Review intermediate macroecon

How do we measure standard of living Measuring the standard of living in a country is to use real national income per capita. This is found that dividing real national income (GAP or GNP) by the total population. 2. How can European unemployment be reduced? Central bank should decrease interest rates, and allow for an increase in demand, and unemployment would decrease. They need to be less protective, to eliminate these labor market rigidities, and to adopt US style labor market institutions 3. What are the benefits of the Euro?No more changes in the relative price of currencies for European firms to worry about, no more need to change currencies when crossing borders. 4. What has contributed to the high economic growth of China? A. The first Is high accumulation of capital. The Investment rate exceeds 40% of output, a high number. Compared to US which Is 17%. More capital means higher productivity and higher output. B. The second is rapid technological progress. By making Chinese f irms work with and learn from foreign firms, the productivity of the Chinese firms has increase dramatically. Chapter 2 1.What Is GAP, value added approach A measure of aggregate output in the national income accounts (The market value of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the US) VALUE ADDED: Sales – Intermediate goods Intermediate GOOD: is a good used in production of another good. Some goods can be both final goods and intermediate goods. (EX: Final: Potatoes sold directly to consumers/ Intermediate: Potatoes used to produce potato chips) 2. Nominal and Real GAP Nominal: sum of quantities of final goods produced times their current price. Nominal GAP increases over time for 2 reasons: a.Production of most goods increase ever time. B. Prices of most goods also increase over time. Real: Sum of quantities of final goods times constant (rather than current prices) 3. GAP Deflator: the ratio of nominal GAP to real GAP in year t ICP: The cost of a given list of goods and services consumed by a typical urban dweller Inflation: A sustained rise in the general level of prices Inflation rate: The rate at which the price level increase over time. 4. Labor Force and Discourage workers Labor Force: The sum of those employed and those unemployed Discourage Workers: A person who has given up looking for employment. . Unemployment rate and Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate: The ratio of the number of unemployed to the labor force Labor Force Participation rate: The ratio of the labor force to the total population of working age (non-institutional civilian population) Chapter 3 1. MAC, multiplier (CLC): The effect on consumption of an additional dollar of disposable income 2. Consumption function A function that relates consumption to its determinants 3. Determination of output in Goods Market 4. Keynesian cross 5. What shifts the Z line 6. Determinants of Investment 7. Shifts of the IS curve

Born-Haber Process Lab

Chemistry Lab: Haber’s Process (A Computer Simulation) Cherno Okafor Mr. Huang SCH4U7 October 8th, 2012 Introduction The Haber process is the process by which ammonia (NH3) is produced. The equation for this reaction is†¦ The symbol shown in the middle means it is a reversible reaction so the product can decompose back into the reactants. Therefore, optimum conditions must be selected to get the greatest yield. When the forward and backward reactions are the same, it is said to be in a state of dynamic equilibrium.The position of this dynamic equilibrium can be moved forward by changing the conditions the reaction is done in. This follows Le Chatelier’s Principle which says changes to a system in equilibrium will move it in an opposite direction. Condition (Dependent Variables)| Effect (Independent Variables)-Yield, Equilibrium Time, Net Profit| Pressure| Increasing this will improve the yield because the forward reaction reduces pressure. However, putting up the p ressure too far is impractical and becomes too expensive. Temperature| A higher yield can be obtained by using a low temperature since the forward reaction produces heat, but this also will make the reaction slower, and less profitable. | Catalyst| The Haber process makes use of catalysts like iron, tungsten, and platinum to speed up the reaction, however this does not improve the yield. | Note: The conditions of the Haber process must be finely balanced to reach a combination of highest yield and fastest reaction, this is very important because getting this right will make sure this industrial process is as profitable as possible.Data Collection and Processing (Raw Data): Variables| Results (No Catalyst)| Results (No Catalyst)| Results (No Catalyst)| Results (No Catalyst)| Results (No Catalyst)| Temperature ( °C)| 658| 660| 663| 677| 680| Pressure (Atm. )| 464| 482| 510| 658| 694| Time to Equilibrate (Min)| 10. 16| 10. 17| 10. 17| 10. 15| 10. 15| Yield (%) | 15. 8| 16. 3| 17. 1| 21. 2| 22. 2| Amount ($) per day| 36,454. 36| 36,413. 56 | 36,380. 36 | 36, 361. 71| 36,321. 0| RESULTS: * After this first trial using no catalysts, it is evident that the equilibrium time is extremely slow and unfortunately, only produces a small yield yet with a large amount of net profit per day. * Another thing was the temperature. The net profit and yield seemed to be at its highest when the temperatures were set at around the 600-700 °C range. With an extremely low temperature though, the time to equilibrate was close to a million years, so temperature had to be fairly high * In terms of the pressure, it had to be between the 400-700 Atm. ange (not too high so that it would yield a high cost and not too low so that it would yield a low percentage and net profit) but just in the middle * I wanted to find balance in my profit and yield, so with no catalyst, I adjusted the bars so that the temperature value was fairly close to the pressure value and the results were a greater net profit, with a reasonable equilibrium time of reaction Variables| Results (With Iron Catalyst) | Results (With Iron Catalyst)| Results (With Iron Catalyst)| Results (With Iron Catalyst)| Results (With Iron Catalyst)| Temperature ( °C)| 468| 475| 472| 473| 479| Pressure (Atm. | 721| 881| 809| 832| 989| Time to Equilibrate (Min)| 10. 18| 10. 16| 10. 17| 10. 16| 10. 18| Yield (%) | 58. 8| 63. 9| 61. 7| 62. 4| 66. 9| Amount ($) per day| 33, 793. 48| 33, 909. 39| 33, 805. 15| 33,893. 81| 33, 753. 80| RESULTS: * After this second trial, I used the catalyst of iron. Iron was by far the most profitable catalyst to use as it was not that expensive as the others (Tungsten and Platinum), and it produced a high yield with a pretty high amount as well * In terms of the temperature, it was a very typical 400-500 °C range which is also a very high temperature and the yield of ammonia would be high and my net profit as well. For pressure, I increased its value to the 700-900atm range and th is in conjunction with my high temperature range produced the best results as I produced high yields from 50-70% with the exact same time frame it took for the non-catalyst reaction to equilibrate * So obviously with the addition of the iron catalyst, I did not have to take more or less time for the equilibrium reaction to take place, I instead produced a higher yield of ammonia with a fairly large net profit, which was my goal in the first place Variables| Results (With Tungsten Catalyst)| Results (With Tungsten Catalyst)| Temperature ( °C)| 429| 435|Pressure (Atm. )| 346| 418| Time to Equilibrate (Min)| 10. 46| 10. 16| Yield (%) | 50. 4| 49. 9| Amount ($) per day| 19, 506. 24| 19, 495. 86| RESULTS: * Finally, for this last third trial, I used Tungsten catalyst. This Tungsten catalyst was not as efficient as the iron catalyst, and it also cost more. * In terms of temperature, the 400-450 °C range which was average because increasing the temperature would have created more econo mic problems such as higher costs of energy/production, etc. With iron, it was fairly easy to play around with the temperature, but for Tungsten it was more challenging. I also had to lower the pressures, but not too low so that the equilibrium time would be slow, but not too high either so that I would be losing a lot of profit because of the economic costs * As a result, this adjustments yielded only a little less than what I yielded with iron, however still a fairly high yield. The only decrease was in the net profit, because of the expenses of Tungsten. * The Temperature-Equilibrium Considerations: * One must shift the position of the equilibrium as far as possible to the right in order to produce the maximum possible amount of ammonia in the equilibrium mixture.The forward reaction of the production of ammonia is exothermic. Therefore according to Le Chatelier’s Principle, this will be favoured if one lowers the temperature. The system will respond by moving the position of equilibrium to counteract this-producing more heat. In order to get as much ammonia as possible in the equilibrium mixture, one needs as low a temperature as possible. * The Temperature-Rate Considerations: * The lower the temperature one uses, the slower the reaction becomes. In this case though as a manufacturer, I am trying to produce as much ammonia as possible per day.It makes no sense to try and achieve an equilibrium mixture which contains a very high proportion of ammonia if it takes several years for the reaction to reach that equilibrium. Therefore, one needs the gases to reach equilibrium within the very short time that they will be in contact with the catalyst (or without) in the reactor. * During my experiment lab, I noticed that the temperature range of 400-700 °C is a compromise temperature, producing a reasonably high proportion of ammonia in the equilibrium mixture, but also in a very short time. * The Pressure-Equilibrium Considerations:There are only 4 molec ules on the left-hand side of the equation, but only 2 on the right. According to Le Chatelier’s Principle, if you increase the pressure the system will respond by favouring the reaction which produces fewer molecules. That will cause the pressure to fall again. In order to get as much ammonia as possible in the equilibrium mixture, one needs as high a pressure as possible. * The Pressure-Rate Considerations: * Increasing the pressure brings the molecules closer together. In this particular instance, it will increase their chances of hitting and sticking to the surface of the catalyst where they can react.The higher the pressure, the better in terms of the rate of a gas reaction. * Economic Considerations: * Very high pressures are extremely expensive to produce on two accounts: * One has to build extremely strong pipes to withstand the very high pressure. * Also, high pressures cost a lot to produce and even maintain. That means that the running costs of your manufacture are very high for you. * During my lab, I noticed that 200 atm is a reasonable choice of pressure. If the pressure used is too high however, the cost of generating it exceeds the price you can get for the extra ammonia produced. The Catalyst-Equilibrium Considerations: * The Catalyst actually has no affect whatsoever on the position of the equilibrium. Adding a catalyst does not produce any greater percentage of ammonia in the equilibrium mixture. Its only function is to speed up the reaction. * The Catalyst-Rate Considerations: * In the absence of a catalyst, the reaction is so slow that virtually no reaction happens in any sensible time. The catalyst ensures that the reaction is fast enough for a dynamic equilibrium to be set up within the very short time that the gases are actually in the reactor.Conclusion: To sum up, the objective of this computer simulation lab was to produce a high yield of ammonia with as high a net profit as possible, while considering the economic factors suc h as energy cost, and production cost, and even catalyst costs. It turned out that I was prohibited from using platinum as a catalyst because it was too expensive. Out of the remaining catalysts: Iron, and Tungsten, Iron was the most efficient and profitable one as it is less expensive and yielded a great amount of ammonia while I was able to make a large profit as well.The Tungsten catalyst did yield a fairly high amount of ammonia, however not a very high net profit was made from it and this is again due to the economic implications of energy and production as mentioned. When I did not use any catalysts, the problem was that the time to equilibrate the reactions was atrocious, and very slow. With the criteria â€Å"highest yield and fastest reaction† in mind, the most optimal combination to produce ammonia was the 400-500 °C (479 °C) temperature range, with the 900-1000 Atm range (989atm). and along with the iron catalyst produced 66. % of ammonia, and at least $33, 000 in net profit. I chose this result as the best one because of the balance of the dependent variables of time, yield, and net profit. I could not find my way up to at least $34, 000 or above in net profit with the iron catalyst. I only managed to exceed that profit when I did not use any catalysts, but again the reaction time is way too slow and hence senseless. I probably could have kept on going to gradually adjust the temperature and pressure one by one to look for an even higher yield and net profit, but time is an issue and I would have to sit for a long time doing this.

The Difference between the Third Way and Socialism Essay

The Difference between the Third Way and Socialism - Essay Example It has information about Western Europe and Anglo American world. This can include thoughts from western philosophers like Kant, Marx Hegel,Heder , Hobbes, Rousseau and miller. It has ideas and thoughts about industrial revolution in 19th century .In modern political ideas, new political theories and definitions are explored and explained. Modern political ideas suggest that the glimpse shown by social philosophers are more or less unreal and exaggerated. In order to portray political philosophies more realistically, practical matters must be included in them. If we go little deeper into Modern political ideas we can analyze two concepts namely; Third Way and socialism. It is necessary to understand these two concepts in order to analyze or interpret them. These two ideas are separate still share a common link to each other. According to BBC(1999)â€Å"Put at its most basic the third way is something different and distinct from liberal capitalism with its unswerving belief in the me rits of the free market and democratic socialism with its demand management and obsession with the state†. ... It emphasizes on responsibility, obligation and de-centralizing government while giving less importance to income re- distribution. As per Mercer (2005)â€Å"On the world stage, socialism has reinvented itself successfully and has surfaced in the guise of the vaunted Third Way whose main apparatchiks are the Clintons, the pair from Cool Britannia and the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder†. The third way is a middle path where the government will tread on in order to escape the liberal attitude of socialist principles and capitalism view of industrialists. This is a successful method of governing people as citizens will get ownership to property as well as freedom to act on their own. They can also govern themselves regarding their capabilities, rights, property ownership and responsibilities in society. The ideas and principles of third way is not accurate, hence their specification is difficult. There are arguments that third way politicians speak on a double standards. Th e relation of third way with socialism Socialism has reinvented successfully in the new age and new socialist concepts are bandwagon into third way politics. The concepts of third way politics are adhered by social democrats to formulate third way social democracy. The third way democracy proponents argue that it is not socialism and it is â€Å"competition capitalism†. By accepting capitalism the new right is representing social democrats. There is something called centralized socialism and decentralized socialism. However centralized socialism is traditional and decentralized socialism needs to be taken over by the former. The association of state ownership and social ownership has an automatic association and it is followed by traditional

Sociology Project Summary and Annotated Bibliography Essay

Sociology Project Summary and Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example ROCKS, Sydney. Information Website. http://www.therocks.com/. (August 9, 2009). This website offers a huge amount of information about Rocks, Sydney Australia. The informations within this website gives a particular insisting information about the different sites that are directly effective and elemental in showing the historical background of the place in concern. Besides that, it could also be noticed how the entire website introduces a good consideration on the major operations that are taken into consideration with regards the promotion of culture in the area. Around Australia Website. http://www.sydney.com.au/rocks.htm. (August 9, 2009). The in depth presentation of Australia and the consideration focused on the detailed history of Rocks, Sydney is a huge implicative presentation of how the entire place is actually moulded through the history that it passes through. It could be noticed how this site helps the non-knowing individuals to gain a bit of familiarization with the place and gain interest on its culture and history as well. From this website, it could be considered how important history is actually a huge factor that shapes up a particular society and how that society is able to shape the entire place where the said group of human population is living in. The Australian Heritage. http://www.sydney.com.au/heritage.htm. (August 9, 2009). This website on Australian heritage gives a clear vision on the different issues that are embedded within the Australian society. This website posts a regular update with regards the regular things that are happening in Rocks, Australia; these updates are regularly given a particular focus so as to help outsiders have a knowledgeable understanding about the developments happening in Rocks, Australia. Emanuel, Cedric. (1979). The Rocks: Sydney's Most Historic Area. Cassel Australia Limited Publishing. This book's author is known for his knowledge of Australia and its history and the effective presentations that he handles to introduce the country as well as certain cities of Australia towards the world. This written book then gives a particular description that serves as a practical mirror about Australia and the different elements that make up the said society that leads up towards the progress of the entire country. The historical background of Rocks, Australia have been etched through this reading and presented with an interesting picture that creates a great picture towards the possible understanding of the world towards the truth behind the growth of Rock, Sydney Australia. Kelly, Max. (1997). Anchored in a Small Cove a History and Archaeology of the Rocks, Sydney. National Library of Australia. Archaeology is a very important factor of human history, an elemental matter that creates a fine description on how people lived before and how their life actually progressed because of these past cultures and traditions that the ancient Australians had to live with before. Basically, the process to which everyone progressed in that particular part of the country has been outlined through this reading; allowing for a more progressive understanding about the people and about the country that is most needed to be known by those who are interested in gaining a more in depth understanding

Telephonica Global Strategy, Structure, and Operations Essay

Telephonica Global Strategy, Structure, and Operations - Essay Example The economics of scale in producing and marketing a product in the same way worldwide would produce substantially lower costs, and thus allow lower prices that would overcome remaining differences in tastes. According to the case study: "the telecommunications industry has today become the largest in the world, generating $US 1 trillion (US$1,000 billion) in revenues in 1998 in worldwide service revenues and equipment sales. In 1997, telecom services alone generated a revenue in excess of USS650 billion" (Telephonica Today, 1999). Globalization allows Telephonica to maintain high-speed growth through continuous optimization of is product mix and constant technological innovation. It has also realized rapid expansion through capital injections. In 1997 Telephonica became "a completely private company" and has begun to follow a strategy of withdrawing from small markets with limited potential for its core products and to look for markets in countries with a major growth potential for telecommunication industry. "The first half of 1999 was putting Telef6nica's aggressive strategy of investing in Latin America to the test" (Telephonica Today, 1999). The choice of Brazil was not accidental. This market is considered as the most potential one for telecommunication industry because it had the poorest telecommunication infrastructure development among other Latin American countries. The other potential markets were Argentina, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador and Chili. The situation is marked by two factor - specification, which is to do with the 'design quality' of service, and conformity, which is to do with the 'process' quality which is achieved are of particular importance to customers. The main challenge is that Telephonica is well-positioned to take on this important global leadership role. It has the global resources and certainly has the technological capability. According to Johnson and Scholes (1998) the size of the investment required by a business wishing to enter an industry is an important determinant of the extent new entrants. The higher the investment required, the less the threat from new entrants. The lower the required investment, the greater is the threat. In this situation: "Telefonica saw opportunity in Latin America whereas most other companies saw risk, and is now present in nine countries with an annual average growth of 13% since 1995" (Telephonica Today, 1999). Another important challenge of global strategy applied by Telephonica is the concept of international culture, which "was absent in the world of telecommunication at that time" (Case study). Latin America has a complex culture which interacts with business in the way of socialization (the influences which shape behaviour in a particular social setting). At its deepest level. In spite this fact, it was more easy for a Spanish-based company to penetrate into Latin American market and gain its competitice position. Another important opportunity is great belief of management team in potential and success. Juan Villalonga commented that "Latin America is to Telefobica what the United States is to AT&T, It is our home, our culture and our language" (Telephonica Today, 1999). In general, it is possible to say that culture in Telephonica is based on the interrelationship of strategy formulation and implementation. The success of the company was caused by correlation of strategy, structure,

Developing Business Processes and Operations Essay

Developing Business Processes and Operations - Essay Example Applying tools such as fishbone diagram, workflow diagram and decision matrix, it was found that appointing an editor will be the most logical and feasible solution to level the situation. Business concept had undergone a major change in 1980s. â€Å"It was the realization by management that the business and manufacturing processes, not the people, is the key to error free performance† (Harrington, 2007). Since then, organisations have been continually striving to escalate the business processes and related operations to the level of perfection as it has been observed through the 1990s till date that â€Å"stockholders are not looking for good quality – they want perfection† (Harrington, 2007). For the purpose of this research I have chosen a start up organisation which consists of three teams each handling a distinct process. Team A performs online journalism and prepares news reports for various websites; Team B prepares international tests preparatory tools and Team C caters management solutions to retail clients. The three teams are autonomous in their functioning and have individual team leaders. A separate business development team headed by the CEO looks after networking and client development. Team wise client allocation is determined through weekly meetings as well as on ad hoc basis. The company has been enjoying considerable reputation in its sector and is also planning to diversify its operations and services in other locations as well. It is in a growth mode and is looking forward to increasing its employee base in terms of the existing units and especially a dynamic marketing department. Following implementation of this plan the workforce is expected to be doubled over a period of 9-12 months. It is also expected that the revenues will be remarkably enhanced in the next quarter. The current business scenario

Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and Acceptance Research Paper - 3

Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and Acceptance - Research Paper Example Hinduism is the religion followed by Indian people, however, they are very well known for their tolerance and respect for other religions and hence, people from different religions like Sikhism, Muslim, Jainism, Christianity etc., are important part of Indian culture (Fenton, 1998, p.156). The open approach to other cultures has helped Indian people to assimilate easily with other cultures. When they migrate to other counties, they adopt their customs easily but at the same time, follow their own ethics and traditions in their private lives (Fenton, 1998, p.43). Indian values are shaped mostly by their religious beliefs and teachings and they value the oneness of God even if in their culture, God is manifested in different forms and deities (Shah, 2002, p.26). Values Even in today’s modern times, rituals related to God and scriptures are very much practiced and followed by Indian people (Muesse, 2011, p.144). The two great epics that are revered by Indian people are ‘Ram ayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ (Muesse, 2011, p.144). ... The rituals and beliefs of Hindu religion are given in the sacred texts of ‘Vedas’, which are composed of hymns and songs (Winternitz, 1998, p.106). People follow the rituals given in the sacred texts religiously and with complete devotion (Muesse, 2011, p.102). Food The culture, identity and history of India is linked and represented strongly in their food and habits (Henderson, 2002, 99). Indian people value vegetarian system of food and most of the Indian people, who follow their religion sincerely, follow vegetarian diet (Henderson, 2002, 102). Cow is a symbol of sacredness and hence, killing cow for food purpose is considered a sin (Henderson, 2002, 102). At the same time, the fast food which is sold on street side and is full of different spices, is also enjoyed and loved by Indian people. Moreover, Indian culture, being an assimilation of different cultures, is full of variety of different cuisines and food customs. Hence, Indian culture is rich in tradition, spir ituality, customs and variety. Mexican Culture Religion People of Mexico follow a Roman Catholic faith and follow the Catholic Church as the religious authority (Huck, 2008, p.54). Important family events like â€Å"baptism, communion, confirmation, marriage, and novenas†, are carried out in religious traditional way by Mexican people (Kittler& Sucher, 2008, p.238). Hence, people from Mexico can be called religious as they still follow traditions sincerely. Values People from Mexican culture are family centered by nature and value family bonding (Kittler& Sucher, 2008, p.248). They value the ancient sayings, called ‘Dichos’, which give an insight into their traditional, religious and cultural beliefs (Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2009, p.260). From the sayings, it is evident

GRENDEL BY JOHN GARDNER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

GRENDEL BY JOHN GARDNER - Essay Example In  Grendel,  however, he is an intelligent and temperamental monster, capable of rational thought as well as irrational outbursts of emotion. The novel follows Grendel through three stages of his life. The first stage is his childhood, which he spends innocently exploring his confined world, untroubled by the outside universe or philosophical questions.  The second step, which decisively makes Grendel an adult, occurs when the bull attacks him, prompting him to realize that the world is essentially chaotic, following no pattern and governed by no discernible reason. The third and final stage of Grendel’s life encompasses his fatal battle with Beowulf and the weeks leading up to that battle. In this reading, Gardner establishes Grendel as a dark, but poetic spectator to man’s pretensions to civilization (Merrill 164). For instance, Grendel has observed Hrothgar’s rise to power, so he offers a sardonic account of how roving bands evolved into savage tribes. Grendel is also contemptuous of the Shaper’s influence on Hrothgar’s men, and he asks â€Å"Did they murder each other more gently because in the woods sweet songbirds sang?† (Gardner 62). This is where he emphasizes the dangerous allure of art, that is, he exposes the irrepressible human tendency to substitute unpleasant realities with consolatory myths (Merrill 165). The Shaper, for example, tells the Danes stories of their heritage so that the Danes learn to see themselves within a certain moral context, as inheritors of a proud tradition and consequently feel a need to adhere to the strict moral and ethical code that the Shaper has established.  This crystal clear vision of wha t they need to believe in to make their world a meaningful one comforts them. They feel safe in a world which offers a clear distinction and role assignment: kings are kings, warriors are warriors and monsters are monsters. Unlike them, Grendel is not oblivious to the fact that what they

The Role of Neurotechnology In Mitigating Developmental Progression of Research Paper

The Role of Neurotechnology In Mitigating Developmental Progression of Brain Disease - Research Paper Example One such condition which has been studied thoroughly is congenital diaphramatic hernia2. Of recent interest is fetal investigation and therapy of neurological disorders like spina bifida which are potential candidates for fetal therapy and there is some evidence that fetal interventions, when compared to postnatal interventions can improve postnatal neurological outcomes. This study aims to ascertain the role of neurotechnological advances in mitigation of the progression of neurological disorders, through review of suitable literature. Methods In order to retrieved articles for review, the electronic databases PUBMED and Google Scholar were used. The words used for search were â€Å"fetal therapy† or â€Å"fetal intervention† or â€Å"neurotechnology† with â€Å"brain disorders of fetus†. Several articles were displayed. Based on the contents of the abstracts, some of the articles were selected and studied. Both reviews and controlled studies were picked up for this research project to gain overall information about the topic and the research aim in study. Discussion Advances in technology in the form of powerful imaging strategies and improved sampling techniques have revealed the mystery of the fetus that was once secretive3. Most of the malformations that are diagnosed prenatally are managed best by appropriate medical and surgical therapy after birth. This may required planned delivery at a tertiary care after safe maternal transport. However, a few anatomic abnormalities with predictable consequences after birth may require surgical intervention before birth itself4 . In early 1980s, developmental pathophysiology of several anomalies which were potentially correctable was ascertained in animal models.5 The natural history of these diseases was determined through serial observation among animal models. Thereafter, selection criteria for prenatal intervention were developed. In the process, various anesthetic and tocolytic regime ns were refined and protocolised and also surgical aspects of hysterotomy and fetal repair were refined and developed. In the later stages, minimally invasive techniques for fetal intervention were developed and refined. All these advances in technology have benefited several fetal patients and it is hoped that more advances are made in this novel strategy allowing advanced forms of treatment on the fetus like tissue engineering, stem cell transplantation and gene therapy in both anatomic and non-anatomic defects (Harrison, 2003).6 During the previous decade, 3 important trends pertaining to fetal therapy have emerged for congenital diaphragmatic hernia7. In the first trend, the surgeons moved away from total surgical repair of the anatomical defect, especially in those liver herniation where repair was technically difficult, and developed induction of lung growth by

Discuss the history of the oil industry in the Middle East, including Essay

Discuss the history of the oil industry in the Middle East, including North Africa - Essay Example The production capacity between these two sides is looked into details to give a precise account of the history of oil production. Analysis Oil deposits were discovered in the Middle East and were collected for a variety of uses; by then there was no venture of exploitation for commercial purpose. This was the period of 18th century and the petroleum found was used as a new source of fuel. Oil exploitation for commercial purposes started officially in the 19th century. It was discovered that the Middle East had great oil reserves and, therefore, this impacted the decision of oil exploitation (Beltran, 234-239). When it was noted that Persia had oil deposits, the British business man called D’Arcy William asked the Persian government to grant him a concession to be able to explore oil in the country. They agreed at sharing the profit from the oil that would be extracted and share at a given percentage. He started officially extracting oil and making great sales within the perio d but along the way he ran bankrupt and, therefore, sorted assistance from the British government. During that period, around 1905, a British company named Burmah Oil was the only one operating in that region and was in a stable condition and able to ran the exploitation processes efficiently. Therefore the British government pressurized the company to give William the necessary assistance that he required to continue with the extraction processes so as to avoid a situation where he could have sold it another state or company. The company accepted the offer and several ventures were made to exploit the oil deposits. After 1905, several advances were conducted within the Middle East and large amounts of oil deposits were discovered. These lead to an increase in the percentage of oil production within the Middle East. Oil was further discovered in the areas of Arabia, peninsula Caspian Sea, Iraq and Kuwait. Till this period, the exploitation and extraction were only done by the compan ies and the countries only received concessions. These means that the countries were receiving so much less of the actual produce profit. The problem arose to the fact that the money received from the share profit of the oil extraction was poorly used by the corrupt members of government. The end result was that the whole nation was not benefiting from the oil extraction projects, but only the elite members of the country. These led to backward growth of the economy of the countries. Take, for example, Venezuela: it was faced by extreme corruption and overexploitation of the only resource that was supposed to support the whole country which led to the crumbling of the economy. Within the Middle East, politics started taking tall and affecting oil exploitation. Another problem arose at the start of the World War II where oil deposits were being bombed to cripple the energy sector of the army. The U.S and Europe which was producing plenty of petroleum decided to fuel its allies in the war, which created a big problem to the Middle East. The Muslims were unable to concentrate in the production of oil and the U.S found a chance to control the oil exploitation (Cook, 56-76). A report that was conducted by the team of DeGoyler reported to the state department that Saud Arabia was sitting on oil deposits worth 20 billion dollars. The real estimate of oil

Individuals Human Development Essay Example for Free

Individuals Human Development Essay The environments or â€Å"contexts† of life play a major role in the development of human beings throughout the lifespan. Even the most ardent genetically oriented human beings acknowledge that the environment contributes to human development. Thus Nurture is important in this respect.   However, it is not enough simply to state that environment is important in the analysis of a person’s character. This is where the importance of nature comes in.    Although developmental theories have emerged to describe the growth and maturation of the individual, a parallel trend has been to describe the changing pattern of the family life cycle as a series of developmental stages (Watson, 1913). Family developmentalists view the family, like the individual, as having certain prime functions at certain points in the life cycle. In the case of Pavlov, both his environment and his innate nature contributed to his stature as one of man’s most famous scientists. Classical conditioning refers to the formation of a single association by means of a procedure developed by Ivan Pavlov in the early 1900s. Pavlov’s special field of study was the digestive secretions of the body, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1904.On of the secretions being studied was salivation. To obtain a precise measure of secreted saliva under varying conditions, Pavlov inserted a small tube into the salivary glands of experimental dogs. When the dog salivated, the fluid was routed into Pavlov’s measuring cups. By this method, he could determine not only when the salivation occurs, but also how much and at what rate. For one time—indeed, even for today—it was a remarkably clear and rigorous estimate of response strength. It has become one of the most productive areas in all of psychology. This paper shall look into the environmental and internal factors that influence human behavior and attempt to explain how these two factors interact in a person’s life to bring about his present personality and character. During his studies of salivation, Pavlov noted what he called â€Å"psychic secretions.† If food is placed in the mouth of the animal, it will secrete saliva automatically – this response is innate not learned. But the dogs in Pavlov’s apparatus, soon began to salivate to other stimuli as well. For example, the sight of food, the sight of the person who fed them, and even the feeder’s footsteps in the hall, were enough to elicit salivation. These associations had to be learned. They were in effect anticipations of food in the mouth. Because the response (salivation) was not controlled by the simple reflex connections, come higher neural processes had to be involved. T was as if the mind took over the control of the reflexive act—hence, â€Å"psychic secretions—as if the thought of food was enough to produce the same response as food itself. It stressed that children are active, curious explorers who seek to adapt to their environments, rather than passive biological urges who are molded by their parents. Pavlov, as a child, was indeed a curious, precocious youngster. His father has a big influence into what he turned out to be. Meanwhile, Watson (1913) behaviorism is the conclusions about human development should be based on observations of overt behavior rather than on speculations about   unconscious motives or cognitive processes that are unobservable. Moreover, Watson also believed that well-learned associations between external stimuli and observable responses are the building blocks of human development. When Petrovich Pavlov was a child, he was involved in an accident that prevented him from going to school. Thus, it was only when he was 11 years old that he was able to go back and have a formal schooling. He went to theological seminary and eventually at 21 he decided to pursue psychology. It is said that â€Å"he was ironically diverted from becoming a second-generation clergy, by the works of Charles Darwin and Russian physiologist Ivan Sechenov, which he read while in seminary. Even his marriage was not spared the cyclic heartbreak then elation pattern that appeared to prevail in his life.† (Pavlov.). He had tragedies to deal with when he had a family of his own. Two of his six children died. Like Watson, Skinner believed that habits develop as a result of unique operant learning experiences. Pavlov’s curiosity for learning developed because he had the supervision of his mother during those years he stopped schooling.   He formed the habit of   having the passion for learning, investigating and experimenting. Meanwhile, nowhere is Bandura’s cognitive emphasis clearer than in his decision to highlight observational learning as a central developmental process. Observational learning is simply learning that results from observing the behavior of other people.   Bandura stressed observational learning in his cognitive social learning theory simply because this active, cognitive form of learning permits young children to quickly acquire thousands of new responses in a variety of settings. Indeed, the environments or â€Å"contexts† of life play a major role in the development of human beings throughout the lifespan. Even the most ardent genetically oriented human beings acknowledge that the environment contributes to human development. Thus Nurture is important in this respect.   However, it is not enough simply to state that environment is important in the analysis of a person’s character. This is where the importance of nature comes in. Born on Sept 14, 1849 in Russia, Pavlov was prepared for a life of discipline and excellence. Pavlov’s father Peter Dmitrivich was a priest while his brother Ivan was also part of the church staff.   It was his father Dmitrivich who was highly influential in carving Pavlov to be the way he turned out in his later years. His early environment under the tutelage of a highly educated and dignified father became one of the biggest factors that explain his passion for excellence in life. In practical life, the one that plays a more dominant role for example, in crime control policy, is the one that centers more on the role of the biological setup of the person and the family with whom he grows up with.   The majority of children grow up in a family context that usually includes a father and/or a mother and, in many instances, brothers and sisters. The family has been shown to have an impact on important processes, including the development of self-concept, sex roles, language, intellectual abilities and interpersonal skills (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). Explanation of the interaction of heredity and environment is not a simple matter. Hereditary factors operate from the moment of conception in determining the features of human growth and development. Our current understanding of human genetics makes it fairly clear that many human physical traits are inherited. We know that genetic factors are involved in the development of the human body from the time of conception. However, we do not fully understand the scientific mechanisms of the interaction of genetic and environmental factors in controlling human growth and development. The relationship of this nature versus nurture interaction to human behavior is indeed a much-debated issue. Where do differences in personality or temperament come from? Friends or relatives are frequently quick to comment that an infant has a temper â€Å"like his father† or is easygoing â€Å"like his mother,† suggesting that such differences are inherited. Does this mean that infant temperament is generically determined? Not necessarily, since the environment plays an important role in the expression of temperament. Researchers say that temperament is best viewed as a natural bias toward a given behavioral direction (difficult, easygoing, introverted and extroverted). The expression of this bias depends on one’s environment or experience: the child with a temperamental â€Å"bias† for a high activity level may in fact be easygoing and mild-mannered in a relaxed family environment. The bias for high activity levels may in fact be easygoing and mild mannered in a relaxed family environment. The bias for high activity levels may appear only in a stressful or competitive situation (Wiggam, 1923). Temperament and personality depend for their expression on the joint contributions of heredity, environment (parenting strategies) and individual behavior (through the active selection of environments, particularly as the child grows older). Children need to be exposed in an environment where they must have opportunities to feel free to be choice-makers, to know that they can have justice for themselves. A school ought to encourage children to feel appreciative of their own individuality. They need to feel playful and to see life as fun, and to have their teachers and parents join in on this approach to fun living. And mostly, they need to feel creatively alive, to have a burning sense of desire and appreciation for everything in life. To eschew boredom and dullness, and to glow in the excitement of each and everyday. This is not some farfetched ideal. Pavlov thought that the cortex was the only site of new neural connections in learning. His evidence was that members of his laboratory were not able to condition dogs from whom the cortex had been surgically removed. But later, in Pavlov’s laboratory, and elsewhere, investigators found that they could obtain conditioning in mammals even after all the cerebral cortex had been removed. For example, a dog with its cortex removed can learn to lift its paw whenever a light flash occurs to avoid shock. Such conditioning occurs slowly   and irregularly. However, because such animals tend to be distractible and irritable and they do not have keen sensory discrimination. But the evidence is clearly antagonistic to Pavlov’s   claim that cortex is necessary.

Report On The Organisation Dominos Pizza Business Essay

Report On The Organisation Dominos Pizza Business Essay I have selected the organisation domino s pizza for the report ard since am working as an manager assistant in the forest hill franchise store. I had the opportunity to join this store in 2008. I made the discussion with franchise manager vennyliu and also had the opportunity to have a small discussion with dorninos new Zealand head operations Daniel Murray when he visited the forest hill store. Since I am working in this store for quite a while and knew how the process is going on in this institution so it was easy for me to pick this organisation for the assignment. IT was in 1960 two brothers torn monaghan and James purchased ased a small pizza store Dominick s a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in us. They bought the store for 575 us dollars. James sold his share to his brother and in 1965 torn renamed the store domino s pizza. It was on May 12 1983 dominos opened its first international store in Winnipeg, Manitoba ,Canada, By the year 1997 dominos opened the 1500th international location. It was in the year 1998 owner torn sold the 93 percent of the cormpany to Bain capital for one billion us dollars . After one year company named David A Brandon as the ceo and chairman of the company. it was in the year 2004 dominos began trading in new york stock exchange. It was in the year 2006 one dominos store in tallaght, Dublin, ireland, became the first in dominos history to hit a tUrnovOr of 3 million dollars. Domino s pizza is located in more than sixty countries now. Business demographics Dominos management and staff has to communicate locally, nationafly and internationally. Taking the example of dominos pizza franchise north shore where I am currently working as an assistant manager. We staff have to communicate with the co-workers and managers and franchise manager. The roster and the meeting notices are usually sent to our email, and if there are any changes or if we are unavailable we can email back to franchise manager. The payroll slip is also sent to our email. If there is any emergency like staff will not he able to work that days shift communication is usually made through phone and dominos has a toll free no 0800304050.The person who calls will not be charged and it can be used by landline and mobile. The communication between different stores is essential. It is mainly for the purpose of borrowing and return of the stock, Sometimes customer enquires about different stores telephone no. It is basically done through phone. Communication with the customer is direct verbally when they come to the store for purchase or any other queries .we use to take telephonie orders and online order as well. Our store does the online business very well nationally. Online ordering is one of the speciality of dominos pizza. Where customers can easily get the menu in the computer and they can select according to their taste and range. They can choose the option of delivering to their place or takeaway. There has been a survey conducted by the us dominos that people will be spending a certain amount of money for eating out, This would be like more than 5% will be delivered to their to their home and it will be online ordering and this would ncrease to 12% in the near future 4 tc 5 years. The communication of the suppliers are also through phone and faxing sometimes we order the food delivery through phone and in special cases like holidays the order will be sent as fax. International communication is also essential the us domino team and Australaian dominos team visits our store once a year. This information will be passed to franchise by the new Zealand head office. The report of the store visit and the upgrading required and changes needed will be sent to franchise though e mail. Courier and post. The courier and post are used for the supply of circulars and brochures. 2) Organsational goals Increase the profitability of busmess: Organisational goal of dominos is to increase the profitability of th business. Communication is an important factor in increasing the profitability. The sales should be increased and customer complaints should be reduced Advertisement campaign should be done. If there is any promotion by dominos it should be conveyed to customers and if any doubts arises from customer it should be sorted out. There are some promotions which it will be in the system but staff may not know about it. It should be discussed wth the franchise manager and should be conveyed to the customer if there is any customer complaints it should be discused in the store and it shouId be noted that the similar complaint never arises in future. If he customer sends the complaint to the dom nos head oflice the franchise has to send a report to head office showing all thedetails of corrective action taken by the store. Employee motivation:communication plays an important role in employee motivation. Financial rewardc areone of the key motivation factors. When the store crosses particular sales the employees get an incentive.AppreciatiOn in work are also good motivation and it should be communicated to the employee verbally by store manage when particular employee does a good job or finishes a particular hard task. The job security are also conveyed to the employee if an employee is performing well the message will be conveyed to him by the area manager that he is not going to lose his job. 3) Organisational culture and ethics since the employees in dominos are a multicultural. People from different parts of tie world work in the forest hill domino store.There are Chinese, Koreans, Europeans and Indians working in the store. the team should be following an ethhcs in the store for example the people working from China they will be returning to china during thL Chinese new year and during this period other nationaIites will be covering their shift. dominos has an in store ethics for eeverything one of it is behaviour to customer:, even if the customers get angry staff should be polite to them and apologise for any of the mistakes and not argue with customer. even though the communication is in English between the staff members but usuaily Chinese people talk to each other in Chinese and 80% of staff are ChinosO and there will be at least one Asian working in each. shift, 4) Management of knowledge resources: in the organistion franchice manager and the store manager possess the knowledge for the business.it includes the day today running, payroll,food ordering, recruiting new staff, training new staff ,and the new products and new prmotions will be sent to the company by email from head office and that emails will he fowarded to the staff.Banking and other financial matters are done by the store manager. Dominos has online site for training and thats called doti and every sstaff of dominos has to go online and get the online training If there requirers any sort of details the head office person comes directly for help and they clear the doubt. There was a problem in food ordering and the new Zealand head came straight to the shop and cleared the doubts. 5) Group dynamics: Employees make the group and that makes a team.. Usually people working in each shift of dominos can be considered a team. There will be emotional stress from employees especially when they are working on Friday and Saturday evening shifts and this will be sorted out by putting or replacing an additional experienced person. When the conflict arises in the team each individual in the team will be asked questions personally and as a group and final solution is found out by getting the answers from employees. Employees are also put in different sections like make line to counter and counter to delvery position. So each person can look at different angles of work and how each one does their duty in each sections, The basic terminology of forming,storming,norming and performing is there in our store as well to make the team well knit and to be connected to each othcr. 6) Meeting management Communication process are essential in running the meeting successfully. In our store we have a meeting room.Invitation to meeting to all staff members are done through calling them on phone and telling them the time of meeting. The meetng can be of anything like a customer complaint which is serious something like found a foreign product in the pizza and customer was admitted to hospital. The food from the customer was taken and send to the quality assurance department and a nominal amount was paid by the supplier of dominos. So what need to be done and how to handle the situation will be discussed and minutes will be taken and the action taken in the meeting will also he taken down. sometimes when the inspection team from Australia visited our store and we got a good marks in that inspection the management decided to have a meeting and a party at sky City hotels. This was published in the notice board and it was sent to a11 staff members email dnd also it was communicated verbally as well. The time place , when , where should be informed to whom(people attending the meeting). 7) Stakeholders: Customers: customers are communicated verbally when they come to store. and also througn phone since there is telephone ordering in the store Managementcomrnuniaiion with the management is basically verbally when the managers are in the store and use of telephone and email are used to pass vital information. Suppose there is an inspection from head office then the area manager will telephone the matter to the staff. The pay slips and roster are usually send to the email. Staff: The communication with staff is usually verbal and texting are also used to send the informatioin wnich are not vital. Bank: Dominos forest bill store deals with WestPaC bank and the dealings are usually through phone,emall the banking statements and discuss verbally sometimes with the bank if any errors has occurred sometimes the customer wltl be charged twice when they order online that has to be sorted out with the bank first and then return the money to the customer. 8) NetwOrks: store is equipped with computer and online facIlity is available for ordering. Distribution of flyers to the public which will increase the business of the dominos and display tne dominos price boards near the store and there is a car which is specifically for the advertisement. it is written the name dominos and price of the pizza are mentioned in the car. Distribution of promotional material who visits the store basically they are given discount vouchers when they use it they get the discount. Conclusions It was in 1965 the dominos started in us it was in the year 2008 new franchise store of dominos was opened in forest hill north shore. I had the opportunity to join this forest hill store as customer service representative, and was promoted to assistant manager within six months. The communication between the staff members and franchise manager and store manager are through emails, telephone, texts and verbal communicaton. The organisational goals are increasuing the profitability of the of the business and communication is impoertant. Sales should be increased and customer complaints customer complaints should be reduced. In employee motivation communication plays a vital part appreciation by the store manager and job security to the employees also offered to the employee. North shore dominos are having a multicultural and 80% staff are Chinese basic medium of language is english. Asians, speak in Chinese to their co-workers and dominos have a solid ethics especlally if the customers are angry the staff should apologise. In the organisation the franchise manager and the store managers possess the knowledge for the business. It includes the day today runnmg, payroll. food ordering,recruiting new staf, training new staff,and the new products and new promotions will be sent to the company by email from head office and that email will be forwarded to the staff. Banking and other financial matters are done by the the store manager. Dominos has an on line site for training and that is called doti and every staff of dominos has to go online and get online training. There will be emotional stress from employees especially when they are working on Friday and Saturday evening shifts and this will be sorted out by putting or replacing an additional experienced person. Communication process are essential in running the meeting successfully. In our store we have a meeting room.Invitation to meeting to all staff members are done through calling them on phone and telling them the time of meeting. The meetng can be of anything like a customer complaint which is serious something like found a foreign product in the pizza and customer was admitted to hospital. The food from the customer was taken and send to the quality assurance department and a nominal amount was paid by the supplier of dominos. So what need to be done and how to handle the situation will be discussed and minutes will be taken and the action taken in the meeting will also he taken down. The communication to the customers, staff, management, and bank are uasually done through verbal,through telephone,emails and texts. Recommendation It will be better to start a dominos club in forest hill and those who join the club for a nominal fee will he getting the discountsd on each purchase they make from any new Zealand store,The club members will be given 50% discount on public holidays and no surcharge will be applied for club members. These club members whO actively purchase from dominos store will be participating in a lucky draw twice a year. They will be given the new menu, changes in the menu and new products available in dominos through email. Each lucky person will be given the opportunity to distribute the flyers of dominos forest hill once a week in the dominos advertisement car, the name will be choosen from lucky draw. This enables the people to ineract socially and communicate and grow the business.

The Construction Quality Assessment System Construction Essay

The Construction Quality Assessment System Construction Essay CONQUAS stands for Construction Quality Assessment System. Construction Industry Development Board Singapore now known as the Building and Construction Authority have developed it for the major public sector agencies and the various leading industry professional bodies to measure the quality level of completed project (The National House Buyers Association (HBA), 2009). The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is an agency under the Singapores Ministry of National Development. The BCA is championing the development of an excellent built environment for Singapore. Built environment refers to buildings, structures and infrastructure in our surroundings that provide the setting for the communitys activities. (Building and Construction Authority, 2006) At the beginning, the CONQUAS was introduced only to the local construction industry. CONQUAS have been launched since 1989 (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). Today, CONQUAS is widely recognized and also accepted internationally as a benchmarking tool for quality. CONQUAS is now a registered trademark. CONQUAS have adapted in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and India, UK and Hong Kong construction industries (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). The aim of CONQUAS was introduced to have a standard quality assessment system for construction projects. Furthermore, CONQUAS is to enable quality assessment to be carried out systematically within reasonable cost and time. Besides, CONQUAS is used to measure quality of constructed works against workmanship standards and specification (Building and Construction Industry, 2005). However, CONQUAS is an independent assessment. It is carried out by assessors from BCA Singapore. It was designed to gauge and benchmark the quality of workmanship through the sampling approach. On the other hand, it means not every unit will be inspected or evaluated by the assessor. Random samples will be pre-selected and inspected to represent the quality of the whole project (The National House Buyers Association (HBA), 2009). Since the launch of CONQUAS in 1989, more than 2,238 public and private building projects have been assessed by BCA. The total cumulative contract value of the assessed projects exceeds 81.9billion Singapore dollar (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). In 1998, BCA introduced a number of new features to CONQUAS resulting in the launch of CONQUAS 21 (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). Now, Malaysia is applying CONQUAS 21 into the building projects. Problem Statement The standard quality of the building product becomes the significant issue that is always discussed and disputed by the contractors, developers, and investors or house buyers. Quality assessment of the building before the developer vacant possession to the purchaser is the significant issue for the developer. The developer shall delivery the final building product to the purchaser which the building is achieved a standard quality. However, how many will ask: How should I ensure the quality of the product (property) that I purchased is fairly justified with the amount of money that I paid? Many of the investors and the house buyer are sacrificing a huge money to appoint a famous Feng Shui master, to conduct a property surveys and engaged property agent prior making decision to invest the property. Has the quality standard of the building product been assured and same as the show unit? (The National House Buyers Association (HBA), 2009). There are many developers intended to deliver the final product to the end user with free of defects and good in quality. Thus, to achieve the standard quality of the building production, the contractor can adopt the Construction Quality Assessment (CONQUAS 21) in the project to give the quality assurance workmanship of building product. Although, the CONQUAS 21 is applied in construction industry, however, it is brought any benefits to the contractors, developers and end users? Moreover, what are the impact of the CONQUAS 21 toward the contractors, developers and end user? Consequently, the researcher will carry out the research regarding the application of quality assessment system (CONQUAS 21) in construction industry. Aims Objectives Aims To investigate Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS 21) in construction industry. Objectives To study the principle and concept of CONQUAS 21 To find out problems occur when applying the CONQUAS 21 To find out the advantages of using CONQUAS 21 Scope of study The research will provide a detail description on the standard of CONQUAS 21 and procedures of the system. This is done through literature review on journal papers, conference papers, books and browsing through websites. Besides that, the researcher aims to the population of local contractors and developers who are adopted CONQUAS 21 in the construction projects. Researcher will investigate the reason of implementing the CONQUAS 21 in construction industry. Moreover, research will in-deep investigate regard the impacts and advantages of CONQUAS 21. Basically, a case study will be conducted to obtain more information regarding the implementation of CONQUAS 21. Research Methodologies Literature Research Cover journals, relevant textbook, and internet research and conference paper is the sources that I obtain my information and doing for my literature research. Interview Site agent, supervisor and the site manager will be interviewed by the researched to get more details about the CONQUAS 21. The interview is hold at Swiss Garden Residences site. Case Study Site visit to the Swiss Garden Residence would be the best way to figure out the effectiveness of CONQUAS 21. Besides that, it is to figure out the problems occur when applying the CONQUAS 21. Chapter Outline Chapter 1: Introduction In this chapter, the researcher is going to slightly introduce the background of CONQUAS. Besides that, the researcher is going to talk about the aims and objectives for this research. Chapter 2: Literature Review In this chapter, the researcher is going to discuss the concept and principle of CONQUAS 21. The information regarding the CONQUAS 21 are obtained from the literatures from books, articles, journals and web site. Moreover, the researcher is going to comment on the advantages of CONQUAS 21 and the impact of applying the CONQUAS 21. Chapter 3: Designing the case study and research methodology The researcher is going to use Swiss Garden Residences as the case study for CONQUAS 21. The researcher is going to interview the project manager, site manager and site agent for obtaining the relevant information. Chapter 4: Analysis of the secondary data After collecting the information, the researcher is going to do the analysis for the information obtained. The researcher is going to argue on the information obtained and give some opinion regarding the CONQUAS 21. Chapter 5: Conclusion and further studies In this chapter, the researcher is going to make a conclusion for the whole research and state out the further studies for quality assessment. Plan and Schedule Planned Schedule 2009/2010 2010/2011 Second Semester First Semester Second Semester Nov Dec May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Introduction Literature Review Designing case study Analysis Conclusion Actual Schedule 2009/2010 2010/2011 Second Semester First Semester Second Semester Nov Dec May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Introduction Literature Review Designing case study Analysis Conclusion Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Quality Philosophy Definition of Quality Different party defines the quality in different way. Some people will define it as to meet contract requirements, instead some people define it as the satisfaction of customer and others also define as it reaches the required standards. Totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs is the definition that The National Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines quality (Chung, 1999). The aims or requirements have been fulfilled or reached by any party, mean the quality standard has been achieved. Furthermore, quality also can be defined based on own opinion such as providing customers with products and services that consistently meet their needs and expectations (S.L. Tang, 2005), performance to the standard expected by the customer (S.L. Tang, 2005) and fitness for purpose (Chung, 1999). However, the definiton of quality is based on how a party to define, it can be defined is several way. Basic Concept of Quality Quality is the most important factor to be concerned in every field including construction field. In order to achieved the quality, the industries have come out with there are assessment system and guidelines to be carried out to ensure the works done in the construction industry can achieve the quality. ISO 9001:2000, Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) and Construction Quality Assessment (CONQUAS) is the assessment system that always used by constrction industry to ensure the works done reach the quality standard requirement. Case study of CONQUAS will be carried out in more details later. Quality can be quantified as follows:- Q=P/E Where, Q = quality P = performance E = expectation If Q is greater than 1.0, then the customer has a good feeling about the products or services (Besterfield, 1998). Furthermore, There are nine dimensions in the quality. All dimensions are independent, which means that an end product can be excellent in one dimension but poor in others (Besterfield, 1998). These nine dimensions details and their terms is the following:- Table 1: Nine dimensions of quality and their terms Dimension Terms Performances Primary products/service characteristic such as time, cost and workmanship aspect. Features Secondary characteristic, added consideration such as creativity in design and attractivenes. Conformance Meeting specification or industry standards, workmanship and clients requirement in contract. Reliability Consistency of performance over time, average time for the unit to fail. Durability Useful life period with less maintenance or repair. Service Resolution of problems and complaints, ease of repair. Response Human to human interface such as efficiency during meeting, fast decision making, effective human resources management. Aesthetics Sensory characteristics in design such as exterior finishes. Reputaion Past performance such as being ranked first in the tendering process. Adapted from Garvin, 1988, Managing Quality: The strategic and Competitive Edge, New York: Free Press. Furthermore, there are always the relationship between quality with cost, value, cycle time and productivity. The details of the relationship is shown as following:- Quality and Productivity Productivity increase will influence the quality by improvement Productivity = Salcable output / Resources used Quality and Costs Cost will increase if the quality of conformance increase Cost will increase if the quality of design increase Quality and Cycle Time The cycle time will be reduce if there is improvement of quality effort The cycle time to complete the activities is the key parameter Quality and Value Organizations must evalute the value they provide, relative to the competition Value = Quality / Price (S.L. Tang, 2005) 2.1.3 Quality Management Quality management will influence the quality directly. The principles of quality management are applicable to every industry, within all organisations and at every level (McCabe, 1988). The basic goal of quality management is the elimination of failure: both in the concept and reality of products, services and processes (Juran, 1989). The quality management is defined as all activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities, and implement them by means such as quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement within the quality system (McCabe, 1988) The quality management have four stages in evolution, known as: Quality Inspection, Quality Control (QC), Quality Assurance (QA) and Total Quality Management (TQM) (UTM, 2003). Inspection and Quality Control are retrospective; their aim is find out the occurred problem by detection mode. Instead, the aim of Quality Assurance and Total Quality Management is reduce and to avoid problems occuring (McCabe, 1988). The characteristic of the different stages in Quality Management as shown following:- Figure 1: The four stages of quality management TQM QA QC Inspection Adapted from Dale, Boaden and Lescelles 1994: Levels of total quality management adoption Figure 2: The four stages of quality management Quality Assurance Quality systems development Advanced quality planning Comprehensive quality manuals Use of quality costs Involvement of non-production operations Failure mode Total Quality Management Policy deployment Involve suppliers and customers Involve all operations Process management Performance management Teamwork Employee involvement Quality Control Develop quality manual Process performance data Self-inspection Product testing Basic quality planning Use of basic statistics Paperwork controls Inspection Salvage Sorting, grading, relending Corrective actions Identify sources of non-conformance Adapted from Steven McCabe 1988: Quality Improvement Techniques in Construction Stage 1 : Inspection The first stage of quality management is inspection. The inspection is defined as activity such as measuring, examining, testing or gauging one or more characteristics of an entity and comparing these results with specified requirements in order to establish whether conformity is achieved for each characteristic (McCabe, 1988). Inspection is used by most of the construction industry to ensure the conformance. The site supervisor will carried out the inspection of the construction project. The supervisor will make the comparison the architectural works and structural based on the specification and drawing. If there is any defective works found by the customers, the contractor need to rectify the defective works until fulfill the customers requirement. Stage 2 : Quality Control (QC) Quality control will be carried out after the inspection done. Quality control is considered as a system of routine technical activities, to measure and control the quality of the inventory as it is being developed (Mangino, 1996). The procedure of Quality control is very complicated. QC mostly is based on the statistical analysis. Collection of data is required in QC to maintain the quality by statistical techniques. Stage 3 : Quality Assurance Quality assurance is defined as all the planned activities implemented within the quality system, and demonstrated as needed, to provide adequate confidence that an entity will fulfill requirements for quality (McCabe, 1988). The objective of Quality Assurance (QA) is to provide adequate confidence that a service or product will fulfill customers requirement by performing system audit, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, design of experiment and similar initiatives (UTM, 2003). In other words, QA is more specified on planning. The prevention of poor quality and defects is based on detection activities. Stage 4 : Total Quality Management The final stage of quality management is Total Quality Management. The implementation and understanding of quality management principles and concepts in every aspect of business activities are involved in this stage. The best service or product will be provided to the customer at the lower cost by using these activities. However, TQM is less formal; having either procedures or system, and it is hard to be described due to it is less in formality (McCabe, 1988). Normally, only guidance will be provided by TQM and it consider as a philosophy. Concept and Principles of CONQUAS 21 2.2.1 Introduction Recently, the requirement of customers towards the building that they purchase is quality. They wish to get the best quality of the purchase building as possible. In this condition, the developers have to play an important role to ensure the quality of the building project. The developers overcome the problem by using Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) into the construction project to maintain the standard of quality as the requirement. CONQUAS 21, ISO 9001:2000, QLASSIC will become the choice for the developers for their assessment system. Case study about CONQUAS 21 will be carried out by the researcher in more details. 2.2.2 Objectives of CONQUAS 21 There are three objectives in the CONQUAS 21 system: Act as a standard quality assessment system in construction projects. Inspecting quality assessment by: Measuring the specification and standard of the workmanship in the works done Randomly selecting the sample as represent the whole project To enable quality assessment systematically take place within reasonable cost and time (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Scope of CONQUAS 21 In CONQUAS 21 system, all the works done will be given points based on the quality standard. All of the given points will be added together to get the total quality score which also known as CONQUAS score for the construction project (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). The quality workmanship is better, the higher of CONQUAS score will be obtained. 100% is the maximum CONQUAS score in construction project, but our human being is unable to construct a work with zero-defects. The general building works is covered by CONQUAS 21 system. There are 3 components in the assessment: Structural Works Architectural Works and Mechanical Electrical (ME) Works There are different item to be assessed in the different component stated above (Building and Construction Authority , 2005). CONQUAS 21 is considered as first time right inspection approach (Building and Construction Authority , 2005) means that the rectification works will not take into consideration in CONQUAS 21 score for the assessment. Furthermore, sampling system is the assessment system used in the CONQUAS. The assessor will choose the unit according to the average, 1-in-4 apartment units in a residential development for the assessment (Building and Construction Authority , 2005). Thus, which unit will be chosen is unknown so the contractors have to ensure all of the constructed works are in good quality condition. If there is any defective found, the works will be considered as failed. Besides, the heavily equipment-base such as heavy foundation, sub-structure works and piling is not available for assessment and the work separate contracts or sub-contracts are not included in the assessment (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). The inspection is different with the inspection done by the site supervisor. Normally, the contractors have to purposely do an arrangement for the inspection which form a specific team for the inspection. There is a guideline have to be followed for the assessment. Components to be assessed Structural Works, Architectural Works and ME Works are the components under CONQUAS 21 assessment. Structural Works Structural Works can be considered as body for a building, the stability of the building will be affected if there is failure or defect in structural works. Thus, maintain its quality is necessary due to the cost of rectification is very expensive. Below show the details of the assessment of Structural Works:- Inspection of finished concrete, formwork and steel reinforcement have to be carried out on site during the construction site. If any component constitutes exceed 20% of the total structural cost, the pre-stressed concrete and structural steel are included in the assessment. If found the precast concrete volume more than 20% of structural concrete volume, the precast elements have to be assessed. Tensile strength of steel reinforcement and testing of compressive strength of concrete will be carried out on laboratory testing. Non-destructive testing of the uniformity and the cover of hardened concrete. (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Appendix 1 shows the quality standards of Structural Works. Architectural Works The components and finishes are classified in Architectural Works. The workmanship and quality can be easily seen and found. Below are the details of assessment of Architectural Works:- After the building have complete, the assessment have to be carried out on roofs, external works, external walls and internal finishes. All the assessment have to be carried out on site. Internal walls, doors, components, windows and floors are classified under the internal finishes. Functional and material tests such as on external walls and adhesion of internal wall tiles and water-tightness of window. (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Appendix 2 shows Architectural Works quality standard. Mechanical Electrical (ME) Works The progress of whole building will be influenced by ME Works. Air conditioning Mechanical Ventilation Works (ACMV), Electrical works, the basis ME fittings and Fire Protection Works are classified under the progress of the building. Below are the stage of assessment:- Concealed pipes, ACMV ductworks and electrical conduits are classified as installed works, the inspection on the item have to be carried out before embedded on site. The cooling tower, fire alarm control panel and Air-Handling Unit (AHU) are the final installed works which the assessment have to be carried out on site. Dry Riser Test, Earthing Test and Water Pressure Test are considered as selected works. The performance tests are carried out on them. (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006) Appendix 3 show the quality standard of ME Works. The Weightages CAT A (Commercial, Industrial, Institution and Others), CAT B (Condominium, Institution and Others), CAT C (Public housing), and CAT D (Landed properties) are the four categories of building that distribute the weightages for ME Works, Architectural Works and Structural Works in CONQUAS 21 system. The objective of weightage system is making the quality of a building is based on the CONQUAS score, it is a compromise between the cost proportions of the three components in the various buildings and their aesthetic consideration (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). In general, ME works consist 10% for four categories of building in average, 35% is consisted by the Structural works and the highest percentage is consisted by Architectural works which 50% in average for the four categories of buildings. The quality of Architect works is the most important with the highest percentage, second is represented by the Structural works and ME works is the lowest. Table 2: The Weightages in CONQUAS 21 Components CAT A Commercial, Industrial, Institution Others CAT B Commercial, Industrial, Institution Others CAT C Public Housing CAT D Landed Properties Structural Works 30% 35% 45% 40% Architectural Works 50% 55% 50% 55% ME Works 20% 10% 5% 5% CONQUAS Score 100% 100% 100% 100% Note: In general, projects with central cooling system having cooling tower, chiller system, etc are classified under CAT A. Otherwise, it will be classified under CAT B. Appendix 5 provides a guides with listing of building under the various categories. Adapted from Building and Construction Authority (BCA): CONQUAS 21 manual book CONQUAS Assessor In CONQUAS 21 system, only the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) officer can be the assessor to inspect the works done of the project. BCA will conduct a calibration program and training for assessors to attend to ensure competency and consistency in the assessment (Building and Construction Authority, 2006). Furthermore, CONQUAS 21 system is consider as independent assessment. Therefore, if the building or parts of the building project are acceptable, the architects and engineers are not allowed to use CONQUAS to make any decision unless the building contract specify it (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). Sampling Sampling system is introduced in the CONQUAS 21 system for the assessment. It is impossible for us to inspect every unit of the works done. Thus, the sampling system is used for the assessment, it helps the accessor a lot by saving the time and make the assessment easier due to the samples will be randomly chosen by the assessor for inspection. Furthermore, the sampling system want to make sure the inspection is sufficient to represent the whole building by referring to the gross floor area of the building. The assessment of CONQUAS 21 Assessment approach Sampling system is used by the CONQUAS 21 as the assessment system, the sample will be randomly selected for the quality assessment according to the location plan and drawing plan and it will be distributed based on the construction stages (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). The scoring will be done on the works that are inspected for the first time because the objective of this practice is to encourage contractors doing things right the first time is the principle of the CONQUAS 21 system which want to make sure all the contractor do the works well and maintain the quality in first time. Thus, the scoring will not take into account for the rectification works, only the first time works done will be inspected and scored in the CONQUAS 21 system (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2006). In filling the assessment form, X mean the work done do not fulfill the CONQUAS quality standard after inspection on it. Instead, consider the inspected work have reached the quality standard stated in the CONQUAS system. Besides, not applicable item will be noted as - in the assessment form. The number of over the total number of item assessed is the final score of CONQUAS for the whole project. Structural works assessment After the whole projects have been completed, the inspection on structural works only can be done. Wall, slab, beam and column can be classified as the Structural works. Below show the details of the assessment of a reinforced concrete structure:- Table 3: The assessment of a reinforced concrete structure Reinforced Concrete Structure Weightage % Formwork 15 Rebar 20 Finished Concrete 25 Concrete Quality 5 Steel Reinforcement Quality 5 NDT UPV test for concrete uniformity 15 NDT Electro-Cover meter test for concrete cover 15 Total 100 *If total precast concrete volume exceeds 20% of total structural concrete volume, assessment will be carried out for precast concrete construction. The points will be distributed proportionately between formwork/rebar assessment and precast concrete assessment based on the respective concrete volume percentage. Adapted from Building and Construction Authority: CONQUAS 21 manual book The structural works assessment is carried out by using sampling system which mean only part of the samples have been chosen to represent whole project for the assessment, not every unit is inspected. Thus, there are some guidelines for the assessment of structural works. The guidelines are shown as below:- Table 4: Guidelines for Structural works assessment Items GFA per Sample Min Sample Max Sample Remarks 1 Structural Elements 500 m2 30 150 For Non-Housing Project 1a Strctural Elements 1500 m2 30 50 For Housing Project 2 Concrete Compressive Strength 100% Declaration by Qualified Person 3 Steel reinforcement Tensile Strength 100% Declaration by Qualified Person 4 NDT UPV test for concrete uniformity 5,000 m2 2 sets 20 sets 5 structure members per set 5 NDT Electro-Cover meter test for concrete cover 5,000 m2 2 sets 20 sets 5 structure members per set Note: The computed number of elements to be checked must be evenly distributed throughout the entire block and cover at least 50% of floors in a block. They should also as far as possible cover the different types of structural elements. Adapted from Building and Construction Authority: CONQUAS 21 manual book The inspection is only site inspection, the inspection cannot be done at precast yard due to all the structure works to be inspected is cast in-situ concrete works, not the precast component. The inspection of the structural works is according to compliance to the standards (see in the Appendix 1, 1a, 1b 1c). The further assessment will be required if the structural steelwork in the structural works exceed 20% of the structural cost and the points will be distributed proportionately. The Pre-stressing Works is similar with the str

Harmful Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes Essay -- Informative Essays Nico

Harmful Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes Mentioned Photos Not Included There are numerous effects of smoking Cigarettes that affect the individual. They can affect not only your health but also your social and family life. It can also affect the non-smoker around you. Non-smokers suffer from allergies, noise and eye irritations and headaches as a result of inhaling second hand smoke. Smoking while you're pregnant can result to the growth of the foetus and may even result in the death of the baby. Below are some long term and short term effects of smoking. Cigarette smoke contains around 4,000 chemicals, many of which are known to be highly poisonous and very harmful - over 40 are known to cause cancer. The chemicals found in a cigarette include; ? Benzene, a gasoline additive found in paints, paint thinners, adhesives and plastics. You can be exposed to benzene fumes while pumping gas. ? Asbestos, It is found in acoustic ceiling tiles, floor tiles, textured paint, exterior siding and appliances. Asbestos is only dangerous when its fibers become loose or when the material crumbles, which causes small particles to be set free and inhaled. Once inhaled, the microscopic fibers remain in the body forever. Asbestos can cause lung and bowel cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis and other lung diseases. The risk of disease is believed to increase with smoking. ? Vinyl chloride and its derivative polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These plastic resins found in many products, including pipes, hoses, flooring, windows and credit cards. The greatest risk is to workers in these industries who manufacture and handle these products daily. High levels also are found in the materials used in the interiors of new cars, making that "new-car smell" potentially dangerous. ? Pesticides. While pesticide levels in foods are relatively harmless, pesticides used in your home or on your lawn may be dangerous because of the large quantities used. In some studies, farmers with high exposure to pesticides were found to have a higher risk of several different cancers, including leukemia. ? Formaldehyde. This can be a component of many products including cosmetics, paper, textiles and drugs. Formaldehyde initially was found to cause nasal cancer in rats. Since then, there has been considerable controversy as to the role of formaldehyde in causing cancer in humans. ? Other ch... ...ia. Growing tobacco is a way for these countries to make much needed money. Many poorer countries use wood to dry tobacco and have to cut down many trees to do this. In countries where wood is used for cooking and heating then if it is also used to dry tobacco, there is less for the people to use to cook their food and heat their homes. Tobacco companies encourage many local farmers in the poorer countries to grow tobacco instead of food even when there are food shortages. This can mean less food available for the local community. Tobacco plants take more nutrients from the soil than many other crops and because of this the land is made less fit for growing food. Cutting down Forests Cigarettes are wrapped in paper and are sold in packets. They use large amounts of paper and therefore a lot of trees. Cutting down trees is one of the biggest threats to our environment. Tree roots bind the soil together. The leaves draw moisture into the air. When the trees are cut down, rainfall is reduced and erosion of the soil is increased. This can leave a bare landscape where nothing useful can be grown. Land which might have been used for food crops may be useless.

Changes in Class and the Labor Force within Society :: History Marx Communism Essays

Changes in Class and the Labor Force within Society Introduction: Though the Industrial Revolution changed the course of modern history, the consequences that accompanied it divided society. The radical change in the division of class and labor within society because of industrialization disgusted many who witnessed it, including Karl Marx. Their contempt for the new composition of class and labor led to intellectuals proposing improvements and reversing changes, through their writings to the masses, introduced by the Industrial Revolution. The Communist Manifesto and writings by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels are specific in their views on the class and labor structure in Europe and abroad. Class Structure Marx saw three classes emerge from Capitalist industrial society: labor power, ones who possessed the means of production, and those who owned the land. Their incomes consisting of wages, profit from industry, and rent collected from their land. Industry created by the Bourgeois revitalized society into two separate classes, the bourgeois and the proletariat. Communism offered the opposite, no division of labor or class. Marx believed that by eliminating personal gain from society, the class structure of Capitalism would be broken. Marx proposed the individual would receive from the greater society an equal amount of the shared commodities in comparison to his production of work benefiting the whole. There is an exchange of equal values. Each person receives equal share in the possessions of the whole for equal work. The bourgeois dissolves as personal profit is eliminated. Thus, granting rule over society to the proletariat. Class disappears because everyone is the sam e. Everyone is a worker. Free economic markets separates the means of production and the labor force. The result is the formation of an economically ruling class. The ruling class finds that labor equals only the means of production. Thus, the bourgeois pays the workers only the amount needed to sustain life. The proletariat is reduced to a life whose sole purpose is to find work. They only find work if their labor increases capital. Communism's Answer to Class Structure Communism offered the opposite, no division of labor or class. Marx believed that by eliminating personal gain from society, the class structure of Capitalism would be broken. Marx proposed the individual would receive from the greater society an equal amount of the shared commodities in comparison to his production of work benefiting the whole.

Fast Food Nation- Why the Fries Taste Good Essay -- Nutrition

â€Å"The basic science behind the scent of your shaving cream is the same as that governing the flavor of your TV dinner,† (Schlosser 122). Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal was a Princeton graduate with a degree in American History. He’s written for the Atlantic Monthly since 1996 where he was given a prompt about America and its fast food industry. His simple magazine article transformed into an international bestseller. His book was on the New York Times bestsellers list for nearly two years. Schlosser has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, FOX News, and many others. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone and The New Yorker (Drury University). In Schlosser’s book, Chapter 5: â€Å"Why the Fries Taste Good† helps to explain what we are actually eating when it comes to America’s fast food industry. The beginning of this chapter focuses on the J.R. Simplot Plant which is located in Arberdeen, Idaho and processes around a million pounds of potatoes per day (Schlosser 111). John Richard Simplot was born in 1909 and spent much of his childhood working on his family’s farm. Simplot went against his father and dropped out of high school at the early age of fifteen and began working at a potato warehouse in Declo, Idaho. When J.R. turned sixteen, he became a potato farmer (Schlosser 112). It only took about ten short years for J.R. Simplot to become the largest shipper of potatoes in the West. World War II brought a lot of wealth to Simplot. He sold dehydrated onions to the U.S. Army and he eventually became one of the main suppliers of food to the U.S. American military during World War II (Schlosser 113). By the time Simplot was 36 years old, he was able to grow, fertilize, proces... ...amb Water Gun Knife,† (Schlosser 130). The potatoes became fries and they are blanched, dried, fried, and then frozen. Inside the freezer is about 20 million pounds of frozen french fries ready to be shipped and sold (Schlosser 131). This chapter focuses solely on why fast food, fries in particular, taste so good. Schlosser informs his audience of exactly what they are eating when they order a large french fry at McDonalds. The fries may start out as fresh potatoes, but what many don’t know is how fresh potatoes factually turn into the famous french fry. Works Cited "Eric Schlosser Biography." Drury University. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. . Schlosser, Eric. "Chapter 5: Why the Fries Taste Good." Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2005. Print.

Shadow Kiss Chapter 10

Ten THE NEXT DAY, MY guardian duties with Christian resumed. Once again, I found my own life put on hold for someone else's. â€Å"How was your penance?† he asked as we walked across campus from his dorm. I stifled a yawn. I hadn't been able to sleep well last night, both because of my feelings for Dimitri and because of what Father Andrew had told me. Nonetheless, I kept a sharp eye out. This was the location where Stan had attacked us twice before, and besides, the guardians were sick and twisted enough to come after me on a day when I was so exhausted. â€Å"It was okay. The priest let us go early.† â€Å"Us?† â€Å"Dimitri came and helped me. I think he felt bad about me being stuck with that work.† â€Å"Either that or he has nothing else to do now that he's not doing your extra sessions.† â€Å"Maybe, but I doubt it. All in all, I guess it wasn't that bad a day.† Unless you considered learning about spiteful ghosts bad. â€Å"I had a great day,† said Christian, the smallest amount of smugness in his voice. I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† He and Lissa had taken advantage of their guardianless day to take advantage of each other. I supposed I should be glad they'd held off until Eddie and I weren't around, but in a lot of ways, it didn't matter. True, when I was awake, I could block out all of the details, but I still knew what was going on. A bit of the jealousy and anger I'd felt from the last time they'd been together returned. It was the same problem all over again: Lissa doing all the things I couldn't do. I was dying to go eat breakfast. I could smell French toast and hot maple syrup. Carbs wrapped in more carbs. Yum. But Christian wanted blood before we ate solid food, and his needs trumped mine. They come first. He'd apparently skipped his daily blood dose yesterday – probably to maximize his romantic time. The feeder room wasn't crowded, but we still had to wait. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Do you know Brett Ozera? You're related, right?† After my encounter with Jill, I'd finally put some pieces together. Brett Ozera and Dane Zeklos had reminded me of how Brandon had looked the day of Stan's first attack. The disaster of that attack had made me completely forget about Brandon, but the coincidences here suddenly stirred my curiosity. All three had been beaten up. All three had been in denial. Christian nodded. â€Å"Yeah, in the way we're all kind of related. I don't know him that well – he's like a third or fourth cousin or something. His branch of the family hasn't had much to do with mine since †¦ well, you know.† â€Å"I heard something weird about him.† I then related what Jill had told me about Dane and Brett. â€Å"That's weird,† agreed Christian. â€Å"But people get in fights.† â€Å"Yeah, but there are some weird connections here. And royals aren't usually on the losing ends of fights – all three of these guys were.† â€Å"Well, maybe that's it. You know how it's been. A lot of royals are getting pissed off that non-royals want to change how guardians are assigned and learn to start fighting. That's the whole point of Jesse and Ralf's stupid little club. They want to make sure royals stay on top. Non-royals are probably getting just as pissed off and fighting back.† â€Å"So, what, some kind of vigilante is out making royals pay?† â€Å"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened around here,† he pointed out. â€Å"That's for damn sure,† I muttered. Christian's name was called, and he peered ahead. â€Å"Look at that,† he said happily. â€Å"Alice again.† â€Å"I don't get your fascination with her,† I observed as we approached the old feeder. â€Å"Lissa's always kind of excited to see her too. But Alice is nuts.† â€Å"I know,† he said. â€Å"That's what's so great.† Alice greeted us as Christian sat down beside her. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed over my chest. Feeling uppity, I said, â€Å"Alice, the scenery hasn't changed. It's exactly the same as last time.† She turned her dazed eyes on me. â€Å"Patience, Rose. You must be patient. And prepared. Are you prepared?† The switch in subject threw me a little. It was like talking to Jill, except less sane. â€Å"Um, prepared how? For the scenery?† In what had to be a prime moment of irony, she looked at me as though I were the one who was crazy. â€Å"Armed. Are you armed? You're going to protect us, aren't you?† I reached inside my coat and pulled out the practice stake I'd been given for the field experience. â€Å"Got you covered,† I said. She looked immensely relieved and apparently couldn't tell the difference between a real stake and a fake one. â€Å"Good,† she said. â€Å"Now we'll be safe.† â€Å"That's right,† said Christian. â€Å"With Rose armed, we have nothing to worry about. The Moroi world can rest easy.† Alice was oblivious to his sarcasm. â€Å"Yes. Well, nowhere is ever safe.† I concealed the stake again. â€Å"We're safe. We've got the best guardians in the world protecting us, not to mention the wards. Strigoi aren't getting in here.† I didn't add what I'd recently learned: that Strigoi could get humans to break the wards. Wards were invisible lines of power that were composed of all four elements. They were created when four Moroi, each one strong in a different element, walked around an area and laid the magic in a circle upon the ground, creating a protective border. Moroi magic was imbued with life, and a strong field of it kept out Strigoi, since they were devoid of life. So wards were frequently laid around Moroi dwellings. Tons of them were laid around this school. Since stakes were also imbued with all four elements, driving a stake through a ward line in the ground pierced the ward and canceled out the protective effect. This had never been much of a concern because Strigoi couldn't touch stakes. However, in some recent attacks, humans – who could touch stakes – had served Strigoi and broken some wards. We believed the Strigoi I'd killed had been the ringleaders in that group, but we still d idn't know for sure. Alice studied me closely with her cloudy eyes, almost as though she knew what I was thinking. â€Å"Nowhere is safe. Wards fade. Guardians die.† I glanced over at Christian, who shrugged in a sort of what did you expect from her? kind of way. â€Å"If you guys are done with your girl talk, can I eat now?† he asked. Alice was more than happy to comply; he was her first hit of the day. She soon forgot about wards or anything else and simply lost herself to the ecstasy of his bite. I forgot about wards too. I had a one-track mind, really: I still wanted to know if Mason had been real or not. The priest's frightening explanation aside, I had to admit Mason's visits hadn't been threatening, just scary. If he was out to get me, he was kind of doing a half-assed job of it. Once again, I started putting more stock in the stress-and-fatigue theory. â€Å"Now it's time for me to eat,† I said when Christian finished. I was pretty sure I could smell bacon now. That'd probably make Christian happy. He could wrap it around his French toast. We'd barely stepped out of the room when Lissa came running up to us, Eddie trailing behind. Excitement lit her face, though the feelings in the bond weren't exactly happy. â€Å"Did you hear?† she asked, a little breathless. â€Å"Hear what?† I asked. â€Å"You have to hurry – go pack your things. We're going to Victor's trial. Right now.† There'd been no warning at all about when Victor's trial would even occur, let alone that someone had apparently decided we could go. Christian and I exchanged brief, startled looks and then hurried off to his room to gather our things. Packing was a breeze. My bag was ready to go already, and Christian only took a minute to throw his together. In less than a half hour, we were out on the Academy's landing strip. Two private jets sat in attendance, one of which was fired up and waiting to go. A couple of Moroi hurried about, doing last-minute things with the plane and the runway. No one seemed to know what was going on. Lissa had simply been told that she, Christian, and I were going to testify and that Eddie could come along to continue his field experience. There'd been no explanation as to why things had changed, and a weird mix of eagerness and apprehension crackled around us. We all wanted to see Victor locked away for good, but now that we were actually faced with the reality of the trial and of seeing him – well, it was kind of scary. A few guardians lingered near the steps going up to the plane. I recognized them as the ones who had helped capture Victor. They were probably going to do double duty and serve as witnesses and as our protection. Dimitri hovered near the outskirts, and I hurried over to him. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I gulped out. â€Å"I'm so sorry.† He turned toward me, his face schooled to that perfect picture of neutrality that he was so good at. â€Å"Sorry for what?† â€Å"For all the horrible things I said yesterday. You did it – you really did it. You got them to let us go.† Despite my nervousness about seeing Victor, I was filled with elation. Dimitri had come through. I'd known all along that he really cared about me – this just proved it. If there hadn't been so many people around, I would have hugged him. Dimitri's face didn't change. â€Å"It wasn't me, Rose. I had nothing to do with it.† Alberta signaled that we could board, and he turned away to join the others. I stood frozen for a moment, watching him and trying to figure out what had happened. If he hadn't intervened, then why were we going? Lissa's diplomatic efforts had been shot down a while ago. Why the change of heart? My friends were already on board, so I hurried to catch up. As soon as I stepped into the cabin, a voice called to me. â€Å"Little dhampir! About time you got here.† I looked and saw Adrian waving, a drink in his hand. Great. We'd had to beg and plead to go along, yet Adrian had somehow just glided on in. Lissa and Christian were sitting together, so I joined Eddie in the hopes of staying away from Adrian. Eddie gave me the window seat. Adrian moved to the seat in front of us, though, and might as well have been sitting in our row, as often as he turned around to talk to me. His chatter and outrageous flirting indicated he'd been sipping cocktails long before the rest of us had come aboard. I kind of wished I'd had a few myself once we were airborne. A wicked headache set in almost immediately after liftoff, and I entertained a fantasy of vodka numbing the pain. â€Å"We're going to Court,† Adrian said. â€Å"Aren't you excited about it?† I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. â€Å"About which one? The royal one or the legal one?† â€Å"The royal one. Did you bring a dress?† â€Å"Nobody told me to.† â€Å"So †¦ that's a ‘no.'† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Yes? I thought you meant no.† I opened one eye and glared. â€Å"I did mean no, and you know it. No, I did not bring a dress.† â€Å"We'll get you one,† he said loftily. â€Å"You're going to take me shopping? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they won't consider you a reliable chaperone.† â€Å"Shopping? As if. There are tailors that live there. We'll get you something custom-made.† â€Å"We're not staying that long. And do I really need a dress for what we're doing there?† â€Å"No, I'd just kind of like to see you in one.† I sighed and leaned my head against the window. The pain in my skull was still throbbing. It was like the air was pressing in on me. Something flashed in my peripheral vision, and I turned in surprise, but there was nothing but stars outside the window. â€Å"Something black,† he continued. â€Å"Satin, I think†¦ maybe with lace trim. Do you like lace? Some women think it itches.† â€Å"Adrian.† It was like a hammer, a hammer inside and outside my head. â€Å"You could get a nice velvet trim too, though. That wouldn't itch.† â€Å"Adrian.† Even my eye sockets seemed to hurt. â€Å"And then a slit up the side to show off what great legs you have. It could go nearly to the hip and have this cute little bow – â€Å" â€Å"Adrian!† Something inside of me burst. â€Å"Will you shut the hell up for five seconds?† I yelled so loud that the pilot had probably heard me. Adrian had that rare look of astonishment on his face. Alberta, sitting across the aisle from Adrian, shot up in her seat. â€Å"Rose,† she exclaimed. â€Å"What's going on?† I gritted my teeth and rubbed my forehead. â€Å"I have the worst fucking headache in the world, and he won't shut up.† I didn't even realize I'd sworn in front of an instructor until several seconds later. From the other side of my field of vision, I thought I saw something else – another shadow darting through the plane, reminding me of black wings. Like a bat or a raven. I covered my eyes. There was nothing flying through the plane. â€Å"God, why won't it go away?† I expected Alberta to chastise me for the outburst, but instead, Christian spoke: â€Å"She hasn't eaten today. She was really hungry earlier.† I uncovered my eyes. Alberta's face was filled with concern, and Dimitri now hovered behind her. More shadowy shapes flitted across my vision. Most were indistinct, but I could have sworn I saw something that looked like a skull mixed in with the darkness. I blinked rapidly, and it all disappeared. Alberta turned to one of the flight attendants. â€Å"Can you get her something to eat? And find a painkiller?† â€Å"Where's it at?† Dimitri asked me. â€Å"The pain?† With all of this attention, my explosion suddenly seemed excessive. â€Å"It's a headache†¦I'm sure it'll go away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Seeing his stern look, I pointed to the center of my forehead. â€Å"It's like something pushing on my skull. And there's pain kind of behind my eyes. I keep feeling like†¦well, it's like I've got something in my eye. I think I'm seeing a shadow or something. Then I blink and it's gone.† â€Å"Ah,† said Alberta. â€Å"That's a migraine symptom – having vision problems. It's called an aura. People sometimes get it before the headache sets in.† â€Å"An aura?† I asked, startled. I glanced up at Adrian. He was looking at me over the top of his seat, his long arms hanging over the back of it. â€Å"Not that kind,† he said, a small smile turning up his lips. â€Å"Same name. Like Court and court. Migraine auras are images and light you see when a migraine's coming on. They have nothing to do with the auras around people I see. But I tell you †¦ the aura I can see †¦ the one around you †¦ wow.† â€Å"Black?† â€Å"And then some. It's obvious even after all the drinks I've had. Never seen anything like it.† I didn't exactly know what to make of that, but then the flight attendant returned with a banana, a granola bar, and some ibuprofen. It was a far cry from French toast, but it sounded good on my empty stomach. I consumed it all and then propped a pillow up against the window. Closing my eyes, I rested my head and hoped I could sleep the headache off before we landed. Mercifully, everyone else stayed quiet. I had drifted off a little when I felt a slight touch on my arm. â€Å"Rose?† Opening my eyes, I peered at Lissa as she sat in Eddie's seat. Those bat-winged shapes flitted behind her, and my head still hurt. In those swirling shadows, I again saw what looked like a face, this time with a wide gaping mouth and eyes like fire. I flinched. â€Å"You're still in pain?† Lissa asked, peering at me. I blinked, and the face was gone. â€Å"Yeah, I – oh no.† I realized what she was going to do. â€Å"Don't do it. Don't waste it on me.† â€Å"It's easy,† she said. â€Å"It hardly fazes me.† â€Å"Yeah, but the more you use it†¦ the more it hurts you in the long run. Even if it's easy now.† â€Å"I'll worry about that later. Here.† She clasped my hand between hers and closed her eyes. Through our bond, I felt the magic welling up in her as she drew upon spirit's healing power. To her, magic felt warm and golden. I'd been healed before, and it always came through to me as varying temperatures: hot, then cold, then hot, etc. But this time, when she released the magic and sent it into me, I didn't feel anything except a very faint tingle. Her eyelids fluttered open. â€Å"Wh – what happened?† she asked. â€Å"Nothing,† I said. â€Å"The headache's still going strong.† â€Å"But I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The confusion and shock on her face mirrored what I sensed in her. â€Å"I had it. I felt the magic. It worked.† â€Å"I don't know, Liss. It's okay, really. You haven't been off the meds that long, you know.† â€Å"Yeah, but I healed Eddie the other day without any problems. And Adrian,† she added dryly. He was hanging over the seat again, watching us intently. â€Å"Those were scrapes,† I said. â€Å"This is a five-alarm migraine we're talking about. Maybe you've got to build back up.† Lissa bit her lower lip. â€Å"You don't think the pills permanently hurt my magic, do you?† â€Å"Nah,† said Adrian, head tilted to the side. â€Å"You lit up like a supernova when you were summoning it. You had magic. I just don't think it had any effect on her.† â€Å"Why not?† she demanded. â€Å"Maybe she's got something you can't heal.† â€Å"A headache?† I asked in disbelief. He shrugged. â€Å"What do I look like, a doctor? I don't know. Just telling you what I saw.† I sighed and placed a hand on my forehead. â€Å"Well, I appreciate the help, Liss, and I appreciate your annoying commentary, Adrian. But I think sleep might be the best thing for now. Maybe it's stress or something.† Sure, why not? Stress was the answer to everything lately. Ghosts. Incurable headaches. Weird faces floating in the air. â€Å"Probably can't heal that.† â€Å"Maybe,† she said, sounding as though she took personal offense at me having something she couldn't fix. Inside her mind, though, her accusations were turned toward herself, not me. She worried she wasn't good enough. â€Å"It's okay,† I said soothingly. â€Å"You're just getting your stride back. Once you're up to full power, I'll go crack a rib or something so we can test it.† She groaned. â€Å"The horrible part is that I don't think you're joking.† After a quick squeeze of my hand, she stood up. â€Å"Sleep well.† She left, and I soon realized Eddie wasn't coming back. He'd taken a new seat so that I'd have more room. Appreciative, I fluffed and repositioned the pillow while stretching my legs out as best I could across the seats. A few more phantom clouds danced across my vision, and then I closed my eyes to sleep. I woke up later when the plane touched down, the sounds of its engines kicking into reverse startling me out of a deep sleep. To my relief, the headache was gone. So were the weird shapes floating around me. â€Å"Better?† Lissa asked when I stood up and yawned. I nodded. â€Å"Much. Better still if I can get some real food.† â€Å"Well,† she laughed, â€Å"somehow I doubt there's any shortage of food around here.† She was right. Glancing out the windows, I tried to get my first look at our surroundings. We'd made it. We were at the Moroi Royal Court.