Saturday, August 31, 2019

Reading Cap 3 Market Leader

READING CAP 3 A) What area of business do you think the company American International Group (AIG) is envolved in’ a) Tobacco b) Insurance c) Oil d) Packaging B) What dot he following people mentioned in the article: Maurice Greenberg: Chairman Corneluis Vander: founder Edmund Tse: Runs Asian operations C) What do the following numbers in the main fthe article refers to? 166. – capitalisation 1992- Graduate licence 1919- Year of foundation in shangai 80,000- # of employees 130. -# of countries D) According to the article what are the main factors responsible for AIG? s success in Asia?R= because relationships in government E) Read the article and answer these questions 1. -What objective does AIG have in china? Increase the share 2. -What does Mr Greenberg see as his role in the company? As a employee 3. – Why in Asia important to AIG? The respect and valuies F) Find three verbs in the article which combine with the noun relationships to mean develop. Build Turni ng Success G) Find phrases (adjective and noun) in the article which mean the following 1. -Unused possibilities -odds 2. -continuing in the same place for a great length of time- permanency 3. -unlimited entry- . -representative connected to a company– image 5. -developing sales areas – develop training 6. -important talks- discussion 7. -most important countries – main advantage H) Discuss these questions 1. -what can spoil relations between companies? -. – missunderstoods 2. -a foreign company is opening a branch in your country. What factors should it consider? .- share of market 3. – In your experience are certain nationalities better at building relationship than others? If so which ones? American and japannesse 4. -How can you build good business relationships?. Favours and respect

Friday, August 30, 2019

Resposibilities of a Team Leader Essay

My role is within the finance function and I supervise one Team Administrator but I do often take the lead within finance projects. I currently work in Personal Care and Support within Runnymede Social Care Team. The team delivers social care services for people aged 18 +. . Responsibilities of a Team Leader 1.To be responsible and accountable for the work and productivity of the team A team manager needs to be responsible for decisions made which guide the team to complete tasks. Decisions are normally made by gathering information and requesting feedback. However, there are time when it will be necessary, due to short time constraints that a Team Leader will need to make a decision on the spot using their own knowledge and experience. 2.To be aware of policies and procedures and to communicate any changes to staff Team Leaders need to be aware of policies and procedures to be able to guide staff to complete tasks within the remit of the department and County Council. They should also make staff aware of any changes. 3.Solve issues, conflict within the team and dealing with under performance. Team Leaders need to put measures in place to deal with underperformance. This should involve discussion with the individual involved, setting short term goals and monitoring progress. Any training needs should be identified and appropriate action taken to ensure the individual is equipped to complete the tasks required. 4.Chair Team Meetings Team Leaders should chair effective meetings by giving clear instructions when necessary, listening to and acting upon feed back and issuing a record of the meeting with action points for relevant staff with clear deadlines. Two examples which would need higher authority. 1. A team member wishes to undertake training which is not organised by Surrey County Council. The expenditure would have to be authorised by a senior manager. 2. If issues could not be solved with under performance in an informal basis then a senior manager would need to make the decision to take a formal route. Feedback on own performance I receive feedback on my own performance within my appraisal last April. Goals were agreed and monitored throughout the year. A strength that was identified was my ability to meet tight deadlines demonstrated by my completion on our â€Å"month end† process by the deadline each month. An area for improvement is my lack of confidence at public speaking. I am required to complete finance inductions with Care Managers and I found myself getting flustered and not sounding confident in my knowledge. Establishing Trust Trust can be established by effective communication and acting upon any issues with the team or individuals. Communicating openly and honestly without distorting information keeping promises and commitments.

Comparison of the systems Essay

In this assignment you describe and compare the circulatory, skeletal, and respiratory systems of sharks, iguanas, eagles, and humans. Answer each of the following questions in 25 to 50 words. Circulatory System Shark How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s circulatory system? Include any unique characteristics. The shark’s heart which is a major component in its circulatory system is shaped like an S and is located in the head region. The sharks hear has 2 chambers and atrium and a ventricle. Blood is pumped by the heart through the afferent brachial arteries to capillaries in the gills where the blood is oxygenated. How does this animal’s circulatory system work? The circulatory system centers around the heart where blood is pumped through arteries then through tissues of the body to distribute nutrients throughout the body and back to the heart. Iguana How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s circulatory system? Include any unique characteristics. The Iguana has a unique situation when it comes to the circulatory system because the Iguana has a 3 chamber heart. Two of the chambers of the Iguana’s heart are atria and one is ventricle. The ventricle has the job of keeping oxygenated blood from being mixed in with de-oxygenated blood. How does this animal’s circulatory system work?Since the Iguana has a 3  chambered heart it would not be uncommon for the Iguana to have a circulatory system that is double. Because the Iguana has a double circulatory system this causes blood to have to pass through the heart twice. Blood first flows from the heart of the Iguana to the lungs and then back to the heart where it is then distributed throughout the Iguana’s body using tissues, after the blood leaves tissues it flows back to the heart. Eagle How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s circulatory system? Include any unique characteristics. How does this animal’s circulatory system work? Human How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s circulatory system? Include any unique characteristics. The human circulatory system is like a recycling system. The heart is a main part of the circulatory system. The heart pumps to help blood move throughout vessels in the body. Blood vessels which include arteries carry blood from the heart to tissues in the body to keep them alive. Veins carry blood back to the heart from the tissues and capillaries which are tiny veins that connect the arteries and veins. The primary role of blood in the circulatory system is to transport substances to and from all parts of the body How does this animal’s circulatory system work? As blood moves throughout the circulatory system it is acting as a transporter picking up and dropping off substances as it flows. Oxygen is picked up from the lungs and nutrients from the food digested is picked up from the intestines and is delivered to the heart where it is sorted and redistributed to the body getting rid of things the body doesn’t need in the process. What is similar in all of these circulatory systems? What is different in all of these circulatory systems? Respiratory System Shark How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s respiratory system? Include any unique characteristics. Sharks can respire by pumping water over its gills. When the shark open and closes its mouth water enters into the mouth then the gill chambers. Water then exits through gill slits, while in the gills blood filiments absorbs oxygen from the incoming water. How does this animal’s respiratory system work? A sharks respiratory system has no blood vessels and receive its oxygen directly from surrounding tissues and fluids Iguana How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s respiratory system? Include any unique characteristics. How does this animal’s respiratory system work? Eagle How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s respiratory system? Include any unique characteristics. How does this animal’s respiratory system work? Human How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s respiratory system? Include any unique characteristics. The respiratory  system of humans is quite complex as air enters into the human body it comes into contact with the diaphragm and other muscles of the thorax known as the chest that acts as an air pump. When the air enters the lungs which constitute as the exchange surface taking from the air what the body needs and getting rid of what it does not. After the air has entered the lungs and needed CO2 and O2 is extracted air then leaves through airways like the nose, mouth trachea and bronchi. How does this animal’s respiratory system work? The human respiratory system takes the air that enters in to the human body and extract needed oxygen from the air and distributes it throughout the body. The human respiratory system also acts as a protector from unsafe particles that may be taken in. The human respiratory system will get rid of all bad or unneeded air. What is similar in all of these respiratory systems? What is different in all of these respiratory systems? Skeletal System Shark How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s skeletal system? Include any unique characteristics. Sharks belong to a special group of fish called Elasmobranchs which are fish with no bones. A shark’s skeleton is completely made up of cartilage. Some parts of the shark’s skeleton like the vertebrae are calcified. How does this animal’s skeletal system work? The shark’s cartilage does not contain any blood vessels so it receives its oxygen directly from surrounding tissue and fluids. If a shark does not constantly move it will sink, which is where it cartilage skeleton comes in handy giving the shark the ability to float. A complete cartilage skeleton allows the shark to be very quick and agile. Iguana How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s skeletal system? Include any unique characteristics. How does this animal’s skeletal system work? Eagle How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s skeletal system? Include any unique characteristics. How does this animal’s skeletal system work? Human How would you describe the structure and function of this animal’s skeletal system? Include any unique characteristics. The human skeleton is made up of mostly rigid brittle bone. The human skeleton is mostly cartilage as babies but changes to bone as humans get older. Cartilage is a firm but flexible material and it is hard but not brittle. The human skeleton needs a combination of rigidity and flexibility and must provide a strong foundation for skeletal muscles. Cartilage is in places where firmness and flexibility are needed such as connections between individual bones. How does this animal’s skeletal system work? Human skeletal system works by the use of contracting muscles. When muscles generate force by contracting or shortening to move the human skeleton the system is at work. Skeletal muscles are attached to the bones by means of tendons which are tough bands. Muscles are a pulling not a pushing force to create movement. What is similar in all of these skeletal systems? What is different in all of these skeletal systems?

Thursday, August 29, 2019

My Experiments in Communication Skills Personal Statement

My Experiments in Communication Skills - Personal Statement Example Social workers are designated to collect information from various sources related to a particular issue and sort out the relatively relevant ones for the references according to the requirements of the context. Involvement of verbal, written and non-verbal elements of communication makes the interaction more feasible for better understanding the situations for optimum resolution. While negotiating the problems of individuals with possible solutions, suggestions are also required from experts in the concerned field of excellence. Most of the contexts related to the social worker’s career demand consultations for better conclusions. The ability to communicate well is required for listening to the issues through interpersonal interactions and collecting the resources for developing a beneficial solution from expert opinions. When I personally evaluate my own potentials to the effect of communication, I find some defects in my oral as well as written patterns. These problems are identified with a large majority – while some of them speak rather quickly it lacks clarity of the listener. Cultural differences and the influences of the developmental stages are considered as the factors responsible for most of this condition. On the other hand, while written communication is concerned, lack of professional experience pulls me back from making most of the effect. I understand that my abilities to organize the message and chronologically listen to the information have to be enhanced. These potential variables are those that make a professional social worker distinctively able to interpret and resolve issues of clients. With the help of this project, I have developed the methods of personal assessment of communication abilities and designed certain tools to modify my present skill level. I think following certain principles like convincing nature, patient and active listening, abstinence form argument, and well-timed presentation of ideas as the basic guidelines for a possible improvement.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Is an Indefinite Suspension for Just Cause Essay

Is an Indefinite Suspension for Just Cause - Essay Example 1). 2. What is the rule about off-duty conduct in regard to employee discipline? According to Koenig (2007), â€Å"the general rule is that an employer cannot discipline an employee for off-duty conduct† (1). The discourse specifically indicated that the employer have options to impose work rules that could penalize off-duty conduct, specifically in cases where the act of the employee would have significant effects and repercussions on the company, to wit: â€Å"reflects adversely on the employer, impairs relations with the public and customers, or creates friction within the work place† (Koenig, 2007, 1). 3. What type of evidence are the emails received from employees about Gates’ on duty behavior? Should the evidence be considered by the arbitrator? Why or why not? Fell (2008) indicated that emails are â€Å"a form of documentary evidence and can be admitted as evidence in court in the same way as can other forms of documentary evidence.   However, as with o ther forms of evidence, the reliability of e-mail evidence will be subject to scrutiny† (par. 2). In the case of Gates where employees were stated to have reported that â€Å"Gates was selling drugs to other persons in the plant, but are not willing to testify in the arbitration hearing† (Holley, Jennings and Wolters, 2008, 555).

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Answer the questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Answer the questions - Assignment Example Under such bacterial attack, the body is unable to fight back because of weakened immunity. Because of stress, the brain functioning gets affected negatively as the learning capability of individuals and memory work poorly. The productiveness of an individual is also affected because of stress. Stress hits the brain due to which, people are unable to feel pleasure in anything. The chronic stress and telomeres are connected because chronic stress shortens the telomeres due to which, the aging process is fast. In fact, the stress hormones speed up the shortening of telomeres. The medically serious aging is because of chronic stress. According to the Dutch Hunger Winter study, the children born with fetal stress undergo the consequences of this stress even in their late lives; they have augmented risks of heart diseases, poor health and hypercholesterolemia. Therefore, the health of the children who underwent fetal stress, have dire health consequences. In the tuberculosis crisis, the alpha male baboons, the one who were aggressive and dominant got killed while the other baboons that were left behind led a more calm and non-aggressive life. The troupe lived in much harmony due to which, the stress levels were reduced. The lesson that can be learned here is that people do not worry about their status in society until others make them worried. It means that human beings working in any rank can be satisfied and less stressed out if society does not humiliate them about their ranks. The aggressive people pressurize others due to which, there is more stress with people of lower statuses. The baboons teach us about stress management that we should be more giving than receiving, should have social affiliations, should be friendly and accommodative in place of dominating, and lastly, we should be appreciative and should allow others to express themselves. A stress free life is essential for healthy

Monday, August 26, 2019

Honest Graft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Honest Graft - Essay Example believed that an honest graft is one which is because of the foreseeing power of an individual and it does not involve the money of treasury or the state government. He described honest graft as one in which an individual foresees an upcoming opportunity and avails it for his benefit. For example if the individual realizes that the government may be wanting space to build a park on a specific land, he would buy that land before hand so that he can sell it later on a higher price. Whereas in dishonest graft there is involvement of black money that is from sources such as gambling and treasury. An example of this is when an individual steals money from the treasury and utilizes it for his own use. I agree with Plunkitt as the honest graft can be a business in itself and this can be done by any individual who knows how to avail opportunities. Plunkitt had his own standpoint in politics. He criticized the reformers and their role in politics in the mid to late 1800’s. He believed that reformers were just the beginners in the game of politics. They were not able to interpret the bluffs and games around which the whole scenario of politics revolved. He opined that they were not able to clean up the government and politics because these individuals who were not even trained for politics tried to enter politics and change the whole scenario. Usually these individuals came out successfully in the beginning but gradually all these reformers had to exit because they were not capable of handling the overall scenario of politics. Plunkitt claimed that his party and all its members were dedicated to their country and the well being of its individuals. Their patriotism could clearly be seen in the incidents quoted in the book when the party members celebrated their independence like nobody else did. As described â€Å"Four hours under a big silk hat in a hall where the heat registers 110 and the smoke 250!† (RIORDIN, Chapter 17) Here it can be clearly seen that the leader

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Genre Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Genre Analysis - Essay Example Despite this however, the ultimate goal of all the reviews is directed to the customer. Other reviews are focused on the competitors of a particular commodity. For instance, in the electronics manufacturing industry, there are many companies which are involved in the manufacture of laptops and notebooks. All these compete for the same market share and the same customers. In order to win then trust of customers and win superiority in the battle for market share, companies can do anything including bribery of the review corporates and personnel to favour them in their columns. Reviews that are focused on the competitors are meant to show the level of success of a particular company and how best it has prospered in its innovation department, research and development activities. This is an enticing element for loyal customers of other brands. Business is business, and marketers, Chief Executives and management of all the companies are ready to do anything to increase the volumes of their sales. What makes the difference is how strict the company is while following the ethics of doing business. Apple Company which manufactures notebooks, laptops and iPads faces competition from other manufacturers such as, Harriett Packer Company which is a major manufacture of laptops, desktops and smartphones, Acer, Dell, Toshiba, Samsung, IBM, and Siemens among others. For apple to win competition in such a highly competitive market, it has to device many ways of winning in their competition. Free markets are faced by this problem as they desperately seek to find a way of marketing their products. When reviews are meant to help a company to make a sale or improve on its sales volume, they are mostly biased and do not portray the actual truth about the product. Such reviews are meant to attract customers to buy that product from the retailers and thus creating marketing opportunities for the company. Mostly, such companies pay product reviewers to come up with a review that favour s their company and products. As a result, people are led to believe that a particular review is genuine and actually portrays the actual condition and status of the products which is contrary to the reality. Such reviews include those that have a rating that is based on just a theoretical analysis with minimal tests. Such mischiefs by companies have increasingly rendered the reviews of products almost insignificant to the people. Whether used as a marketing tool or for generous reasons, reviews are now being viewed with scepticism by the people. Moreover, people rarely believe in the information provided by the reviews, a reason why most people opt to stick to the most popular and trusted brands. Most reviews cover the prices of the product, general performance and reliability, its improvement in case it is a series of production, features of the product and the availability. Moreover, others compare a particular product with that of other companies. In the â€Å"apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display† review by Cnet, the author takes a survey of various elements and features of the computer that are either appealing or annoying about the computer. Customers are mostly concerned with the reasons as to why the computer was awarded a rating of out of five by the editor, subsequently

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Essay-developmental experiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

-developmental experiences - Essay Example Vygotsky focuses on development across the entire life span rather than development in stages and emphasizes the importance of the social environment within which a person grows as being a factor in development. He believed that the mental development of a human being is in a constantly evolving stage and culture is the primary factor that determines how an individual will develop.(Hahn, No Date). Therefore his theory ascribes a great deal of importance to the support systems that are established for a child to grow and develop; family and society are very important in contributing to the development of the individual. According to Vygotsky, â€Å"Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory and to the formulation of ideas. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals.† (Vygotsky 1978:57) This highlights the importance that Vygotsky placed upon social interactions and relationships as a factor in both child and adult development. The kind of development that a child will have and the ability that will exist to function effectively as an adult. This is particularly applicable in my life because the person I have become is a reflection of many of the experiences I have had in early adulthood, which have shaped events as they stand now. I had a child at seventeen, was married and then divorced at eighteen. My relationship with my short term husband was a rocky one where there is a constant source of conflict that is generated between us almost all the time. My life remained traumatic after my divorce and was symbolized by constant changes and challenges. I moved into four different houses within the short space of two years, worked at a lot of jobs and had several different relationships during which I fell

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Criminal Trial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Criminal Trial - Essay Example When the trial begins, the prosecution and the defense make their opening statements to the jury. The purpose of these statements are to â€Å"provide an outline of the case that each side expects to prove (Bergman & Barrett, 2009).† The statements only include what the attorneys know that they can present to the jury. The prosecutor then presents its principal case by means of direct examination of prosecution witnesses by the prosecutor themselves. At this time, the defense is allowed to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses; the prosecution is then allowed to re-examine its witnesses. After this procedure, the prosecution is done with presenting their case. The defense is then given the chance to dismiss the charges if they feel that the prosecution failed at providing enough relevant evidence to support a guilty verdict for the person being charged. The judge denies the motion to dismiss, an act that is rare but still seen. It is now the defense’s turn to present their case through means of direct examination of the defense witnesses. The prosecutor is given the opportunity to cross-examine the defense witnesses, followed by a re-examination of the defense witnesses. The defense is then finished presenting their case. The prosecution gives its closing argument, â€Å"summarizing the evidence as the prosecution sees it and explaining why the jury should render a guilty verdict (Neubauer, 2010).† The defense makes a similar closing argument, though they explain to the jury why they should not render a guilty verdict, or, at the very least, declare a guilty verdict on a lesser charge, known as a plea bargain. The prosecution is offered a final closing argument if they wish to argue their plausible evidence that supports a guilty verdict. The jury is given instructions by the judge on what law to apply to the case and how they should carry out their duties. The jury deliberates and attempts to reach a verdict; in most cases, a unanimous agreement

Thursday, August 22, 2019

IT - Bluetooth Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IT - Bluetooth Technology - Essay Example Development of Bluetooth technology Bluetooth technology is a key short-range communications technology or wireless protocol, which can be used to connect wide range of electronic devices including mobile phones, laptops, etc, when they are close to each other. After the connection is made, the technology can be used to securely transfer various types of files or data, and also can be used as a form of communication. â€Å"Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short wavelength radio transmissions) from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs) with high levels of security.† (â€Å"Bluetooth†). Short wavelength radio transmission in the sense, the data to be sent is broken down into small parts, and then sent through number of bands, without any synchronization issues. That is, Bluetooth adopts a â€Å"radio technology called frequency-hopping spread spectrum, which chops up th e data being sent and transmits chunks of it on up to 79 bands (1 MHz each; centered from 2402 to 2480 MHz) in the range 2,400-2,483.5 MHz (allowing for guard bands).† (â€Å"Bluetooth†). This technology was first developed by the telecom company, Ericsson in the year 1994 with the main intent of developing a wireless technology that can be an alternative to the RS-232 cables. ... SIG only oversees the formulation of the various Bluetooth specifications and importantly manages the standards for the qualification program. That is, companies can market their electronic devices as a Bluetooth-enabled device only if they fulfill the standards set by the SIG. â€Å"Bluetooth is an open technology standard, meaning that anyone who joins the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and adheres to well-outlined standards can create Bluetooth devices.† (McClain). Since its establishment in 1998, the SIG has been modifying and upgrading its technology and the features associated with it, in order to facilitate faster and better performance. Starting from Bluetooth v1.0 and v1.0B, the versions have evolved over the years, with v4.0 being the latest one and it has high speed and low energy features. The speed is based on Wi-Fi and so it is optimum and its low energy feature can operate the devices for many months or even years using just a small coin-cell batteries. (†Å"Bluetooth 4.0†). With these advancements, the capabilities of the many electronic devices can be accentuated. More and more electronic devices are being introduced in the market, with advanced technologies and optimal features. The Bluetooth technologies and the related features are being incorporated in maximum of these devices. Because of that incorporation, the people using these devices are getting optimal benefits. Thus, it is important to study this key technology and how it can provide advantages over other wireless technologies. Comparison of IrDA and Bluetooth Infrared Technology functions with the aid of certain hardware incorporated with software, both of which will be used to send as well as receive data through

Toyota Product Development System Essay Example for Free

Toyota Product Development System Essay Toyota’s LPDS starts with the customer who is represented by the Chief Engineer. Toyota uses the Chief Engineer’s concept paper as a guiding tool to align thinking on the planning process. They very efficiently use the Obeya (big room) to bring together the members of divergent teams and allows them to function as a unit. The teams are structured so that all of the voices that need to be heard, from the designers to the managers of the factory, who can provide input on the impact decisions will have on the workers and the final produce, are there. One of the advantages to Toyota’s process is that it allows them to retain valuable employees. Their system of â€Å"Creating a Leveled Product Development Process Flow† means that workers will not be overworked and will be able to focus their full attention on the project at hand. When the project is finished, they are provided with new challenges to help them grow. The process of innovation is woven into the fabric of the organization. Toyota supplements its processes with a culture that is finely aligned with the process. They have also developed a number of tools to serve the process such as the already mentioned Obeya, a system of checklists which until recently were kept in three ring binders, Hansei, teardowns, A3 reports which summarize problems and help to ensure alignment. All of the processes at Toyota are highly standardized, and their culture ensures that the standardization process continues. Toyota has a corporate structure that reinforces and perpetuates itself. Sakicki Toyoda learned the loom business from the ground up, and this instilled in him a belief that to be successful, one must understand all aspects of the business. He used this knowledge to build an empire and it his conviction that one must learn by doing that still guides the thinking of Toyota employees. Power is gained through merit with all engineers working their way up â€Å"through the ranks. † Unlike other automakers who hire the best and brightest out of college and immediately give them a great deal of responsibility, Toyota takes the best and brightest (discovered through a rigorous and highly selective process) and has them go through a mentoring system where they are judged at each phase of the training. It is a socialization process that produces an employee who is trained in Toyota standards and procedures. It takes many years for a newcomer to be given a large responsibility such as a Chief Engineer. Consequently, the Chief Engineer is imbued with respect, as the entire organization knows that person has obtained the rank through perseverance, hard work, accomplishment and a deep understanding of the â€Å"Toyota Way. † Toyota is fiercely loyal to its employees, retaining them even in times of economic downturn. Even employees who are not living up to Toyota’s exacting standards are retained, however, they are given jobs with no responsibility; a great humiliation in an environment that values achievement. This has given Toyota a reputation as an excellent employer, and jobs there are highly prized. One realizes when one takes a job at Toyota that you are a highly valued part of the family, and the success of the rest of the family rests directly with you. This surely makes new employees dig into their work with great zest and humility. By studying from the ground up, the workers are able to gain insight into the whole development process. They can see how their work literally fits into the larger structure. This harmony is further reinforced by their mantra of â€Å"Customer First. † When trade-offs are presented, the overruling concern is that of the designer, as the designer is the customer. For items that are not necessarily â€Å"Customer First† issues, Toyota has developed â€Å"trade-off curves† and decision matrices to standardize decision-making. PROCESS PRINCIPLES Anyone who has spent a long time at Toyota will have absorbed the Toyota Way. † The processes of the LPDS will be firmly engrained in minds of the employees. It is difficult to separate the â€Å"lean thinking† of Toyota employees from the LDPS. They reinforce each other. The process principles of LPDS are a manifestation of the lean thinking that is a part of Toyota’s culture. By defining the customer as the starting point of the entire LPDS process, Toyota is able to align the thinking of the entire organization. It also sets the goal of eliminating waste to greater serve the needs of the customer. Other companies have tried to adopt Toyota’s processes without success. This is due to the fact that the process is only one part of Toyota’s success, the other, and in some instances, more compelling part of the success, is Toyota’s ability to create a culture indoctrinated in that process. The culture subverts ego, and turns problems into learning opportunities. Toyota has developed the most effective â€Å"knowledge job shop† in the automotive industry. It beauty lies in its ability to bring together representatives of all facets of the production process in harmony. In thinking about Goldratt’s principle of identifying and bottlenecks, you can see that Toyota has developed a process to dramatically reduce the number of bottlenecks it will face. By using standardization of parts and platforms and bringing in the right representatives to the Obeya to discuss problems before they are built into the design, Toyota is able to smooth out the potential bottlenecks before they occur. There is a great deal of alignment between all members of the team, so one is not operating in a vacuum; trying to solve problems without seeing how your solution fits into the larger product. Toyota’s focus on a leveled product development process also helps to eliminate bottlenecks by keeping the batches of work at a manageable level, eliminating variability and keeps utilization levels constant. As mentioned before, standardization is extremely important in creating a successful innovation environment. Standardization creates a common language that fosters greater communication. It even promotes communication of best practices over time as the best practices are engrained in the process by being adopted a standards. It enhances the scheduling process by allowing anticipation in the schedule, which in turn leads to great synchronization of efforts. It allows platforms, technology and subsystems to be reused in different designs saving time and money. As a result of their standardization process, Toyota is often able to eliminate the expensive prototyping phase of vehicle development. This can be done because with so many â€Å"tried and true† components being used in consistent ways, prototyping would be redundant. Standardization is one the key element to Toyotas speed in developing new vehicles. PEOPLE PRINICPLES Toyota uses a matrix system rather than a skunk works operation to develop new vehicles, Toyota’s LPDS is fully integrated into Toyota’s structure. They assemble a cross functional team that has representatives from the full range of functions involve with design, manufacturing and sales. Unlike other cross functional teams, where there is some ambiguity as to who the employee serves, Toyota is able to get an extremely high level of productivity out of them. This is due to several factors. Toyota’s culture where employees have a high level of trust for one another and deep understanding of the process thanks to the leadership to the Chief Engineer. The Chief Engineer (CE) is the head of the development project. This position is given to a senior engineer with a proven track record as an outstanding engineer and as one who is successful in using the â€Å"Toyota Way. † Management chooses CEs based on their ability to handle challenges and then tasks them with developing a vehicle that satisfies an overarching strategic direction. The CE acts as the voice of the customer who is the main focus of the LPDS. As such, the CE articulates the overall concept for the vehicle in a concept paper. This concept paper is the guiding principle that aligns the entire team working on the project. The CE is not the direct supervisor of the engineers working on the program, however, the CE does have full responsibility for the design’s success from development through sales and the concept paper ensures accountability. Unlike the â€Å"heavyweight project managers† the CE is imbued with more authority. Even without direct supervisory responsibilities, the position of CE is highly revered within the Toyota organization and commands great respect. Many within the Toyota family strive to achieve the role of CE. In fact, it is the continual striving for excellence that has helped Toyota to develop and maintain a culture of continuous learning. When an employee starts at Toyota, they undergo a long mentoring and socialization process. The socialization process that Toyota employees go through instills them with the spirit of Kaizen, which says that there is always an opportunity to learn and that learning is ongoing. This is reinforced by Toyotas practices of Hansei (reflection). Toyota builds in time and encourages its workers to step back and reflect on the work that they are doing. Toyota’s culture that embraces problems, because problems combined with Hansei can lead to Kaizen. This gives them a huge advantage over American car companies were problems are not valued and people will often cover up problems that they are having in order to maintain their status. By not embracing their problems, the problems get compounded as they are often discovered too late. TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY The best thinking to be used in choosing supporting technology is to think about it in terms the broader framework of your company’s people and processes. Toyota uses this thinking very effectively. At Toyota, technologies do not stand alone. On the contrary, their product development systems are all seamlessly integrated into their V-Comm system. This enables information to be passed quickly and efficiently to all team members. Toyota also adheres to a belief that technology should support your processes and not drive it. Consistency of process is valued at Toyota more highly than keeping up with the latest advancement. They chose technology to solve specific problems and do not look for a one size fits all solution. Finally, Toyota makes sure that the technological solutions are the right size for the problem rather than constantly going for the biggest and best. While Toyota uses this principled approach to technology, their tools that support successful innovation and organizational learning are not technology driven. Along with the V-Comm system mentioned earlier One of the first tools that is used is the CE’s concept paper. This paper is used to align the thinking of the product development team. It provides enough guidance that it allows the team to work in harmony, but at the same time, it gives the team enough flexibility that they are able to be creative. They also use a simple device called the A3 report, which distills problems and solutions down to their essence. It is really the process of reducing a problem to one sheet of paper that helps to hone the thinking and promote learning. However, the A3 also facilitates increased communication. They also use teardown analysis performed by the engineers who are working on the project and have a system of checklists that provide guidelines for product design. One of the most effective tools in Toyota’s arsenal is their constant and codified post-mortem process of Hansei. The standardization of Toyota’s processes allows the learning from this reflection to be captured and implemented. THREE CONCEPTS In looking at Toyota, one might say that they are an ambidextrous organization. Or one could say that they are successful because they have achieved a strong balance between the red and green quadrants of the Competing Values Framework. Much like Dell computers, Toyota’s culture looks very red on the surface. The strict adherence to checklists and standardization seem to indicate a company that is focused on control. But like Dell, the rigorous structures that the put in place are actually innovative (green). And in fact, the reason that Toyota and Dell are able to be successfully innovative is that they have these supporting structures in place. It is an interesting dichotomy to be at once extremely controlled and very innovative. However, by balancing these two aspects of the corporate culture, Toyota has gained great success. Toyota has also developed strategies that help it to avoid the â€Å"enemies of innovation†. First they use standardization to speed the innovation process to avoid lengthy development times. Second, by using tools like the concept paper, the Obeya, Hansei and standardization they are able to coordinate their efforts to a high degree. Third, they have come to grips with the risks that they are willing to take and have a high degree of trust throughout the organization. Finally, the CE truly understands the customer and has done much anthropological work to foster that understanding. KEY TAKE-AWAYS There were three main take-aways I gained from reading â€Å"The Toyota Product Development System: 1. Creating a culture that is aligned with your strategic goals is the greatest goal a manager could achieve. The Toyota LPDS works because it is engrained in the culture of the organization. The great reward for an engineer is to become a CE and lead a team in producing something that will best serve the needs of the customer. In order to become a CE, you have to demonstrate that you can work effectively within the systems of Toyota. This gives one a great incentive to work within the structure of Toyotas system. 2. Do not let technology drive your process, let your process drive technology. I was amazed to learn that a company with such advanced capabilities in development used checklist bound in three-ring binders to ensure that its processes were followed. It seems that most people, including myself, feel that newer and faster technology will lead to productivity breakthroughs. We are usually disappointed with the results. Toyota shows us that the problem is that technology without a solid process to back it up seldom works. If one can find technology that will improve a successful process, then it has great potential to have that breakthrough quality we expect. Toyota did this with their V-Comm system, which made the information previously stored in three-ring binders more accessible. 3. Structure leads to greater innovation It always seem counter-intuitive to me that by being more structured, one could be more creative. Having been trained as an artist, I often bristled at structure and standardization as I felt it stifled creativity. But Toyota’s LPDS made me realize that structure is the platform that allows innovation to happen. I then began to realize that within jazz music, there is a great deal of standardization. Jazz musicians spend years studying chord progressions, scales and modes and learning the songs that make up the jazz repertoire. They also spend years listening to other players and absorbing many of their ideas. This provides a foundation for musicians to communicate. Many people often ask me how it is that a group of jazz musicians who have never met before can come together for the first time and create great music together. It is because of the standardization of the repertoire that they are able to do that. The musicians know and understand the structure of a song and the â€Å"rules† for performing. This provides them with a common language to communicate their ideas to each other. In my own business, I see increasing our standardization preventing us from constantly reinventing the wheel. It is the best ways to promote and capture organization learning. The great challenge will be to change the culture, which I have created, from one that is adverse to structure to one that embraces it.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Soft Sediment Communities

Soft Sediment Communities CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview of Soft Sediment Communities Soft sediments are the most common marine habitat on earth (Wilson, 1990). The habitats include sandy beaches, estuaries, mudflats and salt marshes. The communities consist of organisms which live on, or in, the bottom of a water body. There are generally four types of soft sediment communities which can be classified according to their size. They are microbenthos (1.0 mm) and megabenthos (> 10.0 mm). This study is focused on macrofauna, also known as macrobenthos. They are invertebrates that live on or in sediment, or attached to hard substrates. The common soft-sediment communities that can be found in intertidal areas are Annelida, Crustacea and Mollusca (Munari Mistri, 2008). Estuarine and coastal ecosystems consist of important components of macrofauna (Borja et al., 2000). They connect primary producersand organic matter sources such as phytoplankton and detritus apart from being economically, ecological, and recreationally importantfish and crustaceans (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al., 2007; Bremner, 2008).Soft sediment communities provide many ecosystem services that help to maintain good water and sediment quality (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al., 2007). Filter feeders such as bivalves remove particles from the water column, which may result in enhanced water clarity (MacIsaac, 1996). Given the importance of light in shallow water estuarine ecosystems, filter feeding may improve shallow water habitat for submerged aquatic plants and benthic microalgae. The degradation of some pollutants is enhanced by sediment mixing (bioturbation) of the infaunal macrobenthos due to stimulation ofmicrobial processes. The enhanced coupling of key nitrogen transformations in the presence of benthic macrofauna can lead to the production of nitrogen gas, which escapes to the atmosphere, thereby reducing nitrogen loading in the ecosystem. Macrobenthos have been used for decades asindicators of environmental statusand trends in estuaries and coastal areas because infauna are mostly sedentary organisms and they respond to local environmental impacts (Pearson Rosenberg, 1978; Borja et al., 2000; Wildsmith et al., 2009, 2011). They cover a wide range of physiological tolerances, living positions, type of feeding and trophic interactions (Elliott et al., 2002). Macrobenthic assemblages respond relatively quickly to habitat disturbances (Borja et al., 2000). They are important components of aquaticfood webs (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al., 2007)and they affect transport and cycling of nutrients and toxicants. In addition, there are data on their patterns of variation, their responses to different forms of disturbance are known and they show similar responses at different levels of taxonomic resolution (Warwick, 1988). They form an important component of the estuarine food-web, supporting commercial and non-commercial species. They therefore represent an ideal assemblage to measure environmental change and will continue to be used to represent an important biological component of soft sediments. Understanding how different components of benthos respond to changes in properties of sediments is therefore essential in determining how much, if any, redundancy there is in this system and how much impacts on the sediments themselves are tolerated by the fauna. From this study it is clear that such experiments need replication at multiple scales and across multiple habitats before any general responses will be identified. By knowing the importance of soft sediment communities, the health and quality of an ecosystem can be determined without using any harmful chemical indicators. 1.2 Objectives The objectives of this project are: To investigate the abundance and distribution of soft sediment communities in Tanjung Bungah, Pulau Pinang. To relate the environmental variables with soft sediment communities distribution and abundance in Penang intertidal area. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The Ecology of Soft Sediment Communities Macrofauna make up a large component of the food web in estuarine ecosystems, connecting primary producers to top producers and playing an important role in system dynamics (Herman et al., 1999; Platell et al., 2006). Bottom macrobenthic communities include a great variety of organisms and generally a large number of species and they are extremely complicated (Meire et al., 2005). In marine macrobenthic organisms, polychaetes is one of the most significant groups and may make up more than half of the organisms in soft bottom habitats. They are often the predominant macrobenthic taxon in these sediments in terms of numbers, both numerically of species and abundance (Wildsmith et al., 2009, 2011). Polychaetes could hence be good indicators of species richness and assemblage models in macrobenthic assemblages (Fauchald Jumars, 1979). Some polychaete species were greatly opportunistic and responded quickly to environmental disturbances (Norkko et al., 2006; Wildsmith et al., 2011). 2.2 The Importance of Soft Sediment Communities Invertebrates constitute part of marine ecosystems and play important roles to support the function and stability of the food chains and ecosystems upon which other animals rely (Snelgrove, 1998). They regulate populations of other organisms (plant and animal) through predation, parasitism and herbivory, and help maintain water quality by filtering large amounts of water during feeding (Ponder et al., 2002). Invertebrates are directly involved in ecosystem stabilization, shoreline protection, energy and nutrient transfer and provision of habitat (Ponder et al., 2002). They also help in climate stabilization and re-mineralization and play an important role in the cycling of nutrients, breakdown of plant matter and other detritus and provide habitat for other species (Ponder et al., 2002). 2.2.1 Environmental indicator Members of the macrofauna community serve as useful biological indicators of environmental change and key elements of many marine and estuarine monitoring programs, due to their sedentary lifestyles and reduced responses to environmental changes (Tweedley et al., 2012). Therefore, the spatial distribution of macrofauna relative to environmental factors is fundamental to the understanding of estuarine ecology (Herman et al., 1999). Polychaetes are valuable marine organisms which can tolerate contamination because they live at the interface of water-sediment (Wildsmith et al., 2009, 2011). This layer is both biologically reactive and chemically active (Rhoads Young, 1970). Polychaetes occupy almost all marine and estuarine sediments (Fauchald, 1977) and are often the predominant constituent of the macrobenthic communities both in terms of individuals and number of species (Hutchings, 1998; Morin, 1999; Mills, 1969; Rhoads Young, 1970; Van Hoey et al., 2004; Ward Hutchings, 1996; Warwick, 1988). Polychaetes carry out an important role in ecosystem processes of macrofauna assemblages such as recycling, pollutant metabolism and in the interment of organic matter (Hutchings, 1998). 2.3 Factors Affecting Soft Sediment Communities The abundance and distribution of soft sediment communities were influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors such as competition and predation (Rhoads Young, 1970) while abiotic factors such as variation in salinity, turbidity, sediment grain size, total organic carbon, and metal contamination, affect estuarine macrofauna (Kinne, 1966; Remane Schlieper, 1971; McLusky Elliot, 2004). 2.3.1 Salinity The influence of salinity in particular is an important factor in estuarine macrofaunal diversity. Generally, studies have reported a positive correlation between biodiversity and salinity (Holland et al., 1987; Jorcin, 1999; Ysebaert Herman, 2002; Gimenez et al., 2005). Because variation in salinity differs in accordance with tidal movements and freshwater inputs into estuaries, the distribution of macrofauna and the macrobenthic community can differ between dry and rainy seasons. 2.3.2 Sediment Grain Size In estuaries, salinity and sediment grain size have been found to be the most important environmental variables controlling the diversity and distributional patterns of macrofauna (Absalo, 1991; Yoo Hong, 1996; McLusky Elliot, 2004). Hong Yoo (1996) suggested that the particle size and disturbance of the sediment may have been the most important factors controlling the macrobenthic community. Soft-sediment communities are unusual in the rate at which the nature of the physical environment can change (Wilson, 1990). Most sedimentary particles are smaller than the resident organisms, infauna (Wilson, 1990). The activities of the infauna can dramatically change the nature of the environment over time periods of hours or days (Wilson, 1990). For instance, burrowing infauna may increase the porosity of the sediment (Rhoads, 1974). 2.3.3 Total organic carbon Population dynamics of benthic suspension feeders, deposit feeders and subsurface feeders are known to respond differently according to nature of inputs, plankton and/or organic food matter (Austen et al., 1991; Beukema et al., 2002). The latter two groups are less affected since they utilize a large pool of organic matter in the sediment, which is constantly being recycled. In tropical region, Wolanski et al. (1992) hypothesized that in mangrove swamp or creek system, the circulation processes are highly complicated leading to novel sediment transport regimes that could in turn account for the chemistry and biology of the recipient water. Abundance and Composition of Soft Sediment Communities The study of soft sediment communities was extensive in certain temperate countries especially Australia while other countries in the tropics are lacking in their data. Further studies have yet to be conducted in tropical coastlines due and increasing human population growth, pollution, urbanization at an alarming rate (Hatcher et al., 1989). Distribution of Soft Sediment Communities in the World In East Antarctica, Stark (2000) had investigated the distribution and abundance of soft-sediment macrobenthos around Casey Station. Two locations were compared – two potentially polluted locations and two control locations in an asymmetrical design (Stark, 2000). Stark (2000) found out that the dominant assemblage were crustaceans while polychaetes’ assemblage was smaller in number, about 3-10% of individuals at the locations sampled. Another study in Brown Bay, Antartic which was carried out by Stark et al. (2005) revealed significant correlations between the presence of contaminants and the distribution and composition of soft sediment-communities over very small spatial scales. Combinations of certain metals, for example Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb) and sediment grain size were the variables that best linked the community patterns at Brown Bay. This is further supported by previous studies in Antartic where benthic assemblages probably patchy due to local environmental conditions (Stark, 2000; Stark et al. 2003). In England, annelids were found to be the most abundant group followed by crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and others (bryozoans and cnidarians) with 34.5%, 20.0%, 16%, 2.5% and 27% respectively (Bolam et al., 2008). Sediment grain size significantly affects the abundance of macrofauna along the English Channel (Bolam et al., 2008). In Australia, polychaetes were found the highest, and crustaceans were the lowest in macrofauna abundance (Morrisey et al., 1992). In Norway, environmental variables such as productivity, temperature and sediment grain size played a vital role in determining pattern of species richness (Gray, 2002). In Germany, the most abundant taxonomic group was gastropods, followed by oligochaetes, polychaetes and crustaceaans with 87%, 6%, 6% and 2% abundance respectively (Schà ¼ckel et al., 2013). The main causal factors for the different distribution patterns of intertidal macrofauna species which results in characteristic zonation patterns were sediment grain size and food availability, expressed in chloropohyll a contents (Schà ¼ckel et al., 2013). In Italy, the highest numbers of species that were identified were for Annelida which recorded 108 species, Crustacea recorded 69 species, and Mollusca recorded 52 species (Munari Mistri, 2008). Changes in the composition of assemblages of local species and the dominance of annelids species cannot be explained by only one factor (Lardicci et al., 1993). The factors were linked to biotic and hydrodynamic determinants, dissolved oxygen, grain size and organic content of the sediments (Munari Mistri, 2008). Distribution of Soft Sediment Communities in Asia In Qeshm Island of Iran, Nassaj et al. (2010) investigated the abundance and distribution of macrofauna in Salakh coastal region waters (Qeshm Island-Persian Gulf). Nassaj et al. (2010) found that Polychaeta (54.14%) were the most dominant group followed by the Crustacean (27.24%), Amphipods (9%), Gastropoda (8%), Bivalvia (7%), Copepoda (2%) and other groups (4%). In Korea, Yu et al. (2012) carried out a research on the effects of environmental variables on the distribution of macrofauna in the Han River Estuary during summer and spring. The dominant species were polychaetes during July, 2006 and March, 2007 (Yu et al., 2012). The most important factor was salinity and other factors such as sediment grain size and dissolved oxygen being secondary (Yu et al., 2012). Distribution of Soft Sediment Communities in Malaysia In Pulau Pinang, the high percentage of organic matter has shown a positive relation with abundance, diversity and richness of macrobenthic (Gholizadeh, Yahya, Talib, Ahmad, 2012). High percentages of sediment with grain size ≠¥125 ÃŽ ¼m revealed to have an increased in macrobenthic abundance (Gholizadeh, Yahya, Talib, Ahmad, 2012). This may aid in expounding the higher abundance of macrobenthic organisms, particularly for the deposit feeders. It has been reported that the sediment type (sand vs. mud) is one of the parameters responsible for the spatial distribution of macrobenthic families according to feeding kinds (Rhoads Young, 1970; Hutchings, 1998; Van Hoey et al., 2004).

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Critical Evaluation On ASP Net Computer Science Essay

Critical Evaluation On ASP Net Computer Science Essay ASP.net is a new technology and powerful web development language to build a web application much faster. Lately, we can always hear the news of ASP.net especially on the web developer sites. ASP.net is not only is the transformation from ASP, ASP.net can be said that is new era in the web development field. In this seminar, I will explain what is all about for ASP.net. First of all, I will briefly explain what ASP.NET is and what are the main differences between ASP.net and ASP classic version. Describe how efficiency of ASP.net that can achieve compared to ASP classic and what are the features that ASP classic cannot archive in the ASP.net Secondly, I will compared the different version of ASP.NET such as ASP.NET 1.x, ASP.NET 2.0 and ASP.NET 3.5. Among the different version of the ASP.NET, what and how much the improvement that latest version of ASP.net has bought it to us to develop a web application. I am also list out the advantages and disadvantages for the different version of ASP.net. On the other hand, I am also cover the topic for ASP.net AJAX which is developed by Microsoft. ASP.net AJAX is a extensions to ASP.net to implement the AJAX functionality. That means AJAX functionality added to ASP.net web application without writing the Javascript. Therefore, I will explain how ASP.net AJAX helps in the web development. Introduction of ASP.NET ASP.net is the new web programming tools from Microsoft. Why ASP.net is needed when the ASP classic version is working fine. ASP.net is not only is the next- era of ASP but it is a technology that improves much more than the ASP classic version and can increase the productivity. ASP.net is look similar to the ASP classic version if we not see the functions that ASP.net provided. Some of the features and items look very similar in the ASP classic. ASP.net allows us to use 2 type of the programming language which is C# or VB.net to write the web application in the easy way. It is also provide a huge range to let different background of the programmers can use ASP.net to build their web applications. ASP.net concept like Web Services, Server controls and web forms is a power features to build a real web application. What is ASP? ASP is known as Active Server Pages which is produced by Microsoft Team in the early of year 1990. Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP) is allowed us to build dynamic and interactive web applications. ASP classic is easily to let web application link to database inside the web application. The web application created by ASP does not affect by using different type of the web browser. The file extension for ASP is .asp. Example: http://www.asp.com/test.asp. The default programming language to build ASP web site is using VBscript to buid, but it is support other programming languages like JSscript (JavaScript from Microsoft). But ASP.net allows web developer use either visual basic (VB) or ASP.net language to build the web applications. Compilation Process There are 2 type of compilation that available which is pre-compiled code and interpreted code. Pre-compiled code Pre-compiled code is mean when the web developers are finish writing the code. Before start to use the code, the code is completely compiled. So, pre-compiled code is only need to compile once. It will make the performance is much faster. Pre-compiled is Machine dependence. Interpreted Code Interpreted Code compilation process is totally different from Pre-compiled code. That is because interpreted code will only compiled the coding when there have user to request the web pages and it compiled while the execution time is. Interpreted code compilation will only compiled the code when there is any request from the user. So, the performance will slower than Pre-compiled code. Interpreted code is machine independence. .Net solves the problem by using a two-step process for compilation The 2 step of the compilation is common intermediate language (CIL) and common language runtime (CLR). .Net is compiled all the code to CIL. Then change it to become machine independent language (CLR). The CLR is to execute the web application code. When the web developers write a web application with the programming language such as VB .NET or C#, the web application source code will not compiled into machine code directly. Instead, the VB or C# compiler will convert the web application source code into another language called as MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language) or CIL (Common Intermediate Language). CIL is quite similar to object-oriented assembly language. CIL is a platform-independent language. This is because when execute or running a web application, CIL code will only compiled the source code into machine code. The entire web application is not compiled from CIL into machine code. Instead, the methods will only be called or executed while the code is compiling. Actually the .NET Framework will only understands one language which is MSIL or CIL. However, the web developers can write a web application by using Visual Studio which provides the languages such as .NET and C#. Because Visual Studio.NET Framework consist the compilers for these languages that enable web developers to compile their code into CIL . The web developers can write code for the .NET Framework using any one of dozens of different languages, including Caml, COBOL, JavaScript, PHP, Small Talk, PERL, Oberon, Ada, Apl, Eiffeel and more. Below the diagram is to explain how the CIL and CLR work in the .Net framework. First of all, the web developers using different type of programming languages to write their web application. After that, the code is compiled using their own compiler to convert into Common Language Infrastructure. .Net compatible language compile to a second platform-neutral language called Common Immediate Language (CIL). After the Common Language Runtime compiles the CIL to machine readable code that can be executed on the current platform. What is Web server? Web servers are the tool that can manage web application that built by the web developers and make all the web application available to the client web browser. It can success connected through a local network or over the Internet (two different machines or same machine). While there are many Web servers available which one of the common ones is Apache, Internet Information Services (IIS), and iplanet Enterprise Server. (DotNetNuke, 2009) To test or run ASP.NET Web applications, you need a Web server Internet Information Services (IIS) IIS Web server comes bundled with Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003. UltiDev Cassini Web Server ASP.NET Development Server How does ASP work? An ASP page is stored at server-side. So, client cannot simply view an ASP page on the web browser. They need to request the ASP page through the web server which is supports for ASP. When a client request an ASP page through the web browser, the web server will locates the ASP file on the hard drive and interpret it. After that, it will remove all the ASP Script and replace them with HTML Text. Below is the diagram: (picture 1) This is the ASP script for a page called HelloWord.asp Web server locates the ASP file and replace with HTML text and send back to the web browser. Problem with ASP Classic ASP is using html controls to interact with the user. Although ASP is having few good functions to build web application, it still not perfect yet to satisfy web developer in some of the areas. For example, ASP needs to code all the things in a single web page including the functions and interface. It is not very convenience when need to modify or update some of the data on the web page. Besides that, another disadvantages using ASP classic to build web page is lack of the performance and scalability, which means the web page that built by ASP classic will not auto fix the web pages with the web browser. The layout of the web page will out of the margin and the content cannot show as what web developer have designed for. How does ASP.net work? Think of ASP.NET web pages as normal HTML pages that have sections marked up for special consideration. When .NET is installed, IIS Web server on the local machine will automatically to check for files with the extension .aspx and it will use the ASP.NET module that have a a file called aspnet_isapi.dll to handle them. First of all, the client requests the web page from the web server. Then the web server started to locates the instruction file. Meanwhile, the ASP.net code is sent to the Common Language Runtime for compilation. After that, the HTML stream returned to the web browser. After the web browser get the HTML code. It will processes the HTML code and display the content of the page to the client. ASP.NET compared with ASP Classic Now, I will differentiate the asp version between ASP.net and ASP classic. What are the changes in ASP.net instead of the ASP classic and what is the improvement from ASP classic. Besides, I am also focus on what are the new features in ASP.net. First of all, the mainly ASP.net difference from ASP classic is ASP.net is ASP.net is support more language for scripting. For example, Asp.net supports visual basic language, C#, C++, Jscript and ADO.net as well. Support multiple languages will getting more web developer choose ASP.net as their first choice to develop a web page and web applications and let different background programmer can work together by using a same application. Besides, there are few points to compare between ASP.net and ASP classic. One of the aspects is compilation. ASP classic is built up by Jscript and it only interpreted the Script line by line when the page is requested. Moreover, ASP.net compilation is totally different with ASP classic. ASP.net is automatically compiling all the code while the code is first time executed. The compiled code will store inside .NET classes within assembly. .NET classes are including the server-side coding and HTML code. So, when ASP.NET page is executed for first time, the compiled code will store inside the .NET classes. Next time will render the ASP.net page by execute the compiled code that has created. The performance for ASP.net will be increased because there are no longer like the ASP classic has the difference between the compiled code and the coding within the server-side languages within asp web page. ASP.net performance is faster due to the compiled code but ASP classic is using the scripting languages like VBScript. VBScript is representing to machine code and did not require any additional parsing. That is why web developer is preferred to use ASP.net instead of using ASP classic. On the other hand, the difference between ASP.net and ASP classic is the scalability factor. For ASP classic, the components inside the web pages are not easy to update, replace and maintain it. If want to update particular component, IIS is required to shut down then only can successfully replace or update the component. After done all the modification, IIS need to restart once.( Neel Sus. 2009). For ASP.net, it was different with ASP classic which it is scalable and easy to do modification on the web pages. The term of Xcopy command is used to build an efficiency ASP.net web application page. The Xcopy term is to copy a file to another location. It is allow to do the modification without need of restart of web server. The web developer can do the changes on the web application and no web server restart is required to take effect. It will direct take effect once the web application is requested.(Bean Software. 2002). Advantages of using ASP.NET After compared the version between ASP.net and ASP classic, here is some of the advantages of using ASP.net. ASP.net has reduced the need of code to build a web application; it required lesser code to build a large web application. This will help web developer save time, and more efficiency to build a large web application. Another new feature from ASP.net which does not include in ASP classic is the authentication function. Authentication is the processes to obtain and validate the information that provide by user are valid or not. If it is valid, the user will get the authorization and the authorization process will check the user whether have permission to access the particular resources on the web pages. It will increase the security of the web application and make sure all the user information is secured and not grab by someone. (MSDN. 2010). Besides that, ASP.net file extension is .aspx and it has a code behind page which is .aspx.cs. The difference between .aspx and .aspx.cs is .aspx is the interface for the web application. It stored all the html coding and some of the C# language label for some of the particular components. Meanwhile, aspx.cs is a place to let web developer to code all the functionality for the button, and the business logic on that page. Moreover, ASP.net is server-side technology. It means all ASP.net coding is executed and compiled on the server side before it send it back to the web browser. Below is the example of code behind on aspx.cs: The ASP classic need to code a web application coding inside a same page including the HTML and the function code. It will become messy if web develop wanted to do the modification on the web pages. It need take some time to analyze the code first before doing any modification. (Steve Kozyk. 2008). The disadvantages of using ASP.NET One of the main disadvantages of using ASP.net application is it only support on Windows platform. That means other based Operating System is not allowed to use ASP.net to develop their web application. The limitation of the ASP.net will make some of the web developer abandon to use ASP.net to develop their web application and choose other more appropriate application to develop their web application such as PHP support in any platforms. ASP.net 1.x compared with ASP.net 2.0 We move to the next topic which is the comparison between ASP.net 1.x and ASP.net 2.0. ASP.net 1.x release on year 2002-2003 and ASP.net 2.0 is released on year 2005. Firstly, we compared the compilation models for this 2 version. ASP.net 1.x will only automatically compile few files such as asp page (.aspx), user control, http handler, web services and Global.asax class files. Others file that not automatically compile, web developer need to compile the rest of the files before publish the web application to the web server. ASP.net 2.0 has increase the efficiency in the compilation process. ASP.net 2.0 will automatically compile the file types that include asp page file (.aspx), asp and asp page behind code (.cs). So, the web developer only need to create the web application and publish it. ASP.net 2.0 have a folder called App_Code which can keep the helper classes, business object inside but cannot put the asp pages (.aspx), Global.asax and other non-code files. ASP.net 2.0 will compile elements inside the App_Code folder and name as code.dll. In ASP.net 1.x, when the web developer need to do the modification on the web application, they need to open the entire project file do modify and update it. After done the modification, they need to compile the entire project and publish it to web server again. But ASP.net 2.0 allows web developer just open the particular file that wants to modify. After done the modification, web developer just need to publish the file code to the web server and no need to recompile. In ASP.net 1.x, the code behind page of web application are require an IIS virtual directory to run and the IIS is require to store inside the local computer which used to develop the web application. ASP.net 2.0 code behind page can access the local host IIS directly and the IIS has store inside the web server. In ASP.net 1.x, the procedure to process the web application page is send the client request to the web server. First, the Init event is called. After that, called the Load event by the PreRender event is called net. Lastly, the Unload event is called and the generate output will sent it back to the client. In ASP.net 2.0 has added few new attributes. The attributes will help web developers to have a control for the new framework features which is theming and personalization. Besides, ASP.net 2.0 Page class has provided new method, event, and properties. The 3 important script for the properties is ClientScript, Header.IPageHeader and Master. There are 3 new important methods such as GetValidators, setFocus, and RegisterRequiresControlState. In ASP.net 2.0, there are few new events implements. First, PreInit is called before initial the web page. Then, InitComplete will be occur when the page is completely initial. Next, the PreLoad event is called immediately after the InitComplete event and before the web page begin to load. The LoadComplete event will occur after the page is load complete at the end. Last, PreRenderComplete event is occur and this event will store personalize data and page HTML is rendered. Web developers can use all these events to build up their web application in a dynamic way. Summary After compared the version between ASP.net 1.x and ASP.net 2.0. ASP.net 1.x is unable to open a particular page not inside the project but ASP.net 2.0 can modify particular page without open the entire project. We can know that the code behind pages is a efficiency way to write all the functions, logic to make the web development process become more efficiency and effectiveness. As the conclusion, ASP.net 2.0 has added more features to increase the performance and the secure of data. (Benoy Baskaran. 2006). ASP.net 3.0 compared with ASP.NET 3.5 The ASP.net 3.0 is using a base of the ASP.net 2.0 but there are added several of the new features on it such as Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Windows CardSpace (WCS). First of all, The Windows Presentation Foundation is one of the interface sub-system using at windows. Windows Presentation Foundation has using the Windows function like create, view and manage of the files, media and user interface (UI). Because it will make the web developers can create the more attractive, better impression on the interface and the different use experience on it. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is built with 2 important parts which is display engine and the framework. The mainly function is to build the 3D graphic and use the Direct3D technology. Next, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) or name as Indigo. It is a service-oriented communication system. It has all the current .Net features like .Net remoting, ASMX,WSE and MSMQ. The WCF is built on the version of the .net Framework 2.0 and above. It also is a core of the Windows Vista. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating system also support once install the WinFX Runtime Components. Besides, Windows Workflow Foundation is the next features on the ASP.net 3.0. It is a new workflow development on the .net Framework. Windows Workflow Foundation include the namespace, workflow engine for Visual Studio 2005. It support in Windows XP, vista and Windows server 2003 as well. Lastly, Windows CardSpace (WCS) is an application that stored the user information in a more secure way and in digital form. It has provide a unify interface to select which identity need to use for transaction. For example, use an identity to login to a specify website. As the conclusion of ASP.net 3.0 is a combination of ASP.net 2.0 and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Windows CardSpace (WCS). (Mnaveenrao. 2009). What is new in ASP.net 3.5 After we view the new features of ASP.net 3.0, let us see what other new features that will be added in ASP.net 3.5. ASP.net 3.5 is implementing inside the Visual Studio 2008 and it released on year 2007. The ASP.net 3.5 is using the same engine in the ASP.net 3.0 and it has added new features in it. So, let check out what are the new features in ASP.net 3.5. First of all, one of the new features that added inside the ASP.net 3.5 is the ASP.net AJAX. Although ASP.net 2.0 can use the features of the ASP.net AJAX, it still needs to install the extension to ASP.net 2.0 and ASP.net 3.0 only can successfully use the features. It is totally different which ASP.net AJAX is integrated in ASP.net 3.5. So, it is help web developers to build a better quality user interface easily. (Suprotim Agarwal. 2009) Next features that added in the ASP.net 3.5 is LINQ. LINQ (Language-Integrated Query) is to display the query that capability to the programming language such as C# and VB.net. The format of query in LINQ is something like the format of SQL. It is contains Select, From and Where keywords which have the same functions in the SQL. Here is the example of LINQ. Int Rental = from house in Rent where rental > 100 select house; ASP.net AJAX have added several new controls that can easily to call a control that can link to the datasource. The first new control is called ListView. ListView control is consist of some of the features like can show the result of the datasource in different view such as Datagrid, Gridview, repeater and the controls that available in ASP.net 3.0. It allows web developers have the ability to insert data, edit data, delete data, sorting the data. These controls are flexible because the web developers can design how the data present the result. After view the features of ASP.net AJAX, ASP.net 3.5 is added few new assemblies like System.Core.dll, System.Data.Linq.dll and System.xml.Linq.dll is an assembly to implementation for LINQ. System.Web.Extensions.dll is the implementation for ASP.net AJAX. ASP.net 3.5 allow different version of ASP.net store on the same computer. Security in ASP.net Securing an ASP.NET application requires a clear understanding of all the security options provided in ASP.NET, and show how the security subsystems interact each other. Since ASP.NET is built on the Microsoft .NET Framework, the web application developers will has the full access to the full set of the built-in security features inside the Visual Studio .NET. For example, the code access security and role-based user-access security. It is important to know how the different security subsystems interact each other and how it will be able to make the web application more secure. Before web developers configure the security for the web application, they need to configure the web application to implement the two security function that described in the following table. Security function Description Authentication It is a process of getting identification credentials from a user such as name and password, and to validate those credentials against some authority. Authorization It is a process to control the access to the resources regarding on the authenticated identification credentials ( such as role ). ASP.NET achieves the authentication security function by using the authentication providers, the security modules consist the code that able to authenticate the user credentials. To enable authentication security function in ASP.NET web application, the web developers need to create an authentication section entry first in the application root configuration file. The authentication session syntax are showing below: Using ASP.NET Configuration Files ASP.NET configuration file is written in a hierarchical structure format. Web.config is a file to store all the configuration data for the ASP.net web application. It also contain another file called Machine.config which is store configuration information as well. Web.config file and other web application files is located under same directory. But Machine.config file is located in the install root directory. All the sub-directory will inherit all the settings in the directory unless it has overridden by the Web.config file which located in the sub-directory. In Web.config file, it contains all the ASP.net functionality in the section. The Web.config file is written as below: In the web.config configuration file, it is contains 3 sub-sections which are authentication, authorization, and identity. The values that set for these 3 section configuration file is to overriding the configuration file in the application root. All sub-directory will inherit those settings automatically. However, sub-directory can have their own web.config file that override the directory web.config settings. Besides, the web developers may use the syntax to specify a particular file or directory. Critical Evaluation on ASP.net After the evaluation of the ASP.net, we can know that there are a lot of changes and improvement that involve in the latest ASP.net version. But there are still got competitor in the web development field. There are still got another language and platform to let web developers to choose their favorite web development tools to build their web application. One of the competitors for ASP.net is PHP. Introduction of PHP PHP is stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. PHP is open source language and it is a cross-platform because it compatibility with different operating system such as Windows, Unix system. PHP is a scripting language to build dynamic web site and it is run at the server-side. The PHP syntax is similar with the language of C, Java and Perl. So, it will help web developers build their web application efficiency and quickly. PHP allows web developer write the simple PHP syntax in HTML files directly, it can done this by eliminating the need of cgi programs. Moreover, PHP make web developers easy to supervise to the large web application by put all the components inside one html file. For example, when creating the catalogue for online trading web site, the web developers must have to design all the design templates for all the catalogues web pages. In the early day, the web page design is written in the html format and shows all the data by using different type of design templates. In PHP, is only need one application to build all the web application pages that link to the database in the appropriate pages, correct location and related content. This is to avoid any redundancy web pages is created and easy to maintain and manage the web application. As we know, PHP is a cross-platform scripting language. So, we not only can use the PHP code to build web application, but it can use all the PHP libraries and all the code written in PHP. One of the big features in PHP is it supports for numerous databases such as Oracle, MSSQL, MS Access and others. Besides, it is support networking, zip and consist a set of built-in functions. IT is free to download from the PHP website by everyone. PHP is a language easy to learn because most of syntax is similar to language C. In my opinion, I think that ASP.net performance is higher than PHP. That is why I choose ASP.net as the web development tool in my project. ASP.net application is developed using Visual Studio which produced by Microsoft. It is easy to build the web application interface and component easily added in the web application. It makes the coding part for the web application is much simpler and development more productivity. Although PHP is an open source scripting language for all the web developers, it does not have own web development tool to build their web application. They need to use third party software to implement their PHP concept and coding inside. Some of the third party software like Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the software that can write PHP scripting language. Although there are free to charge in use of PHP scripting language, but some of the third party software may need to buy license to continue use for web development. So, it also needs to cause the cost of web development increased. Besides, Visual Studio .NET is provides a huge of features to make the web development easier. Web developers also provide students to download a free scaled down Visual Studio version which can provide better features. The features that come with the PHP is lesser and it was very simple features that use to build web application. It will make web developers have the limitation to build their web application. However, there are a lot of add-ons which available on the internet for web developers to download. With the PHP add-ons, it will make the PHP has some same function inside the Visual Studio. It is very troublesome to ask PHP web developers download the add-ons one by one and implement to PHP. It will waste a lot of efforts and time to download and install the add-ons. . For example, AJAX is not built in in PHP, web developers need to download themselves. So, ASP.net is better than PHP which the Visual Studio will come with a full set of the features that need to use in web development. It will make the web development process running smoothly and more productivity. On the other hand, Jasir Javaz (2010) noted that PHP getting a huge support from the web developers. This is because the PHP is an open source and it is free to everyone. Besides, PHP version 5 has provide many object oriented development concepts to the web developers to build their web application in a better way. It will make the structure of the web application and the coding is easy to implement each others. In ASP.net, it is different with PHP which is has better languages support. ASP.net able to let different language background web developers use Visual Studio.Net to build their own web application. The supported languages for ASP.net got VB.net, C#, J#, C++, COBAL. PHP is run on Apache server and Apache also is an open source. ASP.net is run on IIS which is Internet Information Services. The benefits of using ASP.net are the user interface design and application coding part is separated to 2 parts. So, it is easy to let web developers to focus on design the overall web application interface. Besides, the code-behind pages also easy to manage and update if there have any changes or any new logic need to implement in it. So, ASP.net is more user friendly in use to design a web application design. This is one the reason I choose ASP.net in my project. It is not only provide more features and it is easy to let me design the web application interface and easy to manage and update. As the conclusion, there are a lot of factors and reasons to make a web developer choose their own web development tool. A web developer chooses the suitable web application tools will make their more understanding on the application and use specialize programming language. Summary PHP is an open source and free to everyone. PHP also work on Linux OS which is open source as well. Using Linux OS, the performance will be higher, more secure than using Windows. It is low cost for whole web development. PHP is easy to learn especially for the beginners because the scripting language is similar to language C. ASP.net is an powerful which full set of the features that easy to build up an efficiency and effectiveness web application. ASP.net is using the pre-compiled concept which I have mentioned above. Better programming language support and easy design for user interface and code-behind. Conclusion As the conclusion, I f

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Portrayal of Women in American Literature Essay -- Papers Essays

The Portrayal of Women in American Literature Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the main female character, Daisy Buchanan, is portrayed by, Nick, the narrator, only by her superficial qualities. â€Å"Guided only by Nick’s limited view of her, readers often judge Daisy solely on the basis of her superficial qualities† (Fryer 43). What the reader sees through the eyes of Nick only appears as a woman whose impatience and desire for wealth and luxury cost her the love of her life, Gatsby. Nick’s narrow perception does not allow one to see that â€Å"†¦[Daisy’s] silly manner conceals a woman of feeling or that her final ‘irresponsibility’ towards Gatsby stems from an acute sense of responsibility towards herself† and that Nick â€Å"†¦clearly does not understand what motivates her† (Fryer 43). One can easily view Daisy as a victim. Fitzgerald distinctly exposes Daisy’s need for stability, which, according to Fitzgerald or perhaps the mentality of the time period, can only be found in a man. â€Å"Her need for stability was immediate, and she attempted to satisfy that need through something tangible, something close at hand† (Fryer 51). This â€Å"need† that Fitzg... ...en as one. Bibliography: Works Cited Fryer, Sarah Beebe. Fitzgerald’s New Women: Harbingers of Change. Eds. Jackson R. Bryer, A. Walton Litz, and Linda Wagner. Studies in Modern Literature, No. 86. Ann Arbor, Michigan: U-M-I Research Press, 1988. 43, 51, 54-55. Gladstein, Mimi Reisel. The Indestructible Women in Faulker, Hemingway, and Steinbeck. Eds. A. Walton Litz, Thomas C. Moser, and Linda Wagner. Studies In Modern Literature, No. 45. Ann Arbor, Michigan: U-M-I Research Press, 1986. 57-58, 86-89. Goodman, Susan. Edith Wharton’s Women: Friends & Rivals. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1990. 72-75. Peters, Pearlie Mae Fisher. The Assertive Women in Zora Neale Hurston’s Fiction, Folklore, and Drama. Ed. Graham Russell Hodges. New York, New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 1998. 132, 139, 141, 143.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Awakening - Personality Developments :: essays research papers

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT The idea that one can understand and comprehend the development of an individual is profound and abstruse, but very few people have actually had success dealing with such a topic. From obstacles such as proper test subjects to the whole stigma of taboo attached in trying to understand the human mind, researchers and psychologists have had success. One of the most notable successes is that of Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, as we know it. Freud’s in depth pioneering journey into the minds of people, and how the mind itself develops with the passing of time and events. Other modern psychologists have elaborated on Freud, including the psychologists Erik Erikson and Karen Horney. Their thoughts on the personality development of people relate directly to Kate Chopin’s book, The Awakening. In this book, the theories discussed by Freud and his successors are shown explicitly and implicitly. Obviously, Sigmund Freud’s work in the field of personality development was by far the most prolific and controversial. The father of modern psychology, Freud broke all barriers to expose what he thought to be the real reasons for human behavior. His theories of personality development can best start with the discussion of the conscious and the unconscious mind. The conscious mind—along with the lesser preconscious mind—is that part of the mind that one has control, or knowledge of. Ironically, this is the least part of the mind that one has control over. The so called "subconscious" mind is the part of the mind that lurks beneath the surface, filled with instincts, emotions, and unfulfilled desires (Shaffer 26). The total human mind is divided into the famous three parts of the Id, the ego, and the superego. The Id can be correlated directly to the subconscious, since it contains one’s innermost thoughts, feelings, and desires, or as Freud w ould call them, "wishes". The Id represents one’s innermost and primitive desires, such as food and reproduction, and it constantly drives one’s actions. The total antithesis of the Id is the superego. The superego in the case of personality development, comes directly from parents. This superego is consisted of the conscience (punishments and warnings) and the ego ideal (positive rewards and role models). Thus the superego can be defined as what keeps the Id in check, which leads to the ego. The ego is the rationalizing factor, it is the result of the superego and the Id, canceling each other out.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Construction Industry in the UK †Research Report Essay

Synopsis This report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into the UK construction industry, including: The UK construction industry’s growth prospects by market, project type and type of construction activity Analysis of equipment, material and service costs across each project type within the UK Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, and the risks and opportunities they present to participants in the UK construction industry Analyzing the profiles of the leading operators in the UK construction industry Data highlights of the largest construction projects in the UK For more details on the content of each report and ordering information please contact: Phone:+91 22 4098 7600 E-Mail: customerservice@researchonglobalmarkets.com Related Link: http://www.researchonunitedkingdom.com/construction-in-the-uk-a-key-trends-and-opportunities-to-2018.html Summary The UK construction industry showed signs of recovery towards the end of 2013. The industry underwent a difficult period during much of 2012, revealing how fragile the recovery actually was. However, in 2013, production increased by 1.3%, and was up by 4.3% annually in the fourth quarter of the year. This growth was supported by government investments in infrastructure and affordable housing schemes. The industry is expected to record a forecast-period (2014-2018) compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.20%. Scope This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in the UK. It provides: Historical (2009-2013) and forecast (2014-2018) valuations of the construction industry in the UK using construction output and value-add methods Segmentation by market (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, institutional and residential) and by project type Breakdown of values within each project type, by type of activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by type of cost  (materials, equipment and services) Analysis of key construction industry issues, including regulation, cost management, funding and pricing Detailed profiles of the leading construction companies in the UK Reasons To Buy Identify and evaluate market opportunities using our standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts Understand the latest industry and market trends Formulate and validate business strategies using Timetric’s critical and actionable insight Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures Evaluate competitive risk and success factors Key Highlights Infrastructure investment remains a key strategy to supporting economic growth. In the 2014 budget, the government announced plans for a new garden city, with 15,000 homes for Ebbsfleet in Kent. In the 2013 budget, the government announced various measures to support infrastructure construction. Economic improvements and a declining unemployment rate are expected to support demand in the residential construction market. To increase the affordability of housing and support residential construction, the government announced the creation of a Help to Buy Scheme (HTBS) in its 2013 budget. The first component of this scheme, which launched in April 2013, was the Help to Buy: equity loan, where the purchasers of newly-built homes would be granted interest-free government loans of up to 20%.