The Important Changes of the Gilded Age

The changes that occurred in the Gilded Age led to shaping American into the superpower and well respected international country that it is recognized as today. The most important changes were the discovery of uses of copper, the assembly line production technique and the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. The uses of copper that were introduced during the Gilded Age allowed the development of necessities of life as we know it in the United States today. Because of its ability to transmit electricity and sound, it is used in telephone and telegraph systems and electric lighting – technologies that were developed and introduced during the Gilded Age. It is almost impossible to imagine what our present day lives would be like without telephones, computers and other electronic devices that evolved from the inventions that developed from the discovery of uses of copper during this great period. Henry Ford†s use of the assembly line in manufacturing the first cars in large numbers would survive and evolve to being one of the most efficient techniques of manufacturing otherwise complex and time-consuming products. The assembly line, which is still in use in many factories today, would cut the time of production and would also cut down the skills necessary to build and manufacture products. Before the assembly line, for example, a product would be crafted by a skilled person who possessed the knowledge of making the product. It would take a long time to manufacture because the manufacturing would be done alone or by a few workers. The assembly line would have a â€Å"line† of workers who would do just one function of the manufacturing process. For example, one worker would only put on a tire and that†s what that one worker would do all day long. The assembly line would, in turn, require only laborers, instead of skilled workers, to be used on the assembly line. Labor! ers would be paid much less than skilled workers and would work towards the manufacturer†s advantage. Ford†s use of this technique of labor management would allow him to make his millions quickly and efficiently. This change in focus of function instead of skill would allow efficient productivity. Without the assembly line, factories today would run more slowly and would have much smaller output than with the assembly line. Another change from the Gilded Age would be the completion and use of the first transcontinental railroad. Not only was it functionally great, but it was symbolic also. This would join the west and the east in a week†s time journey instead of taking several months. It was also a symbolic change in that the East and West were finally connected. The West would become a more accessible area for resources and settlement. This was a proud achievement of the United States also because of its own greatness in length and size. The railroads were a crucial part of the industrialization of the U.S. during this time period. They were an important part of transportation during these times. The Gilded Age gave birth to many of the corporations that exist today. The ideas, inventions and discoveries of this time were necessary for America to be where it is at today.

School Counselors and Child Abuse

The objective of this research paper is to determine how well school counselors, who are human service providers and mandated reporters of child abuse, know how to detect abuse and whether or not this skill has an effect on them actually making a report. As mandated reporters, school counselors are not prepared to detect signs of child abuse and their lack of preparedness is a directly correlated with their low levels of reporting.Unfortunately, it is a cold fact that child abuse exists all over the world, but fortunately educators and individuals in human services are beginning to open the eyes of many individuals about the power they have in prevention, intervening and changing the lives of those affected by the horrid effect of child abuse. A group of individuals that can have a superb effect in empowering those affected by abuse are school counselors. Because of their interactions with children and their families, they can be influential in recognizing and reporting child abuse. With the right training and tools they can make a world of difference.There is very little research on school counselors and their abilities in recognizing and reporting child abuse. The research that does exist shows a need in extensive training in recognition child abuse and what to do thereafter. School counselors reported knowledge that they are mandated by law to report suspicion of child abuse, but lacked confidence in their ability to detect and report child abuse. Training is necessary in undergraduate/graduate schooling and as a professional in order for a school counselor to be fully effective as a mandated reporters.According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, (NCANDS), which collects and analysis data from child protective services, 3. 3 million child abuse reports were made in 2009 of which three fifths of the reports were made by Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 3 mandated reports such as doctors, teachers, daycare providers, counselor, etc. who because of the nature of their job have contact with these children. 3. 3 million reports were made in United States in the year 2009 and it is unfortunate to say that perhaps millions more abuses occurred but went on unreported.To report or not to report, that is the question that many individuals ask themselves when in a possession were they might hold vital information. There are times when individuals who have vital information right in front of them but see right thought it because of the lack of knowledge and experience. An often happy and extrovert child might begin to show sudden signs of melancholy and introversion due to being sexually abused by a family member, but a professional who works with the child on a day to day basis, for example, a teacher or a school counselor may not be able to detect these changes in character and as a result make no reports.The duration of time that children interact with school officials and administrators often times equal and ev en exceed the amount of time that they spend with family members. At times children and certain school officials form bonds that are fused together by trust and respect and due to the trust that has been formed, often times these officials gain insight about these children’s lives. One school official that needs to build rapport with a child in order to best service that child, is a school counselor.Since rapport is usually built between child and counselor, one would assume that the counselor would be able to detect child abuse right away, but it is evident through my readings that school councilors are in desperate need of guidance themselves. Though they are there to guide others, school counselors lack the confidence and knowledge when it comes to detecting and reporting child abuse cases; weather it be neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or physical abuse physical Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 4 abuse. According to Bryant (2009), 86. % of the 193 par ticipants in his study reported that they gained knowledge about child abuse reporting through experience at work and not necessarily through training. Goldman and Padayachi (2005) study looked at school counselors and their reporting behavior and whether or not they needed any further training. Just as Bryant (2009) study concluded that further education and training was necessary, Goldman and Padayachi (2005) study also reported that 95% of the participants in the study suggested that they needed more training in how to handle and deal with children and sexual abuse.The latter researchers did their study in Australia, where child abuse laws differ from one state to another. For example in New South Wales, it is mandatory by law for school officials to report any suspicion of child abuse. It was not always the case in New South Wales though because reports by school personnel of child abuse greatly increased from 11. 4% to 24% once the new law took into action. In Queensland were t he research study was conducted, school personnel were not mandated by law to report suspicion of child abuse.According to Goldman and Padayachi (2005) school personnel in New South Wales were being trained more intensively about neglect and child abuse because of the mandatory reporting laws. So, could it be possible that school personnel are not trained as intensively and excessively because there is no law indicating that suspicion of child abuse be reported? Would it be fair to say that people are reporting because it is mandated by law? Or are people reporting more because they have more training in dealing with child abuse? Is it an issue of law, ethics or knowledge?In order to determine whether or not school counselors consider certain situations as abuse or not, Goldman and Padayachi (2005) created four hypothetical Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 5 situations where a child is interacting with a counselor and in all four situations the degree of detail the ch ild reveals is different, for example, in one situation a child â€Å"draws a picture of a man and makes vague statements about a bad man, but does not make any specific statements about being sexually abused† (Goodman and Padayachi, 2005), and in another situation, a girl tells her school counselor and her grandmother that she is being sexually abused. School personnel are suppose to rate the degree of suspicion from â€Å"substantial† to â€Å"no reason.According to the results, the degree of suspicion was from substantial to moderate, which indicates that the 122 participants were well aware of what signs to look for in sexual abuse. Majority of participants were able to detect child abuse, but were unlikely to report their suspicions when asked if they would report it if the child denied of being sexually abused. This can indicates that suspecting and reporting do not necessarily go hand in hand, especially in a state were reporting is not mandated by law. Accordi ng to Bryant (2009), the number one reason the participants in his study indicated that they would report suspicion of child abuse was because of law; which goes back to, are people reporting because of law, knowledge, ethics?It seems to me, to be more in favor of the law; but either way, if children’s lives are being saved; would it matter if it’s because of law or ethics? Probably the answer would be no, until people’s perceptions are changed. Being able to recognize signs of abuse in a hypothetical situation can vary greatly with the degree of confidence that a person has of his or her skills in recognizing signs of abuse. In Bryans (2009) study, participants were confident in their ability to recognize signs of physical abuse but were not as certain in their abilities to recognize emotional abuse; perhaps because physical abuse if much more Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 6 observable, which indicates that much more training is needed in reco gnizing the more discrete signs of abuse.In Goodman and Padayachi (2005) study, the participants were asked about their confidence level of their knowledge of sexual abuse, and only â€Å"less than 10 per cent of the school counselors in Queensland were completely confident in their knowledge of symptoms to identify sexual abuse, while a considerable portion of them, 47 per cent, had little confidence, and 37 per cent had no confidence† (Goodman and Padayachi, 2005). The literature that was used in this research project proves that school counselors are not prepared to identify signs of child abuse; especially emotional abuse because signs of emotional abuse are a lot more discrete than physical abuse.Some research shows that school counselors are able to detect signs of child abuse but are less likely to report child abuse if a child denies being abused. In order to facilitate better understanding of child abuse in terms of detecting signs of abuse whether it is emotional or physical, colleges need to better prepare students before they start working as school counselors. School districts also need to have mandated training for incoming and ongoing school counselors. In order to help school counselor with becoming more assertive reporters of child abuse, school districts need to have mandatory training and colleges need to have courses that prepare students in how to report and the importance of reporting child abuse.

Organizational behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organizational behavior - Essay Example suffering from any negative experiences depression started to dominate the entire aspects of life. It is therefore, reflected on the scenarios of everyday activities. It can cause drastic changes in the daily activities such as eating, working, and even in sleeping. It feels so helpless and hopeless; and there are lack of confidence and focus on the daily activities, if mentally and physically weak. But it would be more advantageous if you work out on it with boost of happiness, and can be prevented by letting yourself busy with working in the daily endeavors. .Definitely positive feelings correspond to positive work. Conclusion In conclusion to this topic, feelings, emotions, and moods affect the whole system of our body, physical and emotional aspects of our behavior. Some of our great philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and other philosophers are best examples of achievers who definitely known for their works because they have positive emotions that lead them to motivation, strengt hs and desire to succeed. Reference Psychology Information Online, (1993). What is a depressive order? Retrieved from http://www.psychologyinfo.com/depression/description.html

Post-Structuralism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Post-Structuralism - Essay Example Along with Lvi-Strauss, three of the most prominent post-structuralists were first counted among the so-called "Gang of Four" of structuralism par excellence: Jacques Lacan, Roland Barthes, and Michel Foucault. The works of Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and Julia Kristeva are also counted as prominent examples of post-structuralism. Legal theory is necessarily involved with question of language, meaning and interpretation. Language has increasingly become a major object of inquiry within diver's range of legal theory. This is partly due to the work of J.L. Austin and his speech language theory, between 1962 and 1973. 2 At that time discussions were very passionate, then, after a less popular period, it re-finds a great interest at the beginning of the eighties. In France, it has penetrated philosophy thanks to the works of Ducrot and Ricoeur. The first publication on this subject dates from 1974. In Europe the situation is quite similar with one remarkable exception in 1962 with the Swedish K. Olivecrona and the Finish G.H. von Wright3. But in 1972, Alf Ross published an article with a signification title:" The Rise and Fall of the Doctrine of Per formatives ", in one hand he rejected following Austin's first distinction between per formatives and constatives, or more generally, between "saying something" and "doing something", but on the other hand, he didn't accept the second version of the theory, with the distinction between the elocutionary, illocutionary, and perlocucionnary act. Alf Ross distinguished only two main types of speech act: indicative and directive, in his book "Directives and N orms". Each of these acts had one or several norms behind to determine its normative consequences. These norms were called "norms of competence". Contribution to the question of the legal language specificity: a frontal attack against basis of the pure theory of law. The theorical reason of the language theory attraction exercised on jurists is that in the sixties legal theoricians and philosophers went to a saturation point caused by kelsenien theory. Thus per formative theory allowed a frontal attack against the bases of pure theory by suppressing grnd norm "hypothesis". In admitting existence of per formative speech acts, which didn't ask existence of superior norms, we could denounce what Mc Cormick called "the imperativist fallacy". But it is also important to stress that speech act theory allowed to oppose oneself to the epistemological rupture, inherited from Hume and Kant applied in our field by Kelsen between Sein and Sollen, Is and Ought. Some jurists had this deep intuition that this radical scission which closed them in the "swollen world", the one of signification of will act, cut them from reality, and deprive legal reasoning from perception foundations signing by its irrationalism. Though, doctrine of per formatives by its theory o f presuppositions reinaugurates the link between speech act and its factual presuppositions. It is the reason why the speech act theory has

Cyber crime Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cyber crime - Article Example For instance, some of the malicious attacks that organizations and businesses face include cyber theft and fraud, cyber warfare, industrial espionage and hacking among others. The non-malicious attacks include misuse of access devices, human error and accidental system failures. Additionally, the article provides the costs that companies incur or may in future incur as a result of cyber crime. Moreover, some of the best practices that can limit the cyber crime, and legislations and regulations of cyber crimes are also included in the article. In my opinion, I would agree with the information provided concerning cyber crime in the article. One fact is that cyber crime is increasingly becoming an issue to most governments and its threats can be far much worse to an economy since it is a crime related to the internet; internet is one factor that an economy cannot survive without. Additionally, I would agree with what the author has indicated in the article because currently issues concerning cyber crimes are often discussed in the social media and various governments, therefore it is no doubt that whatever the author has provided is backed by so varied and valid evidences. The topic is very much important globally. Cyber threats and data privacy are factors that are currently becoming a major focus to various businesses, organizations and governments around the world. Since various sectors in the world or different nations depend so much on the internet, I think it is important to educate people on the threats that come as a result of the existence of the internet and how these threats can be limited. Failure to notify the world about this can affect the general economic growth of various nations. Certainly, the author has provided more than enough evidence with regards to cyber threats and data privacy. For instance, the author has provided valid statistics concerning the intensity of cyber

Legal Responsibilities of a Nurse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Responsibilities of a Nurse - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  nursing laws state that a nurse should act as an intermediary between the physician and the patient. Nurses have to carefully monitor the patient and report to the physician if any abnormality is observed. A nurse is legally responsible for interpreting the patient’s charts and files and thereby identifying what allergic reactions the patient may develop against different medications. Nurses are legally required to provide the patient with assistance in issues like hygiene if the patient needs it. Some patients may move out of the hospital environment and use infectious facilities during the course of treatment. Undoubtedly, this situation would adversely affect the patient’s disease recovery process. Hence, a nurse has the legal responsibility to pay proper attention to his/her patient and thereby avoid those adverse situations. In short, a nurse should avoid all acts that are likely to affect the patient safety or quality of the car e badly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This discussion highlights that  the major legal responsibility of a healthcare employer is that he should maintain a sound healthcare environment where patient safety is specifically met. Healthcare laws indicate that employers are legally required to employ sufficient number of staff that is essential to achieve patient safety and quality care.  An employer has the legal responsibility to ensure his employees’ safety and welfare.... In addition, the employer has to ensure that his staffs are provided with necessary medical equipments and other treatment facilities. Employers must provide their staff with a potential worksite environment where elements of stressors are minimal. An employer has the legal responsibility to ensure his employees’ safety and welfare. It is the legal responsibility of an employer to assess the risk factors existing in the workplace environment and do whatever is practicable to minimize the level of those risks. Hence, a healthcare employer should encourage his staff to report any issue or pitfall in the work environment that is likely to hurt patient safety or employee efficiency. In addition, the employer is legally responsible for paying immediate attention to issues that are likely to impact the quality of care. American Medical Association in its code of medical ethics has specified the fundamental elements of doctor-patient relationship and patient’s rights. Those ri ghts involve â€Å"the basic right to have adequate health care† and â€Å"the right to courtesy, respect, dignity, responsiveness, and timely attention to health needs† (Kwon, n.d). Hence, a medication error will certainly constitute violation of patients’ rights. In the view of Kitchener, â€Å"autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity† are the six fundamental ethical principles in the healthcare (as cited in Corey, Schneider & Callanan, 2010, p. 19). Hence, through the medication error, the nurse violated the principle of nonmaleficence, which states that ‘do no harm’ to clients intentionally or unintentionally. Even though the nurse violated the basic nursing principles and thereby patient rights were

Non verbal communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Non verbal communication - Essay Example Therefore, non-verbal communication will always be a part of our lives whether intentionally or unconsciously. Non-verbal communication helps us unfold what a person has not told us. This is referred to as judging of internal states. Through non-verbal communication, an individual can express his or her feelings, emotions, attitudes and perceptions (Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2009, 244). For instance, an individual may not admit that they are shy, but through their nonverbal communication, another person will be able to realize their shyness. It is thus essential in helping us understand people much better. Through non-verbal communication, an individual is also able to know when another is lying or when the information being told through speech is false. Therefore, non-verbal communication helps us understand the inner part of a person. This is also because; unlike verbal speech, which can be falsified, non-verbal communication cannot be faked. Thus, it expresses the true feelings and emotions of a person. Non-verbal information is also beneficial in creating of impressions (Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2009, 245). This application is mainly applied during interviews where by an interviewer can judge the interviewee from the impression created even without being told. For instance, a fidgeting interviewee will be judged as timid and shy even if that is not the case. Non-verbal communication is also crucial in helping us to manage our interaction with different cultures. This mainly helps to eradicate misunderstandings among individuals of different cultures since different cultures translate non-verbal signals differently (Wolters, 2010, 1). In addition, with non-verbal translation, individuals from different cultures are able to communicate with each other by use of non-verbal signals. Elements of Public Speaking Public Speaking refers to the addressing of a multitude of persons on a certain topic. Different individuals use different skills to ensure that the ir message is well understood by their audience. However, the major elements of public speaking identified by scholars include: Preparation An individual should be fully prepared before giving a public speech. This includes ensuring that information to be presented is well organization and put in a basic form that will be easily understood by the audience. Preparation also assists the speaker to ensure that the information presented is relevant and useful (Lenny Laskowski, 1997, 1). Staying relaxed Public speaking can only flow smoothly when the speaker is relaxed and composed. Contrary, the speaker is likely to mix up the ideas without giving the required explanation. Scholars also assert that the audience is likely to believe in the speech of a confident person than of person who does not believe in themselves (Evans, 2012, 1). Use of a good sense of humour, correct grammar and proper pronunciation A public speech that is full of grammatical mistakes will usually be rated as poor and of low quality. Good sense of humour in a public speech also ensures that the audience stays alert and is not bored (Gupit, 2011, 13). Audience awareness An important element of public speech is being aware of the audience being addressed. This is because; different types of language will be used for different levels of audience. For instance, an audience composed of young people may entertain some jokes that an aged audience will not entertain (Evans, 2012, 1). Audibility and Clarity It is

Nonmaleficence & Healthcare cost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nonmaleficence & Healthcare cost - Essay Example The principle of beneficence is basically about acting for the benefit of the patient – that all actions are geared towards ensuring one’s actions would be for the good of the patient. This principle is very much related to that of nonmaleficence which basically mandates that no harm must not intentionally or non-intentionally be visited upon the patient by the health professional’s actions. Finally, the principle of justice is about giving a person his due and what he is entitled to. These principles form the foundation of all health care decisions. For health professionals making decisions about a patient’s care, these principles help guide the healthcare practice towards morally and ethically prudent decisions. In the current era of economic recession which is also causing multiple budget cuts, the imposed health budget cuts seem to be coming under scrutiny for their negative implications to the delivery of health services. The principle of nonmaleficen ce is being considered as a primary consideration in scrutinizing the imposition of health care budget cuts. In effect, the application of health budget cuts contradicts the principle of non-maleficence. This paper shall consider such thesis, discussing both sides of the statement in the hope of eventually establishing a scholarly and comprehensive understanding and resolution of the issue. Discussion Since the beginning of the economic recession period, government spending in almost all sectors of social service has taken on budget cut considerations. These budget cuts have reduced funding for some health care services, and in some areas of health service, have led to total elimination of monetary support. Forms of rationing and rationalization in health care spending have also been implemented. These forms of budget cuts and limitations however have resulted to sacrifices in health care spending – some of these sacrifices have impacted on the quality and quantity of care ma de available to the general population. In considering the principle of nonmaleficence and its application to the reduction of health care spending, two sides of this issue are apparent. In one side, nonmaleficence clearly portrays how budget cuts cause both direct and indirect harm to patients. On the other side, it may be argued that these budget cuts do not cause the patient much harm; instead they make the redistribution of limited resources possible. The discussion below shall review both sides of this issue. Budget cuts cause direct and indirect harm to patients Budget cuts cause both direct and indirect harm to patients. Health care leaders point out that health budget cuts potentially endanger patients (Grant, 2011). With higher health premiums, higher co-pays, as well as deductibles, more people seem to be doing away with preventive care. Patients entering hospitals seem to sicker and harder to care for because they often wait for the last possible moment to seek medical ca re. By the time they seek medical care, their illness has already progressed into less manageable stages of care (Grant, 2011). Imposing budget cuts in the health care practice have also come to mean less nurses hired to care for patients. In effect, fewer nurses are available to care for patients who are hardly reduced in number (Grant, 2011). In considering budgets, numbers are always involved. For those who control the budget, numbers often rule their mind and their decisions. In

Leadership & Ethics- Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Leadership Ethics- Research Paper Essay Introduction With the collapse of major corporations like Enron, Tyco International, WorldCom and the like, corporate corruption and mismanagement has been in the forefront of some of the major issues that corporate organizations have to overcome and manage. With this research paper, my aim is to review and present three scholarly journals that highlight the impact that leadership can play on the ethical performance of an organization. Firstly, in the â€Å"Cultural Leadership Predictors of Corporate Social Responsibility Values of Top Management: A GLOBE Study of 15 Countries†, the study states, that with the spread of globalization, it has become imperative to understand managerial values that guide their actions. The authors suggest that the three main dimensions of managerial values that are relevant to the study of CSR are: shareholder/owner values where the aim is to maximize profits, stakeholder relations which refers to ethical and positive relations towards employees, consumer groups and the like and thirdly, community/state welfare which is based on the principle of public responsibility. In a more in-depth analysis the study explores the correlation of societal culture factors such as institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism and power distance on the above three managerial values that impacts managerial decision making. Furthermore, the paper proposes that visionary leadership and integrity enhances corporate social responsibility (CSR) values on moral and ethical grounds. Secondly,† The Association Between Ethical Leadership Employee Outcomes – The Malaysian Case† will help understand the value in gaining employee commitment and trust through effective ethical leadership skills. This article studies the impact of ethical leadership on the employee outcomes in areas such as organizational commitment and trust. A micro study was done on the country of Malaysia which has experienced a tenfold increase in corporate crime over the last 15 years. From the study one gathers that the main reason for such an exponential increase in such crimes is due to fact of the failures on part of corporate leadership to act ethically in their decision making process. Lastly, with â€Å"Leadership Styles the Moral Choice of Internal Auditors† I will examine how an employee’s self interest and management leadership guides their ethical decision making. This study plays close attention to one set of an organization’s workers the Internal Auditing professionals, in order to understand the how their choice in making ethical decisions are subjective to various factors , one of them being leadership. The primary viewpoint of this study indicated that an auditor’s decision making is enhanced by the leaders who adopt a standard achievement oriented leadership style and when they see clear benchmarking, fair performance assessment and growth opportunity. In conclusion, this can be held true for any employee within an organization. Hypothesis According to the GLOBE study, there were three main hypotheses that the researches proposed. The first hypothesis testing was split in two parts wherein, they proposed that â€Å"societies stressing institutional collectivist values will have a positive relationship with stakeholder’s relations and community/state welfare CSR values while societies stressing in-group collectivist values will only have a positive relationship with shareholder relations CSR values (Waldman et al).† The second theory states that cultures that have a high power distance tend to have low CSR values (Waldman et al). Lastly, visionary leadership and integrity on part of CEO’s, adds variance to the prediction of followers (stakeholders) CSR values that go beyond the effects of societal cultural values (Waldman et al). With the Leadership and Employee Outcome – The Malaysian Case, the two main hypotheses of the study were based on the notion that â€Å"there was a significant relationship between ethical leadership behaviour and employee’s organizational commitment and, that ethical leadership behaviour was positively associated with employee’s trust in leaders (Ponnu, Tennakoon).† This study aimed to examine the empirical significance of ethical leadership on employee attitudinal outcomes. The main hypothesis of the â€Å"Leadership Styles the Moral Choice of Internal Auditors† study was to understand the motivational factors that influence internal auditors when faced with ethical dilemmas pertaining to â€Å"spilt loyalty, expectation gaps and conflict of interest (Woodbine , Liu).† The authors proposed that the dependent and independent variables such as â€Å" personal needs strengths, leadership styles, the interaction between needs strength and leadership styles and situational factors impact an internal auditors moral choices when faced with an ethical issue (Woodbine , Liu).† Sampling In the GLOBE research paper the selected firms were picked from diverse sectors such manufacturing, information systems and tourism, however government run and educational institutions were excluded from the sample. Each firm had an average of 500 employees with six or more respondents from each firm. The final analysis was based on the responses of 561 firms from over 15 countries from various regions and a total of 4656 individuals completed the survey. The respondents comprised of CEO’s and several of their subordinates i.e. top executives. The leadership (two variables- vision and integrity) and societal cultural dimensions (three variables – institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism and power distance) were measured using reliability and confirmatory factor analyses. Cronback’s alpha for the above measures ranged from 0.70 to 0.90 for a five factor model. A two factor model was also used however it was not considered to be a good enough of fit. Control Variables such per capita gross domestic product, firms performance, average of age of respondents, average education and average gender, were used to enhance precision of the model (Waldman et al). Mean, standard deviations and correlations amongst the variables were interpreted and a hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the three main hypotheses. All survey items were standardized by country using Z – scores, so as to control potential differences in items scores and rating processes between countries (Waldman et al). Lastly various data collection strategies were put in to play in order to avoid single source bias issues. The Malaysian cross sectional case study was based on the primary data collected from 172 intermediate managerial employees from a wide variety of industries within the corporate sector in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The sample included 77 males and 97 females, age range from 20 to 53 and with 84% of the respondents holding bachelors or post graduate degrees. The data was collected through self administered questionnaires and â€Å"convenience sampling was used in drawing samples ((Ponnu, Tennakoon).† SPSS Version 14.0 was used to analyze the data and test the studies hypothesis. Correlation matrix and reliability analysis was done all variables to determine relationships among constructs and lastly in order to allow for correlation amongst factors,† exploratory factor analysis using principle components with oblique rotations was conducted (Ponnu, Tennakoon).† With the Internal Auditors case study, the sample population description comprised of full time internal auditing jobs with respondents that had at least one year experience with their respective organizations. The study was conducted in Australia and comprised of mailed out questionnaires. The total sample size was 128. The demographics were as follows: 84 males and 44 females, average male age 44 years and average female age of 36 years. Out of the 128 respondents, 48 of them were audit managers of equivalent. Organizations involved in the sampling were government departments, private sector and accounting firms. Statistical methods that were employed included correlation analysis for the dependent variables using a two tailed test and significant relationship amongst the three variables was found to exist and Q-Q plots and detrended normal plots were used to validate normality and reliability. For the independent variables such as leadership styles, growth needs and the like principal component analysis was used. Reverser measurement and regression analysis using stepwise method was used to explore relationships between the variables and in certain instances to test validity of model. Major Results Findings From the two GLOBE tables listed below the hypothesis that in-group collectivist values results in positive shareholder/owner is unconfirmed. The statistical analysis has confirmed and supported the authors proposal in that institutional collectivism positively predicts stakeholder CSR values, with a positive ÃŽ ² coefficient of 0.13 (P ≠¤ 0.01); power distance is negatively predictive of stakeholder CSR values, with a ÃŽ ² coefficient of -0.20; and that the leadership variables of vision and integrity enhanced CSR values, with ÃŽ ² coefficients of 0.23 and 0.13 respectively and variance of 9% (P ≠¤ 0.01) (Waldman et al). With GLOBE table 2, total variance amongst the three main managerial values are: shareholder/owner dimension equals 22%, stakeholder values is 45% and community/state welfare is 28% with a 5% significance level. Hence the model best suits stakeholder CSR values. The main findings with the GLOBE study are as follows: 1.The authors multidimensional of managerial values with the dimensions of shareholder/owners, stakeholders and community/state welfare values were appropriately construed. 2.The research indicates that manager from wealthier countries are more inclined to favor shareholder/owners values and less likely to consider the welfare of the state or community at large. In comparison, managers from poorer countries feel a greater personal responsibility towards society. 3.Managers from institutional collectivist societies tend to have greater value for the three managerial values while there has been no significant relationship between the two variables for in-group collectivism. 4.In societal cultures that have great power distance, managers tend to devalue CSR values, thus leading to a more manipulative use of power with little consideration given to stakeholders such as employees, customers, environmentalist. This could pose a definite risk for multinational firms in today’s global economy. 5.Organization variables such as CEO leadership in terms of vision and integrity are very likely to account for variance in managerial attitudes and decision making. One of the major recommendations of the GLOBE study is the need for multinational firms to pay close attention to cultural and leadership factors that have a critical impact on management CSR values. For example CSR values and policies of a multinational firm could be strong and this may be due to the home country’s high institutional collectivism and low power distance however managers in a subsidiary country may have weaker stakeholder CSR values as a result of weak institutional collectivism and high power distance (Waldman et al). The resulting scenario could lead to conflicting policies and business practices that can have an adverse effect on multinational firms. This further reiterates the authors’ proposal that in cases such as this, it’s the firm’s leadership values of integrity and vision that help managers look beyond the economic and cultural limitations. In the Malaysian case as mentioned earlier, correlation analysis was preformed to test strength and linear relationship amongst the variables. With the first hypothesis there was a medium positive correlation between ethical leadership behaviour and organizational commitment. The Malaysian Table 1 below shows correlations r = .46 and p .0 5 and, co-efficient of distribution is 21% of the variance, which can be explained. Hence with the supporting empirical data the research shows that â€Å"high levels of perceived ethical leadership behaviour are associated with higher levels of employee’s organizational commitment (Ponnu, Tennakoon).† As for the second hypothesis, there was a strong positive correlation between ethical leadership behaviour and employee trust. The Malaysian Table 2 below shows correlations r = .634 and p .0 5 and, co-efficient of distribution is 40% of the variance, which can be explained. Hence with the above results supporting hypothesis 2, it can be safely concluded that â€Å"high levels of perceived ethical leadership associated with higher levels of employee’s trust in leaders (Ponnu, Tennakoon).† Some of the main antecedents to the Malaysian case findings are as follows: 1.If leaders make ethics a cornerstone of all business practices they gain internal organizational fellowship and employees tend to value a more social exchange with the organization rather than an economic exchange. Employees reciprocate these sentiments through organizational behavioral commitment and are â€Å"willing to exert considerable effort in terms of job dedication and job commitment, on behalf of the organization (Ponnu, Tennakoon).† 2.When an organizational leader priortizes the group’s interest first, who does not wish to seek personal gain at the expense of others, who respects the rights of others and treats them fairly; tends to harness employees trust. 3.When leaders empower employees and involve them in decision making processes they not only facilitate employee well being and growth but increases their trust in them as well. With the Internal Auditors case the major findings of the study support Path goal and ERG theories (Woodbine, Liu). As per the table below, internal auditors are motivated to make ethical decisions based on their personal growth needs. Leadership styles play a significant role as well especially Standard achievement oriented approach that encourages individual performance and achievement (Woodbine, Liu). Lastly gender, age and experienced was an important predictor, as female respondents that were younger and less experienced showed less motivation towards making moral ethical choices. Conclusion The GLOBE study has been extremely informative and clearly structured to provide an in-depth understanding of how societal cultural factors and leadership guide managerial values when it comes to decision making within an organization. Some of the key limitations to the study were that the analyses were limited to 15 countries and the surveyed firms did not represent a wide range of industries (Waldman et al). Actual CSR performance was not measured and lastly, due to multiple levels of data to be collected, additional insight could not be gained. The study indicates that even though leadership integrity is a significant and unique predictor of managerial CSR values, it remains to be an under researched variable. This may be due to the fact that leadership integrity is associated with more tangible organizational outcomes such as reductions of business of costs. However, the authors still believe that it a significant factor that enhances managerial decision making and is worth future examination and research. My personal opinion would also include a more directed research towards in-group collectivism in order to find a relationship between individualistic societies and importance of CSR values towards society at large. The study concluded that, organizations that have strong corporate social responsibility values gain the trust of both internal and external stakeholder which in turn solidifies the foundations for an ethical culture. It also states that Neo – charismatic leadership that is guided by the principles of visionary leadership and integrity have a strong impact on an organization’s ethical performance. The Association Between Ethical Leadership Employee Outcomes – The Malaysian Case† study showed me a direct link between leadership ethical behavior on employee commitment and trust. It empirically proved that unethical leadership can adversely impact employee outcomes that in turn affect organizational performance. I noted related some factors such supervision, leadership honesty, trustworthiness, fairness and care, have an impact on employee perception and outcomes. The key limitations of the Malaysian study as noted by the researchers due to time and budget constraints, was that, convenient sampling may not be representative of the entire population due to insufficient representation of the entire corporate sector of the country and could be subject to self-selection bias; secondly the study could not measure if distance with top/senior management has an effect on employee perception of ethical leadership. Hence lower level employees who have very minimal contact with upper level management may rely more on information based on public opinion then direct leadership experience (Ponnu , Tennakoon). Both authors found that their study although valid and reliable, needed to be border in terms of sample size and area of study in order to fully understand and demonstrate the importance of ethical leadership. It was also suggested that since the research focused on† superior direct relationships â€Å"(Ponnu, Tennakoon) it would be recommended to gather relevant data from lower level employees within the organizational hierarchy. Finally they suggested further research on the relationship between â€Å"employee psychological empowerment and authenticity of ethical leader behavior (Ponnu, Tennakoon)†. As per my personal suggestion further research can be geared towards relating individual organizational commitment and performance. In conclusion to the Malaysian study, the authors state that corporate crime is still rising as a large number of top executives do not see the importance of ethical leadership values in their business operations. Corporate leaders should set an example of strong ethical and moral values in order to earn loyalty and trust of all major internal and external stakeholders. Organizations that have strong ethical leaders and principles are held in high esteem and enable the organization to employ and retain the best human capital available in the market. The case study on the internal audit profession, provided for a keen micro analysis on the personal motivations that guide employees to make moral decisions especially in professions that require a high level of ethical decision making. The limitations of this study as mentioned by the authors included variable identification and measurement, sample size and the use of a far too simple three vignette based model (Woodbine, Liu). Further research in to gender differences and issues that affect one’s ethical and moral decision making ability. Lastly a broader analysis that analysis the organization as whole as opposed to a particular profession would help enhance understanding of the internal motivations that guide moral decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas. The authors also recommend a new variable for research i.e. â€Å"employee religious affiliation† as a possible predictor to moral choices. Even though the authors conclude that codes of conduct and governance systems provide for an internal control mechanism, whistle blowing channels and develop cultures of honesty and accountability, the study strongly suggests that employee’s moral choices are still subject to their motivation needs. Finally, employee’s motivation to making moral decisions can be difficult to predict however they can be encouraged with proper leadership (Woodbine , Liu). All three scholarly articles empirically supported the main objective of this study, which was to reiterate the sound business principle that, ethical leadership lead to the responsible management of business processes and decision making that will in turn help an organization manage its risk of failure as a result of unethical business practices. Works Cited Ponnu, Cyril H., Tennakoon , Girindra. â€Å"The Association Between Ethical Leadership Employee Outcomes – The Malaysian Case.† Electronic Journal of Business Ethics Organizational Studies 14:1 (2009). Web. Sept 19th, 2010. Walman, De Luque, Washburn et al. â€Å"Cultural Leadership Predictors of Corporate Social Responsibility Values of Top Management: A GLOBE Study of 15 Countries.† Journal of International Business Studies 37:6 (2006). Palgrave Macmillan Journals. Web. Sept 19th, 2010. Woodbine, Gordon F., Liu, Joanne. â€Å"Leadership Styles The Moral Choice of Internal Auditors.† Electronic Journal of Business Ethics Organizational Studies 15:1 (2010). Web. Sept 19th, 2010.

Gallipoli Essay Example for Free

Gallipoli Essay A relevant idea in the film Gallipoli, produced by Peter Weir, is that war is a tragic waste of life. Weir made this idea seem relevant in the world today by using film techniques including music, dialogue and symbolism. Gallipoli is the story of a young man who went off to World War One. This particular film narrates the story of an eighteen-year-old from Western Australia who boarded a troop ship bound for Gallipoli. These soldiers fought the Turks in a campaign to capture Constantinople in 1915. It was Archy Hamilton’s sacrifices that highlighted the main idea that war was a tragic waste of life. Music is the first technique used to show us that war is a tragic waste of life, an idea that is relevant in the world today. Adagio in G Minor was a fitting sad and sombre piece. It was played along with blue lighting and visual effects such as the smoke when the soldiers crossed from Lemnos to Gallipoli. This piece of music really made me feel sad. It really helped to convey the sombre mood. The blue lighting and smoke also helped to add to the tension of the scene. This scene reminded me of animals heading off to a slaughterhouse. The superior officers acted as the humans, whilst the soldiers acted as the animals. It was these attitudes towards life and society that really helped me to understand that war is a tragic a waste of life. The officers’ attitudes showed that they did not seem to care about the soldiers’ lives or personalities. They just wanted to win the war. This idea is backed up by the dialogue between Major Barton and Colonel Robinson. â€Å"If the Turks get back in their trenches we’ll get cut to pieces! † â€Å"I still say you must go. † This attitude of the officer’s also has relevance in today’s world. There are still people out there nowadays who are so ambitious that they do not care what is in their way or who gets hurt. They are determined to reach their goal, for example a parliamentary race for election or an athlete’s fight for a champion title. Dialogue is a technique used to show us that war is a tragic waste of life, an idea that is still relevant in the world today. In the opening scenes we are shown a tracking shot of Archy sprinting and his ‘world-class’ time. This is showing us a brief snapshot of Archy’s talent. Later in the film Uncle Jack says to Archy, â€Å"You’ve got the God-given ability to be amongst our very greatest. † This piece of dialogue really conveyed to me the extent of his talent and that he could go far. This is why I was dismayed to find out that Archy was killed in action. The enemy does not care who is in the firing line or what the opposition’s personal talents are, they are just there to win the war. So not only is war a tragic waste of life, but a waste of talent too. Eric Bogle’s hit single ‘And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda’ also backed up this idea. In the song he mentioned the â€Å"wounded and maimed. † This refers to those men like Archy, who had the potential to go far but war got in the way. Their talents were wasted or never had the chance to develop, because their countries were fighting over a minor issue that could have been resolved. This idea is also relevant in the world today because everyone has the potential to do or become something great. You just have to look deep inside yourself to find it. That is why it makes me so sad to see people wasting their talent and potential over one silly and stupid mistake and then end up going to jail. Another technique used to show that war is a tragic waste of life is symbolism. Symbolism is also used to show that this idea is still relevant in the world today. One example of this would be the use of watches. We are shown a close up shot of Uncle Jack clocking Archy’s record-breaking time. Later in the film, before Archy goes over the top of the trench, we are shown him hanging up the watch along with his other meagre possessions. This shows us that it means something to him. I believe this is because it reminds him of back home, his friends and family. The watch is also a symbol of Archy’s talent and is something that brings Uncle Jack and Archy closer. I also believe that the use of watches is used to symbolise death and that death runs on it’s own clock. This idea is also relevant in the world today when people face the tragedy of cancer. We cannot control whether we will be alive tomorrow, we just have to let life run its course. It made me really sad to see the watch being hung up on the bayonet because I felt it brought me to the end. Also, when Uncle Jack is saying goodbye, he said, â€Å"Take care of it boy. This is referring to the watch. This statement reinforces Archy’s youth by using the word â€Å"boy†. It also reinforces the meaning of the watch for him. To conclude, the techniques used to show that war is a tragic waste of life are music, dialogue and symbolism. These techniques were also used to show this main idea’s relevance in today’s world. I think the world today has become smarter than the days of world wars. There will still be skirmishes, but mankind has become smart enough to know not to sacrifice everything all over again.

Golden Gate Bridge And Channel Tunnel Project Comparison Construction Essay

Golden Gate Bridge And Channel Tunnel Project Comparison Construction Essay Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge built at the opening of San Francisco in to Pacific Ocean. It connects the Marin County, California to the city of San Francisco. This project was approved in 1930 and started in January 1933 and finished by May 1937. It is the longest suspension bridge, by the time of its completion. The total length and width of this bridge is 2,737m and 27m respectively. 83,000 tons of steel from New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania and Cables with length of 2,332m are used for construction. Two main cables pass over the towers and each of them is made up of 27,572 strands of wire that can cover eighty thousand miles and it took over six months to spin them. 128 high pressure sodium lamps are installed on the roadway. It was fully painted in orange vermillion color. Original paint was removed due to corrosion and it is repainted with emulsion top coat which took over 30 years. It is a popular internationally recognized and well structured civil engineerin g symbol throughout the world. Channel Tunnel United Kingdom: Channel Tunnel is a longest undersea tunnel in the world. It is also known as Chunnel. It is 50.5km long and 250ft deep undersea rail tunnel beneath English Channel. Chunnel links Kent in UK with Coquelles in northern France. Chunnel carries high passenger trains and also transports vehicles through trains. It is recognized as a one of the seven wonders of World by American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This project was first proposed in 1802. But, due to political pressures it was compromised and later in 1988 the construction company Eurotunnel takeover the project. The project was completed by 1994 with 80% over budget. After its construction Chunnel has faced many problems, Illegal immigrants attempted to use it and Fires have disrupted the transport. Despite of all the problems during and after the construction, it is running successfully and it is considered as most successful project. Comparison of Projects There are various factors that influence the outcome of every project. So, it is important to identify the main objectives, scope, duration and budget of the project which helps to distinguish whether the project is successful or unsuccessful. In this report, I have considered the following factors to compare the Project management of Golden Gate Bridge and Channel Tunnel. Project Environment Golden Gate Bridge The city of San Francisco doesnt have a permanent link to surrounding cities across its bay area. The only route available was through ferry services started in 1820. Although Ferry services became famous and profitable in automobile industry, that doesnt show any impact on the development of the city in various sectors. Then, there was an initial proposal for building a bridge which was turned down due to various political and public issues. But finally project was started in the year of 1933 and completed by 1937. After the completion of project, San Francisco was also linked to other cities through roadways across the bay which in turn leads to overall economic development. Channel Tunnel Since 18th century France and United Kingdom were in need of affordable transportation links for their economic development. So the Channel Tunnel project was proposed. The actual commencement of project was delayed for more than a century after its preliminary proposal and trails. It had undergone various problematic phases like technology and machinery failures, Delays, Cost controls, Maintenance issues Political influences. Finally the project was completed by May 1994 and inaugurated by British Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand and opened to full public services by 1995. After the completion of that project, UK has constructed the supportive projects like High speed 1. The link to Channel Tunnel called High speed1 runs 111km from London to Folkestone in Kent. It costs Euro 5.8 billions. This was opened by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in September 2003. These trains travel at the speed of 300km/h from London to Paris in 2 hour 15minutes. Now with the stak eholders investment on constant maintenance, Channel Tunnel project is obtaining its main objective of developing transportation links. Stakeholders and their power and influence Golden Gate Bridge Stakeholders involved in this project played a major role for its execution. Initially the project has fewer funds for its execution. Then the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District authorized through legislature approved bonds that valued $30million, but they were unable to sell those bonds. Amadeo Giannini , founder of Bank of America influenced the project by agreeing to buy the bonds to help the local economy. Later the project was carried out by the Construction Company called Mc Clintic -Marshall Construction Co. founded by Howard H. Mc Clintic and Charles D. Marshall. This construction company effectively managed to follow business processes and acquire required raw materials from Suppliers like (Steel Construction- Bethlehem Steel co., Cable Steel supplier John A. Roeblings Sons Company) and Human resources from Consulting Engineers Ammann Whitney, Contractors Dillingham Construction, Seismic retrofit Contractors Balfour Beatty Construction and Co-Contracting Obayashi Corp., Shimmick Construction company Inc., Prestressing DYWIDAG Systems International USA Inc.. The Mc Clintic -Marshall Construction Co influenced the execution of the project by its proper project management with all the suppliers to obtain the Performance objectives, meet deadlines and control on costs. Finally, Stakeholders managed to complete the project $1.3million under estimated budget with out delays. Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel project was a very huge project which has various stakeholders. The Stakeholders include British Channel Tunnel group which has two banks and five construction companies, French -Manche group has three banks and five construction companies were formed. Banks were there to advice on loans, financials terms and companies for construction and related work. Stakeholders in rail design and rolling stock for Locomotives are(Brush British company ABB Swedish company), Passenger railcars (Bombardier Canadian company), Railcars for carrying freight vehicles (Breda and Fiat Italian company). This project was influenced at its maximum by the stakeholders investment and their political influences. The initial proposal itself was postponed several times over a century. After initial construction, project has faced various issues with technology, machinery, Human resources suppliers and maintenance problems. Finally the project was completed with the influence of stakeholde rs. Planning, Scheduling, Managing Resources and Project life cycle Golden Gate Bridge Before the bridge was built there was only a short route by boat between San Francisco and Marin County. This is Ferry service began in 1820 and later it became scheduled ferry service in 1840. The ferry crossing between San Francisco and Marin County cost US$1.00 per vehicle and it took 20mins. The city of San Francisco was served with ferry boats as it doesnt have permanent links with the other places around the bay. Many experts turned down the proposal for building a bridge across 6,700ft strait. Because it had swirling tides and currents in water at 500ft in depth and also fog and wind may prevent construction. Eventually, the proposal took place in 1916 by James Wilkins, city Engineer of San Francisco with the budget of $100million for which the government felt impractical. Later Joseph Strauss, ambitious engineer designed a 55 mile bridge across the strait with the promising budget of $17million. This proposal was accepted only on the assurance of Strauss to alter the design b y consulting project experts and they considered the suspension type of bridge due to recent improvements in metallurgy. The Project has faced opposition from various sources. The Navy feared about ship collision with bridge may block entry to harbors. Department of war was concerned with ship traffic. Unions demanded to benefit the local workers with employment. Southern Pacific rail road opposed the project to reduce the competition to ferry services. Later in 1928 the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District was authorized by legislature and incorporated as entity to design, construct and finance the project. The district raised $30 million for bond measure and then approved in 1930. Finally the project was carried out on January 1933 by the Construction Company called Mc Clintic -Marshall Construction Co. founded by Howard H. Mc Clintic and Charles D. Marshall. Strauss remained as a chief engineer of the project. At the time of approval the estimated budget for the construction of structure was $23million which ran over budget to $27million. The project was completed by April 1937 with $35million. T he bridge was opened to pedestrians on May 27 1937 which is made pedestrians day and later opened to vehicles. Channel Tunnel The life cycle of this project is very vast which spans from the year of 1802 to 1995. Channel Tunnel had faced many rejections for proposals before the actual commencement. Channel Tunnel between Dover, United Kingdom and Coquelles, France was first proposed in 1802 by French mining engineer Albert Mathieu. It was proposed to develop the links between two countries. The first geological and hydrographical survey was started in 1830 by Aime Thome de Gamond which resulted in positive for its construction. Later he proposed the project to Napoleon III and that was turned down. In 1867, William Low and Sir John Clarke Hawkshaw proposed the ideas which show the benefits to both the countries. But it was not implemented. In 1876, official Anglo French protocol for Channel Tunnel was established which lead to preliminary trails from both sides of the English Channel. This was opposed by the British political influences and press who feared that Tunnel may compromise with national defence. All these problems were encountered that delayed the project for a century. In 1919, during the Paris Press Conference the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George brought up the idea by reassuring to France. This was again delayed up to thirty years. In 1955, the defence arguments were turned down which lead to start the project. In 1974, the construction was started from the both sides of the Channel and it was ongoing up to one year till the dismay of the French partners and it was cancelled. Later In 1985, The British Channel Tunnel group which has two banks and five construction companies, French-Manche group has three banks and five construction companies were formed. Banks were there to advice on financials and loans. In 1986, Treaty of Canterbury was signed, that allowed proceedings with the project. The construction of the tunnel from both sides was started in 1988. During the construction, the service tunnel was broke through channel. It was finally completed by 1994. According to 2007, cost of construction was $10,153 billion which was cost overrun around 80%. The project was completed by Euro Tunnel which was officially opened on 6th May1994 by British Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand. But, full service to public was opened in 1995. Project Risk Golden Gate Bridge Although it was a successful project, there were some possible risks for its execution, during and after execution. At the time of initial proposal the project faced opposition from various sources. The Department of war opposed the bridge, because the bridge may block the ships which increase Ship traffic. The Navy was in concern about the route blocking, because any ship collisions to bridge may block the routes to main harbors. The local unions demanded employment in construction and other sectors for their workers. Southern pacific Rail road opposed the bridge to reduce the competition to ferry services. The land required for construction was in dispute with Secretary of War. During the construction there was a concern about the strong tides and currents under water which would cause earthquake and could initiate collapsing of the structure. Ferocious winds and fogs may prevent the operation of construction. Now even after completion of project, it faces the risk of inhumanely be havior such as suicide and or fluctuating toll rates which makes impact on the citys revenue development. Channel Tunnel The very common risk for this type of under water tunnel projects is major water inflow in to surrounding areas. Channel Tunnel project had faced various risks with basic project design. The project ran over budget due to increase in machinery cost by 7% in 1988 and shutdown of machines due to failure in 1988. In 1989, Project faced Euros 1.2billion law suit by TML (Trans Manche link Consortium) against Eurotunnel and Change on door costs Euros 35million and risk with safety features, problems with Air cooling systems in 1991, Delay in delivery of systems acceptance certificates. After opened to public services, three fire accidents have occurred in tunnel. The first fire accident happened in 1996 with 1000 degrees Celsius which affected 50 meters of tunnel and damaged by blaze and the services were stopped for six months. The second was a minor accident happened in 2006 which made the tunnel to be closed for hours and the in September 2008, another accident occurred which made many people hospitalized and transportation was closed for two days. These accidents made a serious impact on the tunnel which in turn reduced the revenue and increased the hype for competitive services like flights and ferry services. These are only some of the risk that werent managed well in this project. Managing the Iron triangle Cost, Time, Quality Golden Gate Bridge Cost, Time and Quality are the three main factors to manage Iron Triangle. In this project, Cost Initial estimation of the project was $100 million which was then reduced to $17 million and finally fixed at $35million. The projects cost was well managed and executed with $1.3million under budget. Time The project was approved in the year of 1930 and its construction began in 1933 which was completed by 1937. The duration of the project was well managed without any delays. Quality The quality of the project wasnt standard. It depends up on suppliers and outsourcing organizations. Till today the project is undergone to various modifications which show that the required quality wasnt up to the mark in this project. Channel Tunnel In this project the concept of managing the factors like cost, time and quality wasnt done well. Cost The estimated budget of the project was $4.650 billion in 1985 and this was overrun up to 80% and it ended with $10,153 billion. Due to various risks it had faced in machinery, technology and delays, problems with suppliers the cost was almost more than double. The time factor wasnt managed properly. As it has many political influences and stakeholders, the project was delayed at every stage. The quality of the project was well managed during the after the completion of the project, when it is compared to cost and time. Apart from the three fire accidents, the project had reached its main objective by providing the quality transport services to travelers in Eurotunnel shuttle trains, users in Freight services. Soft factors Leadership, Teamwork, Commitment Golden Gate Bridge In this project, the concept of soft factors was well organized which in turn lead the project to be successful. Leadership The chief engineer Strauss took the responsibility to oversee the projects construction. Also he managed the teamwork to be well organized and to contribute its commitment for the project. The concept of project management was very well structured and organized by the Mc Clintic Marshall Construction Co. Company. With good leadership skills the company managed to get proper co-operation and commitment from its team, and all the suppliers and other stakeholders. These factors made the project to be completed in time and within the estimated budget. Channel Tunnel The concept of soft factors in this project is depended on various stakeholders involved in this project. But after its completion, Eurotunnel Company managed to deliver good leadership skills for the maintenance of the project. Though the project had faced various risks, the teamwork and commitment from the stake holders made the project to go for further proceedings and the commitment from human resources during the project had reduced the delays caused by other reasons. Supply chain Issues Golden Gate Bridge Golden Gate Bridge project has involved many organizations in its supply chain. Steel Construction- Bethlehem Steel co., Cable Steel supplier John A. Roeblings Sons Company) and Human resources from Consulting Engineers Ammann Whitney, Contractors Dillingham Construction, Seismic retrofit Contractors Balfour Beatty Construction and Co-Contracting Obayashi Corp., Shimmick Construction company Inc., Prestressing DYWIDAG Systems International USA Inc.. It is unlikely for any project to run smoothly with its supply chain issues. The project has faced various problems with Steel and Cable companies regarding delays and quality of raw materials and involvement of labor in the construction the company. Although there were supply chain issues, they were properly handled and the company followed the pre-designed business processes with all of its suppliers to achieve its set of performance objectives. Channel Tunnel This project had faced many supply chain issues with the involvement of various stakeholders at different stages of the project. Project faced rail design and rolling stock issues from Brush British company ABB Swedish company, problems is railcars for freight services with Breda and Fiat Italian company. The budget was affected by supply chain issues like In 1989, Project faced Euros 1.2billion law suit by TML (Trans Manche link Consortium) against Eurotunnel and Change on door costs Euros 35million. After 1996 fire accident, due to supply chain issues from service organizations there was a long delay of six months to restart all the services. All these supply chain issues had created a serious impact on project.

The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates Essay -- The Fires Jubilee St

The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates describes a sad and tragic story about a man named Nat Turner who was born into slavery and his fight to be free. Ironically, his willingness to do anything, even kill, to gain his freedom leads to his own demise. From the title of this book, 'The Fires of Jubilee,'; a reader can truly grasp the concept that there is trouble, chaos, and mayhem brewing in the month of August. This story was not only riveting, but also one that kept me on my heels for almost the entire time that I was reading it. Stephen B. Oates, a prize-winning author of thirteen books and more then seventy articles, is currently a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Some of his best novels have been 'With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln,'; 'Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King. Jr.,'; and 'Rip Ford's Texas.'; His writing is riveting as well as courageous. His willingness to get to such length to capture the mind of the reader and hold them in suspense has earned him several awards throughout his lustrous career. Some of the awards that Oates has received are the Christopher Award and the Barondess/Lincoln Award of the New York Civil War Round Table. His work has gained worldwide notoriety and is currently translated in four different languages: French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'The Fires of Jubilee'; took place in Southampton, Virginia and County Seat, Jerusalem during the 1800's. The story takes shape during a time in which slavery was the norm, especially in the South. It describes the struggles and turmoil of one such slave named Nat Turner in his quest to gain his freedom. It tells the tale of a man who's destiny was forever to be a slave and his quest to alter his destiny, which in the end leads to his tragic death. Born into slavery, Nat Turner was perhaps one exception to the rule; he was a master's worst nightmare come true. Nat Turner was not only an intelligent man, he knew how to read and write; but he was also determined, willing to go to tremendous measures to gain his freedom, even if it meant killing. He was liked by both the whites and fellow slaves, some of whom came to think of him as a prophet, a savior of slaves. Nat use to go to church every Sunday and the more he learned about the Christian bel... ...ust admit that I wanted to jump right to the last page just to get a peek of the ending, but I resisted my temptation to do so. As I read the story, I began to feel for Nat. Though I really can't agree with how he went about trying to gain his freedom, the author's way of writing left me little choice but to urge Nat on. In all, I was captivated and moved by the story. Though this really did not change my interest in history, I really did enjoy reading it and would really recommend it to anyone who wants to get a total grasp of how horrible slavery was. Stephen Oates has a way of writing that transforms the reader into the actual rebellion and allows one to see and feel the circumstances of Nat Turner's insurrection and the consequences of it to the South. I can tell that Oates performed rigorous study to present an accurate portrayal of Nat Turners' story. His many insights and uses of secondary sources were quite evident and his use of examples and storytelling is quite impressive. Though it seems as if he leaves little to the imagination, I couldn't help but think of what and could have happened if some of the events leading up to the capture of Nat Turner had been changed. The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates Essay -- The Fires Jubilee St The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates describes a sad and tragic story about a man named Nat Turner who was born into slavery and his fight to be free. Ironically, his willingness to do anything, even kill, to gain his freedom leads to his own demise. From the title of this book, 'The Fires of Jubilee,'; a reader can truly grasp the concept that there is trouble, chaos, and mayhem brewing in the month of August. This story was not only riveting, but also one that kept me on my heels for almost the entire time that I was reading it. Stephen B. Oates, a prize-winning author of thirteen books and more then seventy articles, is currently a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Some of his best novels have been 'With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln,'; 'Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King. Jr.,'; and 'Rip Ford's Texas.'; His writing is riveting as well as courageous. His willingness to get to such length to capture the mind of the reader and hold them in suspense has earned him several awards throughout his lustrous career. Some of the awards that Oates has received are the Christopher Award and the Barondess/Lincoln Award of the New York Civil War Round Table. His work has gained worldwide notoriety and is currently translated in four different languages: French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'The Fires of Jubilee'; took place in Southampton, Virginia and County Seat, Jerusalem during the 1800's. The story takes shape during a time in which slavery was the norm, especially in the South. It describes the struggles and turmoil of one such slave named Nat Turner in his quest to gain his freedom. It tells the tale of a man who's destiny was forever to be a slave and his quest to alter his destiny, which in the end leads to his tragic death. Born into slavery, Nat Turner was perhaps one exception to the rule; he was a master's worst nightmare come true. Nat Turner was not only an intelligent man, he knew how to read and write; but he was also determined, willing to go to tremendous measures to gain his freedom, even if it meant killing. He was liked by both the whites and fellow slaves, some of whom came to think of him as a prophet, a savior of slaves. Nat use to go to church every Sunday and the more he learned about the Christian bel... ...ust admit that I wanted to jump right to the last page just to get a peek of the ending, but I resisted my temptation to do so. As I read the story, I began to feel for Nat. Though I really can't agree with how he went about trying to gain his freedom, the author's way of writing left me little choice but to urge Nat on. In all, I was captivated and moved by the story. Though this really did not change my interest in history, I really did enjoy reading it and would really recommend it to anyone who wants to get a total grasp of how horrible slavery was. Stephen Oates has a way of writing that transforms the reader into the actual rebellion and allows one to see and feel the circumstances of Nat Turner's insurrection and the consequences of it to the South. I can tell that Oates performed rigorous study to present an accurate portrayal of Nat Turners' story. His many insights and uses of secondary sources were quite evident and his use of examples and storytelling is quite impressive. Though it seems as if he leaves little to the imagination, I couldn't help but think of what and could have happened if some of the events leading up to the capture of Nat Turner had been changed.

Drinking Water Treatment Improves Water Quality :: Drinking Water Quality

My topic for this paper is on water treatment and in this paper the places where i will be getting my info is www.aguauninternational.com and I'm getting info from and encyclopedia an a book. In a modern society, water is one of the things in life we often take for granted. When we turn on the tap, we expect water that is clean, safe and suitable for all household tasks. But in recent years, there has been a growing concern about contamination of our water supplies. We hear unsettling news accounts that make us question the safety of our water. I know that Water covers 75% of our planet's surface. It's everywhere! And it's all the same, isn't it? yes the reason it is because we use water for so many different things. like to take baths and wash clothing and other things. So what is water softening? well water softening is the process of removing(Ca)2 ,(Mg)2 , or (Fe)3 from water. Filtration? is through sand and gravel removes nearly all suspended matter from the water. Well in fact, water is definitely not all the same. It will pick up many impurities and contaminants, both natural and synthetic. And since water is so widely used in so many different ways, treatment is often necessary. Whether it's clean water for manufacturing, high purity water for medical applications or just safe drinking water, the treatment process is a vital part of our daily lives. As the 20th century draws to a close, managing our planet's resources has emerged as humanity's greatest challenge. And of all the Earth's resources, none is more precious than water. Water taken from boreholes is already clean because it is filtered as it trickles through soil and rocks. Normally it is only necessary to disinfect this water with chlorine to make it safe to drink. Water taken from rivers and reservoirs usually needs more treatment. Water Treatment Works treat water so that it is safe to drink. This involves a number of processes, both physical and chemical, and will vary depending on the quality of the raw water to be treated. I know there are several methods of treatment of water to kill living organisms the application of chlorine compounds is the most common. But another thing I know is that boiling is the favorite household emergency measure. Municipal water softening is common where the natural water has a hardness in excess of 150 parts per million .

The new look of your magazine

Change in an organized is normally geared towards improving its service delivery. Change in business development requires thorough planning and responsive implementation. Employees of the company need to be consulted, about the changes and they input taken in. Change has to be realistic, attainable and measurable, these factors are important especially when considering business development change.[1] A product can always be enhanced in one way or another. The new look of your magazine This article is in response to your organizational changes that the company has initiated geared towards business development. It is very encouraging that your magazine one of the best in the country has final agreed to have a new look   This will go along way in achieving the company business aims and objective, and of course create new markets as more will be attracted to the new look of the magazine. For long time readers have bean longing for a change in your fortune magazine. In this modern world people are always looking for new ideas, and new products.[2] For the next five it is certain that your company will focus on improving the face of your magazine to reflect the changing moments. As noted society is dynamic and always changing, thus, it is well thought of you to have a five year plan of changing the magazine look as it will reflect the changing society. How you are different Your organization has continued to be outstanding because of its creativity and originality. The magazine produces features and articles with are informative, educative and entertaining. As opposed to other players on the market your articles are always well researched and very relevant to the society. The other unique feature about your organization it is quality; the magazine is produced with high quality that gives the reader a pleasure in reading, clear pictures and quality printing make your magazine to have high clarity and even a person will be able to review a magazine he/she bought two years ago. With the fast changing world of technology I appreciate the effort your company is making to ensure that it is at the cutting edge of technology. This of course proves your company objective of being market leaders in market. Customers’ views Customer satisfaction is very important issue. In the same line many customers fell that your company have done well in this area. The company customer care services are efficient and effective as it responds promptly to customers complaints. Another issue that your company has scored a plus is in being able to feature varying and thrilling articles that customers enjoy to read. The company has continued to be dynamic and has high standards in terms of production sales and marketing, this is according to the customers. The role of the media is reflect what goes around the society, to this end the customers are happy because your articles are able to reflect what happens in the society. Concerning the on going changes, the customers are impressed with the new look of the magazine. They say it more refreshing and well organized. Since the changes are projected to run for a long time, they are prepared for more refreshing looks of the magazine. Their only complaint is that the company should enlarge the magazine at it is too good to be that small. Employees’ views It is good to note that your company has a five year plan of making changes. As Timothy notes change is a continuous process and should be welcomed[3]. Change is a core issue in your organization. Through, change the organization is able to respond to its customer’s requirements. The change that the company has initiated will go along way in general improvement of your company and profitability. As the company’s employees ascertain, the changes that the company has initiated are good and well overdue. The employees are happy to undertake the changes in the organization because their views were incorporated in making the changes. The employees further express satisfaction because the company value’s their contributions. Before any organization implements a successful change it must prepare its employees well, in your company the employees say that, they were well trained before the proposed changes, in order to implement them.[4] According to your employees, the company has a well communication structure that enables free flow of information. This has created efficiency in the company organization. It is important to note that poor communication leads to anxiety and confusion, which affects production negatively. In summary you have a satisfied staff. Organization performance Fortune magazine has continued to perform well in the market. The company sales have improved in the recent years and continue to increase this can be attributed to sound management of the organization coupled by better marketing methods. Though, today the media market is saturated, the company has maintained its market by providing well researched articles and high quality production. In this fast moving business environment it has become increasingly necessary for the organization to embrace change especially in its design of the magazine and marketing strategies, in order to maintain competitive edge. The results are being enjoyed by your company. I remain optimistic that your company will continue making improvement in its magazine. Conclusion Success of a business depends on how it faces new challenges that come due to change technology or new markets demands that arise every day. Business development changes are geared towards capturing or maintaining the market share and should always be accompanied by good planning and a well market research. References Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin Timothy, G. J. (1996): The Human Side of Change. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers. [1] Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin [2]Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave [3] Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin [4] Palmer, I and Akin, G. (2006): Managing organizational change; a multiple perspectives approach, Mcgraw- Hill Irwin      

Evaluation of Maintenance Culture of Christian Cathedral Church Buildings

EVALUATION OF MAINTENANCE CULTURE OF CHRISTIAN CATHEDRAL CHURCH BUILDINGS BY OLAYINKA JOHN AJAYI NOVEMBER, 2012 ABSTRACT The study focused on maintenance culture of cathedral church buildings in Lagos Mainland Area of Lagos State Nigeria. It also assessed the operational state of these church buildings within the study area. In achieving these objectives, opinions of maintenance officers and users of selected cathedral church buildings were sampled through structured questionnaires. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, upon which 100 respondent were surveyed.The analysis revealed that the operational state of some of these church buildings as been average. Maintenance officers and users of the buildings both ranked insufficiency of fund for maintenance programme as second most significant factor among other factors responsible for poor maintenance management of these church buildings. Other factors found to be highly significant by the maintenance officers a re; cost of maintenance by the operatives. The study recommended proactive measures to reduce the occurrence of defects in the buildings elements and services.The church board of trustee is to provide adequate funding for the implementation of their maintenance programme. Building elements should be regularly inspected to ensure their functionality. CHAPTER ONE 1. 0INTRODUCTION 1. 1Background of the Study Introduction of Christianity in Nigeria metamorphosed through different phases since the early missionaries stepped feet on the Nigerian soil in the 16th century (Ajayi, 2005), and this has given rise into Christian religious institutional buildings as the Christians need a place called church as a building to worship.Hence, old religious institutional buildings are considered symbolically and emotionally significant by community members (Cohen and Jaeger, 2008 & Vangelova, 2005), and public perception endows our environments with cultural values and in turn the perception is d ictated by these values. Numerous researchers and critics in architectural theory and historic preservation looked at these shared values, that humans’ â€Å"psychological necessity† to maintain their memory creates the desire for historic preservation Woodcock (2002).Likewise, the researchers argue that the on-going course of history that contains each generation’s culture should be preserved as the public is concerned with the preservation of their memory that has been fashioned in the relationship with their environments (Brand, 2005 and Downing, 2000). Geva (2002) demonstrates that various building types religious, national, residential are a function of the interaction of cultural, regional climate conditions and architectural forms. Geva analyzed the degree of architectural modifications of single family houses and community churches.From research carried out by Geva (2002), people spent more money in maintaining their personal residential building than re ligious institutional buildings (church). Thus, churches as a building type are significant to the public as they serve primarily as cultural symbols (Cantacuzino, 2009 & Jaeger, 2005). Church Buildings play an important role in the City by providing venues for a range of activities and services aimed at encouraging community interaction and participation.Church Buildings are important assets which contribute to the physical, social and moral wellbeing of the community, society at large and the subsequent development of social capital and community strength Robert (2001). The provision of church buildings promote a sense of community identity and â€Å"sense of place†. At the same time, there are significant cost factors associated with the upkeep (maintaining) and ongoing maintenance of these building assets. Maintenance involves fixing any sort of mechanical, plumbing or electrical device etc should it become out of order or broken (known as repair, unscheduled or casua lty maintenance).It also includes performing routine actions which keep the building in a working order (known as scheduled maintenance) or prevents trouble from arising (preventive maintenance). Maintenance may be defined as, â€Å"All actions which have the objective of retaining or restoring an item in or to a state in which it can perform its required function. The actions include the combination of all technical and corresponding administrative, managerial, and supervision actions. † The former of these represents a closed loop supply chain and usually has the scope of maintenance, repair or overhaul of the building.The latter of the categorizations is an open loop supply chain and is typified by refurbishment and remanufacture. The main characteristic of the closed loop system is that the demand for a product is matched with the supply of a used product. Neglecting asset write-offs and exceptional activities the total population of the product between the customer and t he service provider remains constant. Generally speaking, there are three types of maintenance in use: Preventive maintenance, where equipment is maintained before break down occurs.This type of maintenance has many different variations and is subject of various researches to determine best and most efficient way to maintain equipment buildings inclusive. Recent studies have shown that Preventive maintenance is effective in preventing age related failures of the equipment. For random failure patterns which amount to 80% of the failure patterns, condition monitoring proves to be effective. Corrective maintenance, where equipment is maintained after break down.This maintenance is often most expensive because worn equipment can damage other parts and cause multiple damage. Reliability centered maintenance, often known as RCM, is a process to ensure that assets continue to do what their users require in their present operating context. All these shall be looked into in detailed the lite rature review In addition, the management and community at large has a significant duty of care to ensure that these buildings are kept and maintained appropriately to ensure the safety of all users and compliance with all legislative requirements and standards.While the requirements for good practice in maintenance management of buildings have been established over a considerable period, the achievement of good practice is by no means universal (Turrell, 2007). Furthermore, the maintenance of these religious institutional buildings has a significant impact on the environment and on the whole nation at large. Additionally, the conditions of the surroundings in which we live and learn, is a reflection of the nation’s well being (Lee, 2007). 1. 2Statement of the problemMost existing religious institutional buildings in Lagos State lack adequate maintenance attention and as result of this, these buildings are in very poor and deplorable conditions of structural and decorative di srepair Ogunlana (1999),. While considerable research have been carried out on factors responsible for the poor maintenance of these religious institutional buildings in Lagos State but only scant attention has been given to the key parameters affecting the implementation of maintenance programmes for these religious institutional buildings.There is therefore a need to establish and evaluate the factor affecting maintenance of these religious institutional buildings. 1. 3Aim and Objectives of the Study The aim of this study is to evaluate the maintenance culture of Christian institutional buildings in Lagos State. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are adopted. 1. To identify the maintenance problem of religious institutional buildings and provide solutions to the problem. 2. To examine the physical conditions of these religious institutional buildings so as to ascertain the level of their maintenance. . To examine the maintenance principle in use for Christian religious institutional buildings in Lagos state. 4. To evaluate the effect of maintenance on the performance of religious institutional buildings in Lagos State. 1. 4Significance of the Study The study will state how significant the maintenance of our religious institutional buildings is in social economic development of our country at large and the research finding will contribute to solving problems regarding maintenance culture of these institutional buildings.The findings of this study will contribute to the improvement of poor maintenance culture of these buildings and lukewarm attitude of maintenance managers in charge of these buildings. The result of the study will determine the quantity of maintainable items supplied to this building. The study will further educate maintenance manager of the building to broaden their horizon in planning day to day maintenance. Furthermore, the outcome of the study will create awareness in maintenance culture in relation to the basic demands of the d ifferent subject or maintenance areas. . 5Research Question In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the following questions have to be answered. 1. What are the maintenance problems facing these religious institutional buildings? 2. Are these religious institutional buildings in good physical condition? 3. What are the maintenance principles implore by the maintenance managers in maintaining these institutional buildings? 4. What are the effects of maintenance on the performance of these religious institutional buildings? 1. 6Scope and Limitation of the StudyThere is no doubt about the significance Christian Institutional buildings in Lagos State as they also serve as social and moral heritage and they must be maintained properly. Hence the scope of this study shall be limited to Cathederal Churches in Lagos Mainland of Lagos State. HAPTER TWO 2. 0REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2. 0Preamble Geva (2002) demonstrates that various building types religious, national, residential are a function of the interaction of cultural, regional climate conditions and architectural forms.Geva analyzed the degree of architectural modifications of single family houses and community churches. From research carried out by Geva (2002) that the people spent more money in maintaining their personal residential building than religious institutional buildings (church). Thus, churches as a building type are significant to the public as they serve primarily as cultural symbols (Cantacuzino, 2009 & Jaeger, 2005). 2. 1What is Maintenance? History is about the preservation of the past, so that a good use may be made of the future.Fifty years ago, the challenge was to get people to identify and care about institutional religious buildings while twenty-five years ago, the challenge was to avert development. Today, the challenge is to stop the unnecessary loss of historic religious institutional buildings through neglect, Onifade (2000). There are a substantial number of people wh o do not know the meaning of maintenance. At least the way they practice it would indicate this. In practice, prevalent interpretation of maintenance is to â€Å"fix† it when â€Å"it breaks†. This is a good definition for repair, but not true maintenance. This style of maintenance is reactive.Maintenance, according to Smith (2003) means to keep in its existing state, preserve, continue in good operating condition. Maintenance is defined as work undertaken in order to keep, restore or improve every facility, to an acceptable standard and to sustain the utility and value of the facility. This is a proactive maintenance. Historically in both the public sector and the private sector, maintenance was seen by many as an avoidable task which was perceived as adding little to the quality of the working environment, and expending scarce resources which could be better placed, Smiths (2008).To some maintenance is war. The enemies are the triumvirate of breakdown, deterioration, and all the types of unplanned events. The soldiers are the maintenance departments, in our organization and as many civilians as we can recruit. Military historians study battles with an eye towards identifying the pattern of conditions that dominated the outcome. As maintenance leaders, we have many strategies and weapons at our disposal, some new, some old, some complex and some simple, some defective as one theater of operations and some better in another.Each strategy to consider works only with the support of the correct weapons and the logistics. Institutional buildings, which form an integral part of the environment, are severely exposed to agencies such as moisture, intense solar radiation and prevailing winds, which directly change their physical attributes (Ikpo, 2006). The prime effects of these environmental agencies include discoloration, abrasion, cracks, stains and fungal growth. Therefore, regular or periodic maintenance is required to preserve the physical form of severely exposed religious institutional buildings, and landforms among others.Apart from exposure to weather, biochemical agencies also accelerate decay of institutional buildings. It has become factual that these physical and social changes have affected sites of cultural and historical importance. In the process, potential tourist sites of local and national interest comprising historical and peculiar architectural buildings, archaeological excavations, palaces, groves, monuments, open spaces and town squares are lost while some are wasting away. The issue is not that of causation of deterioration but of poor response to maintenance demands. 2. 2Maintenance of Institutional BuildingsReligious Institutional buildings today are confronted by unique challenges that threaten their very existence (Stolzenberg, 2004). The characteristics and the structure of these institutional buildings, by their nature lack the capacity to compete with the changing whether again. According to Shohet (2003), the performance of religious institutional buildings and their components depends to a large degree on continuous and planned periodical maintenance. The Built environment expresses in physical form the complex, social and economic factors, which give structure and life to a community (Lee, 2005).According to Banful (2004) the financial consequences of neglecting maintenance is often not only seen in terms of reduced asset life and premature replacement but also in increased operating cost and waste of related and natural and financial resources. Maintenance is related to the background of any project, unfortunately development plans and approved recurrent and capital estimates in religious institutional buildings in Lagos state have revealed that thought have not be given to maintenance work (Onifade, 2003). 2. Maintenance Problems of Religious Institutional Buildings There are so many problems being faced by attempts to maintain institutional buildings. Aradeon (2006) lis ted some of these problems to include inadequate professionals and the closeness of these sites to urban centres thereby making the land occupied by them to attract high value for alternative investment. The major problems confronting the maintenance of institutional buildings revealed by the study are related to finance basically. Repair cost of Religious institutional buildings is usually higher than a modern home.Some common maintenance needs seen in home are problems such as peeling paints and foundation cracks; minor structural problems such as crack plaster to small movement in the foundation; drainage and grading problems due to the installation of new roof gutter; insufficient electrical system; poorly installed plumbing; older leaking roof; older heating and cooling system; poor ventilation: excessive moisture from un-vented bathrooms and cooking areas causing damaged plaster and deteriorated windows; and excessive air leakage, Onifade (2006). 2. 3. 1Finance Maintenance is essential for the conservation of religious institutional buildings.Those who participate in the maintenance of religious institutional buildings like the church management committee need to know their likely financial commitment before work commences. This early-stage cost advice can establish realistic budget for decision making (Smith, 2005). The cost of maintenance of a religious institutional building could be high or lower depending on the structure at the beginning and invariably, it is usually high because of the materials that were used in the first place which may not meet current standard. It is therefore difficult for these properties to be maintaining properly (Mandal, 2004).The increasing abandonment of these properties by those who were originally responsible for them informed the need for government, NGOs and religious bodies’ participation in their maintenance. Finance is the major factor that inhibits the conservation of religious institutional buildings. Th e maintenance of institutional buildings requires a lot of money that cannot be provided by a single body. Other maintenance problems are; according to Adenuga (1999), various problems of varying magnitudes and origins are encountered in the process of maintenance. Some of these would include: 2. 3. Design Problems Some fundamental maintenance problems originate from the design of the building. These types of problems are usually hard to solve as it may involve complete reconstruction of the entire building or large section of it. It may be avoided or, at least, drastically reduced by involving at the design stages professional experts, including highly competent and experienced Maintenance Managers. 2. 3. 3Problem of Skill Some Maintenance Managers and their crew of craftsmen and technicians lack the desired skills (which include experience, technical know-how, etc) required on the job. . 3. 4Research and Development Problems There is lack of adequate funds and interest in this dir ection. In fact, research and development directed towards building maintenance is non-existent or at best, very minimal. 2. 3. 5Overcrowding Another characteristic common to most homes of poorer groups is crowded, cramped conditions. Many health problems affecting poorer groups are associated with overcrowding, including household accidents, acute respiratory infections (of which pneumonia is perhaps the most serious), tuberculosis and other airborne infections.In the predominantly low-income residential areas in Third World cities, there is often an average of four or more persons per room and in many instances less than one square metre of floorspace per person. Diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza and meningitis are easily transmitted from one person to another. Their spread is often aided by low resistance among inhabitants due to malnutrition and by frequent contact between infected and susceptible people. Acute bacterial and viral respiratory infections and lots of others are diseases caused by overcrowding Horner (2007). 2. 3. 6Indoor Air PollutionWhere open fires or relatively inefficient stoves are used indoors for cooking and/or heating, smoke or fumes from coal, wood or other biomass fuels can cause or contribute to serious respiratory problems. Chronic effects include inflammation of the respiratory tract which in turn reduces resistance to acute respiratory infections, while these infections in turn enhance susceptibility to the inflammatory effects of smoke and fumes. Exposure to carcinogens in emissions from biomass fuel combustion has been confirmed in studies in which exposed subjects wore personal monitoring equipment.Women who may spend 2-4 hours a day at the stove must be at risk. Infants and children may be heavily exposed because they remain with their mothers; the added exposure to pollutants combined with malnutrition may retard growth, leading to smaller lungs and greater prevalence of chronic bronchitis Harvey (2009) 2. 3. 7Disea se Vectors A large range of vectors live, breed or feed within or around houses and settlements. The diseases they cause or carry include some of the major causes of ill health and premature death in many cities – especially malaria (anopheles mosquitoes) and diarrhea diseases (cockroaches, blowflies and houseflies).But there are also many other diseases caused or carried by insects, spiders or mites including bancroftian filariasis (culex mosquitoes), Chagas disease (triatomine bugs), dengue fever (Ardes mosquitoes), hepatitis A (houseflies, cockroaches), leishmaniasis (sand-fly), plague (certain fleas), relapsing fever (body lice and soft ticks), scabies (scabies mites), trachoma (face flies), typhus (body lice and fleas), yaws (face flies), and yellow fever (Aegypti mosquitoes). Urban expansion may also change the local ecology in ways which favour the emergence or multiplication of particular disease vectors.For instance, Aedes aegypti, the mosquito vector for dengue feve r and yellow fever is often found to breed in polluted water sources such as soak-away pits and septic tanks. Anopheline mosquitoes generally shun polluted water but certain species have adapted to the urban environment and now breed in swamps and ditches in or close to urban areas Horner (2007). 2. 4Maintenance System The selection of maintenance system to be operated in the building should take into consideration in terms of the life cycle of the building materials, services installation provided space function or activities to be carried out in that particular building.In some cases, when the material has reached the ‘wear and tear’ condition, the maintenance work is then required to rectify those defects. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that the design team understands materials performance in order to reduce the running cost during building operation. Using so called ‘heavy duty’ materials and yet producing high quality building fabric, Arade on (2006). By knowing the physical and detail life span of the materials will allow the maintenance team to forecast the budget allocated for replacement work and planned the maintenance work as per schedule.With a detail record of the previous maintenance work, it will act as a benchmark to the future maintenance activities where decision be made through this. It shows that, the maintenance work should not only rectify and making good all defects at the affected area but also at the same time should be properly recorded. It is a way to closely monitor the severity of the defects occurring in the building; Arazi (2009). Referring to the previous record will assist the maintenance team to overcome and provide an effective remedial works.In spite of planned maintenance, emergency maintenance will involve urgent and immediate work prior to the problem. It is to avoid the resultant consequences to other activities which may cause severe failures; Oloyede (1991). By considering those pla nned and unplanned maintenance, the management should provide a realistic budget and come out with some emergency plans in dealing with uncertainties cases. Therefore, the implementation of an effective maintenance practice must inculcate some indicators to improvise the traditional maintenance management system to reach the needs and nature of the work. . 5Maintenance Needs and Nature It is highly desirable but hardly feasible to produce buildings that are maintenance-free, although much can be done at the design stage to reduce the amount of subsequent maintenance work. All elements of buildings deteriorate at a greater or lesser rate depending on material and methods of construction, environmental conditions and the use of the building. A prime aim of maintenance is to preserve a building in its initial stage, as far as practicable, so that it effectively serves its purpose. The main purposes of maintaining buildings are; Apwa (2001) i.Retaining value of investment. ii. Maintaini ng the building in a condition in which it continues to fulfill its function. iii. Presenting a good appearance. Maintenance work has also been categorized as â€Å"predictable† and â€Å"avoidable. Predictable maintenance is regularly periodic work that may be necessary to retain the performance characteristic of a product, as well as that required to replace or repair the product after it has achieved a useful life span. Avoidable maintenance is the work required to rectify failures caused by poor design, incorrect installation or the use of faulty materials.The function of maintenance can be divided into three (3) groups; * Cleaning and servicing, * Rectification and repair and * Replacement. Timely expenditure on the first two can postpone the need to replace materials or components, a very expensive business. Cleaning and servicing should be carried out regularly and may be combined with a system of reporting faults when become apparent, thereby avoiding the need for mo re expensive repairs or even replacement at a later stage. Apwa (2001) 2. 6Type of MaintenanceAccording to Avedesian (2006) maintenance can be divided into the following categories:- Breakdown maintenance: It means that people waits until equipment fails and repairs it. Such a thing could be used when the equipment failure does not significantly affect the operation or production or generate any significant loss other than repair cost. Planned maintenance: This is maintenance organized and carried out with forethought, control and the use of records to a predetermined plan, Unplanned maintenance Ad hoc maintenance carried out to no predetermined plan. Preventive maintenanceMaintenance carried out at predetermined intervals, or corresponding to prescribed criteria, and intended to reduce the probability of failure, or the performance degradation of an item. Preventive maintenance initiated as a result of knowledge of the condition of an item from routine or continuous monitoring. It is a daily maintenance (cleaning, inspection, oiling and re-tightening), design to retain the healthy condition of equipment and prevent failure through the prevention of deterioration, periodic inspection or equipment condition diagnosis, to measure deterioration.It is further divided into periodic maintenance and predictive maintenance. Just like human life is extended by preventive medicine, the equipment service life can be prolonged by doing preventive maintenance. | Preventive maintenance as scheduled overhaul or scheduled replacement provides two of the three proactive failure management policies available to the maintenance manager. Common methods of determining what Preventive (or other) failure management policies should be applied are; OEM ecommendations, requirements of codes and legislation within a jurisdiction, what an â€Å"expert† thinks ought to be done, or the maintenance that's already done to similar equipment, and most important measured values and perfo rmance indications. To make it simple: * Preventive maintenance is conducted to keep equipment working and/or extend the life of the equipment. * Corrective maintenance, sometimes called â€Å"repair,† is conducted to get equipment working again. 2. 7Goals of a Successful Maintenance Programme According to Iyagba R.O (2004) Successful maintenance programs should achieve these goals: 1. Help buildings function as they were intended and operate at peak efficiency, including minimizing energy consumption. Because maintenance keeps equipment functioning as designed, it reduces inefficiencies in operations and energy usage. 2. Failures of building systems that would interrupt occupants’ activities and the delivery of public services. Buildings that operate trouble-free allow public employees to do their jobs and serve the public.Because maintenance includes regular inspections and replacement of equipment crucial to operating a building, maintenance staff reduces the proble ms that might otherwise lead to a breakdown in operations. 3. Sustain a safe and healthful environment by keeping buildings and their components in good repair and structurally sound. Protecting the physical integrity of building components through preventive maintenance preserves a safe environment for employees and the public. 4. Provide maintenance in ways that are cost-effective.Preventive maintenance can prevent minor problems from escalating into major system and equipment failures that result in costly repairs. In avoiding costs of major repairs, preventive maintenance creates efficiencies. Increasing preventive maintenance can reduce time spent reacting to crises, which is a more cost-effective way to operate buildings. Deferring preventive maintenance can generate higher costs over the long term. 2. 8Building Performance This is a comprehensive whole house approach to identifying and fixing comfort and energy efficiently.Building performance or home performance is a compreh ensive whole-house approach to identifying and fixing comfort and energy efficiency problems in a home. Energy audits are performed by energy auditors, also known as building analysts or consultants, which, in the United States, are usually certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI). The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy started a national program â€Å"Home Performance with ENERGY STAR† to offer a comprehensive, whole-house approach to improving energy efficiency and comfort at home, while helping to protect the environment.The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program has 40 programs, to date, across the country which are administered by various utilities and state energy offices. Home performance applies building science to address the following issues: Efficient energy use, Durability, Indoor Air Quality, Thermal Comfort, Indoor Moisture sources and solutions Diagnostic equipment includes: Blower door, Duct blaster, Thermogr aphic camera Combustion analyzer.A home performance energy audit results in home energy retrofit recommendations to improve the comfort and efficiency of the home, the most common of which include: Sealing air holes and gaps in the building envelope and subsequently adding insulation. Sealing ducts. Upgrading heating and cooling systems, appliances and lighting by replacing them with energy efficient equipment such as ENERGY STAR appliances or devices, compact fluorescent lamps, or LED lamps. Adding heat recovery ventilation or other means to control and upgrade fresh air ventilation, Retrieved from Google (2012). CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY PreambleThis chapter housed the method used in gathering the necessary information and source of data used on the research project. The study examines the techniques used in analyzing the data. This research is based on the evaluation of maintenance culture of Christian religious institutional buildings in Lagos State, Nigeria, and the fo llowing were looked into, research design, population, sampling technique, instrument for data collection, administration of instrument and technique of data analysis. Technique of Data Analysis The data collected was analyzed with simple percentage for respondents’ bio-data, Arithmetic mean for research.This was done in respects to the four points Likert scale, Analysis of Research Questions Research Question 1:what are the maintenance problems facing Christian institutional buildings? S/N| STATEMENT| SA| A| D| SD| X | Remarks | 1| The church building is in a detoration state| -| 3Ãâ€"39| 2Ãâ€"65130| 1Ãâ€"3232| 1. 71| Disagree| 2| The church building needs certain level of repair generally| -| 3Ãâ€"35105| 2Ãâ€"4590| 1Ãâ€"2020| 2. 15| Disagree | 3| Most of the roofing, paints and some parts of the church needs repair| 4Ãâ€"37148| 3Ãâ€"3399| 2Ãâ€"1530| 1Ãâ€"1515| 2. 5| Agree | Source; Field Survey, 2O12 From the table above, the respondents disagreed with statement o ne and statement two respectively with the mean score level of 1. 71 and 2. 15 respectively. But agree with the last statement to show the level of maintenance needed by these church buildings. From the analysis above we discovered that these church buildings are maintained but there are still levels of maintenance needed in the area of roofing due to wear and tear and moisture, which also is applicable to the church painting.Research Question 2: are these Christian institutional buildings in good physical conditions? S/N| STATEMENT| SA| A| D| SD| X | Remarks | 4| The building equipments has been audited several time to ascertain level of maintenance needs| 4Ãâ€"67268| 3Ãâ€"2369| 2Ãâ€"36| 1Ãâ€"77| 3. 50| Agree| 5| There are certain amounts allocated for the maintenance of this building by the authority. | 4Ãâ€"78312| 3Ãâ€"2266| -| -| 3. 78| Agree| 6| Periodic preventive maintenance is carried out on this church building| 4Ãâ€"85340| 3Ãâ€"1854| 2Ãâ€"510| -| 4. 4| Agree| Sour ce; Field Survey, 2O12 The table above shows that the respondents agreed with all of the statements made. The mean scores are 3. 50, 3. 78 and 4. 04 respectively which mean that the majority of the churches surveyed are kept under good conditions with amount allocated for maintenance and periodic preventive maintenance carried out. Research Question 3: what are the maintenance principles implore by the maintenance managers in maintaining these buildings? S/N| STATEMENT| SA| A| D| SD| X | Remarks | | There is a facility maintenance plan for this building| 4Ãâ€"55220| 3Ãâ€"45135| -| -| 3. 55| Agree| 8| The facility maintenance plan includes long and short term objectives and budgets? | 4Ãâ€"27108| 3Ãâ€"1545| 2Ãâ€"2448| 1Ãâ€"3434| 2. 35| Disagree| 9| The facility manager carry out preventive maintenance regularly| 4Ãâ€"85340| 3Ãâ€"1854| 2Ãâ€"510| -| 4. 04| Agree| Source; Field Survey, 2012 The table above shows that the respondents agreed with statements 7 and 9 with mean scor e of 3. 55 and 4. 04 respectively, thereby disagreeing with statement 8 made with mean score of 2. 5, which shows an indication that there is facility maintenance plans for all the church building and that there is preventive maintenance carried out by the manager, but there are no adequate budget to execute this maintenance plan. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary Maintenance is regarded to be the most pragmatic and philosophically appropriate conservation method (Forsyth, 2007). Regular maintenance is critical to the survival of any building, be it cultural, heritage or non-heritage and church buildings.This recognition was made as early as 1877 by William Morris the founder of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), an organization entrusted with caring and preserving United Kingdom’s heritage buildings. He considered regular maintenance as â€Å"the most practical and economic form of conserving heritage buildings†. Kerr (2000) als o emphasized that â€Å"of all the processes of conserving ancient church buildings, maintenance is the single most important process†. To date, regular maintenance is still considered as the most sustainable way of preserving church buildings (Dan and Cantell, 2007).However, a large number of heritage buildings are decaying due to age, neglect, high maintenance cost and lack of comprehensive guidelines and understanding of heritage buildings’ maintenance management practices 5. 2Conclusion The study has revealed that the operational state (physical-functional condition) of church buildings in Lagos State as carried out by the maintenance department was found to be good, The analysis discloses that the Cathedral church buildings in Lagos State are in a good state of existence in terms of the physical and functional conditions of the building elements and services that constitute these buildings.But for better performance, a proactive rather than reactive approach shoul d be adopted for effective maintenance practices as some Cathedral church buildings out of the surveyed ones are not properly maintained. This study has raised awareness on the practice and cost of neglect of maintenance of our Cathedral Church buildings. It is not intended to frighten the church owner or user, it is to sound the alarm for the need of imbibing the culture of maintenance of our church buildings as opposed to the culture of lawlessness and arbitrariness that have characterized past management of our building stock.The research work is wake-up to arresting the menace and embarrassment of the Sick Building Syndrome. 5. 3Recommendations Cathedral church buildings are places of worship as such more has to be done by both the maintenance management staff and the users to improve the operational state (physical-functional condition) more in maintaining those which are not properly maintained as they are place which give moral lessons to the people. Recommendations for these churches cannot be over emphasized.Hence upon this the following recommendations are made to preserve these church buildings under survey. Maintenance managers and their team should adopt more proactive approach to reduce the occurrence of defects, which will consequently bring about better physical and functional Cathedral church buildings elements and services. The governing councils of these churches should always set aside adequate fund for the running of these Cathedral church buildings as the study shows that there are no long time budgets for these buildings.Maintenance managers should equally give the narrow managerial span of control a trial in use as this may likely bring about a more effective organizational structure leading to better maintenance management of public hospital buildings. It is also important that maintenance management work together with top administration management so as to secure sufficient funds for maintenance works as well as ensure that such funds is judiciously utilized. Maintenance manager should use authentic materials and skills in repairing and retrofitting these church buildings.Older buildings require constant maintenance. Current funding programs cover the initial conversion costs, but not longer-term maintenance. Perhaps additional funds for maintenance could be made available when conserving built heritage is part of a housing project’s objectives. Building managers should also * coordinate preventive maintenance with other maintenance projects, * prepare a checklist of preventive maintenance tasks, * schedule a timeline for the tasks, * prepare procedures for managing the program, and include preventive maintenance among activities for controlling the quality of air inside buildings As building managers determine what maintenance projects are needed, they should use an objective process for setting priorities among them. For cost effectiveness, building managers should calculate total costs over the expecte d lifetime of building and facilities. As a prelude to preventive maintenance, building managers should oversee periodic inspections of buildings’ conditions and create an inventory of buildings’ components and equipment.References Adenuga, O. A. (1999): Building maintenance in Nigeria: Structural Deterioration, Recognition Diagnosis of Causes and Remedies. (01), 5-25). Ajayi, L. A. (1987): Concern for collapse of building in Nigeria. Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Structural Engineers, 1(2). Akinsola, O. E. , Adenuga O. A. , and Iyagba R. O. (2004): Strategic maintenance practices: Effective loots for improved productivity and efficiency of plants and equipments in construction industry. Journal of Building Quarterly, 3(1), 10-15. Allen, D (2003), Facilities management, Bradford, Vol. 11, Iss 3, pg. 7. 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