Thursday, September 3, 2020

Study of Internet Banking in Malaysia

Investigation of Internet Banking in Malaysia Presentation. Foundation of study: Numerous researchers guarantee that electronic banking began during the 1970s. Notwithstanding, proof demonstrated that the primary noticeable ATM machine was presented in the year 1981. The ATM-Automated Teller Machines-are an extraordinary part of web banking. They fill in as an incredible option in contrast to the block and mortal branches. A short time later, tele-banking stuck to this same pattern it one more conveyance station for branch money related administrations by means of broadcast communications gadgets associated with a robotized arrangement of the bank by using Automated Voice Response (AVR) Technology. Before the presentation of web banking in Malaysia in June 1, 2000, banks worked under an unconsolidated framework. It was exceptionally hard to direct an interbank exchange. The bottleneck framework was too fragile to even consider facing the regularly rising worldwide rivalry from it global partners of who, by at that point, most have gone e-banking. To completely use the advantages of web banking, the Malaysian national bank chose to solidify its business banks. Before the usage of this strategy, there were around 23 banks in Malaysia in the financial framework. Notwithstanding, after the solidification and the usage of web banking, just 10 center financial gatherings endure, however some combined. The presentation of Internet framework into the financial segment, radically shoot up the exhibition and upper hand of Malaysian financial framework. Entomb and intra banking exchanges turned out to be increasingly adaptable and quicker. Banks are currently ready to concede advances to firms and people through quicker and simpler methods à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"e-banking. People and firms can pay from and store cash to their record without paying a physical visit to their banks. Practically all financial exchange would now be able to be made at home at whenever on a framework that runs very nearly 24/7.amybank turned into the main household bank to offer web banking administrations. In Malaysia, this administration is at present given to singular clients at a 128-piece encryption innovation to alleviate fears of security among shoppers. The administrations gave in this entryway incorporates charge installment, banking enquiry capacities, , reserves move, and records summary, Visa installment just as activity history. Client care administration is made accessible by means of messages notwithstanding phone lines. Cry is rundown table of web banking administrations gave by 6 Malaysian business banks BANK Administration Exchanges Southern Bank PC Banking Constant store moves, Mastercard installments, get to account adjusts and auto cautions. Hong Leong Bank [emailprotected] Store moves, balance enquiries, explanation download, charge installments, registration demand, registration enquiry, stop check and Visa installments. ec-banking Record Summary, Funds Transfer, Credit Card Service, Bill Payments, Service Request HSBC Bank Hexagon A work area banking framework by means of the HSBC Groups restrictive overall correspondences organize. Administrations incorporate exchange of assets inside own records and outsider records. Multi-Purpose Bank Multi-Link Fundamental financial administrations account balance enquiry, finance move, charge installments and item information. Additionally offers work area share-exchanging by means of JB Securities Sdn Bhd. PhileoAllied Bank PALDIRECT PALWORLD Gives banking, share contributing, news and data, service charge installments, protection, travel, electronic shopping and correspondences administrations. RHB Bank RHB OnLine Equalization enquiry, finance move, settlement administrations, fixed-store situations, Mastercard installments, handling and bill installments. Source: Internet Banking Patronage: An Empirical Investigation of Malaysia by Suganthi, Balachandher and Balachandran. Regardless of the numerous grumblings about the moderate transmission of information, versatile e-banking utilizing the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has expanded the straightforwardness with which exchanges are made. The presentation of Global Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and 3G telephones has help in vanquishing the speed issue. Along these lines, speed is not, at this point an issue. Roar is a table of outline of banks three banks and there (3) Malaysian business banks. BANK NAME Administrations OCBC Bank i.wap Banking exchanges balance enquiry, exchange history, articulation demand, finance move, registration demand, stop-installment demand, charge installments. Others news, banking rates, treasury news and Visa administrations. Philoe Allied Bank Palworld WAP Banking exchanges, charge installments, news, share exchanging. Joined Overseas Bank Cell phone banking Banking exchanges, for example, balance enquiry, articulation demand, increment in charge card cutoff and others. Source: Internet Banking Patronage: An Empirical Investigation of Malaysia by Suganthi, Balachandher and Balachandran. In spite of the advantage that associatively connects with e-banking, it achievement to a great extent relies upon the gathering its get from the individuals that utilization it, for example client, retail and corporate the same. Its of no questionable uncertainty that many financial balance holders have pursued the web banking offices. Actually in Malaysia, CIMB for example, practically all record holders à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"i.e. over 90%-have selected web banking because of the straightforwardness and adaptability it has. Issue articulation: Be that as it may, this example of overcoming adversity has just been feasible because of the much asset being put resources into making mindfulness and growing the limit and speed of the framework. The inquiries, Does the outcome or execution of e-banking legitimize the asset been utilized to advance it? How great is the reaction of the client, and How well is the framework running? Destinations of study Coming up next are the target of this paper: General Objective: To quantify the exhibition of e-banking in Malaysian economy Explicit target Measure the security level of the framework from both the client and financiers points of view Measure the level mindfulness among Malaysian inhabitant Measure the degree of accommodation concerning openness and speed the clients appreciate. Writing Review The appearance of web banking in Malaysia and its quick development and appropriation has been a mainstream subject among present day analysts. Web banking has pulled in expanding consideration since the 1990s. Halfway encouraged by mechanical development, banks began to utilize the web as an inventive installment technique and as an approach to decrease costs, improve benefits and increment client comfort. Between the 1997 and 2001 Deyoung (2005) the web banks had begun and they figured out how to distinguish which web based banking have been powerful, and the investigation had indicated that the greater part of the web banks had low benefit however the examination demonstrated that the web banks had been becoming so quick, and to cause these banks to endure they need a contender yet the results in piece of the overall industry will be constrained. Electronic banking (e-banking) is the most current conveyance channel of banking administrations all around the globe and has become a c rucial need. The meaning of e-banking differs among explores halfway in light of the fact that electronic financial alludes to a few kinds of administrations through which a banks clients can demand data and do most retail banking administrations by means of PC, TV or cell phone (Daniel,1999; Mols, 1998; Sathye, 1999). Burr, 1996, for instance, portrays it as an electronic association between the bank and client so as to get ready, oversee and control budgetary exchanges. Numerous creators welcome that Internet banking (e-banking) is characterized to incorporate the arrangement of retail and little worth financial items and administrations through electronic channels just as enormous worth electronic installments and other discount banking administrations conveyed electronically. Electronic banking can likewise be characterized as an assortment of the accompanying stages: (a) Web banking (or web based banking), (b) phone banking, (c) TV-based banking, (d) cell phone banking, and (e) PC banking (or disconnected banking) (Luã… Â ¡tã… Â ¡ik; 2004:9). Electronic banking (e-banking) is the most up to date conveyance channel of banking administrations. The meaning of e-banking changes among explores incompletely in light of the fact that electronic financial alludes to a few kinds of administrations through which a banks clients can demand data and do most retail banking administrations by means of PC, TV or cell phone (Daniel,1999; Mols, 1998; Sathye, 1999). Burr, 1996, for instance, portrays it as an electronic association between the bank and client so as to get ready, oversee and control budgetary exchanges. Numerous creators value that Internet banking (e-banking) is characterized to incorporate the arrangement of retail and little worth financial items and administrations through electronic channels just as enormous worth electronic installments and other discount banking administrations conveyed electronically. Electronic banking can likewise be characterized as an assortment of the accompanying stages: (a) Web banking (or web based banking), (b) phone banking, (c) TV-based banking, (d) cell phone banking, and (e) PC banking (or disconnected banking) (Luã… Â ¡tã… Â ¡ik; 2004:9). Budgetary assistance clients are escaping from the suppliers of those administrations. Petersen and Rajan (2002) found that private venture loaning, which has been the forte of nearby relationship moneylenders, has been moving further from their clients after some time, due to a limited extent to remote financial advancements. Remote access advances in money related administrations have for some time been utilized to build the geographic market of the budgetary specialist co-op. Remote access advances in budgetary administrations have for quite some time been utilized to expand the geographic market of the monetary specialist co-op. Hannan and McDowell (1990) indicated that banks embraced ATMs so as to grow their piece of the pie or ensure their market against those banks that offered ATMs. Comparable contentions have been made about different types of remote financial advances by Bouckaert and

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Major thoughts or conclusions on role of intelligence in threat Essay

Significant considerations or ends on job of knowledge in danger managemenM - Essay Example It is extremely miserable that a large portion of the triumphs never get to the predominant press rather than the disappointments. The offices work as declined units that help the administration in tact just as during wartime. The help was best seen during the surreptitious end of Osama Bin Laden the killed Al Qaeda boss by extraordinary powers. In country security and safeguard, the knowledge shields the general public from security dangers and interruptions that would prompt jeopardizing of the normal individual, just as the administration. In its different structures, the knowledge works both deliberately and strategically to guarantee that precise data is introduced to the correct specialists as and when required. The procedures associated with the data gathering stages from entrusting, assortment, preparing and spreading the data is of basic centrality to the nation in fighting terrorism1. In doing knowledge obligations, strong help from the police and other government offices is noteworthy in forestalling future assaults. Observing of the psychological oppressor exercises as one with the police will guarantee that dangers are countered before they occurred and that most systems are destroyed forthwith. Such harmony requires all arms of the legislature to give the knowledge offices and authorities a definitive help feasible for present and future security mechanical assembly of the United States and the world. Decisively, the knowledge is a vital factor in the administration that is regularly confounded once dangers happen yet with the necessary help, the pretended by the women and refined men in this aspect survive from top generally critical to the US government and

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Showcasing Plan - Essay Example Advancement of an item is in this manner part of the showcasing dish in which a business needs their item to be generally known to the planned buyers, the sole aim of advancement is to make the necessary mindfulness among the individuals on the presence of an item, its uses, viability, cost, and accessibility in the outlets. A very much organized advancement jars results into huge augmentation in the all out item deals. There are numerous different viewpoints in a limited time blend that will be considered for this situation to do advancement in South Africa, they are examined underneath; I. Publicizing For compelling advancement of our item in South Africa, we have thought about utilizing promotion as one of our techniques to meet the forthcoming purchasers. In commercial, we have picked to utilize broad three alternatives, TVs, Radio, and Print promotions. This is following the acknowledgment that with radio, we can arrive at various individuals at the same time the proficient and the unskilled. Since a gigantic lump of the populace in South Africa lives in urban regions, and that the item we expect to elevate is for the most part identified with those in urban zones, we have additionally selected to utilize TVs and Print advertisements to enhance the advancement inclusion. Given that the advancement is planned for the acknowledgment of new item in the market, we have depleted all the potential dialects in South Africa that can be of criticalness; Afrikaans, Xhosa, English, Tswana, Zulu, and Tsonga dialects, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga radio broadcasts will be utilized. For the TVs, we have singled out those will national standpoints and these incorporates South African Broadcasting Cooperation, MNet and DSTV, and e.tv. The Print to be locked in incorporate Beeld, City press, DailySun, Rapport, Sunday Times, and Sunday World, these paper have national standpoint. Time factor is a significant issue in advancement and it must be conveni ent for the crowd focused on. For the Radio and the TVs, the limited time will be during significant news time, this is at 1 pm and at 7 and 9 pm. This time were intentionally picked in light of the fact that it is foreseen that a large portion of the individuals will be mindful to get a handle on the new improvement in news everywhere throughout the nation. In the print advertisements, the advancement will be done on ends of the week on the grounds that the greater part of the individuals are not dedicated and will have sufficient chance to peruse a large portion of the paper and chances are that the vast majority of the individuals will get to the data (Clow and Baack 78). In our limited time system, we have followed all the guidelines that administer advancement in the nation, our legitimate group has considered all the potential escape clauses in the advert and prompted fittingly. 100,000 South African Rand can support 1-week advert in the Radio and TVs while in the print media, they serve for a month consistently. We have likewise included the Media Mix for the open connection works out, they come last however are significant in the way that they make the entire ad speaking to the objective gathering and give the much-required notoriety. They likewise haggle for the quantity of adverts that our compensation can oversee for the advert. II. Web Advertising/informal communication/cell phone promotions Our item will likewise be publicized in the web and other interpersonal organizations, for example, facebook and twitter including cell phones. This is following our acknowledgment that a large portion of our focused on customers are likewise expected to be web clients. Web additionally gives a less expensive and proficient method of arriving at an enormous

Ratio and Financial Statement Analysis Essay

This paper examines apparatuses utilized in money related investigation, for example, proportions. Money related proportion investigation is a sensible route for various partners to use for various objectives. This paper exhibits that monetary proportion examination is a significant instrument to assess assets and their utilized. It likewise shows that regardless of the way that money related proportion investigation is an amazing device, it has requirements. Indeed, we will inspect money related proportion by investigating they constraints and they benefits. References utilized in this paper are from books and diary in an insightful diary. Introduction of the information and the approach utilized are objective; they are upheld by cases. Is it conceivable to assess or assess a company’s present and future execution? The appropriate response is truly, yet you need devices and figure out how to utilize them. Budgetary proportion examination is an incredible apparatus for organizations to assess their money related wellbeing so as to distinguish weakness in order to establish restorative measures. Monetary proportions are above all else manager’s concern since they need to figure out what divisions have performed well. It is too stockholders’ concern since they need to know the estimation of their stock. Monetary proportion is utilized by bank to decide if they will get the cash the credited to the firm (Parrino, Kindwell, and Bates, 2011). â€Å"Financial examination is utilized to investigate whether a substance is steady, dissolvable, fluid, or sufficiently beneficial to be contributed in† (Financial Analysis, Investopedia). The motivation behind budget summary investigation is to help clients in anticipating what's to come. At the end of the day, proportions are exceptionally significant benefit instruments that help to execute plans that improve gainfulness, liquidity, monetary structure, reordering, influence, and intrigue inclusion. (Unknown, 2000). Proportions are frequently ready to help anticipate execution just as give signs of numerous potential issues. Regardless of the way that budgetary proportion investigation can give fast approaching issues of the company’s execution, some significant restriction ought to be noted when utilizing monetary proportions. Indeed, most money related proportions don’t recount to the full story. This paper will break down the advantages and impediments of proportion examination, clarifying what components sway the importance of such measures. Money related proportion examination is a valuable apparatus for clients of fiscal summary. As per parino et al (2011), proportion investigation streamlines the appreciation of fiscal summaries. They illuminate the budgetary variety regarding the business. Accordingly, one of the benefits of utilizing this instrument is to gain data about a business. For example, the complete obligation proportion shows the utilization of obligation in a firm’s capital structure. The higher the obligation proportion, the more obligation the organization has. Another advantage of utilizing proportion investigation is that they encourage examination between various organizations, and between firms which contrast in size. As a delineation, let look at the Price-Earning proportion (P/E) of two organizations with various business. Review that P/E proportion is the proportion a great many people know about and encourages one decide if a stock is too costly or a great arrangement by taking a gander at the income comparative with stock value (Siegel, Shim, 2000). As appeared over, the proportion assists with measuring the patterns of value profit of these for two distinct organizations with various business; in this way, the P/E proportion may assist a financial specialist with making choice. Budgetary proportion can likewise expose a company’s execution, qualities and frail focuses. Thus, the firm may looks into zones that would require extra exertion, redesigning and investigation. For example, a high proportion stock turnover proportion could imply that the organization has had out of the blue solid deals †a great sign, or it could mean the firm isn't dealing with its purchasing just as it would and stock that remaining parts set up produces no income and builds the expense related with keeping up those inventories Moreover, a proportion examination gives an amazing and extensive device that helps venture choices on account of financial specialists and loaning choice on account of investors. (Parrino, Kindwell, and Bates, 2011). A case of this will be a firm’s need of cash to fund its benefit. Banks will take a gander at company’s current proportion (current resources partition by current liabilities) to decide a company’s capacity to climate money related emergencies, at any rate in present moment. Advances are frequently appended to this proportion. Similarly, financial specialist takes a gander at company’s gainfulness proportions to quantify how much benefit an organization produces when they are looking where to put away their cash. As can be seen, monetary proportions are surprisingly useful pointers of a firm’s execution, and money related circumstance. In spite of the fact that proportions investigations are valuable device, they ought to be utilized judiciously. â€Å"Ratios are just in the same class as the information whereupon they are based and the data with which they are compared.† (Kieso, Weygandt, Warfield, 2010) Thus, proportions examination present a few burdens. To begin with, proportions are lacking in themselves as a wellspring of assessment about the future (Parrino et al, 2011). They simply clarify collaborations including past information while clients are progressively intrigued about present and up and coming data (â€Å"Accounting for management†, 2011). Fundamentally, they offer a piece of information or hint of the business’ qualities and powerless focuses, and that in present moment. In this manner, they ought to be utilized as just one of logical instruments in the administration. Also that proportions are incapable when utilized in seclusion. Most budgetary proportions don’t recount to the full story. They must be put next to each other after some time for a similar organization or across organization or with the sector’s normal. A solitary proportion really doesn't make a steady end. It takes in excess of a proportion to be assessed to acquire an appropriate activity, which makes proportion investigations somewhat perplexing. For instance, the arrival on resource proportion (ROA), and the net revenue proportions don't consolidate opportunity cost of hazard. Essentially, the arrival on value proportion (ROE) disregards cost of capital ventures required to produce income. Another impediment is that proportion investigation relies upon bookkeeping information dependent on recorded coast (Parino et al, 2011). As per Kiesel, the way that proportion investigation depends on authentic expense may prompt contortions in estimating execution. Given that the fiscal report does exclude any monetary changes, an alteration in cost during the run time frame may not influence the determined proportion. Truth be told, mistaken appraisals of the enterprise’s monetary condition and execution can come about because of neglecting to consolidate reasonable worth data ( Kieso and al, 2010) The last impediment of proportion investigation yet not the least is the swelling factor. The way that diverse stock valuation (FIFO, LIFO, Average expense) might be being used to maintain a business, when costs will in general ascent (swelling factor) the decision of bookkeeping technique can drastically influence valuation proportions. To put it in an unexpected way, swelling may render the examination of budgetary proportions wrong. For example, one business may utilize FIFO while another may utilize LIFO. If so, a portion of the proportions, for example, stock turnover, and gross overall revenue, would be divergent if pricesâ are rising. Another reality is that the varieties of the proportions are demonstrated to be intensely touchy to downturn (Kane, G.D, 1997). In his investigation, Kane, G.D asserts that esteem pertinence of numerous money related proportions are touchy to the event of downturn. As has been noted, bookkeeping approaches, and expansion are a few factors that have impact on the count of proportions. We can in this way contend proportion examination is pragmatic devices for clients of budget summary. Along these lines, it improves the comprehension of budgetary report, it makes examination between firms conceivable, it features a company’s execution, and it gives a fitting instrument that helps financial specialist and loan bosses. We noticed that money related proportions have a few weaknesses. Truth be told, they are inadequate in themselves as a wellspring of decisions; they are pointless when utilized in segregation, and they can distort examinations when distinctive bookkeeping rehearses are utilized. Taking everything into account, I will say that regardless of whether proportions investigations have solid impediments they despite everything are the most helpful apparatus in the budgetary world. The most significant thing to remember is to realize how to utilize them, and comprehend their constraint. REFERENCE LIST Books and E-Books Books Kane, G.D (1997). The impact of downturn on proportion investigation. The Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business,33 (1), 19. Recover from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19568525.html Kieso, D.,E., Weygandt, J.J., Warfield, T.D.(2010). Middle of the road Accounting. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc Parrino, R., Kindwell, D., Bates, T. (2011). Essentials of corporate account. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. digital books Siegel, J.G., Shim, J.K. ( 2000). Word reference of Accounting Terms, Retrieve from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/ehost Electronic sources Representing the executives, 2011. Recover from http://accountingexplained.com/monetary/proportions/favorable circumstances confinements http://www.nasdaq.com/image/mcd/pe-proportion http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/monetary analysis.asp#axzz1sqK89uaF[pic][pic]

Friday, August 21, 2020

Business Decision Making Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Decision Making - Assignment Example The proposals made by the respondents will likewise be considered alongside the suggestions of the last report. Research Methodology The examination strategy to be consolidated in the report is essential research. Auxiliary research strategy alludes to the philosophy that centers around gathering information from previously existing assets. Optional information can be gathered from online sources or from distributed sources. Auxiliary information can likewise be gathered from government or association sources. Presently a day’s optional research strategy is famous among the analysts in light of the fact that the web gives information from all pieces of the world on the work area (Driscoll, 2011, p. 3). The specialists can increase enormous measure of information from dependable wellsprings of the web and accordingly can pick up information in significantly less time than contrasted with get-together information from physical libraries. The analysts can utilize the cost slicing to upgrade the extent of the exploration in future. The information gathered from the companion checked on diaries give confirmed information. The specialists don't have to select outer partner to gather information as postulations are promptly accessible over the net. In this way optional research is incredibly famous among analysts as it has got a few points of interest over the essential technique for information assortment as far as cost or time (Hox and Boeije, 2007). Essential research strategy In request to shape ebb and flow data to be the premise of research, it is imperative to consolidate strategies like essential research. Essential research is made through the advancement of polls that can be both organized just as unstructured. The organized survey is shut finished inquiries. The organized poll depends on interviews on a current arrangement of options. The open finished inquiries like to accumulate information through open perspectives on the respondents (Reja, U. Et. Al.,2003). The two sorts of inquiries can be sent through mail to the respondents. The analysts can likewise choose outside specialists to lead direct meetings. The respondents are chosen through confining the objective populace into gatherings and afterward choosing the respondents from that bunch with the probabilistic or the non probabilistic strategies. In this task two gatherings are chosen to be specific the staffs of the café and the understudies of the college. They have additionally been ordered into various age bunches in particular 18-24, 25-30 and 30+. Based on two classes the respondent gatherings the inspecting strategy into Stratified Sampling technique where 25 of the respondents have been chosen from numerous respondents (University of Alberta, n.d). Thus for directing the examination, 25 respondents have been looked over the classifications so as to give proposal to the eatery authority. Further kinds of inquiries that can be developed for the reason for existing are subjective just as quantitative sets. The subjective research attempts to surmise the effect of the conduct parameters. Quantitative research centers in picking up surmisings with the assistance of diagrams and outlines which can additionally be utilized for factual displaying. Meetings led identifying with the specialty gathering of respondents contains both the understudies and the staffs. This is needful for the specialists to have a legitimate surmising of the conduct of the respondents from the two points of view. The analysts need to direct the meeting in fair-minded design as one-sided information will prompt bogus data (Geer, n.d.). This is relied upon to

Monday, August 3, 2020

The Learning Myth Why Ill Never Tell My Son Hes Smart

The Learning Myth Why Ill Never Tell My Son Hes Smart This post has a new home! Click here to read it alongside other conversations with Sal. By: Salman Khan Join the#YouCanLearnAnythingmovement My 5-year- ­old son has just started reading. Every night, we lie on his bed and he reads a short book to me. Inevitably, hell hit a word that he has trouble with: last night the word was gratefully. He eventually got it after a fairly painful minute. He then said, Dad, arent you glad how I struggled with that word? I think I could feel my brain growing. I smiled: my son was now verbalizing the tell ­-tale signs of a growth ­ mindset. But this wasnt by accident. Recently, I put into practice research I had been reading about for the past few years: I decided to praise my son not when he succeeded at things he was already good at, but when he persevered with things that he found difficult. I stressed to him that by struggling, your brain grows. Between the deep body of research on the field of learning mindsets and this personal experience with my son, I am more convinced than ever that mindsets toward learning could matter more than anything else we teach. Researchers have known for some time that the brain is like a muscle; that the more you use it, the more it grows. Theyve found that neural connections form and deepen most when we make mistakes doing difficult tasks rather than repeatedly having success with easy ones. What this means is that our intelligence is not fixed, and the best way that we can grow our intelligence is to embrace tasks where we might struggle and fail. However, not everyone realizes this. Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University has been studying peoples mindsets towards learning for decades. She has found that most people adhere to one of two mindsets: fixed or growth. Fixed mindsets mistakenly believe that people are either smart or not, that intelligence is fixed by genes. People with growth mindsets correctly believe that capability and intelligence can be grown through effort, struggle and failure. Dweck found that those with a fixed mindset tended to focus their effort on tasks where they had a high likelihood of success and avoided tasks where they may have had to struggle, which limited their learning. People with a growth mindset, however, embraced challenges, and understood that tenacity and effort could change their learning outcomes. As you can imagine, this correlated with the latter group more actively pushing themselves and growing intellectually. The good news is that mindsets can be taught; theyre malleable. Whats really fascinating is that Dweck and others have developed techniques that they call growth mindset interventions, which have shown that even small changes in communication or seemingly innocuous comments can have fairly long ­-lasting implications for a persons mindset. For instance, praising someones process (I really like how you struggled with that problem) versus praising an innate trait or talent (Youre so clever!) is one way to reinforce a growth ­mindset with someone. Process ­ praise acknowledges the effort; talent ­ praise reinforces the notion that one only succeeds (or doesnt) based on a fixed trait. And weve seen this on Khan Academy as well: students are spending more time learning on Khan Academy after being exposed to messages that praise their tenacity and grit and that underscore that the brain is like a muscle. The Internet is a dream for someone with a growth mindset.Between Khan Academy, MOOCs, and others, there is unprecedented access to endless content to help you grow your mind. However, society isnt going to fully take advantage of this without growth mindsets being more prevalent. So what if we actively tried to change that? What if we began using whatever means are at our disposal to start performing growth mindset interventions on everyone we cared about? This is much bigger than Khan Academy or algebra it applies to how you communicate with your children, how you manage your team at work, how you learn a new language or instrument. If society as a whole begins to embrace the struggle of learning, there is no end to what that could mean for global human potential. And now heres a surprise for you. By reading this article itself, youve just undergone the first half of a growth ­-mindset intervention. The research shows that just being exposed to the research itself ( ­ ­for example, knowing that the brain grows most by getting questions wrong, not right ­ ­) can begin to change a persons mindset. The second half of the intervention is for you to communicate the research with others. Weve made a video (above) that celebrates the struggle of learning that will help you do this. After all, when my son, or for that matter, anyone else asks me about learning, I only want them to know one thing. As long as they embrace struggle and mistakes, they can learn anything. You can view the original op-edin Huffington Posthere.> The Learning Myth Why Ill Never Tell My Son Hes Smart This article has a new home! Read it here alongside other conversations with Sal.

Monday, June 22, 2020

Bypass a Dream College to Graduate Debt Free

HomeFinanceFinancial aidBypass a Dream College To Graduate Debt FreeThis page may contain affiliate links.Nov 14, 2019 In 2006, I was accepted to my dream school, New York University. When I saw the financial aid package, I figured I would do what everyone else did and take out loans. I thought that was just the way things were done. So when I visited the campus for the second time, knowing this trip that I had been accepted, my love for the school grew. I could barely believe that my dream was coming true, so to make it more real I bought the NYU sticker for the back of my car which, in my mind, was as good as signing an acceptance letter in blood. Here’s the thing you should know about my story. I am privileged because my parents were able to save money for me to go to college. They approached it very fairly, saving x number of dollars for my brother and me for our college funds. The number was generous but in no way would have gotten me through four years at NYU. With the financial aid package I was offered, it would almost have gotten me through two years. Each of my parents were the first people in their respective families to attend college so saving for this – from the time I was born, even when it wasn’t easy – was important to them. At the same time, by not writing me a blank check, I would be forced to make some big girl decisions. Still, I lived in the exciting bubble of denial for a little longer, even sending my acceptance letter in. It would â€Å"work out† the way it seemed to for everyone else. Because everyone takes out loans, right? That’s just what people do. But do they? Is that the only option? During my high school years while taking the ACT and putting together my applications, my dad’s story of his acceptance to Northwestern haunted me. He walked the campus and he fell in love. Like me, he had worked so hard to be accepted. But he realized he could not ask his parents – a barber and an executive assistant – to take on that kind of burden, but that he couldnt do it himself either. So he ended up at a great state school. This story always made me sad. So naturally, I swore that would never happen to me. His story would not be my story. As I vowed to do whatever I needed to in order to make my dream of NYU happen, taking out as many loans as necessary, a weird tension descended on our house. I knew my family would support me no matter what and I also knew they wanted me to have my dream. But it worried them that I saw loans as a necessary evil or as an answer to my problem. â€Å"Everyone does it,† I insisted about the loans. But I became less sure as days crept by. â€Å"I mean, don’t they?† For some people, loansare necessary evils. Some people aren’t given x number of dollars that their parents have been saving for 18 years. Some people have to go it completely alone. But that was not the case for me, so we sat down and broke down what my monthly loan payment would be after graduation. It was a nauseating number. What I have failed to mention, probably because I was actively ignoring this fact during this time in my life, is that there was a school that was very much within my price range that I had accepted me. It was my backup, the only rural school I applied to in a sea of urban schools. And ironies of ironies, it was the same state school that my dad â€Å"settled† for years and years before. When I saw that monthly loan payment, I could no longer deny that the sound financial decision would be to forgo NYU. And yet, I had always been taught to dream big. The shine of idealism started to look a bit grimy. I wondered if this was what adulthood felt like. So as a future Creative Writing Major (a very lucrative career, not at all in the starving artist category), I withdrew my acceptance to NYU and attended a state school, ensuring I would graduate debt-free. Except, did I? I wish I could tell you that there is a happily-ever-after ending to this story. But my college was not a great fit for me, for a number of reasons. Though I met people there that will be my friends for life, NYU always remained the dream that alluded me. After all, I had done all the hard work to get in! To this day, I sometimes get insecure and feel the need to tell people that I was accepted to NYU (how embarrassing that at 28 I amstill carrying around insecurity and regret). But the fact is, even with what my parents saved, I could not make it work. Actually, scratch that. I could have taken out loans. I would be like many of my friends today who will be paying off college well into their thirties (if not later). While those friends carry the monetary weight of student debt, I don’t. Idocarry around a sense of lingering regret. I carry an emotional debt that occasionally manifests itself as resentment. When other people complain about their loans, I think, If you didnt want loans, then you should have chosen to be unhappy – like me! But that isn’t fair and I quickly tell that voice inside me to hush. I’m not saying that a monetary debt and emotional one are the same thing. Iam saying that no one gets off exactly scot-free. College is unfairly expensive and everyone deals with it in different ways. I have friends who were given a blank check to attend whatever university they wished to attend. I have friends who were forced to take out loans to attend any school at all. And I do have friends who chose to go to a private university because it was their â€Å"dream† and are now living with the consequences. On the other hand, I have friends with loans who look at me like I am a pretty, pretty princess. They think I am incredibly lucky. And I do not disagree that I am fortunate, but I also made choices that kept me debt free. I understand that not everyone has that luxury and that I am privileged. But I know plenty of people who, by choosing their dream school, chose debt. They made a choice, just like I did. I am not a pretty, pretty princess for making a sound financial decision, even if it was one that hurt personally. I must admit that on the day I graduated, realizing that I only had one small loan that I would be able to pay off before interest began to accrue, felt amazingly good. I was free. Post-graduation, I worked for a non-profit for a year. I eventually moved across the country to San Francisco to start a new career and then back to Chicago after a couple of years. None of those things would have been possible if I had been carrying the weight of college debt. And I could not be more thankful for those experiences. And yet, if I told you I was completely over saying goodbye to the dream of NYU, I would be lying. It rears its head but occasionally. When it does, I am reminded that the lessons my parents instilled in me growing up–that I could be anything and do anything as long as I worked hard – were beautiful conceptually, but not actually true within the system of higher education in this country (a statement I think is true for many systems within this country). I did everything right. I got the grades and the test scores. I even had that money from my parents for college and I still couldn’t swing it. We have to be coming to a tipping point. The bubble must burst. Something has to change. It would be great if that change was the cost of higher education. But I think the way we talk about higher education needs to change as well. As an over achiever, I saw the school I would attend as my identity. I saw it as the brass ring I had spent my whole school career working towards. That sounds dramatic but that was truly my mindset. Meanwhile, I am a millennial, which means I was told that if I worked hard, I could do anything. Turns out, that isn’t exactly true. And that is okay! But if that’s the case then let’s be careful in the way we talk about higher education with kids. Now, NYU represents another life: The expensive road untraveled. I know in my soul that things happen the way they should and so I do not regret my decision. And yet, I do consider what opportunities NYU would have provided me. If I let myself (which I try not to do anymore), I could get dizzy going around and around over and over again. Perhaps theres no such thing as graduating debt-free in America. I made a choice not to have to make a payment to Sallie Mae every month. Plenty of people made the same choice as I did, while others took out those loans. But we are all paying. Until we have education reform, the choices we make about college can haunt us, in one way or another, long after we graduate.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

What Are the Causes of Colored Snow

You may have heard that snow can be found in other colors besides white. Its true! Red snow, green snow, and brown snow are relatively common. Really, snow can occur in just about any color. Heres a look at some common causes of colored snow. Watermelon Snow or Snow Algae The most common cause of colored snow is the growth of algae. One type of algae, Chlamydomonas nivalis, is associated with a red or green snow that may be called watermelon snow. Watermelon snow is common in the alpine regions worldwide, in the polar regions or at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet (3,000–3,600 m). This snow may be green or red and has a sweet scent reminiscent of a watermelon. The cold-thriving algae contains photosynthetic chlorophyll, which is green, but also has a secondary red carotenoid pigment, astaxanthin, which protects the algae from ultraviolet light and absorbs energy to melt snow and provide the algae with liquid water. Other Colors of Algae Snow In addition to green and red, algae may color snow blue, yellow, or brown. Snow that has been colored by algae acquires its color after it has fallen. Red, Orange and Brown Snow While watermelon snow and other algae snow falls white and becomes colored as the algae grows on it, you may see snow that falls red, orange or brown due the the presence of dust, sand, or pollutants in the air. One famous example of this is the orange and yellow snow that fell over Siberia in 2007. Gray and Black Snow Gray or black snow can result from precipitation through soot or petroleum-based contaminants. The snow may be oily and smelly. This type of snow tends to be seen early in the snowfall of a heavily polluted area or one which has experienced a recent spill or accident. Any chemical in the air may become incorporated into snow, causing it to become colored. Yellow Snow If you see yellow snow, chances are it is caused by urine. Other causes of yellow snow could be leaching of plant pigments (e.g., from fallen leaves) up into the snow or the growth of yellow-colored algae. Blue Snow Snow usually appears white because each snowflake has many light-reflective surfaces. However, snow is made from water. Large amounts of frozen water really are pale blue, so a lot of snow, particularly in a shadowed location, will show this blue color.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Fraud Examination Enron Paper - 1140 Words

1. Define the problem(s) Enron failed to record some of its transactions. Arthur Andersen did not allow the LJM financial statement to stay unconsolidated. 2. Analyze the situation - again, take a lessons learned approach. You might use the following questions as guides: A. What important internal controls were ignored when LJM1 was created? LJM1 ignored some of Enron’s entries in the books that were missing. Outsiders owned less than 3% of the Special Purpose Entities equities. There was an error made by Arthur Andersen to let LJM’s financial statement to remain unconsolidated. If the financial statements had been consolidated, some of the errors could have been found. They may have even had some time to correct these errors before†¦show more content†¦The employees did what they had to do to stay in the running even if it was illegal. C. The fraud at Enron is one of many major financial statement frauds that occurred in recent years (Qwest, Global Crossing, WorldCom, etc.). What are some factors that could explain why the falsifying of financial statements is occurring so frequently? The falsifying of financial statements occurred so frequently because they were so much pressure for the employees to succeed. The turn over at Enron was so high. The employees were kind of desperate to keep their jobs. All of the employees were forced to compete against each other. The pressure was there for employees to make sure that their peers did not out do them in all aspects. It is hard for the employees to stay honest as they are working under those kinds of pressure. They had all the opportunities to hide all negative debts and poor investments. D. Suppose you are a certified fraud examiner but enjoys investing in the stock market as an additional source of income. Upon doing research of Enron’s stock, you notice that although its stock has a history of strong growth and a seemingly promising future, Enron’s financial reports are unclear and, frankly, confusing. In fact, you can’t even explain how Enron is making money. Could this lack of clarity in its financial reporting serve as a red flag in alerting you to the possibility of fraud at Enron? Why or why not? I believeShow MoreRelatedAnalyzing Ethical Behavior920 Words   |  4 PagesANALYZING ETCHICAL BEHAVIOR PAPER Analyzing Ethical Behavior Paper Chad L. Million Grand Canyon University BUS-340 Ethical amp; Legal Issues in Bus. Glen Germanowski July 25, 2010 Analyzing Ethical Behavior Paper When functioning in the corporate world, it is an essential to include moral ethics. Ethics is also particularly imperative when laboring with financial information. It is very hard to have faith in someone managing plenty of money. Corporations in the past have distortedRead MoreEnron : The Smartest Guys Of The Room Essay1549 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Enron was a Houston based energy, commodities and services company. When people hear the name Enron they automatically associate their name with one of the biggest accounting and ethical scandals known to date. The documentary, â€Å"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,† provides an in depth examination of Enron and the Enron scandal. The film does a wonderful job of depicting the downfall of Enron and how the corporate culture and ethics were key to Enron’s fall. As the movie suggests, Enron is â€Å"notRead MoreOverview of Forensic Accounting Essay2975 Words   |  12 Pages Introduction What is forensic accounting one might ask? It has been on the rise lately and has been talked about for years, but do people really know what it is. Well look no more; you came to the right place. This paper will discuss the ends and outs of forensic accounting. For example, the certifications required to become one, the history of forensic accounting and many different types of crimes that forensic accounts handle. Forensic accounting is an investigative style of accounting used toRead MoreDetecting Financial Statement Fraud : The Collapse Of Enron Corporation2216 Words   |  9 PagesDetecting Financial Statement Fraud The dramatic collapse of Enron Corporation, following the series of disclosures of accounting improprieties, leads to questions regarding the soundness of accounting and financial reporting standards, and contributing factors to financial statement fraud. One question relates to important internal controls ignored in the creation of special purpose entities such as LJM1 by Enron. Another question relates to how Enron’s harsh Performance Review Committee mightRead MoreForensic Accounting1628 Words   |  7 Pages Although Investigative Accounting has been around for years, it has only recently begun to transform into the science of accounting, hence Forensic Accounting. 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McKinsey andRead MoreExecutive Compensation and Corporate Fraud1083 Words   |  5 Pageswitness to some of the worst accounts of corporate fraud ever recorded, with multi-billion dollar companies such as Enron, Tyco, and World-c om involved in serious financial scandals. CEOs and senior executives are often the driving force behind such unscrupulous activities by adopting shady accounting practices and other forms of short-termist actions for the purpose of increasing their firm’s stock price and their own personal wealth. The following paper will investigate whether there is a link betweenRead MoreReview on the Impact of Management Integrity on Audit Planning and Evidence948 Words   |  4 Pagesto assess the correlation between management integrity and RMM, audit planning and misstatement detection, which leads to analysis of the impact of management integrity information on audit conduct. Motivation Some cases of failures such as Enron and Sarbanes-Oxley have led public in general requiring auditors to be more careful in conducting their audit tasks, especially in terms of audited companies’ internal controls. The basic of these internal controls is built by its management integrityRead MoreThe Role of Audit in the Collapse of Enron and Lehman Brother2959 Words   |  12 PagesREGULATIONS 3 CHALLENGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4 RESPONDING TO THE CHANGES 4 Research Studies 4 Response to Surbanes-Oxley Act 5 Response to the European Commission’s proposals 6 Enron Failure 6 Arthur Andersen failure 6 Lehman Brothers failure 6 Ernst amp; Young failure 7 Detection of fraud 7 Going Concern 7 MINIMISING LITIGATION RISK 7 Obstruction of Justice 8 Consultancy service 8 Conservative Audit 8 Conclusion 8 References 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the UK,Read MoreThe Case Analysis of Enron Scandal3118 Words   |  13 Pagesccsenet.org/ijbm International Journal of Business and Management Vol. 5, No. 10; October 2010 The Case Analysis of the Scandal of Enron Yuhao Li Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University, Logan city, U.S.A E-mail: wyl_2001_ren@126.com, carolee1989@gmail.com Abstract The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest

Monday, May 11, 2020

Benefits Of A Country Moving From A Economic Economy

â€Å"Discuss the extent to which a country moving from a centrally planned economy to a more market driven economy is in the interest of both consumers and producers†. A transitional economy is an economy which has previously had a centrally planned economic system of resource allocation and is now allowing market forces, such as demand, supply, price and free enterprise to operate in at least parts of the economy. A centrally planned economy, that is also called command economy, is an economic system in where the country’s government operates production facilities. Free market economy is an economic system where prices and wages are set by unrestricted competition between businesses, without government regulation or fear of monopolies. Countries like: Poland, Vietnam, Albania, Czech Republic, China and most of CIS countries that used to be a part of communism area can be taken as an example of countries that have moved from centrally planned economy to a more market driven economy. This essay is going to focus mainly on China, where both consumers and producers gain some benefits from a transitional economy. China’s transition from central planning has assumed a trajectory quite different from that of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The idea of this transition is that prices will regulate themselves. Supply and demand will reach the point of equilibrium where the most money will be made. However, what is good for businesses not always good for customers. The mainShow MoreRelatedEssay On Asia717 Words   |  3 Pagessustained economic growth, says the IMF’s Finance Development magazine: overcoming the middle-income trap, improving its institutions and governance, coping with an aging population, curbing rising inequality, and promoting financial development. Asia is the origin of all the initial acknowledged civilizations except that of Egypt; of most of the great language relations; and of all the great faiths. Twenty- seven countries are located in Asia which make up the economy. Asia stretches from formerRead MoreChin An Economic Power House1210 Words   |  5 PagesSeemingly transformed overnight; China has become an economic power house. In truth, however, China has been growing now for more than 30 years. Since it’s initiation of economic reforms and trade liberalization in 1979. China is one of, if not the fastest growing economy world-wide, averaging nearly 10% growth GDP (Growth Domestic Product). (Morrison, 2015) This financial revolution began with a series of reforms. One was designed to revitalize the state sector and save socialism, others beganRead MoreEconomic Growth Is A Macroeconomic Policy Objective For Countries1467 Words   |  6 PagesDEFINITION Economic growth is a macroeconomic policy objective for countries. The growth of economies have two meanings. First, economic growth means the gross domestic product (GDP) increases within the given period of time.The increases in GDP also means the increase in the value of national output or national expenditure.The other meaning is the increasing of production when using all the scarce resources,which can be showed in the PPF(Production Possibility Frontier).In the diagram below,theRead MoreThe Benefits and Risks of Outsourcing1269 Words   |  5 Pagessourcing benefits the development of specific skills at a corporation level the same way off shoring does at a global level. Companies outsource in order to take advantage of specialized skills and knowledge that itself does not own or that can’t be efficiently acquired. In this case out sourcing leads to higher efficiency and better quality provided by third parties for a specific business processes. Moreover the third parti es can further specialize to take advantage of the resulting economies of scaleRead MoreThe Pros and Cons of Globalization Essays1584 Words   |  7 Pages1. Introduction The current integrated and interdependent world economy is the outcome of the process of Globalization. Various definitions of Globalization are available. As per Block (2004), in his research paper, has defined globalization as â€Å"Intensification of world-wide social relationships which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by distant events and, in turn, distant events are shaped by local happenings.† The IMF (2008) claims that globalization isRead MoreThe Benefits Of United Kingdom1408 Words   |  6 Pagesthe essay topic on Economic Integration and discuss the extent to which the benefits of United Kingdom (UK) being a member of the European Union (EU) outweigh the costs. In short, giving the advantages and disadvantages of UK being part of the EU. This essay will start with a brief definition of Economic Integration. Followed by, a general introduction about the economy of EU and the UK. Lastly, stating the advantages and disadvantages for UK, being a member of the EU. Economic Integration beingRead MoreNafta And The American Free Trade Agreement1253 Words   |  6 PagesDespite a multitude of benefits that NAFTA is said to have by our political elites, 20 years later, it is evident the agreement has been counterproductive; which is evident by the slow move by Canadian manufacturers to Mexico, significant losses in our agricultural sector and widening the income gap within our society. First of all, joining NAFTA has proven to be beneficial to the Canadian economy as many jobs have been created for Canadians nationwide. Overall as a country, the agreement has helpedRead MoreEconomic Growth And Economic Development1328 Words   |  6 PagesEconomic growth is an economic term to describe an increase in a country’s national earnings of wealth, or the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Swanenberg,2005). The measurement of economic growth is possible that the change in national income in comparison to the numbers held by the year before. In the world today, economic growth is one of the ways to determine how successful is the country’s economic activity (Swanenberg, 2005). This is explained by the fact that economic growth reflectsRead MoreA Report On The Swiss Confederation1035 Words   |  5 PagesIn 1291, the Swiss Confederation was founded. In 1499, the Swiss Confederation obtained independence from the Holy Roman Empire. Finally, in 1848, a co nstitution was created that replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Today, the Swiss Confederation is most commonly known as Switzerland, one of the world’s richest and most innovative countries (The World Factbook: SWITZERLAND). In efforts to determine whether our firm should pursue business engagements in Switzerland, IRead MoreImpact Of International Trade On The United States1294 Words   |  6 PagesIn this age of globalization, Economic integration and regional cooperation have become a reality. International trade has enabled countries to exchange goods, services and capital across the border, enabling better opportunities for both producers and consumers. However, in recent years, the benefits of International trade have been questioned by many economists and business experts. There are no doubts that International trade has been a blessing for many countries around the world, but the question

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Comparison Between Wordsworths Poem, Daffodils and...

Although both Blake and Wordsworth are romantic poets, their subject matters and style of poetry differ greatly. Blake is often critical, ironic and symbolic about matters such as city life and politics, whereas Wordsworth is explicit and very descriptive - frequently using figurative devices in his works. Blake s use of language is stark and bleak, while Wordsworth s is rich and involves senses. Blake s themes are also more to do with society, but Wordsworth s are based around nature and spiritual reflection. These differences are probably partly due to Blake s living in London, and Wordsworth s living in the countryside - as seen in the different settings of their poems. Blake writes implicitly in London - making it clear that†¦show more content†¦This rich usage of language involves the reader more in the poem - as if Wordsworth is trying to share his experience with each reader. Blake focuses his poem around social injustice and oppressive urban life. Not only is he critical of the institutions of the Church, monarchy and marriage, he also abuses the way that London is run - describing the streets and river as charter d. This once again relates to oppression - he thinks London is over-ordered. He states how he sees Marks of weakness, marks of woe in every face he sees - showing that he thinks everybody is affected negatively by the daily grind of the city, and describes the soldiers as hapless - as if they have no choice but to fight and die. Wordsworth s themes are very different and are to do with nature and spiritual reflection. He describes the suddenness with which he came across the host, of golden daffodils in the first stanza: When all at once I saw a crowd and refers back to this in the final stanza - stating that They flash upon that inward eye - meaning by this that they are an inspiration to him. He highlights the effect that the daffodils had on him by using repetition - repeating how he gazed - and gazed at the sight, and expresses again his own spiritual gain from his experience of the daffodils emphasising, What wealth the show to me had brought. Blake s London effectively uses simple, stark language and symbolism to make the poem s

Television Is Bad for Children Free Essays

It has been suggested that watching television may do more harm than good to a child’s developmental skills. But a new study says that it all depends on what children watch — some educational programs on TV can actually enhance children’s intellectual development. Until now, television viewing has been blamed consistently for having a negative effect on children’s developmental skills. We will write a custom essay sample on Television Is Bad for Children or any similar topic only for you Order Now But the authors of a new study, which was published in the September/October issue of Child Development, argue that not all television programs are created equal. All TV is not alike,† says co-author Aletha Huston, PhD, professor of child development at the University of Texas at Austin. â€Å"Educational television can have a very positive impact on young children. † For the study, researchers recruited more than 200 children in the Kansas City area who were from low- to moderate-income families. About 40% of the children were African-Americans, and the rest were Hispanic and Caucasian Americans. During the 3-year study, which followed children from ages 2 to 4 years, researchers tested the children and visited their homes every year. The tests included reading, vocabulary, math, and school readiness. â€Å"Children who watched educational programming — particularly at age 2 and 3 — performed better on tests of school-related skills than children who did not watch educational television,† says Huston. â€Å"Watching a lot of general audience programming was related to poor skills. † After controlling for the family environment, which included parents’ education and family income, researchers found that watching educational programs on television may indeed translate to better skills. Daniel Anderson, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, says that the findings highlight the importance of the type of content that is viewed. â€Å"What children watch on television is the key,† says Anderson. â€Å"When the television programs are designed to teach, children learn good things. If they are not designed to teach, and especially if they include violence, children learn things that end up being bad for their behavior. Anderson points out that for children from low- to moderate-income families, such educational programming is filling in parts of their childhood experience that they might not otherwise get. â€Å"These children very often don’t have other educational resources available in their homes, such as age-appropriate books, and parents often don’t understand the importance of reading to their children and encouraging their children to read,† says Anderson. Researchers say that it is heartening to see that educational programming has become a regular, if small, part of broadcast offerings. Children can learn cognitive and social skills from such programs if parents supervise what they watch. â€Å"Television is a powerful tool to teach things good or bad,† says John Murray, PhD, professor in the school of family studies and human services at Kansas State University. null But he cautions that too much television for school-aged children may have the opposite effect. â€Å"The rule of thumb is two hours per day,† says Murray. â€Å"Watching too much television takes away time children spend on exercise and other school-related activities. A related study, released this week in the September issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics, found that easy access to television, such as having a TV in a child’s room, leads to more time spent in front of the tube. The study author, Jean Wiecha, PhD, says her study backs up that 2-hour rule. â€Å"Parents should limit the time children spend watching television,† says Wiecha, deputy director of the prevention rese arch center on nutrition and physical activity at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. â€Å"More than 2 hours of viewing time may have health consequences for children, such as obesity. Technology runs in the veins of society. It is the fuel that drives our lives. It is an integral part of daily life. It has definitely benefited society. It has brought luxury in the life of every common man. Automation brought about by technology has saved human effort and time to a large extent. It has brought distant places closer and simplified information access. It has made the world a smaller place to live in. Let us look at some of the important areas, where technology has brought a positive change. Automation of Processes in the Industry and the Household: Technology has automated many of the critical processes in the industry as well as the household. Imagine the amount of labor that must have been involved in industrial processes when the concept of automation did not exist. Electronic gadgets have entered homes of the common man to rescue him from the boredom of daily chores. Imagine the amount of time people must be spending doing household chores during the time there were no machines and household appliances. It’s better not imagined. Today’s is the age of robotics. Machines can learn, adopt new things and perform tasks with near-human efficiency. Changed Modes of Transport: The automobile industry and technology are interwoven. Time has witnessed this industry evolve from mechanical scooters to automated aircraft. Animals were the only modes of transport in the olden days. Technology was the driving force behind the creation and design of the modern-day automobiles. Bicycles evolved into scooters and sports bikes. The idea of having four-wheeled modes of transport gave rise to the creation of cars. Modes of air and water transport came up, thanks to technology. Reduced Risk to Human Life: Machines have automated many crucial industrial processes. Machines are now taking up mundane jobs that were once done by human workers. Technology has evolved to an extent where machines can perform tasks that are not feasible for man, either because they are risky or life-threatening or because they are beyond human capacity. The use of advanced technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence has proven to be helpful in life-risking endeavors like mining and space exploration. Data Management and Information Retrieval: Computer technology, needless to say, has changed the face of the world. Computers can store, organize and manage huge amounts of data. They can process large amounts of information. Computers have given rise to the software industry, one of the most progressive industries of the world. The Internet that seeded from computer networking concepts is the most effective communication platform and the largest information base existing today. Impact on the Entertainment and Advertising Industries: The Internet has brought a positive change to the entertainment and advertising industries. Over the Internet, advertisements can reach the masses within seconds. Internet advertisements have changed equations of the advertising industry. Branding on the Internet is much more effective that other forms of product promotion. The entertainment media has progressed because of advancements in technology. Movies, songs, games are a few clicks away. People have begun using the Internet to watch and download movies, listen to music, play games and entertain themselves. Thanks to handy, mobile and user-friendly devices, all this has become really easy. Onset of the Digital Age: There’s hardly anything analog now, we live in a digital world, a digital age. Talk pixels and bytes. The digitization of information has made it possible for us to store it in a compact form. Ever wondered how gigabytes of data can be stored on a small chip? Digitization it is! Also, digitization enriches the quality of data storage. Digital voice and digital images are of a higher quality. Digital cameras and digital TVs provide users with an enriched picture quality, thus bettering user experience with technology. Communication Redefined: Cellular communication has revolutionized the communication industry. The conventional telephone, also a piece of technology, was one of the earliest technological developments in communication. Mobile phones have broadened the horizons of communication by enabling convenient long-distance calling and mobile use. Letters have taken a backseat and emails and cell phone messages have become the easiest means to connect. Owing to developments in technology, communication is wireless. Social networking is another defining factor here. It has given an all new dimension to communication, entertainment and recreation. Satellite Technology: Satellite communication is an important facet of technology. Satellite TV and satellite radio have eased the broadcasting of events across the globe. How else do you think could matches and concerts be broadcasted live? Not just TV and radio, even communication to ships and airplanes wouldn’t have been possible if not for satellite communication. Even your hand-held devices wouldn’t be of use, if not for radio communication. These were still a few fields influenced by technology. It is almost impossible to enlist all the positive effects of technology on society. The fast-advancing technology on the whole, has given impetus to developments in various fields and improved the quality of human life. There’s less risk, less effort, less mess. There’s more leisure, more ease and more speed – all because of that ten-letter word – not a word, a phenomenon – technology. How to cite Television Is Bad for Children, Essay examples

Lgbt Discrimination And The Lgbt Community Essay Example For Students

Lgbt Discrimination And The Lgbt Community Essay Transgender Discrimination in America Living in America, discrimination is something that has always been present in the American culture. Discrimination can come in many forms, and effects many associated with it. Although many communities have been discriminated against, the LGBT community is one who has experienced some of the harshest hatred in America. Amongst the LGBT community, members who are transgendered often get the most back lash for expressing their sexuality. Discrimination is something the transgendered community knows all too well. Many people seem to have problems with the fact that most members of the Transgender community perform either the sexual reassignment surgery to turn them into the opposite gender, or they get facial feminization surgeries and take hormones to increase their chances of being as close to the opposite sex as they can. Discrimination towards this community has increased due to our increase use of social media, and recent celebrities â€Å"Coming Out† as transgender. The use of social media discrimination towards the transgender community makes it easier to become victim to insecurities for simply being who they are. Discrimination towards this community also can be verbal, and sometimes violent. Transgender discrimination is an issue that is increasing in the American culture, and has made itself present in life in many ways for Transgendered Americans. One of the most common misconceptions made by most Americans is what represents someone as transgendered. Some common misconceptions are that a transgendered person is simply someone who dresses as the opposite sex. Although dressing as the opposite sex is a characteristic, there is much more to what makes someone a transgendered person. Al. .rience homelessness with about forty-four percent of them being black transgender (Moodie-Mills). Homelessness for black Trans is often caused from high rates of rejection, violence, and discrimination within their families, churches, and the black community (Moodie-Mills). Many black Trans come out at earlier ages, often while they are teens (Moodie-Mills). Coming out at earlier ages makes it harder for black Trans because they are still dependent on their families in most cases (Moodie-Mills). Rejection makes the level of vulnerability to go up which is the case for many black Trans (Moodie-Mills). Black transgendered often fall through the cracks when lumped under the gay or black umbrella (Moodie-Mills). In most ethnic communities more so in the African American community, the LGBT community is still seen as a taboo subject, and is less accepted (Moodie-Mills).

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Role of Globalization free essay sample

Globalization has a wide role to play worldwide. It has left back its footprints at every sphere of life.Globalization basically helps in maintaining evenness among the methods of living of people .It is the process of growing interconnections among various parts of the world due to which diverse nations are unified into a single society.Not only in India, but the interchange of world views and ideas has resulted in a major transformation of the lifestyle and living standard of people globally. Indian culture is no bar to this transformation process.India is known for its rich culture all across the world . We will write a custom essay sample on Role of Globalization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Indian culture is rich in its heritage ,resources and most importantly its welcoming approach of citizens . Globalization has inculcated westernization in Indian culture.It ha loosened up the deep rooted customs and traditions of India .It also has lead to spread of India prestigious culture throughout the world .Socially Indian culture has been affected adversely with globalization one of the major example is our family structure.Earlier people used to live in joint family but as modernization increased the concept of nuclear family started blooming especially in metropolitan cities .People have lost that power to adjust in joint family.Today’s generation has started increasing their own parents as burden such a kind of mentality has lead to increase in old age homes . Similarly marriage has lost its value.The number of divorces and extra marital affairs have increased at a very high rate over last few years .At the same time the western influence has bought the concepts like gender equality in Indian culture .westernization has bought the two genders at the same level.Earlier in Indian culture girls were not given freedom to educate or work but under the influence of globalization girls are not only educated now a days but have also came up with shining colors in various fields .We have the incorporated values of treating the guests as God, warm-hearted welcoming, greeting elders with due respect and a celebrating every small festival with great colour of enjoyment and togetherness. Such a wide gathering with full hue and light can hardly be seen today. People have highly restricted themselves in social interaction. The interaction in present generation is highly diplomatic considering the financial status and wealth. We have lost our social values and cheerful blessing of togetherness. The present generation are more happy celebrating Valentine’s Day rather than Holi and Diwali.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Free Essays on How Accurate Are Eyewitnesses

Abstract The experiment, Be a Juror was studied to explore the importance of eyewitness testimonies in a jury trial. This study looks at both a jury’s behavior and an eyewitness’s testimony in a mock trial. The focus is mainly on assessing the reliability of eyewitness identifications. For this experiment, Be a Juror there was a total of seventy-five participants. There were a total of sixty-six female participants and nine male participants. All of the participants in this study ages averaged 22 years old. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three possible conditions. The conditions consisted of the no eyewitness, discredited eyewitness, or refuted eyewitness. Twenty-nine participants were exposed to the no eyewitness condition. This experiment was to measure participant’s degree of perceived guilt in one of the three conditions. Based on previous research in eyewitness testimonies it is hypothesized that the presence of an eyewitness testimony increases the b elief of guilt, regardless of the witness’s credibility. Introduction: Research dealing with eyewitness testimony and related issues have been going on for decades. To this date there continues to be some debate as to the accuracy of eyewitness memory. The experiment, Be a Juror is a study conducted to explore the importance of eyewitness testimonies in a jury trial. This study looks at both the jury’s behavior and the eyewitness’s testimony in a jury trial. One focus is to assess the reliability of eyewitness identifications. This study is important because of the recent increase in technological advances that have overturned convictions using DNA results that countered eyewitness testimony. This establishes that there are some considerable errors in eyewitness testimonies that have led to many convictions. Earlier research studies attempted to focus on: finding ways to help witnesses in recalling information, the effects of leadi... Free Essays on How Accurate Are Eyewitnesses Free Essays on How Accurate Are Eyewitnesses Abstract The experiment, Be a Juror was studied to explore the importance of eyewitness testimonies in a jury trial. This study looks at both a jury’s behavior and an eyewitness’s testimony in a mock trial. The focus is mainly on assessing the reliability of eyewitness identifications. For this experiment, Be a Juror there was a total of seventy-five participants. There were a total of sixty-six female participants and nine male participants. All of the participants in this study ages averaged 22 years old. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three possible conditions. The conditions consisted of the no eyewitness, discredited eyewitness, or refuted eyewitness. Twenty-nine participants were exposed to the no eyewitness condition. This experiment was to measure participant’s degree of perceived guilt in one of the three conditions. Based on previous research in eyewitness testimonies it is hypothesized that the presence of an eyewitness testimony increases the b elief of guilt, regardless of the witness’s credibility. Introduction: Research dealing with eyewitness testimony and related issues have been going on for decades. To this date there continues to be some debate as to the accuracy of eyewitness memory. The experiment, Be a Juror is a study conducted to explore the importance of eyewitness testimonies in a jury trial. This study looks at both the jury’s behavior and the eyewitness’s testimony in a jury trial. One focus is to assess the reliability of eyewitness identifications. This study is important because of the recent increase in technological advances that have overturned convictions using DNA results that countered eyewitness testimony. This establishes that there are some considerable errors in eyewitness testimonies that have led to many convictions. Earlier research studies attempted to focus on: finding ways to help witnesses in recalling information, the effects of leadi...

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Combahee River Collective in the 1970s

Combahee River Collective in the 1970s The Combahee River Collective, a Boston-based organization active 1974 to 1980, was a collective of black feminists, including many lesbians, critical of white feminism.  Their statement has been a key influence on black feminism and on a social theory about race.  They examined the interplay of sexism, racism, economics, and heterosexism. As  black feminists and lesbians, we know that we have a very definite revolutionary task to perform and we are ready for the lifetime of work and struggles before us. History The Combahee River Collective first met in 1974. During â€Å"second-wave† feminism, many black feminists felt that the Women’s Liberation Movement was defined by and paid exclusive attention to white, middle-class women. The Combahee River Collective was a group of black feminists who wanted to clarify their place in the politics of feminism and to create a space apart from white women and black men. The Combahee River Collective held meetings and retreats throughout the 1970s. They attempted to develop a black feminist ideology and explore the shortcomings of â€Å"mainstream† feminism’s focus on sex and gender oppression above all other types of discrimination, while also examining sexism in the black community.  They also looked at lesbian analysis, particularly that of black lesbians, and Marxist and other anti-capitalist economic analyses.  They were critical of essentialist ideas about race, class, sex, and sexuality. They used techniques of consciousness-raising as well as research and discussion, and the retreats were also meant to be spiritually refreshing. Their approach looked at a simultaneity of oppressions rather than ranking and separating the oppressions at work, and in their work is rooted much of later work on intersectionality.  The term identity politics came out of the Combahee River Collectives work. Influences The name of the Collective comes from the Combahee River Raid of June 1863, which was led by Harriet Tubman and freed hundreds of slaves. The 1970s black feminists commemorated a significant historical event and a black feminist leader by selecting this name.  Barbara Smith is credited with suggesting the name. The Combahee River Collective has been  compared to the philosophy of Frances E.W. Harper, a highly educated 19th-century feminist who insisted on defining herself as black first and a woman second. The Combahee River Collective Statement The Combahee River Collective Statement was issued in 1982. The statement is an important piece of feminist theory and description of black feminism.  A key emphasis was on black womens liberation: Black women are inherently valuable.... The statement includes the following points: The Combahee River Collective is committed to fighting race, sex, and class oppression, and also recognized oppression based on sexuality.  These were analyzed not just as separate forces, but interacting forces. The synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives.As black feminists, members struggle alongside black men to fight racism, but against black men to fight sexism.If black women were free, everyone would be free, because that would mean all systems of oppression had been destroyed.The Collective would continue to examine politics, including racism in white women’s feminism.  But eliminating racism in white feminism, they said, was the work and accountability of white women.The members believe in the organization of work to benefit workers instead of bosses. The statement recognized many forerunners, including Harriet Tubman, whose military raid on the Combahee River was the basis of the name of the collective, Sojourner Truth, Frances E. W. Harper, Mary Church Terrell, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett - and many generations of unnamed and unknown women.  The statement highlighted that much of their work was forgotten because of the racism and elitism of the white feminists who dominated the feminist movement through history to that point. The statement recognized that, under the oppression of racism, the black community often valued traditional sex and economic roles as a stabilizing force, and expressed understanding of those black women who could only risk the struggle against racism. Combahee River Background The Combahee river is a short river in South Carolina, named for the Combahee tribe of Native Americans who preceded the Europeans in the area. The Combahee River area was the site of battles between the Native Americans and Europeans from 1715 to 1717. During the Revolutionary War, American troops fought foraging British soldiers there, in one of the last battles of the war. During the period before the Civil War, the river provided irrigation for rice fields of local plantations.  The Union Army occupied a nearby territory, and Harriet Tubman was asked to organize a raid to free slaves to strike at the local economy. She led the armed raid - a guerilla action, in later terms - which led to 750 escaping enslavement and becoming contraband, freed by the Union Army.  It was, until recent times, the only military campaign in American history planned and headed by a woman. Quote From the Statement The most general statement of our politics at the present time would be that we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression, and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking. The synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives. As Black women, we see Black feminism as the logical political movement to combat the manifold and simultaneous oppressions that all women of color face.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Cost Allocation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cost Allocation - Essay Example The City has implemented several programs aimed to support public safety. To start with, in response to the current size of population and the habitants’ calls for police, the Police Department will have 21 new patrol officers every year and more staff on critical times. In order to fulfill the needs of more numerous staff as well as to improve its efficiency, the Police Station will be provided with additional facilities. When it comes to human services, the main cost driver is an increased demand for such services as food assistance and emergency shelter in difficult economic times (City of Seattle 6). The City devotes a significant amount of money to the Housing First initiative, shelter and day-services programs, and food programs. Finally, given the high level of juvenile delinquency and a great number of deaths due to the availability of guns, the City will support the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, aimed to deal with the most vulnerable youth. These costs drivers were selected as they reflect the needs and priorities of the Seattle community. Public safety, human services, and youth violence prevention should be fully supported by the City as all of these services contribute significantly to the wellbeing of habitants. Identification of individual costs and cost drivers enables the Government to allocate adequate resources to each entity. A more uniform method of allocating costs may result in a disproportionate allocation of costs among the organizations, which would not reflect the actual needs of the society. The allocation of costs in the governmental setting, which involves complex analysis of the current economy and, thus, allows response to the priorities of the society rather than economic benefits for the companies and organizations involved. The US Department of Human Services has a special Division of Cost Allocation (DCA), the objective of which is to ensure that indirect costs paid by the

Monday, February 3, 2020

Unit 4 db mgmt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 4 db mgmt - Essay Example The DSS has four main components which include: a) User Interface, b) Database, c) Models and Analytical Tools, d) Architecture and network of DSS. The DSS contain a effective user interface, which is generally used by the decision makers to gain complete information from the database to make informed decisions. The database is used to save all the high quality information and to keep track of all the available data. Also, DSS uses mathematical models and tools that mainly relate to the supply chain activities. One of the best examples of the use of the decision support systems include that of Frito Lays, which used the DSS to develop hand held computers which was given to the route sales individuals to collect data from all the sales transactions. Also this helped the company keep a centralized control system although making the decision making decentralized (Power, 2002). This change to the company was a turning point and helped the company improve in the overall

Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Construction Quality Assessment System Construction Essay

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