Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Role of Government in Encouraging Innovation

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION 12/4/2011 Strategic Innovation Management Authored by Nandini Kapur (D326) Kanika Katyal (D325) ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION S T R AT E G I C I N N O VAT I O N M A N A G E M E N T Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 STATE INDUCED INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATION †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 TECHNOLOGY INCUBATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL PATENT PROTECTION IN ELECTRONICS & IT (SIP-EIT)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 MULTIPLIER GRANTS SCHEME †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 NATIONAL INNOVATION FOUNDATION †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION, DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION (TDPU) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Technology Development and Demonstration Program (TDDP) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Technopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 ‘INNOVATION OF SCIENCE PURSUIT FOR INSPIRE RESEARCH (INSPIRE)' †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 CONCLUSION †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Page 1 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Government plays a vital role in any national in novation system, in that it formulates policies that may or may not be conducive to business environment and may or may not reward entrepreneurial quest for innovative products. It further creates an institutional framework which may in varying degree support basic and advanced research in universities, industrial R&D, and grass-root innovations including in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Government also determines whether, in which industry sectors, and to which degree it welcomes foreign participation, e. g. in form of foreign direct investments (FDI) and whether or not it would like foreign firms to engage in R&D activities on domestic soil. This paper describes the Government of India’s activities that influence, directly or indirectly – intentionally or unintentionally, India’s innovation system. It then moves on to how innovation can be encouraged in the country, and how the entire process can be expedited by Government’s role in policy making. Page 2 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION INTRODUCTION The inability of India to adequately provide for its own population no longer reflects a failure of implementation, but rather of a failure of innovation. In India, innovation is emerging as one of the most important rubrics in the discourse on how to bring about greater and more consistent economic and social development. One observes steadily growing investments in R&D across the country, the setting up of national and state innovation bodies, as well as the introduction of government-sponsored innovation funds. Despite widespread agreement on the importance of innovation in India, there are wide gulfs between different conceptions of innovation and the path India that should take towards securing benefits through investments in innovation. India needs more frugal innovation that produces more frugal cost products and services that are affordable by people at low levels of incomes without compromising the safety, efficiency, and utility of the products. The country also needs processes of innovation that are frugal in the resources required to produce the innovations. The products and processes must also have frugal impact on the earth’s resources. The Government of any country plans and formulates policies that affect the business environment and its way of operation. Such policies can reward or deter entrepreneurial quest, can either encourage or be an impediment to innovation. Page 3 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Since independence from the British rule in 1947, India has been investing a significant part of its resources, in creating quality institutions of higher education and research. In 1958 Indian Government passed a â€Å"Scientific Policy Resolution 1958†, which stated: â€Å"The key to national prosperity, apart from the spirit of the people, lies, in the modern age, in the effective combination of three factors, technology, raw materials and capital, of which the first is perhaps the most important, since the creation and adoption of new scientific techniques can, in fact, make up for a deficiency in natural resources, and reduce the demands on capital. But technology can only grow out of the study of science and its applications. † In keeping with this objective the Government has established a number of scientific publications in regional languages for school children and other groups in the society to increase scientific awareness in India. These publications are available to public at large mostly at subsidized, affordable rates. Finally, in 2003 a â€Å"Science and Technology Policy† was announced, which recognized â€Å"the changing context of the scientific enterprise†. The new policy has put greater emphasis on innovations to solve national problems on a sustainable basis. For this purpose it even ended the insistence on indigenous development of technology so as to master â€Å"national needs in the new era of globalization†. One of the concrete, declared objectives is â€Å"[t]o promote international science and technology cooperation towards achieving the goals of national development and security, and make it a key element of our international relations†. Dietrich Kebschull, India Representative of the German federal states of Hamburg and SchleswigHolstein said Indian Government has provided valuable backing for key high-tech sectors such as Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, IT and IT-enabled sectors, e. g. by providing â€Å"extensive policy and infrastructural support† through setting up of technology parks and continuing strengthening of communication facilities. Indian Government actively tries to foster entrepreneurship, for instance by encouraging spin-offs of R&D institutions to promote technology transfer. Increase of new ventures (e. g. start-ups) is an important Governmental aim. STATE INDUCED INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATION The Government has launched several innovation funding programs. According to information provided by the Technopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) at Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, S&T budget has been increased significantly in previous years. â€Å"No project application†, recounts an official, â€Å"has been rejected on account of financial constraints†. 20 outreach centers have been established in various parts of the country to facilitate support programs. Whereas focus of the funding programs was up to 2007 as such on innovations and not on particular sectors, in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2008-2012) the focus is to be put on â€Å"niche technology areas† like nanotechnology, biotechnology and ICT. Page 4 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION The processing time for TePP applications is typically just 3 to 4 months with 20% acceptance rate. â€Å"Rejections†, asserts an official working with TePP, â€Å"are invariably given with feedback†. Another senior official in DST points out that all scientific ministries at administrative level are headed by scientists and technologists. The posting of scientists in key positions in Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), the nodal agency in the Government for funding innovation projects and incubating activities, says this official, are done deliberately to ensure that there is less bureaucracy in the functioning. To bring â€Å"grass-root level into contact with the formal sector, universities and other research centers†, a â€Å"National Innovation Foundation† had been established. In Dec. 2007, India’s Department of Telecom announced a USD 2. 5 billion package to fund innovations in communications technologies. Entrepreneurs, SMEs, universities and NGOs that have developed communication technologies may seek funding for the â€Å"commercial roll-out of their innovations†, especially those â€Å"linked to improving quality of services or making telecom operations more economical† Also the New Millennium India Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) program is worth mentioning. This program has been launched with an intention to go â€Å"beyond today’s technology and seeks to build, capture and retain for India a leadership position by synergizing the best competencies of publicly funded R&D institutions, academia and private industry† An official at German Embassy in New Delhi says local Government supports those foreign SMEs that don’t have enough resources to start their own R&D units, by providing facilities / incubators, especially via research institutions like Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Society for Innovation and Development (SID), both in Bangalore, to settle down in India and also to cooperate with local research institutes and firms. Additionally, India also offers tax incentives for R&D operations in the country. For example, expenditure incurred on R&D may be deducted from corporate taxes with a weighted average of 150%. For a detailed account of financial incentives, see DSIR (2006). TECHNOLOGY INCUBATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURS Department of Information Technology’s (DIT) Technological Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) scheme was launched in the year 2008. The Scheme has multipronged approach in the area of Electronics, ICT and Management. Some of the broad objectives of the scheme include the following. ? Setting up and strengthening Technology Incubation Centres in institutions of higher learning, nurture Technology Entrepreneurship Development for commercial exploitation of technologies developed by them Promoting product oriented research and development ? Page 5 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION ? Encourage development of indigenous products and packages and bridging the gap between R&D and commercialisation. At present the scheme is being implemented at 15 TIDE centers. Eventually the scheme proposes to support 27 TIDE centers and 2 virtual incubation centres over a period of 4 years. SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL PATENT PROTECTION IN ELECTRONICS & IT (SIPEIT) SCHEME In order to encourage filing of international patents, a Scheme Support International Patent Protection in Electronics & IT (SIP-EIT) has been put in place. The Scheme Supports International Patent Protection in Electronics & IT by SMEs(Small and Medium Enterprises) and Technology Start-Up Companies. Under this scheme, SMEs and Technology Start-up units will be reimbursed up to 50% of actual costs, up to a maximum of Rs. 15 lakhs per application, incurred in filing international patent applications in Electronics and ICT domain for their indigenous inventions. Through this scheme DIT aims to encourage indigenous innovation and enable the companies to capture global opportunities in the area of Electronics and Information Technology. MULTIPLIER GRANTS SCHEME Multiplier Grants Scheme (MGS) encourages collaborative R&D between industry and academics/ R&D institutions for development of products and packages and bridge the gap between R&D and commercialization. NATIONAL INNOVATION FOUNDATION The main goals include providing institutional support in scouting, spawning, sustaining and scaling up grassroots green innovations and helping their transition to self supporting activities. NIF seeks to achieve this goal by drawing upon the HoneyBee network and its collaborating partners. The Honeybee Network and Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) have been scouting innovations by farmers, artisans, women, etc. at the grassroots level. The Honey Bee database of 10,000 innovations, collected and documented by SRISTI, would be a part of the National Register of Innovations, is to be managed and supported by NIF. The primary objectives of NIF are to: ? ? ? Help India become an innovative and creative society and a global leader in sustainable technologies by scouting, spawning and sustaining grassroots innovations. Ensure evolution and diffusion of green grassroots innovation in a selective, time-bound and mission oriented basis so as to meet the socio-economic and environmental needs of society. Provide institutional support in scouting, spawning, sustaining and scaling up grassroots green innovations as well as outstanding traditional knowledge and helping their transition to self supporting activities. Page 6 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION ? Build linkages between excellence in formal scientific systems and informal knowledge systems and create a knowledge network to link various stakeholders through application of information technology and other means; etc. To meet its objectives in scouting, awarding and incubation of grassroot innovations, NIF has set up five dedicated departments to execute innovation to enterprise development models:? ? ? ? ? Scouting and Documentation Business Development and Micro Venture Value Addition and Research and Development Intellectual Property Management Dissemination and Information Technology Management TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION, DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION (TDPU) Aimed at promoting technology development and industrial research in the country as well as encouraging its utilization by various sections of economy, be it industry, academic, scientific institution and the society at large. The programmes and activities under this scheme are centered around promoting industrial R&D; development and commercialization of technologies; acquisition, management and export of technologies; promotion of consultancy capabilities; etc. Under TDPU Programme, there is one very important programme component called â€Å"Technology Development and Innovation Programme (TDIP)†, which aims to develop technologies and promote innovation in the country. TDIP is sub-divided into 2 programmes, namely:- Technology Development and Demonstration Pr ogram (TDDP) It was earlier known as ‘Programme Aimed at Technological Self-reliance (PATSER)'. It is a plan scheme of Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) to promote industry’s efforts in development and demonstration of indigenous technologies, development of capital goods and absorption of imported technologies. That is, its broad objectives for achieving self-sufficiency in industrial growth are:? ? Supporting industry for technology absorption, development and demonstration. Building indigenous capabilities for development and commercialisation of contemporary products and process of high impact. ? Involvement of national research organisations in joint projects with industry. ? Technology evaluation in selected sectors. To achieve such objectives, DSIR provides on a selective basis partial financial support to research, development, design nd engineering (RDDE) projects proposed by industry in the following areas: ? Development and Demonstration of new or improved product and process technologies including those for specialized capital goods, for both domestic and export markets. ? Absorption and up gradation of imported technology. Page 7 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION The partial financial support by DSIR is primarily meant for covering expenditure involved in prototype development and pilot plant work, test and evaluation of products flowing from such R&D, user trials, etc. Bulks of costs of the project are from the industry’s resources. Technopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) It was launched to tap the vast innovative potential of the citizen of India. TePP is a mechanism to promote individual innovators to become technology-based entrepreneurs (Technopreneurs). Thus, its main objectives are to:? ? ? Promote and support untapped creativity of individual innovators. Assist the individual innovators to become technology based entrepreneurs. Assist the technopreneur in networking and forge linkages with other constituents of the innovation chain for commercialization of their developments. The activities under TePP include providing financial support to selected and screened individual innovators having original ideas for converting them into working models, prototypes and so on. TePP assistance is provided to the innovator to meet expenditure on the following: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? R&D/Engineering consultancy Procure small equipment, tools etc. required Raw Material/ Accessories (for prototype/process trials), Fabrication cost (for prototypes) Patent guidance and support Manpower Testing & Trials any other relevant costs TePP support to the innovators is limited to 90% of the total cost of the project and remaining 10% is to be borne by the innovator/inventor. ‘INNOVATION OF SCIENCE PURSUIT FOR INSPIRE RESEARCH (INSPIRE)' It is another such innovative programs proposed by the Department of Science and Technology for attraction of talent to science. The basic objective of INSPIRE would be to communicate to the youth population of the country the excitements of creative pursuit of science and attract talent to the study of science at an early stage and build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R&D base. INSPIRE Scheme has included three components. They are: (i) Scheme for Early Attraction of Talents for Science (SEATS); (ii) Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE); and (iii) Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC). Page 8 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENCOURAGING INNOVATION CONCLUSION There is a large pool of technically-trained personnel in India, but its density of Research Scientists and Engineers (RSEs) is one of the lowest. However, there is no appreciation of this issue as a problem in policy circles. The country has very few research grants specifically for the enterprise sector. Even those that it has are largely utilised by public sector enterprises. The technological infrastructure of the country is fairly sophisticated (at least by Developing Country standards). The network of laboratories under the umbrella of the CSIR forms an important component of this technological infrastructure. The interaction of these labs with the enterprise sector, despite efforts to enhance it, is still very low. Part of the difficulty arises from the low demand for innovations from the enterprise sector. Tax incentives are not very popular because of their

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Portfolio Management and Its Influences on Project Management Essay

In a project based organization, project management is directly controlled by strategic portfolio managers and a portfolio management department. This type of organization focuses on project development, progress and successful completion in relation to the strategic goals determined by top management. Multiple project proposals are constantly evaluated in terms of value, alignment to corporate strategies, and availability of resources to complete a project. In order for a project to proceed, portfolio managers must decide if a project is worthwhile and if it contributes to the goals of corporate strategies, and make the more difficult decision of which projects are more valuable to the organization in terms of achieving strategic goals (H. Kerzner, 2009). A large part of this process involves balancing short term projects with long term projects, assessing risk factors, and resource allocation. If a project is approved, then a project manager is assigned to oversee the project. The project manager has little influence on the resources and financing assigned to the project; that is determined by the portfolio manager and sponsor. The project manager is given a finite level of resources for a project and is expected to complete the project utilizing the allotted resources in an efficient manner. The portfolio manager assigns a project and the resources for the project to a project manager, and it is the responsibility of the project manager to complete the project without incurring the need to use added resources or financing. The project manager also is responsible for ongoing status reports of the progress to the portfolio manager and along with details regarding the efficient use of resources. If a project changes in scope or value, the portfolio manager has the authority to update resource availability to the project manager to fulfill the new requirements. Reference Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (10th edition). John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken NJ.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Causes of Teenage Obesity

Also, while obesity can be problem at different stages of life (for example, even a 7 year old child can classed as obese), most eating disorders are related to the teenage years. Obesity amongst children is one of the growing health concerns for parents across the world and this health risk is growing at an alarming rate. Research indicates that most obese children grow up to be obese adults. There are several factors that lead to obesity. Below are some of the key causes of obesity: Physical inactivity: This is one of the biggest causes of teenage obesity. Associated essay: Teenagers and Their Leisure Time With teenagers spending most of their time in front of the television, playing computer games or on mobiles with their friends and lack of interest in extra-curricular activities after school or college and lack of exercise are some of the key causes of teenage obesity. Bad eating habits: Another big reason for teenage obesity is bad eating habits. The surge in the consumption of high fat foods like burgers, chips, fizzy drinks and fries has already been condemned and treated as one of the main causes of child obesity. Genetic Patterns Family Behaviour: Genetic patterns and family behaviours are also important causes of obesity and it is difficult to separate the two. Whilst the probability of obese parents having obese children is around 30%, it is also true that obese parents often have poor eating habits and condone poor family nutrition, resulting in overweight kids. Chemical or hormonal imbalances: Another major reason for obesity, especially amongst teenagers, is hormonal changes. Teenagers undergo significant hormonal changes as they reach puberty, which could trigger cravings for certain foods or over-consumption of food. Lower metabolism: Some teenagers have the tendency to retain or conserve body energy and this trait is easily visible from early childhood, where growth milestones in a child seem to be much quicker than usual. The first two reasons outlined above (lack of physical activity and lack of proper diet) are the primary reasons for obesity amongst teenagers. As parents, you need o take your teenager’s obesity issue very seriously and get medical and professional help if you see your child being unable to partake in any sport or physical activity or if school/college authorities express concern over their weight or feel that your teenager is overweight. In the book â€Å"Solving Teenage Problems†, several tips to deal with teenage obesity have been provided. Along with this the book also touches upon various eating disorders, which can lead to teenage obesity – their causes and tips to solve them. Causes of Teenage Obesity Also, while obesity can be problem at different stages of life (for example, even a 7 year old child can classed as obese), most eating disorders are related to the teenage years. Obesity amongst children is one of the growing health concerns for parents across the world and this health risk is growing at an alarming rate. Research indicates that most obese children grow up to be obese adults. There are several factors that lead to obesity. Below are some of the key causes of obesity: Physical inactivity: This is one of the biggest causes of teenage obesity. Associated essay: Teenagers and Their Leisure Time With teenagers spending most of their time in front of the television, playing computer games or on mobiles with their friends and lack of interest in extra-curricular activities after school or college and lack of exercise are some of the key causes of teenage obesity. Bad eating habits: Another big reason for teenage obesity is bad eating habits. The surge in the consumption of high fat foods like burgers, chips, fizzy drinks and fries has already been condemned and treated as one of the main causes of child obesity. Genetic Patterns Family Behaviour: Genetic patterns and family behaviours are also important causes of obesity and it is difficult to separate the two. Whilst the probability of obese parents having obese children is around 30%, it is also true that obese parents often have poor eating habits and condone poor family nutrition, resulting in overweight kids. Chemical or hormonal imbalances: Another major reason for obesity, especially amongst teenagers, is hormonal changes. Teenagers undergo significant hormonal changes as they reach puberty, which could trigger cravings for certain foods or over-consumption of food. Lower metabolism: Some teenagers have the tendency to retain or conserve body energy and this trait is easily visible from early childhood, where growth milestones in a child seem to be much quicker than usual. The first two reasons outlined above (lack of physical activity and lack of proper diet) are the primary reasons for obesity amongst teenagers. As parents, you need o take your teenager’s obesity issue very seriously and get medical and professional help if you see your child being unable to partake in any sport or physical activity or if school/college authorities express concern over their weight or feel that your teenager is overweight. In the book â€Å"Solving Teenage Problems†, several tips to deal with teenage obesity have been provided. Along with this the book also touches upon various eating disorders, which can lead to teenage obesity – their causes and tips to solve them.

Strategic Action Plan for Food Waste Management Essay

Strategic Action Plan for Food Waste Management - Essay Example ch requires urgent action is how to reduce the dumping of food waste in the landfills so as to minimize the economic, social and environmental impacts. Langham Hotel is one of Hong Kongs most reputed and largest chain of hotels. Langham was recently selected as the first site to evaluate the feasibility of the new food waste composting program of the Hong Kong Governments’ Environmental Protection Department because of its active implementation of â€Å"green† initiatives. As a pioneer in sustainable food waste management practice in Hong Kong, Langham has the objective to be the leading eco-hotel in the hospitality industry. The effective resolution of the problem through development and implementation of novel strategies to reduce and avoid food waste, is likely to help not only the hotel but also support the national efforts to reduce food waste, reduce the carbon footprint and protect the environment. It will also encourage the others to follow in its footsteps and contribute to a greater social and environmental cause in the long run in the process. CSR TV is the project consultant of Langham’s Sustainability Task Force reviewing their CONNECT Programme. How to continuously improve the existing food waste prevention and recycling program and extend support to the staff and local communities with regard to management of food waste has been in the mind of the CEO for some time. In the analysis paper, recommendations for the future review of sustainability challenges are: 1) avoid food waste at source 2) reuse and recycle food waste through innovation 3) minimizing food waste disposal to landfills. The CEO has asked CSRTV to source for global guidance on preventing and reducing food waste more effectively so as to create a sustainability strategy that would lead the company to do things in different and better way. CSR TV represents the Strategic Task Force in presenting this paper for CEO endorsement. This paper will focus on implementing a food waste

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Analysis of crimestoppers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of crimestoppers - Research Paper Example Crimestoppers is a national program that was begun on a local, regional and national level to fight crime.The program brings together law enforcement,private citizens,the media to find criminals.This program began when a detective in Albuquerque,NM became concerned about the many crimes that were unsolved and that the leads had gone cold. At the time, a young college student was killed and they could not find any other leads about this crime. He realized that there was someone in the community that could help solve the murder of this college student and he knew that people would come forward if they could do it anonymously, they would be paid for a lead that led to solving the crime and the media televised the first â€Å"Crime of the Week.† Within 72 hours, three men were arrested who had committed the killing of the college student and they realized this was a good idea; Crimestoppers officially began on September 8, 1976. To date, Crimestoppers has been showed to reach all corners of the world and they have a particular presence in â€Å"Nation/Regions of the United States, Canada, Caribbean and Latin America, Europe, Australia, and the South/Western Pacific† (Crimestoppers USA, par. 4). The Crime Triangle the Program Addresses Crimestoppers attempts to address all aspects of the crime triangle. They realize that someone in the community knows when a crime is committed and they know who has committed the crime. They will help law enforcement when they have three issues satisfied: Fear of reprisal An attitude of apathy Reluctance to get involved Crimestoppers is able to resolve these issues by providing each person with a code number that keeps their tip anonymous and by rewarding them with up to $1000 when they supply information that eventually leads to the arrest of the perpetrator (Crimestoppers USA, 2011). By resolving these issues and putting the program in place, law enforcement is able to resolve the three aspects of the triangle: They m ake the community more aware of the fact that there is someone who has committed a crime, they identify the individual that had the crime committed against them and they show how the opportunity was made to create the crime (Houston Police Department, n.d.). By doing so, the community becomes safer and people are more prone to let law enforcement know where an individual resides who has committed the crime in question. Analysis of Crime Stopper’s Success Crimestoppers states that they have â€Å"an average conviction rate of approximately 95% on cases solved by a tip to the program† (Crimestoppers USA, 2011, par. 8). This conviction rate is based on the national average. In order to understand their success more specifically, the information is found in a variety of programs. Hoffman (2010) suggests that the Houston branch of Crimestoppers is â€Å"the most effective unit in the nation† (par 1). The Houston branch generally receives about 2500 calls, 500 which a re good and those 500 lead to about 50 arrests. In this city people can be paid up to $5000 if their tip lead to an arrest. In 2009, this meant that â€Å"825 felons were prosecuted because of Crimestoppers.† (Hoffman, 2010, par. 6). According to Gordon-Gibson (2010) from 1976 to 2010, 829,603 arrests were made, 1,277,325 cases were cleared, US $2,006,059,318 in property was recovered and US $7,869,309,917 worth of drugs were seized. In 2011, these statistics have grown to 893,691 arrests being made worldwide, 1,358,830 cases cleared, $2,151,864,229 worth of property recovered and a total of $8,082,482,485 drugs seized. These statistics show that Crimestoppers has had success over many years in solving crimes with the help of the community and the media. (Crimestoppers International, 2011) Why Crimestoppers Works (Critical Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Program) According to Gordon-Gibson (2010) there are several reasons why Crimestoppers works. Individuals who want to report crimes can do so anonymously so they are not put in the position of confronting the criminal.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

LITERATURE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

LITERATURE - Essay Example Marduk is our next hero from Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Creation Epic. Marduk was born in Apsu, the region of fresh water beneath the surface of the earth. Ea, one of the gods created him and Damkina, his lover bore him. He suckled the teats of goddesses; he was powerful from the start. When Anu, his father’s begetter beheld him, he rejoiced. He made his grandson so perfect that his godhead was doubled. For were his eyes, four were his ears. When his lips moved, fire blazed forth. His four ears were enormous and likewise, they eyes. They perceived everything. Highest among the gods, his form was outstanding. His limbs were very long, his height outstanding. Our third hero is Jesus – God made man in The God of Job. In a mysterious manner, he is believed to b e whole god and whole man. His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived him through the power of the Holy Spirit of God the Father Almighty. All this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: â€Å"The Virgin shall be with child and give birth through a son and they shall call him Emmanuel†, a name which means â€Å"God is with us† We can see by now that our three heroes of the Creation are all gods. But where as Jesus (Emanuel) is described as being kind and compassionate to his people, Marduk took advantage of his own, and the men of Uruk became anxious. The dramatic action and dialogue of the Babylonian Creation Epic can be compared to epic writing from the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Homeric epics, which treat human conflicts against a background of divine violence. The introduction of Enkidu into the epic of Gilgamesh was for the purpose of taming Gilgamesh, who, conscious of his own power, was taking advantage of the people of Uruk. The valiant Enkidu, a human counterpart of Gilgamesh himself, served as some kind of a check-and –balance so that,

Friday, July 26, 2019

Transnational Media Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Transnational Media Globalization - Essay Example Frames are seen as a perfect metaphor for media because they're diverse and indefinite, that is, they allow for a measure of flexibility, of definition, and use. According to Watson "we have picture frames into which we insert images that in turn, in some way or another, provide us with representation; something that has been subject to a number of wider frames, each one manipulating and influenced by the other (2007, p. 107)." It is critical to identify the difference between frames that are visible, immediately identifiable and those that are invisible, whose presence you sense but is often difficult to single out. These are identified as subliminal. The newspaper page is a frame, from its headlines, headings and subtitles, to the position of photographs, to the shifts in print size: the bigger the story, the bigger the type. Well, not exactly and not always, with television we can readily recognize framing devices (Creeber 2001, p110). In his novel, "Putting 'Reality' together: BBC News, Philip Schlesinger refers to a specific case in which the BBC in collaboration with the British government exercised the act of gate-keeping to prevent an originally green-lit investigative report from being broadcast. In the book Schlesnigner notes "the New Statesman journalist,, Duncan Campbell, was, commissioned by the BBC in November 1985 to make a series of six programmes called Secret Society originally to be broadcast on BBC-2 in November 1986. The series as a whole was controversial, its topics including the abuse of private data, problems of British radar systems, freedom of information, the powers of the Association of Chief Police officers, and government authority during nuclear emergencies (Schlesinger, xxv)." The piece was set to reveal many vulnerabilities in public policy that gave elites and government figures the privilege to exploit their positions. Schlesinger goes on to point how the specific aspect of the pro gram that would make controversial stemmed from a government cover-up by Parliament not to reveal the details of a secret satellite project, codenamed Zircon , for which funding had been passed through the House of Common's Public Accounts Committee (Schlesinger, xxv). While the program was cleared to be aired on December 4th 1986 by the Assistant Director-Genreal of the BBC, Alan Protheroe, it was eventual banned by the Director-General, Alasdair Milne on January 15th 1987 on the grounds of national security (Schlesinger, xxv). This is a classic example of gate-keeping and censorship practiced by the BBC for the sake of protecting the policy makers and elites of the country. The gate swings shut

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Pharmaceutical(Pill Mills) Industry Regulate and profitability Research Paper

Pharmaceutical(Pill Mills) Industry Regulate and profitability - Research Paper Example Due to their short business span in a given location, they have huge crowds waiting to see the doctor and they have body guards just in case of invasion. This is misuse of pharmaceutical industry which calls for immediate action to protect lives of citizens and health sector (Drugs Policy Alliance, 2007). Yes, the pharmaceutical industry is regulated. Secondly, the law requires a medical professional to write prescriptions if you want to move large amount of pain killers in America. There is also existence of Healthcare Distribution Management Association [HDMA] which controls the supply of narcotic substance. Finally, DEA’s power to suspend/revoke licenses of distributors in case of ethical malpractices acts as control measure (United States-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council, 2011). DEA regulates the industry by formulating the policies to govern production, distribution and prescription of narcotic substances. Also HDMA in its management on distribution of health care products and combating drug abuse role. Food and Drugs Administration [FDA] is a regulator in that it supervises food safety, dietary supplements, prescriptions of over- the- counter medicines, blood transfusion and other medical and dietary specializations. As discussed above Pill Mills are not legitimate and their operations involve procurement of sub-standard drugs and supplements which are then prescribed to patients inappropriately. Law enforcement and implantation of drugs policy Acts make it hard for these businesses to transact. For instance, regulation of the amount of pain killers to be produced by DEA and monitoring of distribution channels by HDMA will affect their supply and establishment of their quack businesses. In addition, proper scrutiny of food and narcotic products by FDA makes it difficult for Pill Mills to establish their business (FDA’s International Post, 2010). Pill Mills are established with an immediate response to the common problems

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Women Trafficking around the world Research Paper

Women Trafficking around the world - Research Paper Example This trend is expected to grow in the future with the fact that it is highly profitable, lowly investigated and few traffickers are usually prosecuted. In the Middle East, trafficking in women and girls is a prevalent crime where the victims are usually discriminated against by the prevailing cultures and customs. Some laws in the region do not even recognize human trafficking as a crime, which is why the crime continues to fester in the region (Murphy, 2001). Though victims of human trafficking are usually sold for reasons like slavery and forced labor, trafficking for sexual exploitation is still the biggest problem faced in the region. In most states in Arab regions, trafficking for sexual exploitation is not restricted. This is because some countries in the region have retrogressive laws that discriminate against women and favors the men. For example some countries allow temporary marriages, where the man decides when the marriage ends, which means that women and girls can be use d as sex slaves. Another supporting factor is that the women and girls who are caught up in the trafficking syndicates are usually prosecuted as illegal immigrants, which only serves to increase instances of human trafficking. ... The other economic factor that contributes to the women trafficking is the demand for cheap labor in destination countries. For example, Saudi Arabia demands for a lot of cheap labor, so women and children are trafficked from other countries and forced into slavery in this country. The other main cause of women and girls trafficking in the world is the increasing demand for sexual services. In the Middle East, women are usually discriminated against and can be exploited for sexual services Anti-Slavery International (2006). The traffickers understand that victims of human trafficking do not usually have any real rights in the countries of destination, so exploit this chance. Most of the women trafficked into these countries are transformed into sex slaves and commercial sex workers to earn a revenue for their masters. This increased sexual abuse of trafficked persons is recognized by the UN as a cause of increased demand for sexual services and should be addressed separately. The oth er reason why there is an increase in women trafficking is the fact that there are retrogressive laws in the destination countries. As already mentioned, some of the countries of destination of trafficked women and children do not recognize the rights of these women and children. Government lack of control and the lack of laws that prohibit women trafficking serve to increase its instances. For example, lack of legislation that expressly prosecutes human traffickers means that it is going to continue. In many countries, human traffickers are not sufficiently investigated or prosecuted. Domestic violence and organized crime are two other reasons that usually

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Hermaphrodite Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hermaphrodite - Research Paper Example Although some hermaphrodites have one sex organ being more dominant than the other, some have a combination of both genitalia sharing dominance. Medical practitioners in the U.S. estimate the frequency of hermaphrodite’s births to be 1 in 1500. An extensive review of a medical journal published in 1998 by Dr. Gregory Simpsons provides a glimpse of different sex variations and their probability of occurring. The probability of delivering a child that is not XX or XY is 1 in 1,666 births. Discussion Hermaphrodites are treated differently in different cultures due to their sexual orientation. Asian cultures have classified such individuals as a third gender that blends social roles for centuries. Most societies throughout the globe expect hermaphrodites to identify with one gender role, either male or female (Dreger, 25). There exists no universal tolerance to this biological phenomenon, but the existence of hermaphrodites was known to many ancient cultures. Medical authors for e xample, introduced the term â€Å"true hermaphrodite† to accommodate persons who had both testicular and ovarian tissues during the Victorian era. The terms male pseudo-hermaphrodite, and female pseudo-hermaphrodite were coined later to describe individuals who had one dominant genitalia. However, British medical specialist, Allen Weber, sought to replace the term hermaphrodite with intersex. True Hermaphrodite A true hermaphrodite is an individual with both testicular and ovarian tissues. In addition, the genitalia are often ambiguous since none of the organs is fully developed. So far, there is no known cause of this biological problem that affects thousands throughout different cultures. However, Dr. Kathleen Long postulates that the cause of this problem could be the mutation of the sex-determining gene in addition to the fertilization of an ovum by two sperms (Long, 152). Partly, this could explain why the genitalia have both organs present at the same time. Mostly, ovar ies develop underneath each testicle leading to an ovotestis that contains both types of the tissues. However, there is no documented case in which both genitalia function. Some of the katyotypes that have been encountered so far include 46XX/47XXY, 46XX/46XY, and 47ZZY. This condition can be distinguished histologically since it is dissimilar to mixed gonadal dysgenesis. As of May 2008, there have been 11 cases reported of fertility in true hermaphrodite humans. However, a case in which both gonadal tissues function is yet to be documented, as opposed to rumors that true hermaphrodites can impregnate themselves. The degree of external genitalia ambiguity is dependent on the amount of testosterone that is produced by the testicular tissue between the 8th and the 16th week of the gestation period (Long, 180). Medical authors suggest that it is caused by the division of one ovum, followed by fertilization of both haploids before they fuse again early in the fetus development stage. Ho wever, few people believe it is caused by the mutations in the SRY gene. Male Pseudo-Hermaphrodite A male pseudo-hermaphrodite has ambiguous female external characteristics, but the male organ is often dominant. In most cases, the testicles are fully developed even though they are attached to an under-developed female genital. Individuals with this biological condition have secondary sexual characteristics such as being less virile and often portray a feminine

Chromatography Experiment Essay Example for Free

Chromatography Experiment Essay Aim: To identify different unknown amino acids, within given substances. Apparatus: List 1 List 2 * 2 test tubes * Test tube rack * 2 bungs * 2 pins * 5 known amino acids: * Proline * Leucine * Lycine * Asparagine * Arginine * 1 unknown amino acid * Paper Chromatography * Paper Solvent * Pencil * Ruler * Tweezers * Paper Towel * Pipette * Ninhydrin * Incubator * Scissors * 1 Jam Jar * Treated Orange Juice * Untreated Orange Juice * TLC * TLC Solvent * Pencil * Ruler * Tweezers * Pipette * Paper Towel * Ninhydrin * Incubator Diagram 1: Diagram 2: Method (Part 1): * Cut 2 strips of paper chromatography using tweezers and scissors while resting on paper towel * Measure 1cm from bottom of strip and draw a line across * Draw a cross in the centre of this line * Attach a pin to the top of the chromatography paper, and put pin in bung * Place inside test tube, and measure 5mm from where the bottom of the paper lies, draw a line across the test tube * Do the same with both strips * On the cross put 10 drops of a known amino acid, wait for each drop to dry in between * On other strip put 10 drops of unknown amino acid * Pour paper solvent into both test tubes up to line drawn * Put bung in both test tubes, let solvent work its way up chromatography paper * When near top of paper, take out, and draw line across where solvent has reached. Method (Part 2): * Place TLC on paper towel, draw line across at 1cm from bottom * Draw 2 crosses each 1/4 way across line * On 1st cross put 10 drops of treated orange juice, letting each drop dry in between * On second dot put 10 drops of untreated orange juice * Pour TLC solvent into bottom of jam jar * Using tweezers place TLC into jam jar * Let TLC soak up solvent * When nearly at top take out and draw solvent line across Method (Part 3): * Take the results of method part 1 and 2 and spray all with ninhydrin spray * Place in incubator until amino acids can be seen * Draw lines across where colours end, and work out Rf values for all lines Results Chromatograms: Results Table: Rf value = distance moved by solvent / distance moved by solvent front My Results Solvent Front Substance Front Rf value Treated Orange 4.6 1.8, 2.8, 3.3 0.39, 0.61, 0.72 Untreated Orange 4.7 0.5, 2.0, 2.6, 3.0 0.11, 0.43, 0.55, 0.64 Leucine 7.9 4.7 0.59 Unknown 7.0 4.2, 4.8 0.60, 0.69 Class Results Calculated Rf value Average Actual Rf Proline 0.76 0.87 0.82 0.48 Leucine 0.79 0.59 0.69 0.73 Lycine 0.41 0.45 0.43 0.14 Asparagine 0.26 0.54 0.40 Arginine 0.53 0.53 0.2 Conclusion and Evaluation: From these results I can say that in the unknown substance, were two amino acids, and from what my results tell me, I can predict that they were Arginine and Leucine. The Treated orange juice appeared to have three amino acids in it, my results tell me that these are Asparagine, Arginine and Leucine. The untreated Orange Juice seemed to have four unknown amino acids, my results tell me that these were Asparagine, Lycine, Arginine and Leucine. I could tell this as I matched up the Rf values with the ones that seemed to be the closest match. I know that these results were not that accurate as I know the Rf values for four of them. For Proline the real Rf value is 0.48, but our class results got 0.76 and 0.87 with an average of 0.82. This is clearly wrong. Therefore anything that I have predicted to have Proline in, might not have it in. For Leucine the real Rf value is 0.73, and our class results are 0.79 and 0.59 with an average of 0.69. This is a very close result, so it is quite accurate. So it is likely that if I have predicted it to have Leucine in it, it probably does. For Lycine the real Rf value is 0.14, and our class values are 0.41 and 0.45, with and average of 0.43. This is not a very good match. From this I can tell that anything I have said to have Lycine in it, probably does not have it in. For Arginine the real Rf value is 0.2, and we only have one class result for that and it is 0.53 which is clearly wrong. This shows us that anything I have predicted to have Arginine in, probably wont. For Asparagine, we are not sure of the real Rf value, so I can not tell if our results are right, but guessing from the rest not being accurate, it probably is not. Saying this, not only could our results from the known amino acids be wrong, but also so could our results from the unknown amino acids, and the treated and untreated Orange Juice. This tells me that our results could have been wrong on both accounts, and so could possibly be right! We can not be sure, but we do know that the results for the known amino acids were not as accurate as they should have been. These errors could be down to a number of things. Firstly if we had touched the paper chromatography or TLC at any time we would have left our own amino acids on it, and so our experiment would have been inaccurate. It was very hard not to touch either of these while cutting, or moving to place in test tubes or in jars. It could have been very easy to accidentally touch it, thus messing up the experiment. Another way these errors could have occurred could have been down to making the amino acid drop too big, due to not waiting until it is dry enough to put another drop on. This would have meant that when put in the solvent, the dot would have been emerged in it, and made our results inaccurate. Another way an error could have occurred could be not making the dots as concentrated as they should have been, not counting enough drops of the amino acid onto the paper or TLC. This would have changed our results. Another way would be if when put in the solvent the test tube or jar moved, and splashed the paper or TLC, making the solvent front longer then it should have been, so our calculations would be inaccurate. Another way could be putting too much TLC or Paper solvent into the jar or test tube, thus emerging the dot, making more inaccuracies. If the paper chromatography had been touching the side of the test tube while the solvent was working its way up, then this would have made our results inaccurate as well. All of these errors would make our results inaccurate and less reliable. One way of making our results more accurate would be to get rid of all these errors, which is very difficult as there are so many errors that could be made during this experiment. If I were to do this experiment again, I would start by wearing some rubber gloves, so that if I did touch the paper it would not matter as much. The second thing I would change would to be more accurate when putting the dots on the paper or TLC, making sure that they are dry properly, and that they do not spread too far. Another improvement I would make would be to make sure the paper was not touching the side of the tube, to not move the tube once the paper is in, and to make sure I draw my lines as accurate as I can. Also when I measure them, I will be more precise so that my results will be a lot more accurate then they were this time round.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Western Governors University Essay Example for Free

Western Governors University Essay The APEX Company has the mission to â€Å"Exceed customers’ expectations in providing consulting services of a superior value. † To be successful in that mission, it is imperative that we are diligent in maintaining a good and solid reputation in every endeavor we undertake. Who we are and how we run our business is guided by our ethics program. The purpose of our ethics program is to identify, prevent and correct ethics issues. Our ethics program consists of our Code of Conduct, compliance auditing, two way communications between management and employees, improvement and re-current training on ethical behavior. The policy set forth after this overview is expected to be adhered to by all employees from the CEO, down to the janitorial staff. All employees should become familiar with the ethics guidelines that follow this introduction. We are firm believers that the decisions we make today, determine our success for tomorrow. Sincerely, APEX Management B. Standards and Procedures APEX Code of Conduct †¢APEX management team welcomes concerns from employees and commit to open door policies for those ethical concerns †¢APEX employees are committed to ethical behavior and shall always act in the best interest of the client. †¢APEX employees are committed to providing professional services with integrity. †¢APEX employees are committed to treating everyone fairly and respectfully. †¢APEX employees avoid the appearance of unethical or compromising practices. †¢APEX employees only accept only those assignments for which they have the qualifications, knowledge and skill in which to serve the client. †¢APEX employees disclose any conflict of interests and avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of such. †¢ APEX employees do not accept simultaneous or competing assignments from two or more clients who have potentially conflicting interests without informing all parties in advance and securing all parties’ prior agreement. †¢APEX employees treat clients’ information as confidential and take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access. †¢APEX employees do not use company assets or business relationships for personal use or personal gain. †¢APEX employees promote a trustworthy environment and support positive ethics within the company. C. Ethics Training Program New Employee Training As part of the onboarding process, all new employees are trained in APEX’s ethics program; this includes an introduction into the corporate values and codes of conduct. Employees are instructed in identifying incidents of ethical behavior and the proper methods of reporting procedures of ethical violations. This is initial training is refreshed in ninety days and then the new hire is in the training cycle with the existing employees. Current Employee Training Existing employees are trained on a continuous basis on the expected ethical behavior of APEX employees. This initial four hour classroom training is refreshed in quarterly sessions lasting one hour each and the four hour training is repeated annually. All training is conducted by the Ethics Officer D. Compliance Systems Monitor Supervisors are responsible for ensuring the adequate and efficient training for all subordinates. Signatures are obtained on the Verification of Training forms and are to be submitted to Human Resources for retention in the employee’s personnel folder. Employee misconduct will be monitored in by supervisory review of actions taken by employees, by conducting yearly surveys and also by implementing a reporting system. In our monitoring, we will be reviewing compliance and targeting deviations to our established ethical behavior. When the method of surveys is utilized, they will be nameless and must be completed within the thirty day allotted time. One feature of our reporting system is the establishment of our APEX Ethics Hotline, (800) 555-5555. This line is monitored by the Ethics Office and is open to anyone, the public, employees and customers to anonymously report unethical behavior or to ask ethics questions. With this system we are able to effectively monitor and evaluate unethical behavior and to take corrective action as required. The Ethics Officer compiles this data monthly and reports to the CEO with the trends and analysis. Audit APEX will conduct yearly audits to our Ethics program. This will determine if we are in compliance with our company’s ethics standards and will utilize the Six-Sigma model as a method of improving upon those standards. This type of model will allow APEX to spotlight areas that are outside of our goals. Auditing employee misconduct is performed by tracking our hotline calls by the types of incident, number of occurrences, general ethics questions and confirmed noncompliance. The audit are performed by the Ethics Officer on an yearly basis as well as on the spot checks to ensure that all employees are properly orientated in the company’s code of conduct and are familiar with the channels available for reporting violations. Our objective auditing processes will report our compliance and noncompliance with our ethics program and determine whether or not APEX has reached its goals. All of our internal findings will be verified by an external auditing firm, Wecheckem Auditors, LLC. Wecheckem will generate a report that will be furnished to the Ethics Committee for publishing on the company’s intranet. This third party company will use the results of this report, responses from customers, and the ratings of the surveys to audit the employees of APEX compliance with our Code of Conduct, the company’s officers compliance with our Code of Conduct, and to assess the company an overall score from 1, non-compliant, to 10, excellent, on our ethical program. Reporting Misconduct It is imperative that employees of APEX feel comfortable with bringing any issues and concerns to management’s attention. Ethical issues occurring with the staff should be communicated immediately. It is important to note APEX has a zero tolerance policy and any infractions of this code of ethics will be met with quick and decisive action. Any employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Often times, a concern may arise or even a simple question concerning ethical conduct. At those times, there are many different avenues whereby assistance can be sought. Some of those avenues are: †¢Management team †¢APEX Ethics Hotline (800) 555-5555 †¢Human Resources Department †¢ The Ethics Officer: Mr. Idoo Wright Esq. Suite 746 1400 Independence Avenue Corpus Christi, TX 64009 E. Ethics Program Assessment Review The Ethics Officer is responsible forming the Ethics Committee and for the continual review of APEX Company ethics program. The Ethics Officer shall conduct verifications of training records; compile a database of all reports of ethical violations and the resultant investigations and findings of same. The information gathered is then turned over to an outside firm specializing in Corporate Governance and Ethics for an independent review and assessment. Improvement The Ethics Officer and Ethics Committee shall review all ethical violations and in conjunction with the findings and recommendations of the outside audit firm,Wecheckem, LLC, to produce program improvements utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodologies. Standards and procedures shall be updated whenever there are improvements to the program.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Wilhelm II: Policy Making in 1914 Berlin

Wilhelm II: Policy Making in 1914 Berlin Q. Who was in charge of policy in Berlin in 1914 and why did they act as they  did? ‘A vigorous transition to an imperialist policy will give Germany the space  it needs . . . An unsuccessful war can no more than set Germany back,  although for a long time; England it can destroy. As victor England will be  rid of an awkward competitor; Germany will become what England is  now, the world power.’ (Das Neue Deutschland) ‘The perpetual emphasis on peace at every opportunity — suitable and  unsuitable — has, in the last 43 years of peace, produced an altogether  eunuch-like attitude amongst the statesmen and diplomats of Europe’ (Wilhelm II) Historians of the Great War divide into two main camps when debating who were the principal policy-makers and men-in-charge of Germany at the outbreak of war in the summer of 1914. The first school, led historians such as Fritz Fischer, argues that Germany’s Kaiser, Wilhelm II, Germany’s Imperial Chancellor, Bethmann Hollweg, and Germany’s Chief of the General Staff, Helmuth Moltke, colluded to deliberately and consciously begin full-scale and non-localized war. This school states that Germany’s imperialist ambitions — as exemplified in the quotations above — growing as they did out of national pride and exuberance of her unification in 1871, had given Germany an insatiable appetite to copy and surpass the political hegemony enjoyed then by England. The second school, led by mostly defunct and sentimental German national historians like Kessler, rejects the suggestion of a ‘premeditated European war’ and posits a state of affairs where, under extreme international pressure, Germany’s politicians had to, as a last resort, cede authority to the military so that they could defend Germany from hostile neighbours. This essay will argue that the great bulk of past and historical evidence  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€ Wilhelm’s and others personal diaries, military documents, parliamentary papers and so on — reveal that the first school has it right when they say that policy was made in collusion between Wilhelm II, Bethmann and Moltke’s army. These policy-makers acted as they did because they feared that their opportunity for imperialist expansion was about to close, and with it Germany’s long-sought-for hopes of world-power. The Imperial Chancellor and Moltke manipulated the Reichstag and Kaiser Wilhelm II so as to engender the deliberate inevitability of war.. According to Hewitson[1], two potentially decisive policy-makers — the German public: particularly the newly-formed industrialized and urbanized classes; and German political parties — were sidelined from major policy decisions near the start of the war. The unification of Germany under Bismarck in 1871 had, like in Italy, summoned up an awesome spirit of nationalism amongst Germans, and this nationalist pride flowed out into ambitions for Germany to have an empire to rival those of England and France. In the same period, German society underwent a tremendous social and political transformation, with power moving from the old Junker and agricultural classes to Germany’s huge new urbanized masses. This shift from agriculture to industry meant that the urbanized Germans now had a potentially decisive voice in national affairs and policy decisions. In 1914 it was not explicit however that Germany’s industrialized citizens would have unanimously backed the typ e of war that was declared by its leaders that summer. Bethmann speciously claimed, after the war, that ‘. . . the war did not arise out of single diplomatic actions, but was rather a result of public passion’. In reality, whilst the German public knew the general background to the international situation, they knew nearly nothing whatsoever about the particular decisions and policies that were being made by their leaders in the critical weeks in July 1914. Of course, not knowing of the seriousness of events in Serbia and Austria, the German public were not able to use their considerable power to have any effect upon the policy-decisions behind those events. Hewitson[2] argues that Bethmann, Zimmermann, Jagow, the Kaiser and Moltke deliberately kept the German people in the dark because they feared that the people might raise opposition to an aggressive and non-localized conflict. Thus, Clemens von Delbruck, Secretary of State for the Interior in 1914, could state that ‘. . . we (the Chancellor’s division) have not spoken about foreign policy at all, the daily press was completely calm, and no one amongst the visitors present suspected the slightest thing about the imminent danger of war’. Journalists and the public they reported for were subjected to a lengthy and elaborate efforts from the Kaiser and his military to conceal Germany’s true intentions until such a point that when did become known to the public, it would like Germany was a victim and only fighting a ‘defensive’ and ‘localized’ war. The Chief of Wilhelm’s Naval Cabinet thus stated in July 1914 that ‘The gove rnment has managed brilliantly to make us (Germany) look like the attacked’[3][4]. A similar blanket was thrown over the eyes of Germany’s politicians and political parties. Immediately after Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination in Sarajevo, most of Germany’s politicians were away from Berlin on their annual holidays; this simple fact meant that their influence over policy, and any opposition they might have normally raised to the aggression of Wilhelm and Moltke, was largely neutralized by their absence. By the time politicians returned to Berlin, the decision to go to war had been made and they had no retrospective power to reverse this policy. Likewise, German politicians were culpable for a major underestimation of the seriousness of events after the Sarajevo bombing. Politicians and liberal newspapers such as the Vossiche Zeitung and the Frankfurter Zeitung said in the immediate aftermath of the assassination that the ‘Serbian government had no part in the crime’; even right-wing newspapers such as the Berliner Neueste Nachricht en neither anticipated nor called for retaliation against Serbia for the assassination. This attitude can be praised for seeking to pacify Germany and to avoid war; it can likewise be criticized for a certain naivety, underestimating the true intentions of the German military. These two groups then — the German public and the German politicians — can be said to have had a very limited effect upon the policy decisions taken in July 1914. If not these, who then were the principal policy-makers in charge in 1914? Kaiser Wilhelm II ostensibly, and perhaps in reality, was a central figure in such decisions. Wilhelm was the supreme figure in German life: he was Commander-in-Chief of the German army, and was empowered by Articles 11 and 18 of the German constitution to declare war. The allies recognised Wilhelm’s centrality in controlling policy in 1914 when at the Treaty of Versailles they named him as a ‘war criminal’ with direct responsibility for Germany’s deliberate attempt to begin the war. This picture of Wilhelm’s central involvement, and his desire for war, is supported by documentary evidence from the weeks and months immediately preceding the war. Writing of Friedrich von Pourtales, German ambassador to Russia, Wilhelm said that ‘†¦ he would do better to leave unwritten’ his thoughts about Russia’s lack of desire for war. Later, also of Pourtales, that à ¢â‚¬ËœHe makes those who are ignorant of Russia and weak, suspect characters amongst his readers, totally confused’[5]. Numerous other ambassadorial documents and diaries reveal that, within the German and international diplomatic community, Wilhelm’s opinions were believed to directly shape and determine the direction of German foreign policy[6]. Given the tone and content of the quotations cited above, it is clear that, if Wilhelm did indeed have as much power as his diplomats believed, that he used this to engender war deliberately and on a grand scale rather ‘in defence’ or in a ‘localized context’. Nonetheless, numerous historians, Kennedy and Herwig for instance, argue that diplomatic assessments of Wilhelm’s powers were blinkered, and that in truth he had profoundly little influence over policy in 1914. Kennedy[7] describes how Wilhelm’s power and influence over policy, at its acme around 1900, began to wane due to scandal and incompetence in the years preceding 1914. The disastrous Daily Telegraph foreign policy decisions, as well as the Eulenberg court scandal, had led to plummet of his authority amongst both the German public and its ruling elites; in Kennedy’s phrase he lacked a ‘personal regime’ that would have provided more decisive influence over policy. Wilhelm II confounded his loss of authority by dragging behind him an entourage of incompetent ambassadorial and diplomatic staff such as Pourtales, Wilhelm von Schoen and Karl Max von Lichnowsky. The Imperial Chancellor, Bethmann Hollweg, had often opposed Wilhelm’s decisions i n the years before the war, and at the moment of the Serbian crisis reports show that Bethmann’s power clearly exceeded that possessed by Wilhelm. For instance, on July 5th 1914, Alexander von Hykos, appealed to Germany for aid in the Serbian crisis; Wilhelm II at once promised Ladislaus Szogyeny-Marich, Austria’s ambassador to Berlin German’s total support, but conditioned this promise with the following words ‘. . . that he (Wilhelm) must first hear what the Imperial Chancellor had to say’. Wilhelm II, conscious of previous challenges to his authority by Bethman, did not want to risk humiliation by promising Szogyeny-Marich Germany’s undoubted support, when he had first to inquire from Bethmann whether indeed the government would endorse such a policy. Further, during the crucial days of policy-making after Ferdinand’s assassination, the Imperial Chancellor deliberately kept Wilhelm II on holiday in Norway, and away from Berlin, for as long as possible. Central military policy-makers such as Tirpitz, Falkenhayn, Moltke and Waldersee returned from their holidays on July 24th; Wilhelm II did not return until the 27th — just one day before the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia became effective. Further, the Serbian government had sent a reply to Austria’s ultimatum on July 25th, yet the Chancellor was not permitted to see this reply until after Austria’s declaration of war. On August 1st the Kaiser, now avowing peace, sought to prevent war by halting German military mobilization in the West, thus enabling Britain and France to make declarations of their neutrality. Nonetheless, his interventions were opposed and by both Bethmann Hollweg and Moltke, and these oppositions proved decisive. All in all, such subservience and acquiescence to the Imperial Chancellor and to Moltke shows the fallacy of the power of the official titles held by Wilhelm II: he was Commander-in-Chief only in name, and the decision behind any declaration of war would be made principally by Bethmann Hollweg and by Moltke. As Stevenson has put it: ‘On each policy-making occasion before the war, and whether counselling war or peace, the Kaiser’s demands were overridden’[8]. Initially, the Kaiser gave his total support in the policy of deliberately beginning war, for he, like most Germans, sought to increase Germany’s international prestige. And during this time, it was advantageous for Bethmann and Moltke to let the Kaiser and his entourage believe that he still retained significant power over foreign policy; but the emptiness of that authority quickly becomes evident during the last week of July, when Wilhelm II turns to oppose war, but is thwarted in his attempts by the more powerful Bethmann and Moltke[9]. The last section of this essay implied that the true policy-makers in Berlin in 1914 were Moltke and Bethmann Hollweg and that their intentions were , from the start of the Serbian crisis, and indeed from much earlier, to pursue a deliberate policy of ‘expansive’ war and to replace England’s world political hegemony with its own. This section turns to examine these claims in depth, and to supply evidence for them. Principally, that the German General Staff and War Ministry, frustrated with the failure of imperialist strategy in recent years, and sensing the opportunity for an imperialist advance rapidly failing, that the military deliberately provoked the international community into the inevitability of war. In the days immediately preceding the Austrian declaration of war, and in stark contrast to the nescience of the German public, leading German military figures knew intimately the state of affairs in Austria and Serbia and were controlling both the flow of information about the crisis and the decisions that were to be made based upon it. Many German military figures were, like German politicians, absent on holiday when the Serbian assassination too place; yet unlike the politicians, Germany’s generals returned quickly to Berlin to seize the opportunity to effect their long-term war strategy. For instance, although later denying the accusation, Waldersee was shown, in recently uncovered parliamentary papers, to have returned three times from holiday back to Berlin during the period July 20th—27th. During these visits he was in intimate contact with Austrian military commanders, and was actively gathering extensive military intelligence about the readiness and preparation of the Austrians to go to war. Moltke, likewise, penned to his wife on July 22nd that ‘I am sorry not to be able to stay here (Karlsbad) another week, but I have to return to Berlin’ and ‘Tomorrow, the 23rd is the critical day! I am eager to find out what will happen’[10]. Comments like these imply a War Ministry highly cognizant of the events about them and of the influence that they might have in directing these events. Thus, historians like Mombauer[11], argue that the German military deliberately escalated the already precarious international situation by effecting a ‘military takeover’ in Germany. For instance, on July 29th, Moltke gave Bethmann a document called ‘Summary of the Political Situation’; yet within three days mobilization of the German army had already begun. ‘The spiritual progress of mankind is only possible through Germany. This  is why Germany will not lose this war; it is the only nation that can, at the  present moment, take charge of leading mankind towards a higher destiny’ (Helmuth von Moltke, November 1914)[12] Helmuth von Moltke, Germany’s Chief of the General Staff, and supreme military leader for most of WWI, had great influence the policy-decisions made in the days immediately preceding war. As the above quotation suggests, and as innumerable other bellicose statements of Moltke corroborate, the German military were inspired to war by the patriotic and nationalistic idea that Germany should have international hegemony over the cultural and spiritual life of man. It is consequently very difficult to believe that Moltke, and other similarly minded military leaders, were content to wait patiently for the realization of these ambitions whilst the opportunity to enact them seemed to be dwindling. Instead, the generals knew that success depended upon an aggressive and vigorous provocation of international tensions so as to ignite war. Moltke was instrumental in effecting this provocation and his slogan that war should come ‘the sooner the better’ has lingered in history as a testament to his bellicose intent. Moltke influence over the Sclieffen/Moltke Plan was enormous, and this plan was perhaps the most explicit declaration of aggressive intent seen before the war — deliberately seeking as it did to violate the neutrality of Belgium and Luxemburg so as to provoke a chain-reaction whereby England and France would be drawn into the war also. Mombauer argues that Moltke and his generals had decided long before the war that a successful campaign would have first to swiftly defeat France and the West swiftly, before turning to combat Russia. This plan depended upon strict adherence to a tight military strategy, and therefore the subjugation, of ‘secondary’ political concerns — such as the preservation of peace! Complicit in these preparations for war was the Imperial Chancellor, Bethmann Hollweg. Though he protested somewhat at the celerity with which the military preparations gathered momentum  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€ Hewitson[13] records an argument (Ausienandersetzung) between Molke and Bethmann on July 30th — Bethmann nonetheless was cognizant of the preparations that his military men were making, and of the fact that these preparations were neither for a defensive nor a localized war. To this end, Bethmann told his ambassadors, on the eve of the war, that ‘. . . we have accepted the role of mediator’ — confirming his acquiescence to the generals’ will. Stevenson argues that Bethmann’s outward protests against war, such as his last minute demand for a ‘halt in Belgrade’, were never pursued vigorously enough or believed either by Bethmann himself or by the military. An entry from General Falkenhayn’s diary, dated July 30th, states that, af ter talks with Bethmann, Falkenhayn had ‘. . . got the decision accepted over the imminent danger of war’[14]. In other words, Bethmann either willingly consented or meekly acquiesced to the preparations for war as readied by Moltke. Wilson argues further that, rather than having a ‘military take-over’ forced upon his government, and thereby being unwillingly dragged into conflict, Bethmann in fact, on the evening of July 30th, still had the chance to pressure Austria to restrict its military mobilization and therefore to slow-down Russia’s also. Bethmann made no such appeal, and therefore, Wilson argues, endorsed the military’s aggressive planning. In the final analysis, the two principal policy-makers in Berlin in 1914 were Molke and Bethmann — though considerably aided by the Kaiser, even if he was not always fully conscious of his contribution to these decisions. The impossibility of maintaining the old argument that German policy-makers only entered WWI in self-defence, and then that they only intended a localized war, ought to be evident to any modern and objective historian. Since Fischer’s seminal War of Illusions was published in the 1967, historians of all countries, aided by the discovery of a vast amount of documentation from the period, have begun to ask not whether Germany sought war deliberately, but why she did so. Principally, Germany sought war because, since the efflorescence of national pride engendered by unification in 1871, Germany possessed a craving to follow the imperialist expansion of countries like England and France — a longing immortalized in the German caricature of Sleepy Mic hael, who has ‘woken up too late’ to claim his part of the international map. In 1914 Moltke and his military advisors thought they saw a moment to realize these ambitions. The European political and military conditions of 1914, aided by the catalyst of Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination, seemed to open a window for a ‘now or never’ lightning military thrust. The usual checks such as the Reichstag and public opinion that might have prevented or at least localized the war, were bypassed by the rapidity of events in the last week of July 1914, and by the lack of information that was made available to these groups. A historian’s final reflection on the question of policy might then be this: that Germany’s irrepressible jealousy of Britain, born out of convictions of her own cultural and spiritual supremacy, led her policy-makers to deliberately engineer the inevitability of war. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brose, E.D. (2001). The Kaiser’s Army: The Politics of Military Technology During the Machine Age. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Carroll, E.M. (1938). Germany and the Great Powers, 1860-1914. New York, Fantasy Press. Coetzee, M.S. (1990). The German Army League: Popular Nationalism in Wilhelmine Germany. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Cole, T.F. (1991). German Decision-Making on the Eve of the First-World War. Kaisermunch Press, Munich, Ferro, M. (1995). The Great War: 1914-1918. London. Fischer, F. (1967). War of Illusions: German Policies From 1911 to 1914. Catto   Windus Ltd, London. Gerghahn, V.R. (1993). Germany and the Approach of War. Herwig, H. (1991). The Outbreak of World War I: Causes and Responsibilities. (5th Ed.) Lexington, Massachusetts. Kennedy, P.M. (Edit.) (1979). The War Plans of the Great Powers: 1880-1914. New Haven, London. Kessel, E. (1957). Moltke. Stuttgart.   Mombauer, A. (2001). Helmuth von Moltke and the Origins of the First World  War. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. O’Connell, R.L. (1989). Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons and Aggression. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Quirk, R (Et. Al.). (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Stevenson, D. (1988). The First World War and International Politics. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Wilson, K. M. (1995). Decisions for War: 1914. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1 Footnotes [1] Hewitson, M. (2002). Germany and the Causes of the First World War. Berg, Oxford, p. 195. [2] Hewitson, M. (2002). Germany and the Causes of the First World War. Berg, Oxford, p. 198. [3] Herwig, H. (1991). The Outbreak of World War I: Causes and Responsibilities. (5th Ed.) Lexington,  Massachusetts, p55. [4] [5] Carroll, E.M. (1938). Germany and the Great Powers, 1860-1914. New York, Fantasy Press, p190. [6] Stevenson, D. (1988). The First World War and International Politics. Oxford University Press,  Oxford. [7] Kennedy, P.M. (Edit.) (1979). The War Plans of the Great Powers: 1880-1914. New Haven, London. [8] Stevenson, D. (1988). The First World War and International Politics. Oxford University Press,  Oxford, p200. [9] Stevenson, D. (1988). The First World War and International Politics. Oxford University Press,  Oxford, p251. [10] Hewitson, M. (2002). Germany and the Causes of the First World War. Berg, Oxford, p. 210. [11] Mombauer, A. (2001). Helmuth von Moltke and the Origins of the First World War. Cambridge  University Press, Cambridge, p433. [12] Mombauer, A. (2001). Helmuth von Moltke and the Origins of the First World War. Cambridge  University Press, Cambridge, p283. [13] Hewitson, M. (2002). Germany and the Causes of the First World War. Berg, Oxford, p202. [14] Wilson, K. M. (1995). Decisions for War: 1914. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Princess Bride -x :: essays research papers

Journal of William Goldman's The Princess Bride   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The princess bride is an incredibly entertaining book. Although it was written mostly as a parody it contains many themes. The developments seen in the dynamic characters are astounding ones. The theme, or motif, which I'm going to follow through the story is that of Fezzik and his quest for self confidence and a good self image. From the time that the novel starts to the end, Fezzik achieves a good self image. He starts out with a very low self image and, by the end, he finds in himself talents that give him a better image of himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin with, Vizzini never allows Fezzik to provide an sort of input or to think in any way. When Fezzik, inigo and Vizzini first kidnap buttercup, Fezzik attempts to offer some good ideas, but Vizzini will have none of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ''I think we should kill her now';, the Turk said.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'The less you think, the happier I'll be,'; The Scilian answered';. (Page 83) And later on the same page:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  '…the Turk mumbled. 'people are always thinking that I'm so stupid because I'm big and strong and sometimes drool a little when I get excited.';';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ''The reason people think you're so stupid,'; the Scilian said, 'is because you are so stupid. It has nothing to do with your drooling.';'; Vizzini manages, with his constant verbal attacks on Fezzik to destroy any shred of confidence that Fezzik may have had before. Vizzini's ego is getting in the way of Fezzik.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From a very young age Fezzik was taunted by his school mates. 'At first, naturally, they were scared to death (even then Fezzik looked fierce) but once they found out he was chicken, well, they weren't about to let an opportunity like that get away…it would go on like that until Fezzik would burst into tears and run away.'; People never gave Fezzik any sort of chance. He has always been considered a fool out loud. Luckily he had his rhymes to comfort him. When Vizzini dies, although it leaves Fezzik in a lot of despair, it is probably the best thing for him. The stopping of Vizzini's verbal attacks allow to build his confidence. I think that the first big confidence building experience for Fezzik is when Inigo begs him for help. From page 224: '…Fly, Fezzik; this is Inigo begging you-- make a path—please!'; Well, Fezzik had rarely had anyone beg him for anything, least of all Inigo,';

Elizabeth Essay -- essays papers

Elizabeth The 1998 movie â€Å"Elizabeth,† directed by Shekhar Kapur, from a script by Michael Hirst, is a historical epic that takes place during and after the mid-16th-century period when England’s Princess Elizabeth was nearly eliminated by her half-sister, Queen Mary. It portrays the events of Mary’s death, Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne, and the struggles and events that she must overcome in order to preserve the strength of the English Monarchy, and establish Protestantism as the chief English religion. She must also maintain her stability and safety as a female ruler in a male-dominated society. The movie is beautifully made, with eloquent and realistic costumes, and prominent actors, and it successfully turns an important historical period into a riveting drama filled with action and romance. However, looking at â€Å"Elizabeth† from a historical standpoint, it is lacking in terms of accuracy. The chronological events in the movie do not follow with the historical events, and instances that happened over many years are crammed into a short period of time. Also, many events are exaggerated, or even completely made up in order to add to the dramatic appeal of the movie. Despite these flaws, â€Å"Elizabeth† does correctly relate the main aspects of Queen Elizabeth I’s rule. Elizabeth was born in 1533, the daughter of the infamous Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was three, her mother was beheaded for treason and adultery, and Parliament declared her marriage to Henry invalid, which made Elizabeth illegitimate. Her chances of ever ascending the throne were again thwarted by the birth of Edward, the son of Henry and his third wife. When Edward, a Protestant, died in 1553, his older half-sister, Mary, a Catholic, took the throne. Mary always held bitter feelings toward Elizabeth because Anne Boleyn treated Catherine of Aragon, Mary‘s mother, badly. To avoid angering Mary, Elizabeth â€Å"conformed outwardly to Catholicism,† but she secretly hoped and plotted to restore Protestantism. She was briefly locked up in the Tower of London, and was almost executed. The movie begins with the execution of three Protestant activists, ordered by Mary, illustrating her hatred and intolerance for Protestants. In order to avoid angering Mary, â€Å"Elizabeth continually had to proclaim her pious distaste for heresy.†(Jagger) In the movie, Mary ... ...o about two hours, and make these two hours interesting. To do so, facts had to be manipulated in order to make the movie more interesting and easy to follow. Important characters were omitted, conspiracies grouped together, and people were misrepresented. Elizabeth was portrayed as a happy and fun-loving young woman, when historians describe her as a somewhat cold-hearted woman who shared her father’s nasty temper. The filmmakers turned the history into a drama that has the essential characteristics of any entertaining movie: suspense, good guys and bad guys, and a riveting love story. They were not attempting to make an accurate documentary of Elizabethan England, but a dramatized interpretation of it that would be enjoyable to viewers, and provoke interest in the Elizabethan era. Bibliography: Hartl, John. Movie Review: ‘Elizabeth’ is unstuffy historical epic, stirring up overlooked British history† November 20. McCaffrey, Wallace, Susan Doran, Chris Haigh, and Norman Jones. Ridley, Jasper. The Shrewdness of Virtue . London: Viking Penguin Inc, 1987 Encyclopedia Britannica 1999-2000 Elizabeth I. Crown Copyright, 1997, 1998, 1999.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Jack Londons To Build A Fire: Theme Essay -- essays research papers

Jack London's To Build a Fire: Theme The significance of the words "dying and death" in Jack London's 1910 novel, "To Build a Fire" continuously expresses the man's dwindling warmth and bad luck in his journey along the Yukon trail to meet "the boys" at camp. London associates dying with the man's diminishing ability to stay warm in the frigid Alaskan climate. The main characters predicament slowly worsens one level at a time finally resulting in death. The narrator informs the reader that "the man" lacks personal experience traveling in the Yukon terrain. The old-timer warned the man about the harsh realities of the Klondike. The confident main character thinks of the old-timer at Sulphur Creek as "womanish." Along the trail, "the man" falls into a hidden spring and attempts to build a fire to dry his socks and warm himself. With his wet feet quickly growing numb, he realizes he has only one chance to successfully build a fire or face the harsh realities of the Yukon at one-hundred nine degrees below freezing. Falling snow from a tree blots out the fire and the character realizes "he had just heard his own sentence of death." Jack London introduces death to the reader in this scene. The man realizes "a second fire must be built without fail." The man's mind begins to run wild with thoughts of insecurity and death when the second fire fails. He recollects the story of a man who kills a steer to...

Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Collapse of Ronan Point

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to consider the perceived failures associated with the famous collapse of Ronan Point on 16 May, 1968. Following a gas explosion, an entire corner of the 22 storey tower block in East London collapsed, killing 4 people and injuring 17. In order to analyse the failures that occurred, the paper will firstly look at the history of the building, its design and construction, before looking at the collapse itself and the perceived failures that were identified after the event. The building was named after the chairman of the housing committee of the relevant London Borough, Newham, and was one of many tower blocks built during the 1960s in a budget-driven and affordable way to deal with the growing demand for affordable housing in the region (Levy and Salvadori 1992). The very ethos of this affordable housing and the use of cheaper materials and cheaper construction approaches is arguably one of the first and fundamental contributory factors to the disaster (Griffiths et al 1968). Design and Construction The actual design and construction of the building was mooted as far back as the end of World War II, when much of the housing available in the London region was destroyed as a result of the war and there was a rapid demand for a large amount of housing. Other factors such as a lack of skilled labourers, as well as the changing housing policy which enabled multi-stories to be established, created a demand for the design and construction of buildings such as the one in question here. A prefabricated construction technique was used which involved the creation of much of the high-rise building which was then transported to the area for final construction (Cagley, 2003). The actual construction approach that was used here was that of the Larsen-Nielsen system which was composed of factory-built, precast concrete components designed to minimise on-site construction work. Walls, floors and stairways are all precast. â€Å"All units, installed one-story high are load bearing† (ENR, 1968 at p.54). Although this system was tried and tested, the approach was not designed to be used in a building of more than 6 storeys high. However, the building of this tower block was 22 storeys high and there was no recognition, at the construction phase, that this could potentially jeopardise the validity of the construction technique. The basic construction approach involved a precast concrete structure frame, with each floor of the multi-storey building being supported by the load-bearing walls directly beneath each other, floor upon floor (Bignell et al 1977). Collapse The collapse itself happened at 5:45 am in the morning when the tenant of one of the apartments on the 18th floor lit a match, unbeknownst that there had been a gas leak overnight. By lighting the match, an explosion took place and this ended up damaging the load-bearing wall which was present on the 18th floor and was acting as the only support for the corner of the 19th floor. When the corner of the 19th floor collapsed, this had the effect of the 20th floor collapsing. Once the floors above had already collapsed the pressure on the floors became unbearable and the domino effect continued downward, destroying the entire corner of the building (Delatte, 2009). The way in which the collapse took place meant that, essentially, it destroyed a portion of the living room all the way down the building, but left the bedrooms intact in most cases, with the exception of floors 17 to 22 the room which were in the immediate vicinity of the explosion. It was on these floors that all of the fata lities happened and due to the fact that the explosion had taken place early in the morning, the majority of the individuals who were in their bedrooms were unaffected (Delatte, 2009). Perceived Failures When looking at the perceived failures and causes of failure, it can be seen that the analysis is largely split into two distinct areas: first, considering the immediate cause of failure; the second looking at the fundamental flaws in the design and construction of the building that allowed such a dramatic reaction to the immediate event (Griffiths et al 1968). The actual investigation into the event which took place involved a government panel which was formed in order to look at the causes of failure and to consider whether or not there were other buildings which potentially could suffer from a similar eventuality, in the future. As stated previously, the construction approach taken for Ronan Point was replicated in many other buildings, with eight other exact replicas in occupation. Therefore, establishing the reason for the collapse is crucially important (Pearson and Delatte, 2003) One of the key factors that took contributed in the immediate event itself was found to be a substandard connection used in order to connect the gas stove in the relevant apartment. Whilst this meant that the gas leak had presented itself in a way that would not have been likely, had they used a different connection, as well as having the incorrect connection, it was found that over tightening had occurred during installation. This probably weakened the connection and allowed gas to leak out. Despite this, the evidence gathered suggested that the explosion itself was not substantial, as there was no permanent damage to the hearing of the individual in the apartment. This suggests that relatively little pressure was involved, although there was sufficient pressure to move the external walls of the building and to create a progressive collapse within the building (Levy and Salvadori, 1992). Broadly speaking, the progressive collapse is thought to have occurred due to the fact that there was a lack of alternate load paths available and there was no support for the structural frame available on the higher floors (Wearne, 2000). This meant that when there was an explosion on level 18, this took out the only support so that the floors above level 18 failed and this placed excessive pressure on the lower floors, until it ultimately collapse to ground level. Perceived failures, can be split into two distinct categories, the first being the cause of the explosion itself; the second looking at the repercussions of the explosion, which were extensive, given the magnitude of the explosion, which was relatively low. Procedure and Project Management Unsurprisingly, as a result of the collapse here, building codes, guidelines and regulations were advised not only in the United Kingdom, but across the globe. The building regulations, changed in 1970, state that any building with more than four storeys needs to have a design structure in place that would resist a progressive collapse of this nature (Pearson and Delatte, 2005, pp. 175). Apart from the construction mechanisms themselves, there were also concerns that failures had occurred in the project management, as well as failures to check procedures. The gaps between the floors and in the walls meant that the building had not been established in a way that was part of the original design and planning. In addition to the actual failure in the design of the property, concerns were also raised in the report in relation to the need for quality control of the construction processes taking place. For example, it was proven that during the construction, certain design factors had been ignored, with unfilled gaps between the floors and walls, throughout the premises, which meant that the building had little in the way of separation between the flats. Furthermore, in high rise buildings of this type, a relatively narrow staircase is acceptable, as there is thought to be enough fire protection between the floors. In the absence of this fire protection, narrow staircases w ould be unacceptable, in the event of a fire or explosion of this nature. Key Failures The analysis above indicates that there are several failures which together created the dramatic collapse at Ronan Point. These are: social pressures on the construction company to establish a large amount of housing accommodation, rapidly and cheaply; the use of constructions not aimed at high storey buildings of this nature; failures to put in place methods whereby there was no secondary support structure in place, in the event of a failure with any of the load-bearing walls; failures with the processes being followed, which resulted in the wrong processes being followed in the connection of the gas pipes, as well as other omissions during the construction process, with the failure to follow the design provided. It can be seen, that the project management would have, at least in part, dealt with many of these failures and would have either prevented the explosion, in the first place, or would have seriously reduced the impact of the explosion, once it did take place. The crucial factor in this analysis is that the explosion itself was relatively minor, yet the repercussions were large and it is this chain of events that requires attention when it comes to better project management, in the future. Recommendations for Better Project Management Certain failures took place at the design phase, when the design construction of the premises was selected, yet was not entirely suitable for a 22 storey building. This was arguably the first and crucial failure which could have been avoided with further research into the limitations of this design. However, the main focus of the recommendations presented here is in relation to the project management process, from the point at which the design was presented for the construction, to the point at which the building was completed (Pearson and Delatte, 2005). At the outset, when the project team came together, there was an opportunity to run scenarios and to check the validity of the chosen construction, given the design that were being presented and the need to establish a 22 storey building. By running these types of scenarios, it is likely that it would become apparent that the chosen construction design was simply inappropriate. Even without this element of the project management being undertaken and risk assessments being carried out, the next stage of the project management should have involved a strong quality control check for every aspect of the work. The fundamental design of the building was proven to be flawed; however, there were also errors during the actual construction phase, for example the use of the wrong connections when it came to the gas pipes installed. Although this, in itself, did not lead to the catastrophic collapse of part of the building, it did create a minor gas explosion which started the chain of events. Quality control processes at every phase of construction and fitting would have potentially prevented the chain of events from emerging, in the first place (Shepherd and Frost, 1995). Next Steps and Conclusions Bearing this in mind, there are several proposed changes and next steps which could be taken to prevent a similar failure happening in the future. Firstly, although the design used was accepted during this era, it was known that it would simply not be appropriate for the type of building which was being planned. This should have been noted, at the outset, with additional safety structures then planed so as to prevent this type of progressive collapse from taking place. Secondly, worst-case scenarios should be run, at the outset, to enable the project managers to ascertain whether any weaknesses existed. Moreover, although the rest of collapse in this case resulted in the building being destroyed, it was also not able to withstand strong winds and this also, ultimately, could have resulted in the building becoming uninhabitable. By running scenarios, such as high winds or explosion, these issues would have been highlighted and changes in the design could have been incorporated, from the outset (Pearson and Delatte 2003). Finally, quality control during the construction process was also not suitable. This should have been done with much greater consistency, to ensure that the smaller processes, such as the fitting of connections, was carried out to an appropriate standard, thus preventing the minor incident that ultimately led to the overall disaster. By following these clear project management approaches and ensuring that an individual was put in place, in order to manage quality and control, as well as any variables in this area, the collapse of the building could have been avoided, or at least the cause of the collapse mitigated against, so as not to cause loss of life and injury. References Bignell, V., Peters, J., and Pym, C. (1977). Catastrophic failures. Open University Press, Milton Keynes, New York. Cagley, J. R. (2003, April). The design professional’s concerns regarding progressive collapse design. Building Sciences, 27, 4-6. Delatte, N. J. (2009). Beyond failure: Forensic case studies for civil engineers. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, Virginia, 97-106. Engineering News Record (ENR). (1968). â€Å"Systems built apartment collapse.† ENR, May 23, 1968, 54. Griffiths, H., Pugsley, A. G., and Saunders, O. (1968). Report of the inquiry into the collapse of flats at Ronan Point, Canning Town. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London. Levy, M., and Salvadori, M. (1992). Why buildings fall down: How structures fail. W.W. Norton, New York, 76-83. Pearson, C., and Delatte, N. (2003). Lessons from the Progressive Collapse of the Ronan Point Apartment Tower. In Forensic Engineering, Proceedings of the Third Congress, edited by Paul A. Bosela, Norbert J. Dellate, and Kevin L. Rens, ASCE, Reston, VA., pp. 190-200. Pearson, C.,and Delatte, N. J. (2005) Ronan Point Apartment Tower Collapse and Its Effect on Building Codes. J. Perf. of Constr. Fac., 19(2), 172-177. Shepherd, R., and Frost, J. D. (1995). Failures in Civil Engineering: Structural, Foundation, and Geoenvironmental Case Studies, ASCE, New York. Wearne, P. (2000). Collapse: When Buildings Fall Down, TV Books, L.L.C., New York, 137-156.