought in by these two contributors and runners of the Canadian economy. More specifically, economic policies and strategies of the Canadian government for the last two year s will be in scrutiny. Due to the wave of globalization, and most importantly, economic recession, economists are suggesting governments and banking sector to introduce policies that may complement global scenario of economic development rather than limiting to only regional economic development of the country. Studies related to the role of Canadian government have indicated that since the past 2-3 years, the government along with collaboration of the Bank of Canada has created their macro-economic policies on the same track, and the Canadian government is still

Supply and Demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Supply and Demand - Essay Example Furthermore, the relationship between supply and demand among consumers and suppliers establishes through pricing. It is noteworthy to recognize that, in microeconomics, it is possible to neglect the effects of supply on the demand. However, within macroeconomics, it is not possible as within this field the changes in both supply and demand are immensely vital. Ultimately, this is so because the suppliers are able to act as consumers at the same time. In relation to the topic, the following paper includes an elaborate analysis and summary of supply and demand in various companies and the way they affect people. In an article from Forbes, Brad Thomas presents an interview of a legendary investor talking about the commercial real estate business. As the legendary investor, Sam Zell spoke he was keen to provide vital opinions of what the future holds as far as commercial real estate is of concern. Sam Zell meticulously gave a clear analysis of how demand and supply affected the business . The article clearly deduces that in the real estate, since the year 2007 has had drastic changes, which have had detrimental effects. The supply field involves bringing up more buildings for consumers to take up, but since 2007, this has not been happening. The demand is soon outweighing the supply as the population is also on an increase (Thomas, web). Within the same article, we learn that the supply is not affected by demand only. Other factors play a significant role, for example, in the commercial real estate, supply and demand are highly affected by things such as technology and unemployment among the citizens seeking affordable places of residence. In addition, the article speaks of factors fuelling an increase in demand, which in this case is the need for housing. On the other hand, various factors, such as economy, play a leading role in discouraging supply. The article also clarifies that, in the commercial real estate, office space demand is on a decline. This is a fact propelled by the decline in supply. Hence, the relation between supply and demand is on a common platform where each factor has an essential effect on the other. The article indicates that it was in the year 2009 when people within the commercial real estate were most distressed in the industry. However, since then the distress is on a regular decline and by now, it is at its minimal. Concurrently, as the distress is on a reduction, various factors still fortify it, such as expiring loan maturities and distressed assets. Ultimately, research from the same article indicates that, over the next few years, people within the construction and development industry will be quite inactive. This is a fact attributed to the equilibrium of demand and supply factors. Within yet another article from The Economist, titled â€Å"Risk permanent damage,† we witness of how the inability to determine the supply factor led to inflation and depression of the economy in America. The article gives clear evidence of over investments back in the 1930s, which led to economic depression. This is a true reflection of the aftermath of a change in the equilibrium of supply and demand (The Economist, web). In addition, making false estimates on supply may also lead to detrimental effects on the economy. Evidence proves that overestimation of supply policies resulted to extensive inflation in the America. In the article, a well elaborate example is when in the 1970s and 1960s,

Journal 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 10 - Essay Example However, Berniece had her reasons for opposing this sale, as the piano is the only piece of heirloom, which they both inherited. Piano was close to her heart because her great grandparents engraved their history on it, they were traded for it and also their father died over it (74-75, Bogumil). She declines Willie’s idea to sell it because piano was a reminder of their ancestors and especially of their father. And selling it would mean they would be selling their identity and heritage; this time by them self. Wilson weaved death and suffering with the piano and the siblings inherited both. Piano reminded them of their loss and deficient identity, but also was the only heirloom (though painful) left of the family. Boy Willie and Berniece’s great grandparents (slaves) engraved their history on it, but since it was not their property (Sutter’s) they were traded over it. Their father died after taking it from Sutter’s residence and piano was the last thing Berniece could relate to. However, she never played on it since it used to make her sad and Willie wanted to sell this heritage because it existed on the life (sacrifice) of his family and has been a reminder of slavery. Wilson has depicted music worth dying for and this is evident in the play. I would like to hire Will Smith as Boy Willie and Halle Berry as Berniece because both actors can convincingly transform them self into the assigned characters and can do justice with their characters. If it’s a theatrical play I would like to transform the stage into 1930 era, when the transition (from slavery to a free nation) was taking place for African Americans. My characters will dress up according to the 1930’s dressing criteria and the Piano will be staged in the front corner so its existence can be noticed. From time to time, I would like the piano to be played by the good

Balanced Score Card Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Balanced Score Card - Essay Example "The aspects that the scorecard contains should be quantifiable or measurable. This is because it would be difficult to interpret something that cannot be measured in the first place." (Metrics, Scorecard, KPI's Measure Tools 2008). It could be seen that although financial parameters are seen as measuring tool of performance, there are now other aspects also which are equally critical in terms of customers, employee satisfactions, innovative methods, quality, quantum of sales, etc. The fundamental truth behind the Balance Score Card is to ensure that " that no single measure can provide a clear performance target or focus attention on all the critical areas of business, they proposed the concept of a Balanced Scorecard as a more sophisticated approach for meeting these shortcomings." (Pienaar & Penzhorn, 2000, pp.202-209). Just as financial ineptitudes could bring down a company, in the present context it is seen that even fall in sales, loss of goodwill, quality issues, etc could spell disaster for the company. at cannot be measured in the first place.

Journal 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 10 - Essay Example However, Berniece had her reasons for opposing this sale, as the piano is the only piece of heirloom, which they both inherited. Piano was close to her heart because her great grandparents engraved their history on it, they were traded for it and also their father died over it (74-75, Bogumil). She declines Willie’s idea to sell it because piano was a reminder of their ancestors and especially of their father. And selling it would mean they would be selling their identity and heritage; this time by them self. Wilson weaved death and suffering with the piano and the siblings inherited both. Piano reminded them of their loss and deficient identity, but also was the only heirloom (though painful) left of the family. Boy Willie and Berniece’s great grandparents (slaves) engraved their history on it, but since it was not their property (Sutter’s) they were traded over it. Their father died after taking it from Sutter’s residence and piano was the last thing Berniece could relate to. However, she never played on it since it used to make her sad and Willie wanted to sell this heritage because it existed on the life (sacrifice) of his family and has been a reminder of slavery. Wilson has depicted music worth dying for and this is evident in the play. I would like to hire Will Smith as Boy Willie and Halle Berry as Berniece because both actors can convincingly transform them self into the assigned characters and can do justice with their characters. If it’s a theatrical play I would like to transform the stage into 1930 era, when the transition (from slavery to a free nation) was taking place for African Americans. My characters will dress up according to the 1930’s dressing criteria and the Piano will be staged in the front corner so its existence can be noticed. From time to time, I would like the piano to be played by the good

Employment Resourcing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Employment Resourcing - Coursework Example It is one of the most prestigious awards in the hospitality industry and was awarded to the Taj Group in 2002 for the best practices in employment resourcing found in the hospitality industry. The management formulated the Taj People Philosophy (TPP) which incorporated the strategies implemented in employment resourcing. The key components of employment resourcing The management at the Taj Group recognized that employees were the company’s most important assets. In alignment with this prioritizing, the management formulated the TPP. This philosophy provides a framework in which the strategies in employment resourcing can be aligned to the strategies focus of the company, which is to provide the best customer service in the industry. Unless the employees are motivated to work for the company, they will not be willing to put their best efforts forward in providing the best possible customer service in the industry. Therefore the management has to pay attention to the fact that t he organizational objectives related to customer service are aligned to the employment objectives of providing the best workplace for the employees to work in. ... For example, the employees accumulated points for their acts of kindness and hospitality. Employees who gained the highest points reached the highest level. The STARS program motivated the employees to perform to the highest level possible so that they could gain the points to reach the higher levels of recognition. This program acted as a motivational tool for the employees to go beyond their usual duties and responsibilities and provide extra care in customer service. As a result the company attained enhanced service standards which enabled the company to generate repeat customers. The STARS program serves to illustrate that strategies in employment resourcing can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage from building a loyal customer base. The strategies of employment resourcing motivate the employees to perform to a higher level, thus enhancing the reputation of the company. The Taj Group also implemented the Balanced Scorecard System. This was a performance management system which was implemented even at the lowest levels of the organizational hierarchy. This performance management system enabled the employees to perceive how their work was linked to the strategic focus of the company. As a result the employees were able to take their own initiatives in enhancing the service standards. Because the employees were motivated to improve their own performance, the management could lower spending in formulating training and development programs. This was a positive outcome from employment resourcing because it is difficult to estimate the return on investment in training and development programs. Therefore the management’s objective is to minimize spending in training and development since the return from this spending is difficult to quantify. The

Americans and Cinema Essay Example for Free

Americans and Cinema Essay Despite America as a country encompassing by different cultures and ethnic background, the historical significance of the American Indians are still unfelt and given recognition in the modern times. (Martin) In the United States and in Canada, the term Indians has established a connotation of some hegemonic designation which implies a culture that is very different from the perspective of the American Indians. In modern times, Native Americans are depicted as a culture with savage and barbaric background, implying an image of the Native Americans as dangerous and unacceptable to behavior of European decent. (Drinnon) American Indians today are struggling to correct the misconception about their culture, they seek to achieve a balanced and truthful portrayal of the people who were first to call America as their home. In the media, the Indians were portrayed as mostly villains with unacceptable behavior. The availability of the casting roles for Native Americans has been prioritized for the Westerns and has this stereotyped image that is always shown in films and movies. In the movies, there are four distinct tribes of native Americans used to be portrayed, the Apache, Cheyenne, Comanche and Sioux. During the 1950’s and through the 1960’s however, there were more sympathetic native characters that even American Indians get to act by themselves. Jeff Chandler is one who won the Academy Award for his portrayal of an Apache leader in the movie Broken Arrow. (Singer) During the 1970’s when the Vietnam War erupted, the country was greatly divided by social opinions by the war and this has seen the opportunity for the movie industry to highlight a more culturally inclined film. Little Big Man produced in 1970 featured Dan George as a Native American chief as a main character. (Singer) However, it was Dustin Hoffman who received the most attention for his role as the lead protagonist. The movie became a breakthrough film as it features a Native American as a lead character. During the 1960’s on the other hand, when the U. S has many upheavals form antiwar protests and civil rights issues, the Native Americans saw this as an opportunity to raise awareness of the people regarding destructive colonial policies that in their own culture brought harm. A group called the American Indian Movement (AIM) led the protests in front of theaters which depicted the Native Americans wrongly. Commercialized films mentioned are A Man Called Horse and Soldier Blue (both in1970) and Billy Jack in 1971. (Bataille) Another breakthrough portrayal of Native Americans came forth in the release of Dances with Wolves in 1990. (Singer) The movie starred Kevin Costner and included many actors and props to make the setting early western looking. There include buffalos, Indians and horses in the plains of South Dakota, the homeland of the Sioux. The film upheld original Native American tradition, from the language, features of the actors, behavior and others. Dances with Wolves has repeated the painful endurance of the Native Americans, as once again, the culture and tradition of the native settlers were resigned in defeat from the colonial powers. (Singer) Modern society today are confined with knowing what almost everybody knows about the Native Indians; barbaric and unusual. There are many accounts of growing children that has suffered the misconception of cowboys chasing the Indians. (Freeman) There are many stereotypes for the American Indians; from costumes, head dress, dances and chants. However, there lies the failure to realize that the message to children who has this misconception is an implicit disagreement to the real culture and background of the Native Americans. Most of what children today know about the American Indians is brought about by history books and other things they learn about in history that is why there are many stereotypes attached to the culture. Two predominant stereotypes of Native Americans is their physical appearance; moccasin-wearing people with feathers on their head, and second; powerless cultures defeated by the white man’s weapon. (Freeman) With regards to personal traits, Native Americans are viewed by non-natives as savage or wild, lazy, gets drunk quickly or drinks a lot, very soft spoken or quiet, and has no sense of humor. Other misconceptions also entails Native Americans having no money sense, makes little effort to get education, close to nature, adheres strictly to Indian time, and do handcrafts all the time. More over, in terms of how they view society, Native Americans are often misunderstood as a culture who wants their land back badly, always asks for handouts, ostracize themselves by avoiding the society, lack of unity and tribal factionalism and worship pagans as a consequence to being very close to nature. (nativeamericans) The Native Americans has endured a lot during the past years. As they continue to struggles against discrimination and the stereotypes attached to their name, it is very important for the modern society to also do the needed research and understanding of the real Native Americans. It is not enough that we rely on the portrayal of the Native Americans in movies or history books; we must get to know them as a culture, as a community who has always struggled to maintain and uphold their own identity in a nation that has truly forgotten their significance. Works Cited: Bataille, Gretchen M. and Charles Silet. The Pretend Indians: Images of Native Americans in the Movies. Ames: Iowa State UP 1980. Berkhofers, Robert. The White Mans Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present New York: Vintage, 1979.Drinnon, Richard. Facing West: The Metaphysics of Indian-Hating and Empire Building. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1980. Freeman, Andrea. Representing Native Cultures: Stereotypes and Inaccuracies in First Nations and American Indian Children’s Literature. Term Paper. Vancouver, BC Canada. Martin, Calvin, ed. The American Indian and the Problem of History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. Native America: Portrait of the People. (1994). nativeamericans. American Indians. (2007). January 25 http://www. nativeamericans. com/index. htm. Singer, Beverly R. Native Americans and Cinema: Native Americans in Movies. (2007). January 24 http://www. filmreference. com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Native-Americans-and-Cinema-NATIVE-AMERICANS-IN-MOVIES. html. Thomas, Jeffrey. American Indians Seek Greater Understanding, Recognition. USINFO. 18 October ed: U. S Department of States Bureau of International Informational Programs, 2007.

Procurement of Subcontract Packages

Procurement of Subcontract Packages Purpose The aim of this paper is to investigate how Main Contractor procurement procedures influence value on a project through competitively tendering Sub Contract packages; whereby cost is driven down by competition or single sourcing Sub Contract packages creating value through negotiation and innovation. Design/Methodology/Approach Empirical data was collected through structured questionnaires issued to Sub Contract companies and Main Contractor firms. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background What the Study is about When considering the procurement of a Sub-Contract package, the procurer is faced with numerous challenges. First he/she needs to gather all information required to decipher what needs to be procured and how the information can be transposed to potential Sub-Contractors. Secondly a contractual agreement is created including obligations and methods of compensation. Thirdly, the procurer needs to decide how to award the procurement contract between the Sub-Contractors, either through competitive tendering or single source negotiation. Ultimately the award method should result in the selection of a highly competent and desirable Sub-Contractor resulting in a cost effective product. The award method may be appointed to Sub-Contractors in two ways. Either a single Sub-Contractor can be approached to discuss and agree the works (single source tendering), or a number of Sub-Contractors can be invited to compete for it (competitive tendering). With regards to competitive tendering it is important to distinguish the method or form of competition from the criteria used for the selection of Sub-Contractors. Ciria (1994, p15) states that competition may be either: Open, where there is no limit on the number of Sub-Contractors invited to compete for work. Or Selective or restricted, where the number of Sub-Contractors invited to compete is limited. For the purpose of this study open competitive tendering will not be taken into consideration to keep the number of variables to a constant. Where competition is referenced throughout the paper we are to assume selective or restricted competition. 1.2 Research Focus This paper addresss the potential increase of project value generated by detailing a partnering approach based on Sub-Contractor and Main Contractor relationships; compared to that of traditional competitive tendering. Competitive tendering can be described as determining the value of the subcontract; whereas in contrast, negotiation is designed to create the value of the subcontract. Since the Latham Report (1994) and Egan (1998) was published there has been a greater awareness regarding the possible benefits to single source a product or service. In theory if contractors and subcontractors engage and work together would it provide best value? Alternatively would value be added by competition? Competitive tendering is still widely recognised as an attractive procurement mechanism and is strongly advocated as it helps to stimulate and promote competition encouraging many potential suppliers. This subject area has been addressed due to its close relationship with the Quantity Surveying profession. Accurate procuring of goods and services is essential to a projects success, having a direct impact on profit margins. This study is relevant to everyday work for a site based Quantity Surveyor dealing with nominated Sub-Contractors on a daily basis while working closely with the procurement team to procure future packages. Interest has motivated the investigation and address of the thesis question; Single source or competitive tendering; which procurement route gives best value? 1.3 Overall Research Aim and Individual Research Objectives The overall aim of this research is to advance an understanding of the impacts that tendering Sub-Contract packages through negotiation or competition have on a projects value. However, in order to understand tendering methods and its effects on value it is felt necessary to gain an insight into the forces driving Sub-Contractor and Main Contractor relationships and explore the barriers to implementation of both parties achieving maximum value. Further, this research will assess existing practices, exploring the experiences and views of professionals involved with Sub-Contract procurement. In turn two main research vehicles will be exploited to facilitate this study: an in depth review of relevant literature and the collection of and analysis of empirical data. The chapter entitled Methodology contains the details of both research strategy and data collection techniques to be used to obtain empirical data. Specifically, a range of objectives have been developed and unpacked from the central question, the objectives of this research are to: Identify and investigate the forces driving single source and competitive tendering procurement routes. Evaluate critically the construction industries current views and opinions, compiling the attitudes of the experts. Explore and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for each method of procurement. Formulate and propose recommendations on the procurement route that provides more value to a construction project. 1.4 Value of this research At the risk of oversimplification of the purpose and value of each of the above objectives, objective 1 focuses on methods, reasons and emerging issues. Whereas it is in objectives 2, 3 and 4 is where this research will make key contributions to the field of Sub-Contract package procurement through single sourcing or competitive tendering. Each of the objectives must not be viewed as separate, unrelated issues. The listed objectives are necessarily interlinked. The first objective on investigating procurement routes will cover the strategic drivers and methods associated with the procurement of Sub-Contract packages. For example, it will, in effect, attempt to answer the question are there forces driving companies to procure Sub-Contract packages in certain ways and, if so, what are they and what do they involve? An example of such driver could be perceived as communication, which if the case, may act as a driver to encourage negotiation through single sourcing Sub-Contractors. Obj ective 2 on critically analysing the construction industries views provides an opportunity to gain meaningful insight into the views of professional staff, and management form Sub-Contractor and Main Contractor backgrounds, on what would encourage them to procure Subcontract packages through either negotiation or competition, what would discourage them and how these link to value creation as well as their views on the industries past and current approaches. Objective 3 on the advantages and disadvantages is of obvious relevance to assist in the analysis of each procurement route and links in with objective 4. Finally objective 4 formulating recommendations will, as a result of both a review of literature and the collection and discussion of empirical data, make recommendations. The objectives are not to be seen as independent of each other, but rather as all linked to issues surrounding procurement routes and how they can add value in the construction industry. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction This literature review will examine the main issues surrounding the drive for single sourcing and competitive tendering associated with Sub-Contractor selection. Emphasizing current obstacles and potential benefits for each procurement routes from both parties. The study within this review of literature focuses on objectives 1 and 2 as set out in sub-section 1.3 of the Introductory chapter (the third objective will be completed through the vehicle of empirical data collection and analysis, while the final objective objective 4 is derived as a result of findings from objectives 1, 2 and 3): Identify and investigate the forces driving single source and competitive tendering procurement routes. Evaluate critically the construction industries current views and opinions, compiling the attitudes of the experts. Explore and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for each method of procurement. Formulate and propose recommendations on the procurement route that provides more value to a construction project. By exploring the above areas of literature, a significant contribution will be made to this research. At the end of this chapter it is hoped that a critical understanding of key issues is exhibited, that the reader will be better informed in these areas and that there will emerge a clear focus, and justification, for empirical research in the field of Sub-Contractor procurement methods and their effect on value during a construction project. 2.2 Forces driving single source and competitive tendering procurement routes. 2.2.1 Historical Events Government Legislation Subcontracting became a popular practice in the 1960s and over the years established itself as an integral part of the industries production process. Projects were procured using traditional methods of delivery with main contracts being awarded through competitive tendering (Uher, 2009; Davenport, 2009, p.200). During these years the economy was stable with little inflation and low interest rates, the contractor was seen as the Master Builder due to employing most of its own direct labour and only specialised areas of work such as mechanical and electrical were subcontracted. Since the late 1960s the worlds economies experienced periodic economic downturns, increased inflation and higher interest charges. With the Construction Industry being highly susceptible to economic fluctuations, the adverse economic actions changed the traditional practices of the construction industry; one of the foremost changes being the shift towards subcontracting. Since the early 1990s the Construction Industry has continued its conflict-ridden competitive tendering culture, together with adversarial working relationships throughout its supply chain, (Brindley, 2004). The Construction Industry continued to pressure its suppliers to lower prices, along with delaying payments to them so that it could profit from a level of interest. This tradition placed risk on smaller businesses causing them to cease to exist or execute projects at inferior quality. Authors in the early 1990s were somewhat certain about their view between main contractor and subcontractor relationships; with main contractors driving prices down even if detrimental to quality, not paying subcontractors on time and in some cases forcing smaller companies to cease trading. The UK government, concerned by these facts employed Sir Michael Latham in 1994 and Egan in 1998 to produce two reports. Latham advocated the need for a Code of Practice for subcontractor procurement and for st atutory backing to fair payment terms (Latham, 1994). Consequently in 1996 the Construction Industry Board published and implemented a Code of Practice for the Selection of Subcontractors and the Housing Grants and Regeneration Act. In addition, Egan (1998) pointed out that partnering through the supply chain is a critical approach with which the UK construction industry can drive innovation and sustain incremental improvement in performance. In recent years main contractor supply chain relationships have changed from the traditional adversarial to the joint venture, with tendering experiencing a retreat from traditional methods of procurement towards single source processes. According to Davenport (2009) the contribution of subcontractors to the total construction process can account for as much as 90 per cent of the total value of a construction project. One of the results of this is that main contractors are concentrating their efforts on managing site processs rather than employing direct labour to undertake construction work. Main contractors have recognised the positive impacts that closer working relationships with subcontractors can have on package value and quality. Most work undertaken on construction partnering has been between client and main contractor relationships with little mention of adopting partnering with subcontractors. 2.2.2 The Contracting Framework A central problem in procurement is that both Sub-Contractors and Main Contractors share uncertainty about many important design changes that occur after the contract has been awarded. These changes are usually a consequence of design failures, unexpected conditions and changes in regulations, which have an effect on project costs. This observation suggests that relationships between both parties can become adversarial hindering supply chain relationships. Therefore project design completeness will have an impact on the procurement award method selected. (Tadelis, 2006; Bajari, 2006) argue that simple projects, requiring an uncomplicated design ought to be procured using fixed-price contracts as they have high design completeness. Therefore preventing the need for contract variations, and are best awarded through competitive tendering. In contrast (Tadelis, 2006; Bajari, 2006) state that complex projects demanding large design give rise to surprises throughout the projects due to low levels of design completeness. Implying that there will be a high chance for variations therefore it should be awarded through negotiation. The insight for these thoughts is through incentives to reduce costs that follow on site variations consequently having an effect on a projects overall value. In fixed price contracts, the Sub-Contractor offers the procurer a lump sum price to carry out the works as specified, with any changes being negotiated throughout the contract. The incentives for a Sub-Contractor to reduce tender costs offered by fixed price lump sum tendered contracts will lead to increased costs for the Main Contractor through variations when changes need to be negotiated. This valuable surplus to the Sub-Contractor leads to efficiency loss through the Sub-Contractor wishing to use these changes to his advantage. On the topic of competitive tendering Tadelis (2006, p.4) states: While competitive bidding does have the advantage of unbiased awarding of projects, it fails to respond optimally to ex post adaption. Therefore it appears that competitive tendering stifles coordination between Sub-Contractors and Main Contractors before specifications and drawings have been finalised. After all a Sub-Contractor has no incentive to offer the procurer advice on value engineering or innovative ideas, if anything the Sub-Contractor would benefit from holding any information from the Main Contractor as they would offer a competitive advantage over the rival competitors. Once awarded the contract the anticipated design errors will be discovered and the Sub-Contractor will be in a position to claim excessive variation costs. However In negotiated single source tendering both the Main Contractor and Subcontractor typically spend time discussing the project before construction begins. During these discussions the Sub-Contractor will have better incentives to suggest potential cost saving techniques through design and specification changes. Accompanying this more design pitfalls will be picked up before a p roject begins, potentially adding value. The competitive pressure through negotiating contracts with a single Sub-Contractor is weak with the procurer not achieving all the potential cost savings. 2.3 The construction industries current views and opinions Competitive tendering is widely recognised as an attractive procurement method and is commonly supported for numerous reasons. Largely it is viewed as a means of promoting and stimulating competition amongst Sub Contractors. By its nature open competitive tendering invites potential Sub Contractors from many venues reducing the likelihood for price inflation (Tadelis, 2006; Bajari, 2006). Fair market price discovery is beneficial to this type of tendering with open competitive mechanisms being transparent, making it easier to prevent corruption. (Cira,1994) suggests that competitive tendering has three significant advantages over negotiation which as as follows: Competition encourages a systematic approach which is more likely to yield the right Sub-Contractors than negotiation with a single Sub-Contractor Competition is a transparent process and so helps satisfy the increasing demand for accountability in both public and private sectors. Competition can give clients better value for money, particularly when compared on the basis of both their ability and fees. An interesting point made by CIRA, 1994 pg 14 arguing against competition was that Sub-Contractor input at an early stage cannot be described well enough to allow fair competition. This is because the Sub-Contractor helps define the works needed and bids consist of an element of judgement due to incomplete design. CIRA also mentioned that initially competition is a time consuming and expensive process and costs may outweigh any value saved. However the benefits of selecting the most suitable Sub-Contractor for the job could outweigh this initial investment. Competition can have practical exceptions to its use through complicated packages where only one Sub-Contractor has the specialist expertise needed. Or is services are needed urgently and there is not enough time to undertake the competitive process properly. Competitive tendering, where the lowest bidder gets awarded the contract, is deeply embedded in the construction industry and can be destructive in the long term as the need to minimise transactional costs tends to reduce quality and client satisfaction. The emphasis on cost competition, and the traditional adversarial Main Contractor Sub-Contractor relationships, results in frequent changes in participating firms from one construction project to another. This makes collaboration between them difficult. Partnering leading to single sourcing between Sub-Contractors and Main Contractors has been cited as effective approaches to overcome these difficulties and add value to a project. (Dainty, 2001) identified the following barriers to integration from the subcontractor point of view: Financial/cost-related issues related to competitive tendering based on price, which has developed adversarial relationships that result in serious problems with regard to payments; Planning/time-related issues, such as false expectations on part of the main contractor and unrealistic schedules; and Attitude-related issues, such as arrogant conducts, exclusion of the subcontractor from the early phases, lack of praise for good performance, poor site management practices, and lack of understanding of subcontractors problems. Latham (1994) defines partnering as a contractual arrangement between two parties for either a specific length of time or for an indefinite time period. The parties agree to work together, in a relationship of trust, to achieve specific primary objectives by maximizing the effectiveness of each participants resources and expertise. It is for this reason, that principal contractors are oblivious of the fact that sub contractors can bring added value to the construction project (Dainty et al., 2001). Conversely authors such as (Dimitri, 2006) recognise competitive tendering as an attractive procurement mechanism, stimulating and promoting competition, hampering corruption and inviting more potential subcontractors to price work. Although the single sourcing approach has shown promising results, there are some cases in which subcontractors have considered that it did not add any value, while some main contractors have seen little benefit in forming alliances with firms that they do not regularly work with (Dainty et al. 2001). Egan (1998) feels that sub contractors should be involved in the design team as early as possible. An argument which is echoed by Briscoe et al. (2004), who believes that sub contractors should be procured early, therefore need knowledge and ability to exercise value engineering and other innovation exercises. The primary reason for selecting sub contractors is their innovation and knowledge, not necessarily for the lowest price. However, high performing sub contractors use their innovation and knowledge, and can often deliver a better service at a lesser price. Low performing sub contractors offer only on low price, while high performing contractors offer value (Garrison, T. 2006). The next stage of this research will detail the Research Methods to be used to capture the empirical data, including details on the research strategy to be adopted, data collection techniques, sample selection and management of the researchers role. Ethics Statement When undertaking a research project careful consideration must be taken to ensure that any material contained within the project causes no harm or potential harm to anyone, or organisation. Ethics is the science that deals with conduct, in so far as this is considered as right or wrong, good or bad. (Dewey, 2008) An Ethics Review Checklist has been completed (Appendix A) which has highlighted a potential area for approval. This is due to the methods of research being undertaken which involve human participation. These activities specifically include questionnaires; to ensure they are executed in a morally correct and ethical manner the following steps will be taken. Ensuring that the subjects have the option to grant voluntary consent the questionnaire will be structured in a way that participants can opt out of answering either individual questions or not participate at all. This is honoured by all questionnaires being issued to the subjects via e-mail, permitting candidates to return the document in their own time and at their own will with no pressure to respond, therefore there will be no reason for any of the participants to feel uncomfortable. All questionnaires issued will be sent with a participation consent form and information sheet. The questionnaire refers to this documentation via a disclaimer that by returning the survey the subject agrees to the terms and conditions and privacy statement as disclosed in the consent form. This disclaimer ensures the subject that careful consideration is being taken to ensure that all participants and respective companies remain anonymous, to prevent any possible harm. Subjects will be referred to by job role only with no mention of name or company to eliminate any matters of commercial risk or damage to reputations. Feedback will be issued to subjects that assisted in the research thanking each subject for his/her time and input; including a summary of the findings once all research has been populated. In line with the Data Protection Act 1998 upon completion of the research all completed questionnaires and sensitive data will be destroyed, including any stored on hard disk and in the recycle bin. Two hard copy publications of the finished article will be produced for the university, in addition with one electronic; these publications may be available for public viewing in the university library which is disclosed in the participation information sheet. I intend to conduct a number of case studies for research; therefore it is incredibly important that each case study will be alphabetically referenced, with no mention of any information that could identify the individual, project, location, contractor, client or consultants. All material will remain unidentifiable including any diagrams, illustrations or drawings used. This ensures that all parties involved can be assured that there will be no information detailed in the document which could potentially cause harm. All sensitive material collated will be dealt with due care, and destroyed in the correct manner either by shredding hard copies or deleting the information from hard disk. Any secondary research undertaken will be wholly and correctly recognized to the author and source throughout the dissertation by means of Harvard referencing. Methodology Introduction A valuable aspect to this research relates to Objective 2: the opportunity to study the construction industries current views and implementation in practice in a subject that, although generating much discussion, is in terms of research in its embryonic stages. Research Strategy One research method that will be adopted, related to research strategy, is a questionnaire. What is a questionnaire approach and why is it suitable for this research? Cohen and Manion (2007: 317) describe a questionnaire accordingly: The questionnaire is a widely used and useful instrument for collecting survey information, providing structured , often numerical data, being able to be administered without the presence of the researcher, and often being comparatively straight forward to analyse. According to this definition, a questionnaire is therefore concerned with seeking individuals views, facilitating this researchers drive to probe deeply into answering the thesis question as to which procurement route provides more value by seeking representatives opinions. Cohen and Manions definition also gives merit to a questionnaires practical consideration, aiding the justification for using this researchers chosen research strategy and data collection technique. Data Collection The questionnaire has been structured using primarily qualitative research as it is linked to in-depth exploratory study. Enabling the opportunity for quality responses exist through open ended questions, probing participants thoughts and views. Denzin and Lincoln (2003) hold that qualitative research involves studying things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. The subjects have been selected through convenience sampling, a non-probability approach to sampling as they have been exclusively targeted. Convenience sampling was used because of its expediency through issuing questionnaires to staff in the organisation for which this researcher works, and to subcontractors whom this researcher has dealt with. Through having a prior association with the subjects a better rate of return has been achieved, with subjects wanting to engage more in the research. In addition to this further time will be spent by each individual on providing more detailed responses further enhancing the thoroughness of this paper. Respondents are construction professionals and range from job roles such as estimators to surveyors and project managers to directors. The wide variety of job roles will give me the levels of unbiased data required to reach a conclusion. This method of research has been selected with the aim that subjects ideas and insights may lead to other, m ore detailed and representative research. Two different questionnaires were issued via electronic mail to a pre populated list of employees with one questionnaire issued to subcontractors and the other to main contractors. The purpose of this was so that the questions could be tailored to suit either the contractor or subcontractor, it was important to collate both views to reach an accurate conclusion. The theory behind using E-mail to distribute and collate the questionnaires was that it is much more reliable than circulation by post, easier to manage and track, whilst being convenient to people encouraging a larger participation as well as being more environmentally friendly and cost effective. Limited background data was requested such as position in company and level of industry experience as I felt other information would be irrelevant and not unpack the central question. There are no more than ten questions asked per questionnaire, it was felt that no further questions were required as a conclusion can be drawn from t he results and that by using fewer questions the participant is more likely to contribute as it will not encroach on their working day. The questions have been structured in a standardised manner so that they can be interpreted and analysed efficiently, there is a balance between open and closed questioning. Framework for Data Analysis Limitations and Potential Problems Convenience sampling suits this area of study because it is industry specific, by targeting known subjects this reduces the limitations of the research as there is only one researcher so manually sourcing or random sampling would be very time consuming with no guarantee of the quality of results. A perceived limitation with using questionnaires for research is that they are limited in number. This is predominantly justified due to the lack of time available as a student. To negate this risk the subjects were carefully selected to ensure a high rate of questionnaire return and an increased level of detailed answers. Methodology Rational Behind the Questions Questions issued to Sub-Contractors Interviews were dismissed as a potential research strategy; the rationale behind this is for the reason that unlike questionnaires they are not anonymous. Therefore interviewees may hold back from their true feelings or not give as much detail in their answers. This researcher has counteracted this by using open ended questions in the questionnaire permitting the subject the opportunity to express concerns and genuine views with the knowledge of total incognito; further substantiating that by using a questionnaire counts as valid empirical research due to its is suitability and relevance to this research paper. This researchers own primary data has been collected due to the lack of previous literature available on this subject; the majority of accessible information is concerned with client and contractor relationships and not contractor/subcontractor relations. Findings Introduction This chapter reveals the results of the survey described in Chapter 3 Methodology. This research concentrates on obtaining the views of Sub-Contractors and Principle Contractors with regards to single sourcing or competitively tendering Sub-Contract packages. Survey Findings; Description, Analysis and Synthesis Main Contractor Question 1.0 The first question Question 1.0 was: Do you feel that repeat work with the same subcontractor improves the working relationship in terms of discussing site issues/valuations? Response 17 (81%) of subjects questioned felt that working with the same Sub-Contractor improves the working relationship with 4 (19%) arguing against the majority. One respondent responded positively: A collaborative working relationship forms the basis of a much stronger approach to on site discussions and subsequent resolution of variations. Another stated: It needs to be two ways, with both parties fully buying into the benefits. One member conjectured that repeat business can improve working relationships however; at times this can be tested due to commercial pressures. No Main Contractor respondents stated a reason behind why repeat work with the same Sub-Contractor does not improve the working relationship. The replies from Main Contractor personnel suggest that there is still a problem with collaborative working. Although 81% of respondents viewed repeat work with the same Sub-Contractor in a wholly positive light, 19% felt differently. Question 2.0 The second question Question 2.0 was: Do you believe that repeat work with the same subcontractor gives a higher quality of workmanship? Response This question gave rise to many mixed views with 57% of the subjects surveyed believing that repeat work with the