Fashion Channel Essay Example for Free

Fashion Channel Essay Analysis Following Rosewood through this case study we have seen the company come to a crossroads. The company had to redefine itself to stay relevant in an evolving space. Rosewood had a reputation for managing uniquely distinctive properties without widespread corporate brand name awareness. Each individual property enjoyed vast success in particular from repeat guests who mostly stayed at only one of their distinctive properties in their growing portfolio. Now the company is looking to the future and specifically evaluating whether or not to incorporate the Rosewood brand into the name of each hotel. Rosewood’s senior management is engaging several tools to make their decision. Implementing this new strategy could lead to a bright future or spell disaster. Pros and cons of Rosewood moving to a corporate brand What is branding? According to Entrepreneur magazine â€Å"The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products.† Creating a corporate brand can come with positive and negatives. Rosewood’s objective will be to leave an imprint that no one else can leave and to create magic moments that their guests will never forget. Such as when the guest goes down memory lane years later after their stay, they will recall the positively outrageous service, the amenities, the food and the atmosphere created by Rosewood. No other hotel will duplicate what they experienced at their properties. Another positive to branding, Rosewood will create standards to measure the overall performance of all their properties. Such as curb appeal, beautiful landscaping, manicured green grass, flowers in season, to beautiful shrubs and trees. Additionally, as the guest arrives the people become part of the standard set, from the doorman, to the desk clerk, to the bellman, to housekeeping, to the engineering team that keeps the building and room temperature comfortable. This is where Rosewood can benefit from differentiation and drive performance. For that reason Jack Welch states in a World Press article, â€Å"Companies win when their managers make a clear and meaningful distinction between top- and bottom-performing businesses and people, when they cultivate the strong and cull the weak†. Some of Rosewood’s property managers, as mentioned in Harvard Business Review:  Rosewood Hotels and Resorts: Branding to increase customer profitability and lifetime value, many had â€Å"mixed feelings† about moving to a corporate brand. When you are measured against other hotels there is only so much room at the top. Naturally, there will some managers that will be asked to â€Å"ship up or ship out†. Thus, the upside is each hotel pushes each other to be the best they can be. Finally, the guest could anticipate what experience they will have at each Rosewood if they moved to a uniform brand. On the other hand, the down side or cons of moving to a uniform brand for Rosewood could be that data gathered from properties could be skewed or demographic information could not apply to all hotels across the brand. According to Phillip Kotler in A Framework for Marketing and Management â€Å"The data collection phase of marketing research is generally the most expensive and the most prone to error† (p.39). Also, some management after differentiation is established and measured could be dismissed if their hotel is at the bottom. Finally, another con could be that some management and employees are not good team players and are not able to uphold the standards charted by management. Customer Lifetime Value Calculator Using a tool like the Customer Lifetime value calculator can be helpful to Rosewood management as they crunch the numbers. This tool helps management take quantitative information and funnel it down to several outcomes. However, garbage in garbage out must be considered here. The CLTV is only as good as the information provided. If one Rosewood hotel provides flawed information or has not collected the data properly, the assumptions arrived to by the CLTV are not accurate. Perhaps as JWMI 518 W2, L2 states â€Å"The best approach is often to make use of both qualitative and quantitative research†. This approach considers the ever changing market conditions, tangibles and intangibles contained within qualitative and quantitative research. They are both valuable and have their place. Finally, within all the data and assumptions gained from the CLTV, there is one factor not considered. The relationship factor. In order to carry out the legendary service brand Rosewood wants to create, the most critical factor the team should be focused on is building relationships. The data, the CLTV, the amenities and a uniform brand all revolves around the staff building meaningful relationships with the guests. The standardized expectation of  how the guests are served is the most important ingredient and the CLTV does not factor this into the equation. According to INC Magazine, â€Å"The truth is that entrepreneurs too often get caught up in the details of the kinds of products or services they are selling to notice how critical it is to build relationships not just with your customers, but also with your vendors, employees and–gasp–even your competitors. Without strong relationships, it is impossible to have success as a business owner, Recommendation My recommendation is that Rosewood should move to branding their hotels using the Rosewood brand immediately. Without setting standard foundations the guest will not know what to anticipate. Rosewood could use standardized data to help anticipate the needs of the guest before they even asked. Also, creating a uniform brand will help everyone come together as one team. When you are a consummate team player you elevate the performance of everyone around them and then there is no limit to what you can do as a team. When Rosewood has everyone on the same page going in the same direction they can create a wow factor the guest will be telling the world about. To most of the world, getting good service is common versus giving positively outrageous service is uncommon. Having a satisfied customer is common versus taking that satisfied customer exceeding his or her expectations and then taking the service one percent beyond that now Rosewood can create a raving fan that is uncommon. References Entrepreneur Magazine, (2013) http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/branding Harvard Business Publishing, (2007), Rosewood Hotels and Resorts: Branding to increase customer profitability and lifetime value, P. 5 INC. (2013) http://www.inc.com/guides/201101/how-to-build-better-business-relationships.html Kotler, Chapter 3: Collecting Information and Forecasting Demand, P.39 World Press, (2012) http://frrl.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/jack-welch-on-differentiation-or-making-winners-out-of-everyone/

Student SSCP Domain Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Student SSCP Domain Research Paper Essay For Richman Investments the users are the biggest threats so I would give access keys in various levels and to various departments. With that being said I would set renewal of password anywhere from 28 days to 6 months apart depending on department and job in the company. Have basics such as firewall and full antivirus software as well as restricted upload and download abilities. Administrators could have the option of layering security by enforcing the use of PIN numbers, hardware tokens, client certificates and other forms of secure authentication on top of AD or LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). After implementation of several security policies, I would create a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) VPN (Virtual Private Network) network, a form of VPN that can be used with a standard Web browser. In the traditional Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) VPN, an SSL VPN does not require the installation of specialized client software on the end users computer. Its used to give remote users with access to Web applications, client/server applications and internal network connections. SSL VPN doesn’t require specialized client software on the user computer. For site to site we would just use VPN to secure the network data and encrypt it for security measure. An SSL VPN offers versatility, ease of use and granular control for a range of users on a variety of computers, accessing resources from many locations. There are two major types of SSL VPNs. SSL Portal VPN is a type of SSL VPN allows for a single SSL connection to a Web site so the end user can securely access multiple network services. The site is called a portal because it is one door (a single page) that leads to many other resources. The remote user accesses the SSL VPN gateway using any modern Web browser, identifies the user to the gateway by using an authentication method supported by the gateway and is then presented with a Web page that acts as the portal to the other services.SSL Tunnel VPN is another type of SSL VPN that allows a Web browser to securely access multiple network services, including applications and protocols that are not Web-based, through a tunnel that is running under SSL. SSL tunnel VPNs require that the Web browser be able to handle active content, which allows them to provide functionality that is not accessible to SSL portal VPNs. Examples of active content include Java, JavaScript, Active X, or Flash applications.

Effect of Water to Cement Ratio on Concrete

Effect of Water to Cement Ratio on Concrete Introduction In construction projects, concrete, along with steel, wood, glass, etc, is one of the most essential materials that are needed for a successful manufacture of a structure. It one of the most common materials on a construction site and accounts for billions of pounds everywhere across the world. Due to ever-increasing machinery and technological advancements concrete can now be made of a mixture of compound materials, nevertheless the necessary components of concrete are course or fine aggregates, Portland Cement and water. In the current times, concrete structures are manufactured every day and to sustain a safe environment for people, so it is vital that that the structures that are built are sturdy, durable and do not cause any hazards to people. It is therefore a huge task for construction companies to guarantee that the structures that are built are done so to meet all the specific safety codes, British Standards or the Euro Code Standards. The properties of concrete are very vit al as they provide the necessary stability that structures are dependent on to maintain their sturdiness. As a result it is essential to research and be aware of the distinctive components of concrete and its properties, and how in this experiment these might affect the way that concrete performs when changing some variables.  (Richardson, 2002). The workability of a concrete mix gives a measure of the ease with which fresh concrete can be placed and compacted. The concrete should flow readily into the form and go around and cover the reinforcement, the mix should retain its consistency and the aggregates should not segregate. There are four factors that can affect the workability are: Consistency: The degree of consistency is depended on the nature of works and type of compaction. Water/cement Ratio or Water Control of a concrete: Water/cement ratio is the ratio of water in a mix to the weight of cement. The quality of water that required for a mix is depended on the mix proportions, types and grading of aggregate. Grading of Aggregate: The smooth and rounded aggregate will produce a more workable concrete than the sharp angular aggregate. Cement Content: The greater workability can be obtained with the higher cement content. Aims The aim of this experiment was to establish the effects of water to cement ratio on the  fresh properties of concrete (workability), and its effect on the hardened properties  of concrete (strength). Furthermore to increase the understanding in making a concrete mixture and working out the water content that needs to be added to the mixtures. And last to expand on the understanding of the importance of fresh and hard properties of concrete. Objectives The objectives of the experiment were to make three concrete mixtures by altering their water/cement ratios (0.47, 0.55 0.65) and to find out the water content to use for the three mixtures. To do a variety of tests such as the slump test, compacting factor test on fresh concrete and to carry out compressive and flexural strength tests of hardened concrete. Then finally to discuss how features such as variation in the water/cement ratio affects the workability  and strength of concrete. Theory Concrete Production, concrete is a mixture that is made up of three components, cement, water and aggregate. The water and cement are mixed together to produce a thick paste, to which then measured out aggregates are added to. The aggregates that are added are mainly composed of usual materials such as sand, gravel and crushed rocks, however due to the latest advanced technology; it has been known that other materials such as car tyres and crushed glass to be also used as aggregates. The cement is produced by blending limestone and clay, and burning it in a rotary kiln, this results in the formation of a clinker, to which gypsum is added. The mix is then ground down to fine powder cement, in which the most common is called Portland Cement. The cement/water slurry solidifies through a chemical reaction called hydration, the reaction produces immense heat so fresh concrete must by no means be handled with unprotected bare hands. During the winter season, temperatures drop below 2Âà ‚ °C, so the chemical hydration reaction may be very slow as heat is needed as a catalyst to speed up the collision of the particles. Therefore concrete pours during these seasons are not suitable as the concrete will not set. Initially this reaction is slow to start with, so this allows for the concrete to be transported and poured before it is hardened, and the theory states that complete 100% hydration takes place after 28 days. Properties of Concrete: There are four key properties that are desired in fresh concrete i.e.  good workability, compactability, mobility and stability. The most desired properties for  hardened concrete are strength and durability. The concrete should have compressive strength  (resist squeezing), tensile strength (resist stretching) and flexural strength (resist bending). All these strengths are highly dependent on the water/cement ratio and aggregate used in the  mixture, the degree of compaction and the age of the concrete. Curing concrete under water  over time allows hydration to continue hence giving it strength. The concrete used in this experiment was a C30 concrete grade and according to B.S. 5328  the compressive strength for this grade at 28 days is 30.0 N/ sq mm which can also be written  as 30 MPa which is adequate for use in beams, however this is only an estimation as there  are other factors (mentioned above) that affect concrete strength. In this experiment the slump  test and the compacting factor test were used to assess the workability and uniformity of  concrete. The deflection/ flexural strength test was carried out to evaluate the strength of the  concrete beam (mini beam sample) and find the failure load of the mini beam (100mm by  100mm by 500mm). The compressive strength was carried out to determine the maximum  failure load of the cube samples (150mm by 150mm) and the cylinder samples (150mm by  300mm) (Barnes 1992). MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT Casting Equipment Concrete mixer Bucket (average size) Measuring Cylinder Shovel Wheel Borough Scale Figure 2: Shows Compaction Factor Apparatus. (used to determine workability of concrete  mixture) Figure 3: Slump Test Apparatus B.S. Slump cone (300mm high, tapering from a 100mm diameter top to a 200mm  diameter bottom) Slump rod (or steel tamping rod) (16 mm diameter, 600mm long, with rounded ends) Flat metal base plate (600 sq mm) (K0837225) Page 5 9. Metal Rule (300mm long) 10. Metal Scoop 11. Levelling Trowel 12. Waste rag 13. Vibrating Table 14. Moulds 6 no. Cube Moulds (150mm by 150mm) 3 no. Cylinder Moulds (150mm by 300mm) 3 no. Mini beam Moulds (100mm by 100mm by 500mm) 15. Materials Course Aggregates (Stones) Fine Aggregates (Sand) Cement Water (Tap) *Note: Aggregate used was natural aggregate used was from London. Therefore no need for  determining aggregate moisture content as aggregate is assumed to be laboratory dry to  SSD. Hence no considerable effect on water-cemet ratio. Striking Equipment 1. Pressure pipe (for striking cubes and cylinders) 2. Brushes (Soft and Hard metal brushes) 3. Oil, oil brush and rugs (for cleaning moulds before storing) 4. Crayon (for labelling concrete samples) 5. Curing room Testing Equipment 1. Compressive test machinery Figure 4: Shows the Compressive test machine used to apply loads on cubes and cylinder  samples 2. Deflection test machinery (Picture shown in figure 3. Load reader/display 4. Concrete samples 5. Digital Camera *Personal Protective Clothing was worn on all days of the experiment (Safety boots and Coats, individuals handling concrete wore protective gloves). METHODOLOGY Concrete Production: 1. Aggregates were readily weighed and placed into buckets. Quantities (constants) used in  all Concrete Mixes are shown below: Material Quantitative Weight (Kg) Cement (CEM1) 6.50 Fine Aggregate (Sand) 16.55 Natural Course Aggregate (Stones) 26.00 2. The amount of water required was determined by using the formulae shown below. Water content = (water/cement ratio) x cement weight. 3. Water was measured into a bucket using measuring cylinders. 4. The water/cement ratio was set as the variable between 3 Concrete Mixes (to determine  the effect of water/cement ratio on the strength and workability of the concrete). Water  content quantities used are shown on table 1. Table 1: Water/Cement Ratio (variable) for Concrete Mixes 1, 2 3 Concrete Mix Water/Cement Ratio Water Content (litres) 1 0.47 3 2 0.55 3.6 3 0.65 4.25 *See Appendix 1 for Actual Calculations Carried Out. 5. The concrete mixer paddles and pan were lightly dampened before aggregates were  placed in the mixer. 6. Course and fine aggregates were placed into the mixer and mixed for 30seconds. 7. Half the water required for the mix was added to the mixture and the contents were  further mixed for 1 minute. 8. The contents were covered and left for 8 minutes, to allow aggregates to absorb water,  (because aggregates are porous therefore they should soak in water into voids to get a good  mix and bonding with cementious (water/cement) paste). 9. Cement was spread evenly over the aggregates and mixed for 1 minute. 10. The remaining water was added and the contents were mixed for 2 minutes ensuring  homogeneity of the mix. 11. Workability tests were then carried out, in the order shown below. *Note; immediately after each test the used concrete was returned into the mixer and the contents were remixed for 30 seconds. FRESH CONCRETE TESTS Compacting Factor Test: 1. Trap doors of all hoppers were shut prior to beginning the test. 2. Sample of freshly mixed concrete was scooped from the mixer into the upper hopper, the  concrete sample was filled up to the brim of the upper hopper. 3. The trap-door of upper hopper was opened, to enable concrete to fall into the lower  hopper. 4. After all concrete had been collected onto lower hopper, the trap-door of the lower hopper  was then opened and the concrete allowed to fall into the cylinder. 5. Excess concrete remaining above the top level of the cylinder was then cut off using a  plane blade. 6. The concrete collected in the cylinder was then weighed. (This weight is known as the  weight of partially compacted concrete). 7. The concrete filled cylinder was vibrated to obtain full compaction, and more concrete  was added to the cylinder as required to ensure the vibrated/compacted concrete was  filled to the brim of the cylinder. 8. The now fully compacted concrete in the cylinder was weighed. 9. The compacting factor was then obtained using the formulae shown below. Compacting factor = (Weight of partially compacted concrete)/(Weight of fully  compacted concrete) Figure 5: Shows steps followed during the compacting factor test. 1) Compacting factor equipment. 2) Partially compacted weight is taken on a scale, 3) The concrete is vibrated/compacted  on a vibrating table and then the contents are toped up and vibrated to the rim container and the  partially compacted weight was taken. Slump Test: Concrete was thoroughly mixed in the concrete mixer. The slump cone was dampened to prevent concrete sticking to it. The slump cone/mould was placed on the centre of the metal plate and one individual was  asked to stand on the foot pieces on both sides of the mould. The mould was filled in 3 equal depth layers and each layer was rod 25 times using the  steel slump rod (ensuring even spread of blows covering over the whole area). Concrete was heaped over the top of the cone and with a rolling motion of the rod over  top of the mold the concrete was levelled thus removing the excess concrete. The spillage was carefully removed from the sides of the mould and the base plate   The mould/cone was carefully and slowly lifted vertically upwards. The slump cone was turned upside down and placed next to the molded concrete and the  rod was laid across the slump cone and the distance (slump) between the underside of the  rod and the highest point of the moulded concrete were read using a metal rule. There are different kinds of slump a collapsed slump, sheared slump and a true slump. The first two slump types indicate bad workability and a true slump indicates good  workability. Concrete Beam Casting Curing: Concrete was scooped out of the mixer into oiled moulds on the vibrating table (ensuring  even spread). Concrete was vibrated throughout the pour to eliminate voids and to enable compaction  of concrete by switching on the vibrating table. The vibrating motion also levelled the concrete. The concrete was left to set on the mould for 24 hours After which concrete was struck and placed in the curing room over 14 days. HARDENED CONCRETE TESTS Concrete Sample Testing: Compressive Strength Tests; were carried out on cube and cylinder samples. Flexural Strength Tests; were carried out in the mini beams. The machines where loaded with concrete sample and load applied was set to zero  before running the test. Base and top plates (spacers) were used to determine to provide platforms for the  concrete specimens and to also help provide even distribution of load. The load was applied by the machine till maximum failure load was reached. This reading was taken and the machine cleaned off concrete debris before running tests  for other samples. *Note the loading Pace Rates varied for different sample shape as shown below: Cylinders loading Pace Rate was set at 5.30 KN/s Cubes loading Pace Rate was set at 6.80 KN/s Mini Beams loading Pace Rate was set at 0.200 KN/s RESULTS 1. FRESH CONCRETE PROPERTIES TEST RESULTS Compacting Factor Test Results: Mix 1 Observations: The Concrete Mix appeared to be dry and did not pass through when the trap  door of the upper hopper was opened. The concrete mix was helped through the trap door to  the lower hopper by pushing it with a metal rod through the first trap door. The same was  done in order to get it through the second trap door into the container. This showed that it  was a bad mix with bad flowability, mobility and workability properties due to low water  content. Mix 2 Observations: The concrete mix was passed through the hopers with better ease than mix 1,  however only  ¼ of the contents went through, the rest was forced through both trap doors  with a metal rod. Therefore the flow ability and workability properties of this mix were bad,  but better than mix1, owing it to the increased water content in mix 2. Mix 3 Observations: The obtained concrete mix was a wet mix (a bit too wet) with what would  appear to be good flowability properties as all contents went through the hopers and trap  doors with one sweep and much ease. Therefore the flowability and workability properties  were the best observed for all 3 mixes, but too much water content is not good either. The compacting factor test was worked out for all the 3 Concrete Mixes and results are  shown in table 2 below. *The calculations were carried out on Microsoft Excel using the formula shown below. Compacting factor = (Weight of partially compacted concrete)/(Weight of fully  compacted concrete) BS 1881: Part 103 states that concrete is deemed unsuitable if its compacting factor is  below 0.70 or above 0.98. For normal concretes the compacting factor normally lies  between 0.80 and 0.92 (Jackson Dhir 1996). Apparent workability shown below was determined by using Compacting factor table in There was no slump as  the mix was too dry  therefore indicating  poor mobility,  flowability and  workability Collapsed slump was  obtained and the slump  exceeded the allowable  tolerance stated in BS  5328. The slump cone  was 300mm high and  the concrete mix  slumped by half that  value to 150mm. This  indicates that the mix  was too wet and this  affected its cohesive  properties. Very high *Apparent workability shown above was determined by using Slump Results Table shown  in Appendix 2 (Kew 2009). (K0837225) Page 12 Mix 1 Dry Mix/ Zero Slump Mix 2 Wet mix /13mm True Slump Mix3 Mix too wet/ collapsed slump Figure 7: Shows the Slump Results Obtained for concrete mixes with varying water  cement ratios. (Mix 1 w/c ratio 0.45, Mix 2 w/c ratio 0.55 and Mix 3 w/c ratio 0.65). 2. HARDENEDED CONCRETE PROPERTIES TEST RESULTS Figure 8: Shows the cube specimen being loaded into the compressing machine and on the right,  the classical cube hour glass failure mode on one of the cube specimen. Figure 9: Shows the cylinder specimen being loaded into the compressing machine and on the  right, the failure mode on 3 of the cylinder specimens. Figure 10: Shows a mini beam failing when subjected to Flexural Loads. This is the classical failure  mode of beams. The beam undergoes tensile and flexural strain resulting in bending and snapping of  the beam. Concrete is generally brittle and this makes it weak in tension. Hence the need for  reinforcement of concrete, steel is good in tension so it lends that quality to concrete, resulting in  better stronger structures. The results above are indicative of the effects of w/c ratio on the strength of concrete. At  0.45 w/c ratio the strength was 630.4 (Influence of test conditions. Table above show that specimen shape and size is also  influential on the compressive strength. Therefore measured strength of concrete is also  affected by height diameter ratio. This is to just show that test conditions can also affect the  determination of concrete strength. In BS 1881: Part 116 specifies that 150mm cube test are  only used for quality control purposes. Whereas BS 1881: Part 120 indicates that cylinder  test specimens are used to carry out compressive strength tests for in situ concrete and  precast members. A correction factories usually applied to the cylinder strength to obtain an  equivalent cube strength, it takes into account the specimen height /diameter ratio (i.e.  300mm/150mm = 2.). This explains the high compressive strength results obtained in  cylinder specimens than in cube specimens despite the being made off the same batch of  concrete. It should also be considered that the loading Pace Rates for c ubes (and cylinders  were varied. The trend obtained from the results shown above indicates that increasing w/c ratio increases  flexural strength. Af hydration strengthens the bonding between the cementious material and  the aggregates. However like all other factors, too much of anything is not good. If the mix  has excess water it will result in reduced flexural strength and results in bleeding of concrete  thus a weakened structure with pours in them. Again the normal distribution curve can me  expected with extremes. DISCUSSION One type of test is not enough to indicate the workability of the concrete as a whole. Use of  various tests bring out various properties that determine workability, for example, the  compacting factor can indicate how workable in the concrete will be in terms of how easily  can the concrete be vibrated and compacted. It is also a good indicator of the mobility and  flowability of concrete. It Shows how easily the concrete can be pumped from a concrete  skip into shutters, how easily the concrete will pass through the skip trap door when on  casting real structure on site. On the other hand the slump best indicates how workable the  concrete is in terms of its cohesive nature and segregation of its aggregates. It is important to  carry more than one of these tests to indicate various workability factors. These tests can also  be carried out at various stages between concrete production and casting. The common  construction site test (In situ test) is the slump tes t, it serves as the last point of quality check  prior to casting, and all other workability factors are normally carried out on the concrete  production sites. For example, the compactability factor will be most useful on production as  other mobility enhancing admixtures may be added prior to transporting concrete to site,  hence saving time, money and other complications that may arise from delaying site  programmes. From table 2 the results obtained from all mixes had compacting factors  between 0.70 and 0.98 hence indicating that all the tested concrete mixes would be  acceptable under the BS 1881. This certainly does not mean that all mixes had good  workability properties. Jackson Dhir (1996) state that some of the basic assumptions for  the test are not correct and should not be solely relied upon extensively as they can be  misleading. As concrete mixes can have same compacting factor but may not always require  the same amount of work to reach full c ompaction as compaction cannot be justified in the  true sense. From the results in table 2 it shows that changing the water/cement ratio affected  the compacting factor. Increasing the water cement ratio increased the compacting factor  therefore the workability of the concrete. All these tests have limits, for example placing  more water would have resulted in decreasing compactability factor as increasing the water  content will result in lowered compacting factors. (Compacting liquid materials do not result  in changes between partially compacted weight and fully compacted weight, hence if more  excess water is added the mix will have lower differences between partially compacted  weight and fully compacted weight. Hence giving rise to normal distribution curves for the  compressive tests. This also applies to flexural strength and durability of the concrete. CONCLUSION In conclusion it is clear that too little w/c ratio reduces the strength of concrete just as well as  too much w/c ratio will result in porous concrete. Therefore adequate amounts need to be  used to gain the best results. The best way of getting accurate assumptions on concrete is to  consider various factors. Increasing the water content ratio generally increases the strength  but may also result in shrinkage of the concrete hence altering durability and permeability  factors. Q1: Report all the results fresh properties (slump value and the shape of the slump) and  hardened properties (strength) of the concrete and comment on the results. See Results  Section for Answers. Q2: Why the need to measure the fresh and hardened properties of the concrete? Fresh properties are only of much importance in the stages of the concrete mix. These  help concrete producers spot problems early on the stage before structures are cast thus  potentially saving money, time and preventing unstable structures form being built by  spotting and correcting problems with concrete at an early stage. Also this helps prevent  the need to strike down newly built structures due to instability of concrete mixes used. Fresh properties can help indicate how much work labours will have to do on site and  consequently the energy and money that will be required when casting concrete on site. On the other hand hardened concrete properties are important in determining and the life  span of the concrete in the form of s concrete structure. The hardened properties are  important in observing and maintaining the strength of the structure and its durability. Other hardened factors are permeability and shrinkage of the concrete structures after  being built due to harsh weathers and conditions. The latter factors are of much  importance in structures like dams which require high water retaining properties.   Therefore both properties help in the development and maintenance of a good quality  structures and ensuring long life span. Whilst providing adequate safety to the habitats of  those structures. Q3: Concrete is usually tested at 28-Days for its compression strength. Why at 28-Days? The specimens should be cured under water and for normal concrete they should have  reached maximum strength at 28 Days. Concrete hardening process (Hydration) is  thought to reach its final strength in 28 Days as the reaction slows to a halt and adding  more water or curing concrete past that stage will sure minute or no further significant  changes in concrete strength. Q4: As for reinforced concrete beam, describe the need to place reinforced steel in  concrete beam, the purpose of cover/spacing, the diameter of the steel used and why  concrete beams need to be reinforced? Concrete is good in compression meaning it has high resilience to compressive forces but  is very weak in tension. As noted in the results the beams failed at much lower loads than  both cubes and cylinders, although there are other factors that play a role here that is the  general observation. Hence concrete reinforcement is required, it has good tensile  resilience and when concrete and steel are combined they result in components strong in  both tensile and compressive properties. The purpose of concrete cover is to protect steel  from corrosion, due to air reacting with steel and prevent rust formation due to water. Corrosion and rust results in weakened concrete structure as may result in loss of  resilience to tensile forces. So the concrete cove4r provides protection and a neutral  environment for steel. Concrete cover usually ranges around 500mm from the steel bars. Excess cover is not good as it makes the structure more susceptible to chipping and hence  weakens the cover itself and increases chances of steel corrosion taking place. The  diameter of steel used can vary according to the purpose of the structure but over  reinforcement can also bring about imbalances to the structural stability and may result in  a weakened structure. The normal diameter used ranges between 10-30mm, this makes it  easier to bend and alter on site as well as provide ease of manual handling for steel fixers.

How Does the Tell Tale Heart Fulfil Your Expectations of A Gothic Essay

How Does the Tell Tale Heart Fulfil Your Expectations of A Gothic Story? From a gothic story such as the tell tale heart, by Edgar Allan Poe, I expect numerous amounts of gory deaths, intense suspense, hideous horror, plently of fear and espically paranoia. They should also contain a variety of literacy techniques including imagery, sentence structure, punctation and repititation in my essay I will be focusing on the amounts of death, horror, fear, suspense and the amount of literacy techniques used throughout the story. Edgar Allan Poe uses a lot of suspense in the Tell Tale Heart. To increase the effect the suspense he incorprates it with literacy techniques. One example of mixing literacty techniques with suspense is when Edgar Allan Poe uses imagery to descirbe the man creeping into the old mans bedroom when the old man wakes up. ‘I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out --"Who's there?" I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour, I did not mo...

Business Ethics Essay -- Philosophy Ethics Morality essays research pa

Business Ethics Ethics is a branch of philosophy that inquires into the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong (â€Å"ethics,† Collegiate). Ethics is not primarily concerned with the description of moral systems in societies. That task, which remains on the level of description, is one for anthropology or sociology. In contrast, ethics deals with the justification of moral principles. A Brief History of the Study of Ethics Ethics has been studied since ancient times. In the oldest of the Indian writings, ethics is an integral aspect of philosophical and religious speculation about the nature of reality. These writings date from about 1500 BC. They have been described as â€Å"the oldest philosophical literature in the world, and what they say about how people ought to live may therefore be the first philosophical ethics† (Everson 5). In ancient China, he humane teaching of Confucius and his followers, the peaceful wisdom of Lao-zi, and the universal love of Mo-zi offered alternatives to frequent wars. Early Greece was the birthplace of Western philosophical ethics. In the poetic literature of the 7th and 6th centuries BC, there were ethical precepts but no real attempts to formulate a coherent overall ethical position. The Greeks were later to refer to the most prominent of these poets and early philosophers as the seven sages, and they are frequently quoted with respect by Plato and Aristotle. During the Classical Period of Greek ethics, three great philosophers – Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle – flourished in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Their ideas have served ever since as the cornerstone for the Western ethics. In the later Greek and Roman periods, the two dominant schools of thought, Stoicism and Epicureanism, represent important approaches to the question of how one ought to live. The Middle Ages did not give birth to any major new ethical theories. It is worth mentioning that Christian ethics is distinguished from the philosophical discipline of ethics, which relies upon the authority of reason. Christian ethics, also called moral theology, appeals to the authority of revelation, specifically as found in the preaching and activity of Jesus Christ. The significance of Renaissance for ethics lies in a change of focus. For the first time since the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, ... ... Conclusion Conflicts of interest are fundamental to the nature of business. Although society wants companies to create many well-paying jobs, those same organizations want to limit compensation costs and raise productivity levels. Customers want to purchase goods and services at low prices, but businesses want to maximize profits. Society wants to reduce pollution levels, but businesses want to minimize the cost that environmental regulations add to their operations. Managers must continuously and consciously balance the needs of the organization and its stockholders with the needs of other stakeholders, including workers, customers, and the larger community. Managers must also balance their personal needs and desires against those of their organizations. Works Cited Ashby, W. Allen, Warren Ashby. A Comprehensive History of Western Ethics: What Do We Believe? Amherst: Prometheus Books, 1997 Becker, Lawrence C., and Charlotte B. Becker, ed. A History of Western Ethics. New York : Routledge, 2003. â€Å"ethics.† Collegiate Encyclopà ¦dia. 2005. Collegiate Encyclopà ¦dia. 4 June 2005 . Everson, Stephen, ed. Ethics. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

To the County High School Class of 2012: As you sit in front of me, I know what most of you are thinking at the moment. There are those who are already pondering about what life without high school will be like; those who are debating whether or not to tell your crush tonight about your whispers of adoration you’ve secretly held for four years; some simply want to get out of that ungodly chair, get that thing that isn’t really a diploma but only tells you when to pick up the thing, and then be the first one on the green bus to the grad party — you know who you are. And the rest, well, the rest aren’t even paying attention, you’re thinking, â€Å"Great, here comes one of the valedictorian speakers. Next up: a boring speech straight out of the pits of scholarly hell.† And it’s OK, I don’t mind — that sort of thing comes with the territory. But tonight, I ask that you give me a chance to break that stereotype so that I may a ddress you in the full splendor that you deserve after 13 grueling years of work. I do not want to be known as your â€Å"valedictorian† as I stand here, c’mon guys, there is no time left to place labels on people anymore, instead I ask that you accept me as one of your peers — and as a man who will enjoy becoming a graduate alongside you. Over the last three days I’ve been through two drafts of this speech, one dealing with the future and the other dealing with the past. I had the usual â€Å"we are entering a new chapter in our lives† spiel, and then, because everyone pressured me to â€Å"make it funny,† I followed this with some witticisms on flatulence and going to jail; and then going to jail for flatulence; and then flatulence inside a jail with a guy named Red. Needless to say, I ditched those speeches. Twenty-four ho... ...e that comes from the reflective mood of the evening. Enjoy the silence while you can for it is anticlimax you weren’t expecting after you finished LHS. Capture the silence as an aspect of taste. Remember it. Finally, take a deep breath, and smile at that wonderful smell: the aroma of relief. After years of following the path of public schooling, I invite you to welcome the liberation that comes from graduation. This sugary aroma only comes once in a lifetime. Capture it with your sense of smell. Remember it in the years to come. As our time together draws to a close, I leave LHS with no further anecdotes of wisdom or quotes dealing with success; only the sincere hope that you immersed yourself in the essence of commencement. Everybody, we’ll all be graduates by the time we leave tonight. Let’s enjoy it. Congratulations to the Lee High School Class of 2006.

A Definition of Organizational Culture Essay

Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. Seven primary characteristics seem to capture the essence of an organization’s culture 1.Innovation and risk taking The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. 2.Attention to detail The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis and attention to detail. 3.Outcome orientation The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them. 4.People orientation The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. 5.Team orientation The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals. 6.Aggressiveness The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing. 7.Stability The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth. Creating and Sustaining Culture An organization’s current customs, traditions, and general way of doing things are largely due to what it has done before and how successful it was in doing it. This leads us to the ultimate source of an organization’s culture: its founders. Free of previous customs or ideologies, founders have a vision of what the organization should be, and the firm’s small size makes it easy to impose that vision on all members. Culture creation occurs in three ways. First, founders hire and keep only employees who think and feel the same way they do. Second, they indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and feeling. And finally, the founders’ own behavior encourages employees to identify with them and internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions. When the organization succeeds, the founders’ personality becomes embedded in the culture. Keeping a Culture Alive Once a culture is in place, practices within the organization maintain it by giving employees a set of similar experiences. The selection process, performance evaluation criteria, training and development activities, and promotion procedures ensure those hired fit in with the culture, reward those who support it, and penalize those who challenge it. Three forces play a particularly important part in sustaining a culture: selection practices, the actions of top management, and socialization methods. 1.Selection The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully. The final decision, because it’s significantly influenced by the decision maker’s judgment of how well the candidates will fit into the organization, identifies people whose values are essentially consistent with at least a good portion of the organizations. 2.Top Management The actions of top management also have a major impact on the organization’s culture. Through words and behavior, senior executives establish norms that filter through the organization about, for instance, whether risk taking is desirable, how much freedom managers give employees, what is appropriate dress, and what actions earn pay raises, promotions, and other rewards. 3.Socialization No matter how good a job the organization does in recruiting and selection, new employee’s need help adapting to the prevailing culture. That help is socialization. For example, all Marines must go through boot camp, where they prove their commitment and learn the â€Å"Marine way.† New recruits go to an internal Web portal to learn about the company and engage in some activities that help them understand the culture of the organization. After they start work, they continue to learn about the organization through an ongoing social networking application that links new workers with more established members of the firm and helps ensure that culture is transmitted over time. Why is culture important? Culture can affect business outcomes in a number of ways, both positive and negative. For example, cultures that are not aligned with corporate strategy can lead to decreased loyalty, a lack of motivation, and high employee turnover. Healthy cultures, however, impart pride and a sense of purpose to employees, leading to increased productivity and a greater understanding of corporate goals, as with the employee at the car manufacturing plant. Strategy, operational performance, and culture are all strongly related. High-performing companies often view culture as an enabler of strategy and performance, and want to create a culture that will support and enable employees in achieving those goals. Define and Establish Cultural Diversity A typical organization has an extensive range of people who have cultural and personal differences. A small business interested in fostering cultural diversity among its employees endeavors to create mutual respect for the different cultures, along with enabling personnel to reach their full potential. Acknowledging diverse cultures enables the organization to positively influence the organizational behavior that, in turn, enhances the performance and image of the organization. The business should portray the cultural diversity aspect of the organization in the mission statement. The Positive Influence of Cultural Diversity in Organizational Behavior Cultural diversity involves the differences in the composition of members of an organization in terms of nationality, race, color, gender, creed, religion or age, in other words, an array of culture found among people from diverse backgrounds. Organizational behavior refers to the nature of interactions among people and groups within an organization. The positive influence of cultural diversity facilitates members of the organization to build relationships and acknowledge each other regardless of their differences of origin and background. Transforming Organizational Behavior The patterns of behavior in the organization are influenced by the nature of interactions and degree of diversity within the organization. The business,  therefore, should seek to create an organizational culture that not only enhances the diversity of its workforce composition but also boosts individual performance. The positive influences of cultural diversity not only enable the organization to increase the scope of its reach the business also receives favorable exposure from every sector of the population due to its multicultural approach. Sustaining Positive Influence Programs Programs for positive influence should always be adjusted to suit the dynamic nature of interactions among people. Establish regular forums and educational programs in which participants are trained to be sensitive to and appreciate cultural diversity, as well as in maintaining desirable organizational behavior. Regularly post motivational quotes and messages of cultural diversity on public bulletin boards. Concentrate on creating programs that internalize cultural diversity into the organization’s behavior.