Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Subprime Meltdown Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Subprime Meltdown - Movie Review Example Many banks, carried away by the rising real estate prices, extended loans to even those people who had a compromised credit history or did not qualify to secure such loans. The banks went extending such risky loans to profit from the high-interest rates agreed upon by such people. Being too overconfident that their creditors will eventually be able to honor such mortgages, considering the rising real estate prices, these banks did not care to be particular about the credit history of many of the creditors. By omitting this cardinal practice they not only compromised the eventual financial health of their banks but also betrayed their shareholders. The irony was that many Western investment firms also gave in to this opportunistic greed and readily purchased these loans from the erring banks to repackage them and sell them as Mortgage Backed Securities to their customers. The net result was that when in 2007 many customers started defaulting on their mortgages, it gave way to a chain reaction, leading to many banks and financial institutions going bankrupt. This avoidable economic debacle was caused by the basic unethical decision made by many banks to extend risky loans to customers with poor credit history. Simply speaking, defaulting customers, irresponsible banks, and unrealistically speculative investment firms were responsible for this fall. Primarily, the parties involved in these acts of omission were guided by ethical egoism. It is an ethical philosophy that lays stress on validating the rightness or wrongness of any action in relation to the extent to which it serves one’s self-interest. The banks and their customers opted for risky mortgages led by their greed for higher profits, even at the cost of forsaking sound financial practices. In contrast, if the investors and financial institutions had pursued a philosophy of ethical utilitarianism, which favors such decisions that enhance positive outcomes for the maximum number of people associatedà ‚  with such a decision, things would have turned different.  

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Pressure Sores Essay Example for Free

Pressure Sores Essay The basic philosophy of palliative care is to achieve the best quality of life for patients even when their illness cannot be cured. Palliative care is provided through comprehensive management of the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of patients, while remaining sensitive to their personal, cultural, and religious values and beliefs. Hospital palliative care services are often provided through an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals including, but not limited to: Doctors, Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, Psychologists, Social Workers, and Priests. FATIGUE Fatigue is a common, distressing and debilitating symptom experienced by people with cancer. In those receiving palliative care it is probably the most frequently reported symptom and is experienced by more than 90 per cent of these patient. However, it represents the most commonly unrelieved cancer symptom. Cancer related fatigue can have a number of factors that can be difficult to establish, however despite these problems advancing research will help to promote the problem as a palliative care symptom that can be assessed and managed. In patients with advanced cancer, the prevalence rates of various symptoms are approximately as follows Pain 89% Fatigue 69% Weakness 66% Anorexia 66% Lack of energy 61% Nausea 60% Dry mouth 57% Constipation 52% Dyspnoea 50% Vomiting 30%. (Donnelly 1995) Defining Cancer-Related Fatigue Cancer-related fatigue is a complex phenomenon with physical, cognitive and affective methods of expression. A clear understanding of what it means is essential before it can be assessed and managed, or healthcare Assistants are able to discuss it with patients and colleagues. After exploring fatigue from the perspective of patients, Ream (1996) derived the following definition: a subjective, unpleasant symptom which incorporates feelings ranging from tiredness to exhaustion, creating an unrelenting overall condition which interferes with individual’s ability to function to their normal Causes and effects. The causes of cancer-related fatigue is still unknown, and lack of success in treating it at the end of life stage is in part due to this lack of knowledge. Quality of life is related to symptoms, functioning, and psychological and social well-being, while during end-of-life care, spirituality is a major issue, patients become too tired to participate fully in their roles an d activities that make life meaningful, fatigue therefore significantly affects their quality of life. Patients/Family Perceptions One of the barriers to treating fatigue at the end of life may be patients, families and Doctors perception of it as an unavoidable, untreatable symptom (Johnson, 2004).Many people experience fatigue, but studies have shown that fatigue experienced by patients with cancer is more rapid in onset, more energy-draining, more intense, longer-lasting, more severe and more unrelenting when compared with typical fatigue. Advance care planning and establishing goals of care are essential because they enhance the control patients have over their care and assure autonomy if the patient is unable to communicate their wishes or make decisions at later stages of illness. Patients want a voice in their healthcare, they want to know what to expect and how to plan for their treatment and their future. Establishing goals early on for current and future healthcare helps to avoid future unnecessary harm and inappropriate prolongation of dying. It is well recognized that interventions focused on curing dying patients result in increased suffering, with little or no benefit for the patient. This suffering may even extend beyond the patient. Nurses also struggle ethically and emotionally when care for dying patients is focused on technology rather than on comfort and quality of life. In addition, twenty-per cent of patients relatives develop a physical illness in response to the stress of coping with their loved on es poor health. Treating Underlying Causes Before a patients fatigue is simply attributed to the cancer it is important to identify and treat easily reversible underlying physiological and psychological causes of fatigue. For example, this may involve reducing non-essential medications, treating infections, correcting hypercalcaemia and electrolyte disorders or treating pain, depression, sleep disorders or anaemia .A link between fatigue, sleep and anxiety can be readily identified, and the approach to management is a general one. In palliative care, efforts are directed at alleviating symptoms, as well as toward preventing or treating the underlying cause when that is possible interventions should begin with the promotion of sensitive communication, giving patients the opportunity to discuss their fatigue in the context of living with a terminal illness and its impact on their lives , found that enabling patients to talk about their fatigue both facilitated professional assessment and helped them to explore the meaning of th e cancer and fatigue experience for themselves, and for their family and friends. This can help patients regain a sense of control and freedom to focus on other important aspects of their lives, so restoring their self-esteem .Patient and family education can be of great value in understanding cancer-related fatigue. Family members may interpret fatigue as a sign that the patient is giving up, when it is actually beyond her or his control. Complementary medicine embodies the principles of palliative care by helping to ease the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual effects of illness. It aims to control symptoms and to enhance quality of life for patients and their families. Relaxation, visualisation, massage and aromatherapy are currently being evaluated as part of a global intervention known as Beating Fatigue. There is already evidence of the beneficial effect of massage and aromatherapy on depression and other symptoms including fatigue. CONCLUSIONS/EVALUATIONS Whilst undertaking this assignment certain words keep coming to mind. Words like empathy, caring, stress, burnout, teamwork many more but I have learned to respect all patients, promote dignity, to be a better team player be confident in my abilities, but mostly I have realised that to further a career in any area of palliative care will require more training, more understanding of different patients conditions and there requirements on a daily basis and to be more conscience of the responsibilities of healthcare assistants when caring for all patients. As said previously I will seek further training in this area not only to be of greater benefit to the patients but also to seek training in some form of grief counselling to be of greater assistance to relatives and friends of patients, to empathise more and to just be able to listen when needed. Despite the high prevalence of cancer-related fatigue among patients in palliative care, its treatment is less successful than treatment for other symptoms at the end of life. The causes of fatigue in patients with advanced cancer are often unclear, multiple factors may be responsible and little is known about its causes. The specific goals of palliative care are to improve the quality of the last stages of patient’s lives, control symptoms, and provide support to family members and to pay attention to patient’s perceptions of purpose and meaning of life. The experience of cancer-related fatigue has a major impact on patient’s motivation as it means they are unable to undertake physical activities and that they lose interest in activities and life in general. Although it is difficult to conduct research on patients who are highly distressed, have severe symptoms or who are dying, there is the potential for such research to have a therapeutic benefit for those taking part. Providing patients with cancer an opportunity to discuss their feelings associated with symptoms such as fatigue provides information necessary to develop professional understanding and can also help patients to make sense or come to terms with their condition. Future research should focus on determining effective solutions including alternative and complementary therapies rather than on reassessing need. More focused fatigue assessment tools and targeted fatigue interventions for patients at the end of life are required, as is training in fatigue management so that healthcare assistants are more knowledgeable and skilled in assessing and managing fatigue. By understanding the physical, psychosocial and emotional needs of an individuals experience of advanced cancer, palliative care research demonstrates that health professionals can help patients to adapt to living with cancer-related fatigue. Such intervention can empower patients to maintain control over decisions relating to their care and can assist them to understand and find meaning in their fatigue. REFERENCES Donnelly S, Walsh D.(1995) The symptoms of advanced cancer. Semin Oncol 1995; 22(2 suppl 3):67–72. Johnson, C. (1992). Coping with compassion fatigue. Nursing, 22(4), 116, 118-120. Ream E. (2007) Fatigue in patients Nursing Stand.2007: 21(28)49-56

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Environmental impact of the life cycle of tap water with the life cycle of glass bottled water

Environmental impact of the life cycle of tap water with the life cycle of glass bottled water Abstract In this report, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is applied to compare the lifecycle of tap water and bottled water using the four assessment methods. The results of inventory analysis and impact assessment shows that the tap water and glass bottled water production processes play an important role in almost all of the analysed parameters. The processes that have was examined include production and transportation, the quantification of the energy used and the potential contributions to impact categories was also evaluated. It was realised that the glass bottle water production shows a relatively higher energy requirement as well as overall higher contribution to environmental impact in Climate change, ozone layer, Exotoxicity, acidification/eutrophication, respiratory organics, respiratory inorganics, radiation, carcinogens, land use and minerals. 1:Introduction Presently, industries and businesses are assessing how their activities affect the environment due to increases environmental awareness. Also, the Society is becoming more concerned about the issues of natural resource depletion and environmental degradation and many industries have responded to this awareness by providing sustainable products and using sustainable processes. Drinking water is a basic necessity, but how can this basic need be satisfied in an environmentally friendly manner. This analysis compares the entire life cycle from the water extraction to serving it up in a glass bottle in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The systems that have been assessed in this study are: the production of inputs of tap water and glass bottle, transportation, energy used and the manufacturing process. This study was carried out with the use of the SimaPro 7 software for the inventory and interpretation of the analysis. Eco-indicator 99 (l) V2.02/Europe El 99 l/l was used as an assessment method in which the various materials and products are weighted with regard to the impact caused by them to the environment. 2:Benefits of conducting Life Cycle Assessment * Life cycle analysis encourages a more informed and broader view of the environmental impact of a product. It helps decision-makers select the product or process that results in the least impact to the environment. This information can be used alongside other factors, such as cost and performance data to select a product or process. * LCA helps to avoids generalisations about the environmental performance of a product in isolation to its total life cycle. Rather, it openly acknowledges the assumptions made, and tests the effects of the assumptions. * LCA allows producers and consumers to compare relatively, the significance of different types of environmental impacts with caution. * LCA helps to avoid the Shifting environmental problems from one place to another; It allows a decision maker to study an entire product system thus, avoiding a sub-optimization that could result if only a single process were the focus of the study. For example, when choosing between two rival products, it may appear that product A is better for the environment because it generates less solid waste than product B. However, after performing an LCA it might be discovered that the first product actually creates larger cradle-to-grave environmental impacts when measured across all three media i.e. air, land and water e.g. it may cause more emissions of chemicals during its manufacturing stage. Therefore, the second product that produces solid more waste may be viewed as producing less cradle-to-grave environmental harm or impact than the first technology due its lower chemical emissions. This ability to track and document shifts in environmental impacts of products can help decision makers to fully characterize the environmental trade-offs associated with product alternatives. By conducting an LCA, analysts will be able to; * Analyze the environmental trade-offs associated with one or more specific products to help gain stakeholders acceptance for a planned action. * Quantify the environmental emissions to air, water, and land in relation to each life cycle stage and the major contributing process. * Develop an efficient assessment of the environmental consequences associated with a given product. 3:Challenges encountered in conducting Life Cycle Assessment Performing an LCA could be time and resource intensive. Depending on how comprehensive the user wishes to conduct, gathering the data can be problematic, and the availability of data can greatly impact on the accuracy of the final results. Therefore, it is important to consider the availability of data, the time required to accomplish the study, and the financial resources necessary against the anticipated benefits of the LCA. Table 1 below shows the general challenges of LCA. Table 1:The general challenges and difficulties of LCA methodology. Goal definition and scoping In conducting an LCA, the cost may be prohibitive to small firms; also, the required time to conduct LCA may exceed product development constraints especially for short development cycles; the temporal and spatial magnitude of a dynamic product system are complex to address; definition of functional units for the evaluation of design alternatives can be problematic; allocation methods used in defining system boundaries have inherent weaknesses; complex products (e.g. automobiles) entails huge resources to analyse. Data collection Availability of data and access can be limiting e.g. proprietary data; data quality, including bias, precision completeness and accuracy ,are frequently not well addressed. Data Evaluation Sophisticated models and model parameters for evaluating resource depletion, human health and ecosystem, may not be available or their ability to represent the product system may be repulsive. Thus most times, uncertainty analyses of the results are often not conducted. Information transfer Design decision-makers often lack knowledge about environmental effects, and aggregation and simplification techniques may distort results. Synthesis of environmental effect categories is limited because they are incommensurable. According to (Keoleian, 2003)Both cost and time constraints currently limit the practice of LCA. Most small companies are not likely to be able to afford specializing in LCA and even for larger firms, the benefits of investment in LCA may not be apparent immediately. In some cases, possible cost savings may not be identified unless full cost accounting systems have been instituted. Therefore, in other for it to be more cost effective, it should be incorporated into the existing environmental management system and information systems within a firm. Also, LCA will not conclude on which product is the most cost effective or works the best. Therefore, the information developed in an LCA should be used as one component of a more comprehensive decision process in assessing the trade-offs with cost and performance, an example is Life Cycle Management. 4:Present quality examples of uses of LCA. One example of the uses of Life cycle assessment is its application in the pulp and paper industry. Life cycle assessment is used to compare the environmental impact of the use of two kinds of fuel i.e. heavy fuel oil and natural gas, in the pulp and paper production process. Another, LCA methodology can be applied to agricultural production. An example is the Life cycle analysis of sugar beet production using different forms of nitrogen fertilizers. It could be used in this aspect to quantify and evaluate the impact of the choice of different N fertilisers on the environmental burden associated with the sugar beet production system. Also, it could be applied in the bakery industry. An example is the life cycle analysis of bread production by comparing homemade bread or industrial bread. In this context, it could be used to compare the environmental effects of producing bread at home or at the bakery showing which type of bread production has less environmental effects and how the environmental effects can be reduced. 5:Guidance and LCA standards There are international standard which help us undertake LCAs in a standard way. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies) and the ISO technical committees produce international standards on a variety of topics. The ISO 14000 series The ISO 14000 series relates to numerous facets of environmental management. These series includes ISO 14040 14043 and they were prepared by the Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental Management Subcommittee SC 5, Life Cycle Assessment. While ISO recognizes that LCA is still in a growing stage of development, ISO 14040-14043 is a consensus-based, voluntary set of standards pertaining to LCA. ISO 14040 Environmental management Life cycle assessment Principles and framework: Specifies the general framework, principles, and requirements for conducting and reporting life cycle assessment studies, but does not describe the life cycle assessment technique in detail. ISO 14041 Environmental management Life cycle assessment Goal scope and definition and inventory analysis: Specifies the requirements and procedures for the compilation and preparation of the definition of goal and scope for an LCA and for performing, interpreting, and reporting a life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis. ISO 14042 Environmental management Life cycle assessment Life cycle impact assessment: Describes and gives guidance on the general framework for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase of LCA, and the key features and inherent limitations of LCIA. It specifies requirements for conducting the LCIA phase and the relationship of LCIA to other LCA phases. ISO 14043 Environmental management Life cycle assessment Life cycle interpretation: Provides requirements and recommendations for conducting the life cycle interpretation in LCA or LCI studies. It does not describe specific methodologies for the life cycle interpretation phase of LCA and LCI studies. (Dooley, 2002) ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management Life Cycle Assessment Principles and framework PAS2050:2008 Specification for the assessment of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services (Patterson, 2009) These standards set out the general process that should be followed when undertaking any Life Cycle Assessment and are not legally binding or enforceable. 6:Methodological framework 6.1:General requirements This analysis was performed using a methodological framework based on ISO (International Organization for Standardization) recommendations stated above and according to ISO, there are four phases in LCA: goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. 6.2:Goal and scope definition 6.2.1: Purpose The purpose of this study is the identification and assessment of the environmental impacts associated with the production, use, disposal and recycling of tap water and glass bottle water. The main reason for conducting this study is to compare the environmental impact of the life cycle of tap water with the life cycle of glass bottled water, to provide information on which of production processes has less environmental impact, to understand which of the processing stages account for the highest or lowest environmental effects and to evaluate how the environmental impacts can be reduced. 6.2.2: Functional Unit (FU) The main purpose of the functional unit is to provide a reference unit to which the inventory data are normalised. In this assessment, the appropriate functional unit of water is related to 1 kg of portable water to be consumed and the equivalent amount which is 750 grams of water in the bottle 6.2.3:Study Questions The study seeks to answer the following questions: * What are the environmental impacts of tap water and glass bottle production? * What are the different materials used in the manufacture of these two products? * Which of the production processes has less environmental impact? 6.2.4: Product description The products being assessed are glass bottle and tap water. The raw material used in the production of glass bottle are dolomite, sand, feldspar, limestone, silica sand, natural gas, 2 litres of water and electricity while the raw material used in the production of the tap water are water from lakes, water from river and underground water, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, charcoal and electricity. 6.2.5: Product system boundaries The system being assessed produces glass bottle water and tap water using the typical life cycle stages. * Cradle to material production for glass bottle and reuse. * Treatment and distribution of tap water. 6.2.6:Process flow charts The process flow for the glass bottle is represented in figure 1 below and it includes the following; Water, dolomite, soda, limestone, feldspar, sand, silica sand, natural gas, electricity, transport and waste disposal (land filling and recycling). Figure 3:The network of the Life cycle analysis of the glass bottled water. Figure 4:The network of the Life cycle analysis of the tap water. 6.4.2:Impact Assessment of the tap water and glass bottle water The comparison is made up of the environmental impact of glass bottled water and tap water. For the glass bottle water, the environmental impact is also determined by the power requirements, the basic infrastructure and in this case, the waste disposal scenario is taken into consideration which involves the recycling of the glass. The power requirements and basic infrastructures includes; Electricity, soda powder at the plant, natural gas, transport, manufacturing of the empty white glass bottle and assembly of glass bottle full of water. The analysis of the inventory carried out for the tap water shows that the environmental impact of tap water is determined by power requirements and by the basic infrastructure i.e. the electricity production medium, the pump station, portable water , water supply network and supply of water. By contrast, the recycling equipment used in water treatment is less relevant in this context. The power consumption figures (percentages) are relatively accurate as they make a 100%. Eco Eco-indicator 99 (l) V2.02/Europe El 99 l/l method was used in this study with regards to all the impact categories. For each of the two systems analysed using the SimaPro 7 LCA software, the potential contribution to climate change, ozone layer, Exotoxicity, acidification/eutrophication, respiratory organics, respiratory inorganics, radiation, carcinogens, land use and minerals are characterized. The results are presented below in histograms and in tables. Generally there are 3 steps in Life Cycle Inventory Analysis, namely: * Classification and characterization, * Normalization, and * Weighting Classification and characterization are mandatory element while normalization and weighting are optional elements (Guinee, 2002; Hauschild, Jeswiet, Alting, 2005; ISO14000, 2000). 6.4.3:Characterisation Chart 1:The characterisation under impact assessment for the life cycle analysis of the glass bottle. According to the characterisation chart above, the environmental impact is at the waste disposal scenario and assemble of glass bottle full of water but less at the transport process for all the impact categories. Table 4:Table showing the characterisation result of the impact category in glass bottled water Climate change Climate change is the change in the statistical distribution of weather over a period of time ranging from decades to millions of years. From chart 1 above, the main cause of climate change is more evident during the assembly of glass bottle full of water, emission of CO2, NOx, SO2 etc during the waste disposal stages and at the transport stage due to emission of CO2 by the lorry. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 1.49E-9, -5.92E-8 and 1.31E-9 respectively. Ozone layer The ozone layer is a layer in Earths atmosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs about 93-99% of the suns high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth. From chart 1 above, the main cause of the ozone layer is assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 3.71E-11, -7.45E-12 and 6.47E-13 respectively. Ecotoxicity Ecotoxicity refers to the potential for biological, chemical or physical stressors that affects the ecosystems. Such stressors might occur in the natural environment at concentrations, densities or levels high enough to disrupt the natural biochemistry, behaviour and interactions of the living organisms that comprise the ecosystem. From chart 1 above, the main cause of the ecotoxicity is assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 0.00779, -0.0171and 0.000516 respectively. Acidification/eutrophication Acidification is a natural process used to describe the loss of nutrient bases i.e. calcium, magnesium and potassium through the process of leaching and their replacement by acidic elements such as hydrogen and aluminium. Eutrophication is the increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an level that it increases the primary productivity of the ecosystem. From chart 1 above, the main cause of the Acidification/eutrophication is assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 0.022, -0.00425 and 0.000211 respectively. Respiratory organics From chart 1 above, the main cause of the respiratory organics is assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 2.2E-10, -8.4E-11 and 2.02E-11 respectively. Respiratory inorganics From chart 1 above, the main cause of the respiratory inorganics is assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 3.57E-7, -1.56E-7 and 2.94E-9 respectively. Radiation Radiation is energy that travels in form of waves or high-speed particles. It occurs naturally in sunlight and sound waves. If exposed to small amounts of radiation over a long time, it increases the risk of cancer and it can also cause mutations in genes, which could be pass on to generations after exposure. From chart 1 above, the main cause of the radiation is the assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 1.11E-10,-1.25E-11 and 1.02E-12 respectively. Carcinogens A carcinogen is any substance or radiation, that is an agent directly involved in the exacerbation of cancer or in the increase of its propagation. From chart 1 above, the main cause of the carcinogen is the assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 1.99E-8,-1.03E-8 and 3.41E-10 respectively. Land use Land use is the modification of natural environment into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. From chart 1 above, the major impact on land use is caused by the assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 0.00345,-0.00942 and 0.000176 respectively. Minerals Minerals are naturally occurring solid formed through geological processes with characteristic chemical compositions, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. From chart 1 above, the major impact on mineral is caused by the assembly of the glass bottle full of water, emission during the waste disposal stage and the transportation stage. These are indicated in table 4 above where they contributed 0.00586,-0.00357 and 0.00034 respectively. NB: From the characterisation impact category, the negative number for the waste disposal stage is caused by the uptake of carbon from the atmosphere during the water disposal scenario. Chart 2:The characterisation under impact assessment for the life cycle analysis of the tap water. From the characterisation chart above, the environmental impact occurred at the supply of water stage for all the impact categories. Table 5:Table showing the characterisation result of the impact in the tap water 6.4.4:Normalization Normalization is defined as the extent to which an impact category contributes to the total environmental burden (Guinee, 2002). When the values are normalized, comparison between impacts can be made. From chart 3 below, It was found that the main impact is from the assembly of glass bottle full of water. The main substances that contributed to this impact are; Carbon dioxide, fossil, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, lead, nitrogen oxides, particulates and sulphur oxide emissions that occurred during the manufacturing of the empty white glass bottle. The second impact is the waste disposal, this impact is caused during the waste scenario. The third impact being transport caused due to emission from the lorry taking the bottles to the retailer. Chart 3:The normalisation under impact assessment for the life cycle of glass bottled water Table 6: The normalisation under impact assessment for the glass bottled water. Chart 4: The normalisation under impact assessment for the life cycle of tap water From the chart 4 above, It was found that the main impact is from the supply of water. The main substances that contributed to this impact are aluminium, chloride and chlorine emissions that occurred during the production of the portable water. Table 7: The normalisation under impact assessment for the tap water 6.4.5:Weighting Weighting is a process by which indicators are aggregated into a single score. It makes use subjective weighting factors (Soares, Toffoletto, Deschenes, 2006). Based on table 7, the weighting under impact assessment for the life cycle of the glass bottled water is given the same as normalization. The main impact occurred at the assembly of glass bottle full of water. Followed by waste disposal and transport impact. Chart 5: The weighting under impact assessment for the life cycle of glass bottled water Table 8:The weighting under impact assessment for the glass bottled water Chart 6:The weighting under impact assessment for the life cycle of tap water Based on table 8 below, the weighting under impact assessment for the life cycle of the tap water is given the same as the normalization. The main impact from the supply of water. The main substances that contributed to this impact are aluminium, chloride and chlorine emissions that occurred during the production of the portable water. Table 9:The weighting under impact assessment for the tap water Conclusion / Recommendation From the analysis conducted, tap water contributed the least damage to the environment while glass bottle contributed the highest damage to this category. However, tap water still contributed even at a moderate effect and efforts are needed based on reducing the damages that could happen. Thus, from an environmental point of view, tap water is generally preferable to glass bottled water. If, as an exception, bottled water is consumed, its production process is much more relevant for its environmental impact than its assembly. Among the impacts identified are; * The empty glass bottles production process contributes damages to the human health and the ecosystem quality. * The electricity generation process which uses natural gas has reduced the natural resource. To overcome these problems, suggestions of corrections are as follows: 1. The use of plastic bottles water to replace the glass bottle water 2. The reliance on natural gas for electricity generation is suggested to be combined with other two types of renewable electricity generation namely: * Using 25% solar energy (considering most manufacturing industries to divert into the use of solar energy). * Using 25% hydro-electric energy 25% considering the fact that electricity could be generated from the flowing water in the water treatment plant. * Using 50% natural gas. References Air pollution information system website (2010) Acidification [online] Available from: http://www.apis.ac.uk/overview/issues/overview_acidification.htm [Accessed 12th April 2010] British Standard, Environmental management Life cycle assessment Principles and framework. ISO 14040, 2010. Curran (2006) US EPA Life Cycle Assessment: Principles and Practice. US EPA; Office of Research and Development; NRMRL; Sustainable Technology Division. Dooley. R (2001) Life Cycle Assessment Tools to Measure Environmental Impacts: Assessing Their Applicability to the Home Building Industry. NAHB Research Centre, Inc. 400 Prince Georges Blvd. Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Jungbluth (2006) Comparison of the Environmental Impact of Tap Water vs. Bottled Mineral Water. i -ESU-services, Kanzleistrasse 4, CH-8610 Uster, Switzerland Keoleian. A (2003) The application of life cycle assessment to design. National Pollution Prevention Center, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 430 E. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1115, USA Lopes. E and Dias. A et al (2002) Application of life cycle assessment to the Portuguese pulp and paper industry. Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, 3810 Aveiro, Portugal, Journal of Cleaner Production 11 (2003) 51-59. Medline Plus website (2010) Radiation Exposure [online] Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/radiationexposure.html [Accessed 12th April 2010] Patterson. T (2009) LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA). Sustainable Environment research centre, University of Glamorgan.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Internet and the Future of Communication :: Concept Essays

Even the beginning of the day started bad. I got up late for school and, with my luck had a test first hour. After getting to school and taking the test which seemed to be in a different language, I faced unpleasant customers for five long hours at work. Finally, being able to come home, flip of my shoes and sink my feet into our thick carpet was similar to what heaven must be. Switching into a pair of worn sweats and T-shirt I swiveled into the chair in front of my computer. With a press of a few buttons I called up my E-mail. I had a message from my best friend, Lily. Eagerly I called it up. Seemingly knowing of my bad day, she cheered me up instantly by telling me of her even worse day, after all misery loves company. I typed in a short response and decided to ignore the other mail for now. Just imagine the capability offered to a user, being able to hear from anyone this simply. Maybe a person is at work and decide to write a quick letter. This application is called Electronic Mail, commonly known as E-mail. Similar to the mail system, each user has an address. By putting on the address and typing the message, sending business or personal mail is quick and easy. With more and more computer networks acquiring use to the Internet even more communication will be possible. Information would be only a touch of a key away. So what exactly is the Internet? The Internet is a worldwide web of universities, business, commercial, military and science networks (Laquey 7). The networks function separately but with the Internet they can also function together. All of the information one of the networks supplies (and is willing to give out) is available to all of the other networks. This gives an amazing amount of access to an individual user who is hooked into one of these networks. Individual users, not part of a network, can receive the Internet capabilities by subscribing to a network connected to the Internet. Usually, the networks that supply an Internet connection are commercial. Locally, an example is Prodigy. This is a network, that in itself, provides many resources and can give single users access to the Internet. Personally, Prodigy has created keeping in touch with my friends at college an easier task.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards Essay

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as the â€Å"Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees†, approved Dn February 20, 1989, and which took effect on March 25, 1989, conformably to Section 17 thereof, the following Rules are hereby adopted in order to carry out the provisions of the said Code: Rule I Coverage Section 1. These Rules shall cover all officials and employees in the government, elective and appointive, permanent or temporary, whether in the career or non-career service, including military and police personnel, whether or not they receive compensation, regardless of amount. Over the past 35 years, the number of government employees grew at a faster rate than did the population. Philippine population grew 160% between 1960 to 1997 but total government personnel more than doubled in size from the 360,000 employed in 1960. Expressed in terms of ratio to the total population, the growth in the size of the Philippine government personnel lends some firm basis for the popular perception of a bloated bureaucracy. In 1970, the ratio of government personnel to the total population is 1:90. By 1990, the ratio stood at 1:52. The most telling indicator of the period of rapid expansion of the bureaucracy is reflected in the growth rate of government’s cash disbursements for personal services. Yearly incremental rates between 1980 to 1991 were in double figures, averaging 21% during the 11-year period, and grew as high as 35.8% in 1984-1985. In the immediately preceding years, the increase in government expenditures for personal services is accounted for by th e implementation of the second phase of the Salary Standardization Law which provided for yearly increase in basic salaries of government personnel over four years. This is because since  1992, growth in size has been arrested due to the combined effects of a number of right-sizing initiatives which include: the 5-year effectivity of RA 7041 or the Attrition Law; agency-specific streamlining programs; changes in budgetary allotments which funded only the filled positions; and to some extent, the exit of positions in the disposed or privatized units of government. In the last four years, increases in number of personnel have been attributed to the population-based personnel teachers and policemen and to the local government units, the last due to devolution by the national government of certain functions and activities. Outside of those classes of personnel, the increase in national employees (NGAs) and those employed by government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) has switched into a decelerating mode. The size, distribution, and general profile of government are given in statistical data derived from the yearly inventory of government personnel conducted by the Commission. The inventory is based on actual occupancy of positions at the end of each year. Rule II Interpretation Section 1. These Rules shall be interpreted in the light of the Declaration of Policy found in Section 2 of the Code: â€Å"It is the policy of the State to promote a high standard of ethics in public service. Public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people and shall discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence and loyalty, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives, and uphold public interest over personal interest.† Ethics is gaining prominence in the discourse about governance today. There is a perception that standards in public life are in decline. This raises questions about the costs of misconduct on the part of those who have been entrusted with guarding public interest and resources. These costs are losses in trust and confidence in public institutions and losses in precious resources which were meant to support the economic and social development of  nations and peoples. There is a move worldwide to restore a measure of trust and integrity in public institutions and officials, to safeguard democracy and promote better governance. It could be argued that the perception of a fall in public standards is linked to the shifting role of the state, which is undergoing tremendous reform. Globalization, technological advances, spreading democratization and fiscal crises are challenging states to deal with strong external forces, be smart in serving its citizenry, devolve power, and divest itself of obsolete activities. As a result, the public service, as an institution, is under pressure to transform itself to respond to these changes. As public servants are asked to take on new and sometimes conflicting roles, there is a need for a cost-effective structure and an encouraging culture to enforce standards and guide their behavior. Under a democracy such as in the Philippines, the people’s fundamental faith in the integrity of political institutions is what holds the system together even under the most difficult times. The present situation in the Philippines is a test of this principle. Whether or not the test is passed with success is a matter yet to be seen. However, at this stage, what could be gainfully learned from present experience is the knowledge that people’s trust seems to lie on the existence of ethics and accountability mechanisms and infrastructure. As shown and proven with quite a measure of success by many studies, ethics and accountability are keys not only to effective government but also to effective governance. The following discussions deal with some of the infrastructures and initiatives in the Philippines. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines provides the basis of ethical and accountable behavior in the public sector. Section 1 of Article XI states that: Public office i s a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives. This provision requires every public official and employee to exhibit and live certain values while in government service. In addition, the State has been mandated by the Constitution to â€Å"maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and  effective measures against graft and corruption†. In 1989, the Philippine legislature passed Republic Act No. 6713, a law embodying the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. The Code spells out in fine detail the do’s and don’ts for government officials and employees in and out of the workplace. These do’s and don’ts are encapsulated in the eight norms of conduct to be observed by all government officials and employees. These norms or standard s are: †¢ Commitment to public interest †¢ Professionalism †¢ Justness and sincerity †¢ Political neutrality †¢ Responsiveness to the public †¢ Nationalism and patriotism †¢ Commitment to democracy †¢ Simple living The Code, likewise, introduced some reforms in the administrative systems like giving heads of agencies the responsibility of ensuring there is a value development program for their employees; continuing studies on work systems and procedures with the end in view of improving the delivery if public services; and, mandating the designation of a resident Ombudsman in every department, office and agency. Incentives and rewards system has also been put in place. Another comprehensive law passed to address and curb the commission of malfeasance in government is Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. In Section 1 of this law, it states that: It is the policy of the Philippine Government, in line with the principle that a public office is a public trust, to repress certain acts of public officer and private persons alike which constitute graft and corrupt practices which may lead thereto. This law specifies eleven (1 1) instances of corrupt practices in addition to acts or omissions already penalized by existing laws. The legal infrastructure that prescribes ethical conduct of; public servants is reinforced by political commitment. This political commitment, while difficult to benchmark, has been demonstrated by some policy pronouncements.  Quite significant are the ten-point action agenda of the present Administration and the Medium-Term Development Plan (2000 2004) or Angat Pinoy 2004 which embody the framework for the country’s socioeconomic development. The agenda and the MTDP place the implementation of a sustained training and orientation program on anti-graft and corrupt practices and laws, and on the Ethical Standards Act of Public Officials and Employees among the Administration’s priorities to reduce graft and corruption and exact high standards of ethics in government. Proceeding from this, departments and agencies of the executivebranch have set up and implemented various programs that aim to eliminate bureaucratic red tape. One-stop action centers are now being promoted and institutionalized in the agencies. The legal infrastructure and political commitment are supported and complemented by the existence of oversight institutions. The creation of the oversight institutions that deal with issues of ethics, accountability, graft and corruption are mandated by the Constitution. The common feature of these institutions is they enjoy a substantive degree of fiscal autonomy in the sense that they are not subject to the fiscal controls of the executive. The budget is directly released to these institutions and the heads are authorized to realign savings from their budget. They also have quasi-judicial powers in that they can adjudicate and decide cases and enforce their own decisions, including the imposition of sanctions which may include suspension from office or even dismissal from government service. In the Philippines, the three constitutionally mandated oversight institutions are the Civil Service Commis sion, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit. The Civil Service Commission is the central personnel agency of the government. Under Section 3, Article IX-B of the Constitution, the CSC is mandated to â€Å"establish career service and adopt measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness, and courtesy in the civil service.† It is also tasked to â€Å"institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability.† CSC’s effort involves in enforcing ethics and accountability of line agencies basically involves three approaches. One approach is regulatory, the other, corrective, and the last one, developmental. The first approach addresses compliance of-agencies with policies and standards on HRD systems set by the CSC. For instance, CSC prescribes qualification standards for  each and every position in the Philippine government. Non-compliance with the QS by agencies in the processing of appointments of their staff results in the disapproval by the CSC of such ap pointments.But, apart from the substantive requirements for practically all kinds of personnel actions such as the publication requirement and the promotion and selection board processes. Non-compliance with the procedural requirements constitutes ground for corrective or even punitive action. The second approach deals with disciplinary actions against official or employee for infractions committed in relation to the performance of his/her official functions. The Administrative Code of 1987 or Executive Order No. 292 outlines the various acts that are subject to administrative disciplinary proceedings. However, administrative discipline is not a function within the exclusive jurisdiction of CSC. Agency heads as well as the Office of the Ombudsman also have the authority to proceed against erring government officials and employees. The third approach is developmental and will be discussed later in the succeeding paragraph. The Office of the Ombudsman acts as a prosecutor against those charged with the violation of RA 3019, RA 6713 and the law against ill-gotten wealth, among others. It is mandated to investigate and prosecute the criminal liability of public officials and employees involved in graft and corruption. The Commission on Audit is the fiscal watchdog of the government. COA is responsible for ensuring legal and proper disbursement of public funds and preventing irregular, unnecessary, or extravagant expenditures or usage of public funds. It also has quasi-judicial powers. All these oversight institutions enforce accountability ethic in government. There have been numerous initiatives in promoting ethics and accountability in the public sector. As shown in the earlier discussions, all the above mechanisms focus on exacting as well as developing ethics and accountability consciousness in government officials and employees. The other approach that will be given emphasis in the discussion are the various developmental initiatives, which are within the area of knowledge and competence of the CSC. Rule III Reforms on Public Administrative Systems Section 1. Every department, office and agency shall, as soon as practicable and in no case later than ninety (90) days from the effectivity of these rules, start conducting value development programs for its officials and employees in order to strengthen their commitment to public service and help promote the primacy of public interest over personal interest in the performance of their duties. Such programs and other parallel efforts on value development shall include, among other things, the following subjects: (a) Ethical and moral values; (b) Rights, duties and responsibilities of public servants (c) Nationalism and patriotism; (d) Justice and human rights; (e) Democracy in a free and just society; (f) Philippine history. Culture and tradition; and (g) Socio-economic conditions prevailing in the country, especially in the depressed areas, and the need for a code of Conduct and Ethical Standards. Continuing refresher courses and seminars and/or workshops to promote a high standard of ethics in public service shall be conducted. Section 2. Professional, scientific, technical trainings and education programs shall enhance to the highest degree, professionalism, excellence, intelligence and skills in the performance and discharge of duties and responsibilities of officials and employees. These programs shall be conducted in all offices of the government and may include subjects that are enumerated in the preceding section. Section 3. It is the responsibility of every head of department, office and agency to ensure that officials and employees attend the value development program and participate in parallel value development efforts. Section 4. Every department, office and agency shall conduct continuing studies and analyses of their work systems and procedures to improve delivery of public services. Towards this end, such studies and analyses shall: (1) identify systems and procedures that lead or contribute to negative bureaucratic behavior; (2) simplify rules and procedures to avoid red tape; and (3) devise or adopt systems and procedures that promote official and employee morale and satisfaction. Each department, office or agency shall develop a service guide or its functional equivalent which  shall be regularly updated and made available to the transacting public. A workflow chart showing procedures or flow of documents shall likewise be posted in conspicuous places in the department, office or agency for the information and guidance of all concerned. Upon request, the Department of Budget and Management shall assists departments, offices and agencies in the evaluation and adoption of work systems and procedures that will institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability. Section 5. Every department, office and agency shall consult the public they serve for the purpose of gathering feedback and suggestions on the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of services. They shall establish mechanisms to ensure the conduct of public consultations and hearings. Section 6. Every department, office and agency shall continuously conduct research and experimentation on measures and adopt innovative programs which will provide motivation to officials and employees in raising the level of observance of public service ethical standards. Section 7. Every department, office and agency shall, appoint or designate a resident Ombudsman, who shall act immediately on all request for public assistance referred to him by the Ombudsman and his Deputies. He shall be held accountable for the disposition of all requests for assistance. Section 8. Government officials shall make themselves available to their staff for consultations and dialogues. In any industry the success of an organization is extremely dependent on its human resources. Although there are many other factors that play a key role, a company must have effective employees in order to stay financially solvent and competitive. In order to maintain this valuable commodity, organizations must be aware of employee satisfaction and retention. Many companies make the mistake of assuming that employees are only seeking financial benefits for their jobs. This assumption overlooks the high importance many people place on the intrinsic benefits of their careers. It is not only a mistake for employee satisfaction and retention, but it also has negative business consequences. Organizations must have employees who are able to quickly adapt to an ever-changing world market. Companies need to invest in on-going employee development in order to both keep employees and be successful. Employee development programs clearly play a significant role in employee satisfaction, which helps lead to employee retention. The Gallup study shows a clear link between training and job satisfaction. When people receive relevant and valuable training, they are generally happier in their jobs. When that training is carried to the next level and becomes overall development, employees tend to feel even more valued by their employers. They are not only given the tool to do their jobs well, but they are also given opportunities to develop new skills and attain career goals. Companies that invest in their employees and clearly communicate the importance of employees will keep employees. Although there are other factors that are important to job satisfaction and many reasons that employees may leave companies, development programs can still make a positive difference. They can make people feel like they are contributing to the organization’s success, which gives them intrinsic motivation to go to work everyday and do a good job. Companies that offer employee development programs enjoy the luxury of higher employee satisfaction and lower turnovers than those that do not invest in such endeavors. Although it is an investment, it is worthwhile for the returns. Employee Development programs benefit individuals as well as companies. Companies that do not offer on-going learning will not be able to keep with those that do. They may see times of financial gain, but they will lose in the race for intellectual capital. A company can only move as fast as its employees, so the ones that train and develop people will move much more quickly. Many companies view training as a time consuming burden that takes away from the time for employees to complete their job tasks. This concern may be true for companies that offer training in a vacuum and do not support it. However, those companies that offer employee development that is engrained throughout the organizational culture know that the money they put into training will hardly compare to the benefits they get out of it. Employee development can be viewed in two distinct ways. Either its primary purpose is to benefit the company and it is a side bonus that individuals get something out of it, or its primary purpose is to benefit individuals and it is a side bonus that the company gains from it. Either way, everyone wins. The ideal approach is to have equal emphasis on benefit to the company  and benefit to the employees because they are ultimately mutually beneficial to each other.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Being an Only Child or Having Siblings Essay

The bond between siblings is the most enduring bond that any of us experiences, this bond is not as demanding and critical as that of our parents, children or spouse and this is potentially longest relationship we will ever have in life. The bond that is shared with siblings helps to determine the quality of bond we will experience with our other relationships in life. Children who have brothers and sisters usually have more perspective of life than the only children. Sibling relationships can teach children the differences between the views of life, not just only from parents but it is also from their brothers and sisters close to their own age. The first thing that children who have brothers and sisters can learn is how to share with others. This helps to develop social skills at a young age, which are crucial throughout life. Although sometimes children just want to keep something for theirs own, they have to think about their siblings before doing that every time. It is just like a conception of sharing. Children with siblings are able to make and maintain friendships. However, the only child in a family has all the things that are given. They don’t have to worry about their sibling who they have to share with or think about. However, if the only child is around other children that do share, it can cause an altercation. In early childhood, children who have brothers and sisters, have constant companions and playmates, they can play games together, have conversations, learn to play make-believe and share problems with each other. Having siblings also teaches younger siblings things such as learning to walk and talk sooner, because the younger child will try and imitate with the older child is doing. They can also help to take care of each other. The older sibling can help the younger siblings with learning to make their bed, play football, basketball or help with homework. There is no limit to what siblings can do for each other. In comparison to only children who receive more of their parents’ attention, which may give them an advantage with help with homework, more playtime with dad or mom, and perhaps more or better toys, educational items, clothes, etc. because there is more money available. But, only children may not have the opportunity to socialize as much with other children. Days can be long with them. These parents may go to the parks more, and join mommy and me groups to help their children learn to interact with other children. As an adult, one usually finds a happy memory of their childhood to share with another person, of the relationship with their sibling. This could bring back feelings of happiness or hostility, depending on the severity of sibling rivalry. For some siblings, the rivalry carries on into adulthood and becomes unhealthy. On the other hand, a possible disadvantage for only children when they get older and reflect back on their childhood memories, is that they may regret not having a sibling. At the time, it may have seemed better to be the only child and have more physical things and attention. But upon growing older, they may miss the bond and relationship they could have had. In conclusion, an only child will always be just that. Once older, the family does not extend and they will not know the joy of having nieces and nephews and the special bonds and memories that come along with that. Also, the relationships among brothers and sisters are boundlessly varied, but whatever their characteristics, these bonds last throughout life. After the loss of a parent, a sibling is the only on that can truly understand what you are going through as well as the pain of your loss.

Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights Essay Example

Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights Essay Example Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights Essay Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights Essay Essay Topic: Wuthering Heights Heathcliff and Catherine are depicted as soul mates, their love exists on a higher or spiritual plane; they have such a high affinity for each other that they are drawn together uncontrollably. The relationship is portrayed as almost one entity as if the two characters have become united. Catherine pronounces to Nelly ‘I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind. But as my being’. The quotation epitomises their inextricable love, regardless of separate marriage and physical detachment their souls will always be inseparably linked. Moreover, the metaphor perhaps symbolises eternity, as their love is never absent or divided, their hearts have become permanently indivisible. The use of the exclamative sentence emphasises the passion and intensity surrounding their relationship. Additionally, the repetition of ‘always’ strengthens the sense of perpetual and undying love. In chapter 16, after Catherine’s death Heathcliff echoes Catherine’ s speech to Nelly and he is conveyed as disordered as part of his sole has perished due to her demise. Heathcliff states ‘Oh God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!’ illustrating his dependence on her, suggesting that her existence is a requirement for his identity and he falls into confusion and chaos without her. It could be viewed that quotation depicts that without Catherine, Heathcliff’s identity is impaired and that is unbearable to endure life without Catherine. Bronte presents Heathcliff and Catherine to be soul mates, she portrays both characters to be reliant on one another for stability and that it would be purely intolerable for one to live without the other. The love between Heathcliff and Catherine is also portrayed as obsessive and all consuming. On Heathcliff’s return to Wuthering Heights, he visits Catherine at Thrushcross Grange. Bronte uses a simile to illustrate Catherine’s obsession with Heathcliff ‘her gaze

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Major General John F. Reynolds in the Civil War

Major General John F. Reynolds in the Civil War Major General John F. Reynolds was a noted commander in the Union Army during the Civil War. A native of Pennsylvania, he graduated from West Point in 1841 and distinguished himself during the Mexican-American War. With the beginning of the Civil War, Reynolds quickly moved up through the ranks of the Army of the Potomac and proved to be one its finest field commanders. Despite his battlefield record, he was frequently frustrated by the political restraints placed on the army and likely turned down command of it in 1863. Reynolds was lost on July 1, 1863, when he was killed leading his men onto the field during the opening stages of the Battle of Gettysburg. Early Life The son  of John and Lydia Reynolds, John Fulton Reynolds was born at Lancaster, PA on September 20, 1820. Initially educated in nearby Lititz, he later attended the Lancaster County Academy. Electing to pursue a military career like his older brother William who had entered the US Navy, Reynolds sought an appointment to West Point. Working with a family friend, (future president) Senator James Buchanan, he was able to obtain admission and reported to the academy in 1837. While at West Point, Reynolds classmates included Horatio G. Wright, Albion P. Howe, Nathaniel Lyon, and Don Carlos Buell. An average student, he graduated in 1841 ranked twenty-sixth in a class of fifty. Assigned to the 3rd US Artillery at Fort McHenry, Reynolds time in Baltimore proved brief as he received orders for Fort Augustine, FL the following year. Arriving at the end of the Second Seminole War, Reynolds spent the next three years at Fort Augustine and Fort Moultrie, SC. Mexican-American War With the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846 following Brigadier General Zachary Taylors victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Reynolds was instructed to travel to Texas. Joining Taylors army at Corpus Christi, he took part in the campaign against Monterrey that fall. For his role in the citys fall, he received a brevet promotion to captain. Following the victory, the bulk of Taylors army was transferred for Major General Winfield Scotts operation against Veracruz. Remaining with Taylor, Reynolds artillery battery played a key role in holding the American left at the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847. In the fighting, Taylors army succeeded in holding off a larger Mexican force commanded by General  Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. In recognition of his efforts, Reynolds was brevetted to major. While in Mexico, he befriended Winfield Scott Hancock and Lewis A. Armistead. Antebellum Years Returning north after the war, Reynolds spent the next several years in garrison duty in Maine (Fort Preble), New York (Fort Lafayette), and New Orleans. Ordered west to Fort Orford, Oregon in 1855, he took part in the Rogue River Wars. With the end of hostilities, the Native Americans in the Rogue River Valley were moved to the Coast Indian Reservation. Ordered south a year later, Reynolds joined Brigadier General Albert S. Johnstons forces during the Utah War of 1857-1858. Fast Facts: Major General John F. Reynolds Rank: Major GeneralService: US/Union ArmyBorn: September 20, 1820 in Lancaster, PADied: July 1, 1863 in Gettysburg, PAParents: John and Lydia ReynoldsConflicts: Mexican-American War, Civil WarKnown For: Second Battle of Manassas, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, and Battle of Gettysburg. The Civil War Begins In September 1860, Reynolds returned to West Point to serve as Commandant of Cadets and an instructor. While there, he became engaged to Katherine May Hewitt. As Reynolds was a Protestant and Hewitt a Catholic, the engagement was kept secret from their families. Remaining for the academic year, he was at the academy during the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the resulting Secession Crisis. With the beginning of the Civil War, Reynolds initially was offered a post as an aide-de-camp to Scott, the general-in-chief of the US Army. Declining this offer, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 14th US Infantry but received a commission as a brigadier general of volunteers (August 20, 1861) before he could assume this post. Directed to newly-captured Cape Hatteras Inlet, NC, Reynolds was en route when Major General George B. McClellan instead requested that he join the newly-formed Army of the Potomac near Washington, DC. Reporting for duty, he first served on a board that assessed volunteer officers before receiving command of a brigade in the Pennsylvania Reserves. This term was used to refer to regiments raised in Pennsylvania that were in excess of the number originally requested of the state by Lincoln in April 1861. To the Peninsula Commanding the 1st Brigade of Brigadier General George McCalls Second Division (Pennsylvania Reserves), I Corps, Reynolds first moved south into Virginia and captured Fredericksburg. On June 14, the division was transferred to Major General Fitz John Porters V Corps which was taking part in McClellans Peninsula Campaign against Richmond. Joining Porter, the division played a key role in the successful Union defense at the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek on June 26. As the Seven Days Battles continued, Reynolds and his men were assaulted by General Robert E. Lees forces again the next day at the Battle of Gaines Mill. Having not slept in two days, an exhausted Reynolds was captured by Major General D.H. Hills men after the battle while resting in Boatswains Swamp. Taken to Richmond, he was briefly held at Libby Prison before being exchanged on August 15 for Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman who had been captured at Fort Henry. Returning to the Army of the Potomac, Reynolds assumed command of the Pennsylvania Reserves as McCall had also been captured. In this role, he took part in the Second Battle of Manassas at the end of the month. Late in the battle, he aided in making a stand on Henry House Hill which assisted in covering the armys retreat from the battlefield. A Rising Star As Lee moved north to invade Maryland, Reynolds was detached from the army at the request of Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtain. Ordered to his home state, the governor tasked him with organizing and leading the state militia should Lee cross the Mason-Dixon Line. Reynolds assignment proved unpopular with McClellan and other senior Union leaders as it deprived the army of one of its best field commanders. As a result, he missed the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam where the division was led by fellow Pennsylvanian Brigadier General George G. Meade. Returning to the army in late September, Reynolds received command of I Corps as its leader, Major General Joseph Hooker, had been wounded at Antietam. That December, he led the corps at the Battle of Fredericksburg where his men achieved the only Union success of the day. Penetrating the Confederate lines, troops, led by Meade, opened a gap but a confusion of orders prevented the opportunity from being exploited. Chancellorsville For his actions at Fredericksburg, Reynolds was promoted to major general with a date of November 29, 1862. In the wake of the defeat, he was one of several officers who called for the removal of army commander Major General Ambrose Burnside. In doing so, Reynolds expressed his frustration at the political influence that Washington exerted on the armys activities. These efforts were successful and Hooker replaced Burnside on January 26, 1863. That May, Hooker sought to swing around Fredericksburg to the west. To hold Lee in place, Reynolds corps and Major General John Sedgwicks VI Corps were to remain opposite the city. As the Battle of Chancellorsville commenced, Hooker summoned I Corps on May 2 and directed Reynolds to hold the Union right. With the battle going poorly, Reynolds and the other corps commanders urged offensive action but were overruled by Hooker who decided to retreat. As a result of Hookers indecision, I Corps was only lightly engaged in the battle and suffered just 300 casualties. Political Frustration As in the past, Reynolds joined his compatriots in calling for a new commander who could operate decisively and free from political constraints. Well-respected by Lincoln, who referred to him as â€Å"our gallant and brave friend, Reynolds met with the president on June 2. During their conversation, it is believed that Reynolds was offered command of the Army of the Potomac. Insisting that he be free to lead independent of political influence, Reynolds declined when Lincoln could not make such an assurance. With Lee again moving north, Lincoln instead turned to Meade who accepted command and replaced Hooker on June 28. Riding north with his men, Reynolds was given operational control of I, III, and XI Corps as well as Brigadier General John Bufords cavalry division. Death of Major General John F. Reynolds at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.   Library of Congress Death at Gettysburg Riding into Gettysburg on June 30, Buford realized that the high ground south of the town would be key in a battle fought in the area. Aware that any combat involving his division would be a delaying action, he dismounted and posted his troopers on the low ridges north and northwest of town with the goal of buying time for the army to come up and occupy the heights. Attacked the next morning by Confederate forces in the opening phases of the Battle of Gettysburg, he alerted Reynolds and asked him to bring up support. Moving towards Gettysburg with I and XI Corps, Reynolds informed Meade that he would defend â€Å"inch by inch, and if driven into the town I will barricade the streets and hold him back as long as possible.† Arriving on the battlefield, Reynolds met with Buford advanced his lead brigade to relieve the hard-pressed cavalry. As he directed troops into the fighting near Herbst Woods, Reynolds was shot in the neck or head. Falling from his horse, he was killed instantly. With Reynolds death, command of I Corps passed to Major General Abner Doubleday. Though overwhelmed later in the day, I and XI Corps succeeded in buying time for Meade to arrive with the bulk of the army. As the fighting raged, Reynolds body was taken from the field, first to Taneytown, MD and then back to Lancaster where he was buried on July 4. A blow to the Army of the Potomac, Reynolds death cost Meade one of the armys best commanders. Adored by his men, one of the general aides commented, I do not think the love of any commander was ever felt more deeply or sincerely than his. Reynolds was also described by another officer as â€Å"a superb looking man†¦and sat on his horse like a Centaur, tall, straight and graceful, the ideal soldier.†

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Launching CPFR at Texan Foods Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Launching CPFR at Texan Foods - Assignment Example Traditionally the products were designed and manufactured by the manufacturing firms to be distributed by retailers and other agencies. This entailed only a very little communication between the manufacturer and the retailers. But the modern day business concepts have undergone tremendous changes with the relationships between different players of the industry are no longer defined by the old standards. In fact many retailers have begun manufacturing and many manufacturers have started their retail operations. Thus the traditional concept of supply chain model has been subjected to a radical change and it has become a supply complex. In order to obviate the complexities involved in the present day supply chain, CPFR acts as a transformational strategy. CPFR takes the business processes, people, and technology to higher levels of performance. The process of CPFR strives to promote "openness, information sharing, data exchange, visibility, and joint decisions". (Aghazadeh, Seyed-Mahmou d, 2003) Thus the ultimate aim of CPFR is being about total value chain collaboration among all the players in the supply chain who help to improve the value of the product to the end-customer. With this background this paper details of the challenges being faced by Texan Foods in the launching of full CPFR and also possible solutions for the effectiveness of the CPFR project. CPFR - an Overview "The concept of collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment has been promoted as a cure for what ails the food industry's supply chain." (Len Lewis 2007) CPFR has a greater role to play in the promotion of business for any business where there is a large network of supply chain is involved. The concept aims at improving the final value of the product at the hands of the customer. In this process the process links all the supply chain partners who have a role to play in improving the value. The use of the latest information technology is at the root of the success of any CPFR plan. Hence it is important that the companies collaborating with each other are technologically savvy. A definition of the process of CPFR goes like: "Collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR) is an innovative and relatively new business process that allows supply chain partners to use their information technology for collaboration on forecasts of future demand, and for planning for future inventory replenishment. Usually, the partners involved in a CPFR initiative use the Internet to share data, exchange ideas, or otherwise collaborate with respect to inventory management tasks that are shared by the involved companies. At other times, the members of the alliance will meet in person to discuss various issues that arise in the weekly or monthly operation of CPFR." (Chad W. Autry) Texan Foods - A Background Texan Foods is a gourmet grocery chain founded in the year 1941 as a combination general store and family food market. Over the time the store developed into well-known medium sized grocery chain with about 65 store locations in South and Southwestern United States with most of the stores located in thickly populated areas. "The chain was known for the quality of its fresh produce, its wide variety

Friday, October 18, 2019

Orientalism In Hollywood Movies Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Orientalism In Hollywood Movies - Movie Review Example Here the lead actor, Yule Brynner’s role, portrays Thailand’s legendary monarch, King Mongkut, who had opened the doors of his country, to welcome the entry of western influences during his reign in the 1860s. However, the movie, which is an adaptation of the book ‘Anna and the King of Siam’ by Margaret Landon, shows a lack of in-depth research work and limited knowledge on Thai history and culture, has a tendency to highlight dramatic considerations, and being too Eurocentric, fails to depict the country’s history authentically. This article will do a film review on â€Å"The King and me† and examine how ‘orientalism’ is represented in this movie. It will explore the notions of ‘orientalism’ as given by Edward Said, and will study the movie in this respect. It will also examine the post-war theory of modernization, which is very evidently represented in this movie. Postwar theory of modernization in the movie: King Mongkut, a renowned monarch of Thailand, has always been ‘an usually attractive subject to study’, and is generally considered to be ‘a pivotal one in Thai history’ (Wilson, 164). The movie is based on a romantic relationship that develops between Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut, and it depicts the issue of modernization quite clearly. It shows certain nuances of reality, by depicting the pros and cons of trying to adapt to a new culture, as the king opens the door for the western world to enter. The movie shows Anna Leonowens, a highly specialized English-American school teacher, who is hired by the king to teach the royal children western thoughts and etiquette. As she initially crosses sword with the king, the movie shows how Anna saves the country from the tyranny of the nonwestern ruler, by imbibing American modern values within him, thus ‘modernizing’ him in the process.

Do Women Have a Distinctive Ethical Perspective Essay

Do Women Have a Distinctive Ethical Perspective - Essay Example Moral codes are the interwoven fibres of ethical theories. Usually moral codes are the provisions of agreement between two men or women or group of people. As long as the provisions of agreement are adhered with conformity they are deemed to be moral codes. If any violation emerges at any point, then the moral codes cease to be moral codes. Thus moral disagreements pave way for ethical disintegration. The basic and pivotal sub classifications of ethical theories are: - Utilitarianism is one of the most practiced norms of ethical theories. There are two types of utilitarianism namely, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism promotes doing good to most people unmindful of personal feelings and societal constraints like laws whereas rule utilitarianism regulates doing good to most of the people within the frame work of admitted/agreed laws and rules. (Catherine Rainbow, 2002) In this paper we are going to discuss the ethical perspectives of men and women. The ethical perspectives of men normally are justice based and that of women are care based. Men’s perspective in many cases permits inconsistent decisions at palliating circumstances that lead to certain limited violations of provisions already agreed for. Women although termed frail sex, do not allow such violations and tend to be rule utilitarianism followers in many situations. Moral codes and moral issues are always accompanied necessarily by contexts. While discussing ethical theories and in the formation of ethical theories it becomes necessary to remove contexts so that theories could be generalised. This task many times becomes very difficult because on removing the contexts of the issues we are at the danger of landing on diluting the very motto of generalisation. Thus contexts are to be removed only for identification. That is we

Investigate the expectation of the users of financial statement from Dissertation - 1

Investigate the expectation of the users of financial statement from the auditors in case of Saudi Arabia - Dissertation Example This is usually done through their authentication, reliability and the correctness of their financial reporting (Mautz and Sharaf 1961; Manson and Zaman 2001). The accountants and auditors play an important role as they manage the finances of the companies (Manson 2000; Galloway 2003). Unfortunately, a number of issues have significantly affected the said process. In fact, one of the most important consequences is related to the existence of the so-called audit expectation gap. The audit expectation gap is indeed, one of the most important issues related to the audited function as it has relatively affected the development of auditing standards and practices (Godsell 1992; Best, Buckby and Tan 2001; Fadzly and Ahmad 2004). Members of the profession even attributed the existence of this issue to the significant increases in the litigations and criticisms they face (Mednick 1986; Berry, Otahata and Saleh 2000). The audit expectation gap pertains to the difference between the expectatio ns of the public in relation to an audit. The importance of this factor to the auditing profession lies on the fact that it tends to lower the credibility of the latter as well as their earnings potential (Godsell 1992; Best, Buckby and Tan 2001; Lin and Chen 2004;). More significantly, the presence of this problem also lowers the prestige of the profession (Beck 1973; Berry, Otahat and Saleh 2000; Best, Buckby and Tan 2001). 1.2 Statement of the Problem Various literatures have already been published in relation to audit expectations gap between the auditors and the users of financial statements. These literatures all emphasize that the expectations gap is usually evident from two points of view: (1) the users of the financial statements and (2) the auditors. In addition, there are also four expectation issues connected with this; these are: (1) audit assurance which pertains to the role and functions that the auditors must fulfill, (2) the level of quality in relation to the perfo rmance of the audits, (3) structural issues and regulatory issues that significantly affect the independence of the accountants/auditors, and (4) the manner by which the said audits are reported, taking into consideration the inconsistencies in terms of the construction of the different meanings contained in the audit reports. Previous studies conducted in relation to the auditing experiences gap tend to focus on developed countries and at the same time, have significantly failed to give paramount importance to the political and historical contexts wherein the said expectations are formed. Aside from this, the common recommendation is to publish strict guidelines with respect to accounting and auditing to cater to the problem at hand. However, some of the said studies mention that the said recommendations do not usually apply to all countries, most especially the developing ones taking into consideration the differences as to the ideological and legal structures that govern it. The study focuses on the experiences and perceptions of the users of financial statements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to this, it also seeks to determine the different factors affecting this to gain a better understanding of the auditing expe

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Network Architectures for Data Centers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Network Architectures for Data Centers - Essay Example On the other hand, at the present technology has changed. Additionally, there is an increase in demands for operational sustainable, efficiencies corporate processes, dynamic operational service diversification, and cost efficiency. In addition, these ever-increasing demands put the data center in the crosshairs of business analysis as its significance has increased more than ever before (LSI Corporation, 2012). This paper presents a detailed analysis of network architectures for data centers. This research will offer a comprehensive analysis of some of the major aspects required for the development and application of data center architecture application and their possible implication for better corporate management. Introduction At the present, data centers serve as the central command center for the majority of business organizations in spite of size and industry. Without a doubt, it offers an excellent support for managing huge amounts of information and data, and ensures effectiv e execution of business operations 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. In this scenario, network based data centers are designed, developed and maintained to store, process, and exchange information and data for economic services corporations, companies, transport business, administration, utilities, educational institutions, network carriers and internet service providers (ISPs). In fact, investments in the development of data centers are growing at a rate of more than 20 percent per year. In view of the fact that the business organizations completely depend on latest information technologies to take actions thus the current data centers have become less efficient along the lines of competence, effortlessness and agility of maintenance (H3C Technologies Co., Limited, 2012; Juniper Networks, Inc., 2012; Greenberg, Lahiri, Maltz, Patel, & Sengupta, 2012). In addition, in the field of data centers, several major trends are happening in parallel, with each representing a fundamental chan ge in terms of how it is managed. Data centers currently include both networking and server arrangements. However, the server part of this technology based infrastructure is at the present far down the road of technology based commoditization, in this scenario high end corporate class servers have been replaced by large amounts of low cost technology based servers. Additionally, new technology based improvement in distributed technology based computing and administration systems have supported the irregularity of individual network servers to be masked by the collective communication reliability of the data center system as a whole (H3C Technologies Co., Limited, 2012; Juniper Networks, Inc., 2012; Greenberg, Lahiri, Maltz, Patel, & Sengupta, 2012). Moreover, the quality and performance of network architectures for data

Beuaty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Beuaty - Essay Example Whats interesting is that in this poem, Shakespeare doesn’t glorify the beauty of the mistress or anything remotely connected by using elaborate metaphor. He doesn’t make any comparisons with his love for Venus either. He reflects on the ordinary beauty and the humanity associated with a mortal in his love. He feels that the aforementioned attributes are very important. He makes a deliberate attempt to use those typical metaphors of love poetry in the opposite context. (TimeOut) On the other hand the poem Beauty by Tony Hoagland is the poet’s reflection of his sister and her obsession with meeting some arbitrary standard of beauty. The poet explains how the medicines that she was taking were adversely affecting her natural beauty. He feels that she carries with herself the â€Å"burden† of looking beautiful. The poet reflects on the concept of beautiful musingly. He is bewildered with those women who are obsessed with appearance and attractiveness and have it on their mind always. He draws a contrast between what his sister was going through with the beauty of nature during spring time. Later on when she finally gives up on the idea of trying to look beautiful or reach that arbitrary standard of beauty, she feels a lot more relieved and free. He feels that even the new found freedom is beautiful too in its own right. In a gist the poem implies that we often get too caught up reaching a certain standard of beauty and once that effort relinquishes or becomes a burden, it is wiser to let go of it. Both the poems depict a very practical account of beauty perception today. While Shakespeare’s poem is a sonnet in which he claims his love for a dun mistress to be just as extra-ordinary as it could have been for any other goddess who is better than her, Tony’s poem is a reflection of women’s race to look beautiful and then how they finally find solace from it. While Shakespeare’s poem reflects on the traits of his

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Investigate the expectation of the users of financial statement from Dissertation - 1

Investigate the expectation of the users of financial statement from the auditors in case of Saudi Arabia - Dissertation Example This is usually done through their authentication, reliability and the correctness of their financial reporting (Mautz and Sharaf 1961; Manson and Zaman 2001). The accountants and auditors play an important role as they manage the finances of the companies (Manson 2000; Galloway 2003). Unfortunately, a number of issues have significantly affected the said process. In fact, one of the most important consequences is related to the existence of the so-called audit expectation gap. The audit expectation gap is indeed, one of the most important issues related to the audited function as it has relatively affected the development of auditing standards and practices (Godsell 1992; Best, Buckby and Tan 2001; Fadzly and Ahmad 2004). Members of the profession even attributed the existence of this issue to the significant increases in the litigations and criticisms they face (Mednick 1986; Berry, Otahata and Saleh 2000). The audit expectation gap pertains to the difference between the expectatio ns of the public in relation to an audit. The importance of this factor to the auditing profession lies on the fact that it tends to lower the credibility of the latter as well as their earnings potential (Godsell 1992; Best, Buckby and Tan 2001; Lin and Chen 2004;). More significantly, the presence of this problem also lowers the prestige of the profession (Beck 1973; Berry, Otahat and Saleh 2000; Best, Buckby and Tan 2001). 1.2 Statement of the Problem Various literatures have already been published in relation to audit expectations gap between the auditors and the users of financial statements. These literatures all emphasize that the expectations gap is usually evident from two points of view: (1) the users of the financial statements and (2) the auditors. In addition, there are also four expectation issues connected with this; these are: (1) audit assurance which pertains to the role and functions that the auditors must fulfill, (2) the level of quality in relation to the perfo rmance of the audits, (3) structural issues and regulatory issues that significantly affect the independence of the accountants/auditors, and (4) the manner by which the said audits are reported, taking into consideration the inconsistencies in terms of the construction of the different meanings contained in the audit reports. Previous studies conducted in relation to the auditing experiences gap tend to focus on developed countries and at the same time, have significantly failed to give paramount importance to the political and historical contexts wherein the said expectations are formed. Aside from this, the common recommendation is to publish strict guidelines with respect to accounting and auditing to cater to the problem at hand. However, some of the said studies mention that the said recommendations do not usually apply to all countries, most especially the developing ones taking into consideration the differences as to the ideological and legal structures that govern it. The study focuses on the experiences and perceptions of the users of financial statements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to this, it also seeks to determine the different factors affecting this to gain a better understanding of the auditing expe

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Beuaty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Beuaty - Essay Example Whats interesting is that in this poem, Shakespeare doesn’t glorify the beauty of the mistress or anything remotely connected by using elaborate metaphor. He doesn’t make any comparisons with his love for Venus either. He reflects on the ordinary beauty and the humanity associated with a mortal in his love. He feels that the aforementioned attributes are very important. He makes a deliberate attempt to use those typical metaphors of love poetry in the opposite context. (TimeOut) On the other hand the poem Beauty by Tony Hoagland is the poet’s reflection of his sister and her obsession with meeting some arbitrary standard of beauty. The poet explains how the medicines that she was taking were adversely affecting her natural beauty. He feels that she carries with herself the â€Å"burden† of looking beautiful. The poet reflects on the concept of beautiful musingly. He is bewildered with those women who are obsessed with appearance and attractiveness and have it on their mind always. He draws a contrast between what his sister was going through with the beauty of nature during spring time. Later on when she finally gives up on the idea of trying to look beautiful or reach that arbitrary standard of beauty, she feels a lot more relieved and free. He feels that even the new found freedom is beautiful too in its own right. In a gist the poem implies that we often get too caught up reaching a certain standard of beauty and once that effort relinquishes or becomes a burden, it is wiser to let go of it. Both the poems depict a very practical account of beauty perception today. While Shakespeare’s poem is a sonnet in which he claims his love for a dun mistress to be just as extra-ordinary as it could have been for any other goddess who is better than her, Tony’s poem is a reflection of women’s race to look beautiful and then how they finally find solace from it. While Shakespeare’s poem reflects on the traits of his

The NBL-Tools prototype Essay Example for Free

The NBL-Tools prototype Essay The NBL-Tools prototype is a groupware system which is basically designed and developed to support collaborative knowledge which can be used over the Internet as in the form of (TCP/IP) along with the usage of any HTML 3. 2 compliant WWW-browser such as Netscape Navigator 3 . NBL-Tools is considered to be truly a new-generation of networked learning programme, which eventually relies solely on recent achievements and accomplishments of cognitive research performed on educational practices and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Over the period of time several models have been designed and development of NBL , It had been of a very great emphasis and with the help of this effect a special change has been performed to develop a meta-cognitive tool for structuring user activity. The NBL environment model comprises of a various modules that are designed with the sole aim to facilitate collaborative knowledge programmed which will be used future in university and vocational education institutes. NBL modules comprise and consist of:- WebTop (virtual desktop in the web), Knowledge Building module, Jam Session module, Library module and Administration module for tutors and also for system administrator. 1. General Technical Design of the NBL-Tools Server- The NBL-Tools is based on a three tier architecture in which the NBL software is further designed and distributed among three different servers which are commonly known as – The database server which allows a very important function i. e. allows the exchanging of information (the database and search engine), the application server that handles most of the logic in conjunction with the database server and lastly the WWW server that handles the backend WWW-processing and glues with itself the other servers together for the smooth functioning of the entire project. NBL software can also be accessed through the Internet (TCP/IP as already disscussed) with any HTML 3. 2 compliant browser commonly known as the Netscape Navigator 3. Some non-critical features can only be accessed by browsing with a JavaScript implementation. Hence it allows the users to work efficiently with the common information processing programs at their use producing for example, documents, graphics, video or www -links. The primary users of NBL is been done by the university students and people studying into service courses at various organizations at different levels. Internet accessibility with www –It follows that small groups working at different locations and in different time are able to coordinate their activities with the tools provided by the NBL. While associated with NBL students across the university get ample of opportunities to interact with each other either face to face or through video conferencing , simultaneously at the beginning of the secessions and at the mid term as well. The users are able to access the NBL-Tools from any place containing Internet connection and computer (or terminal) with standard WWW-browser: workplaces, homes, libraries, schools, university computer labs, Internet cafes, etc†¦ The end-user terminal may also be Set-top-box commonly known as Web-tv or palmtop (such as Nokia Communicator) with â€Å"www†-browser and Internet connection. To get acces to the main users need to use only one username and password to login which will enable them to access all courses running in the NBL environment. NBL users can uses only one centralized database for there implementation part and during every login session the students may take part in all courses involved and associated within it. 2. Inquiry Learning Process and the Modules of the NBL-Tools The effective usage of NBL- The tools happens to be inquiry learning process where all students and tutors can utilize the best of opportunity to share and distribute their existing knowledge with each other as it can be very much beneficial. The ideal module created for the NBL courses is an increasing spiral, which eventually helps the students in creating there own theories and knowledge aspects. Where In ideal situation these new theories will prove to be a new context and background for upcoming study course that will be used and performed across universities and educational institutions.. NBL-tools consist of several modules that are designed and developed to facilitate collaborative knowledge building and collaborative design work through a constructive programmed process. The modules are WebTop commonly known as virtual desktop in the web, Knowledge Building module, Jam Session module, Library module and Administration module for tutors and system administrator. 2. 1. The WebTop module The NBL -environment provides each and every user with there personal open desktop in the web (WebTop). The WebTop is used to store digital materials and these materials can also be shared with other students within the university. The WebTop also consist of an optional choice of sharing which enables the contains tools for leaving and sending messages such as stickies which is future used for collaborative evaluation and self-evaluation as well. It future also related to the deep principle. It is also required from the users while accessing or using the webtop into service students can add/create there personal files and folders, features like rename and removing the files from his or her own WebTop. Inside the folders the users may also create new sub-folders and add new files inside them. Students within the university can also visit each other WebTops and take copies of the files found over there which can also be used for future references. 2. 2. Knowledge Building module The Knowledge Building module is actually used for sharing the informations, topics concepts and programs that are been created or generated by the students . The online conferences based on discussions are guided by the Deep Principles decided together with the tutor and the students of the course. The Deep Principles redefines the context of concern. The discussion messages are added to the shared space and are future labelled by the users with different Categories of Inquiry. The tutor may select various kind of Categories of Inquiry for various kind of courses. Lets take for instance there focus ares of concers is more on design and art the Categories of Inquiry used in the FLE knowledge building such as: Design Task, Working Idea, Subordinate Problems, Deepening Knowledge, Comment, and Metacomment. The Categories of Inquiry eventully related the student with expert like problem solving research and design process by redirecting the students to produce their own knowledge objects. Categories of Inquiry Used in the NBL-Courses: The learning process aims at answering to all its related problems. The purpose of defining a problem is to explicate learning goals, to explain research interests and also to introduce the questions that are ultimately directing towards students inquiry. After critically viewing the present working theories and by introducing new deepening knowledge to the discussion new subordinate problems can also be incorporated. Working theory presents students with there own conceptions (hypothesis, theory, explanation, interpretation) about the problem at hand. A working theory is not necessarily well defined or articulated early in the inquiry process. However, it is crucial that the explication of working theory evolves during the process and working theory eventually become more refined and developed. In-depth Knowledge can over a period of time can also presents some scientific findings or other knowledge that the student have undergone. It brings to the discussion some new points of view otherwise helps the inquiry process to continue. It differs from the working theory as in that it represents the knowledge produced by others or authority/experts. It also gives a chance to both the Students and tutors to comment to the inquiry process, for example to that of someone elses working theory. It could also be clarified through a comment as to ask for clarification more thorough explanation and its opinion and so on. With the use of a comment message we can also provide help for other learners which can also be used in as a problem-solving process rather a problem itself. A comment should focuses on the inquiry process and its methods rather then discussing the process outcomes. Hence future it can be analyses with a Metacomment weather students and tutors can evaluate and that too to what extent, e. g. Is the process is progressing in the desired direction , have appropriate methods been used, and if yes how sharing of tasks and inquiry process is accomplished among the members of the learning community. In the summarized form the summary may aim at identifying a new Deep Principle or may reflect the views of the writer on the progression of the inquiry learning process. Using the Help-category tells that the user have, in his or her work, come across some difficulties where he/she needs guidance from others to be in a stage to proceed. The Jam Session module is a space for the collaborative construction of digital artifacts It helps the students in the dynamic development of a project by providing graphical representations of its phases. Students can also add in their own digital artifacts such as -pictures, videos, audio, text, software to the session and let other students continue and comment on the work in progress. 2. 4. NBL Library The NBL Library can be considered as a adaptive medium to publish and browse multimedia learning materials, in additional learning materials are saved into the NBL-database from which the tutor or teacher may first search and choose relevant clips and then publish them in the Library last but not the least work of the study groups will be saved to the NBL-database.