The Police Officer At Unknown Police Department - 1635 Words

Chuck Christenson a sworn police officer at Unknown police department has frequently used his personal Facebook to express his unsavory views on the community. Chuck has been working on the force for more than 10yrs know and he has been with this agency for 8yrs. Christenson is a man that loves going on Facebook and talk about things he dislikes. After a hard day’s work Steven’s loves to go on to his Facebook account and have a nice glass of fine apple cider while expressing his views of the people he dislikes. Christenson uses terrible words to describe minority’s in his community for a couple of days know. Christenson has frequently made comments on Facebook that some have considered racist or homophobic. Some in the community have†¦show more content†¦economy.† (National Labor Relations Act of 1935, 1990) This act helps private employees from the fear of retaliation for engaging in conversations which may include complaining about work condition s, supervisors, the job, and the organization. This in my opinion was a great early step especially in the private sector to help those being manipulated by their overlords. The NLRA does not cover public employees. Private employees must look to their unions, employment contracts, and other statues that help them. The First amendment does not protect them so they must look to other routes. When it comes to the freedom of speech for those in the public sector public employees like police officers have some work place First Amendment protection to express their concerns, but is highly limited. For them to do so it must be a matter of public concern, be made as a citizen, and must outweigh the agency’s ability in carrying out effective operations. If the officer says something it must be as a private citizen and not hamper the agency that he/she works for. If it’s not made as a private citizen then he/she will not be protected under the First Amendment. In the public-sector people can say that they don’t like a certain thing in the company especially when it comes to worker and theirShow MoreRelatedIntroduction. Police And Other Agencies Within Law Enforcement1469 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION Police and other agencies within law enforcement receive multiple calls for service daily. They enter a world of the unknown while being required to serve and protect the general public fairly, without bias toward race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. They are confronted with serious crimes that they must deal with at any given moment, on any given day. Law enforcement officers may receive a call-for-service to handle a domestic dispute where weapons are involved, respondRead MorePolice And Other Agencies Within Law Enforcement1596 Words   |  7 PagesPolice and other agencies within law enforcement receive multiple calls for service daily. They enter a world of the unknown, while being required to serve and protect the general public fairly, without bias toward race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. They are confronted with serious crimes that they must deal with at any given moment, on any given day. Law enforcement officers may receive a call-for-se rvice to handle a domestic dispute where weapons are involved, respond to callRead MoreHigh-Performance Police Essay849 Words   |  4 PagesHigh Performance Police High-performance police organizations involve different approaches to the way law enforcement handle emergency situations. 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Police brutality is an egregious, ongoing problem in our society that, until just recently, has been accepted as a sad factRead MorePre Test And Post Test1088 Words   |  5 Pagessmall group activities (Mcglone, 2000, p. 243).† There will be a pre-test and post test called the CCAI given to the officers, the CCAI is used in research and the social worker must be trained to evaluate such test. â€Å"After the first session feedback will be requested from the t hree top administrators (police chief, assistant, and training director (Mcglone, 2000, p. 243).† Officers will be given packets with information regarding cultural differences, example of such information are â€Å"white peopleRead MoreThe Importance of Higher Education Among Law Enforcement Officers1669 Words   |  7 Pagesand advancement of police into the modern context of what is needed and expected of police. 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This system was calledRead MoreThe Problem Of Domestic Violence860 Words   |  4 Pagesjournals, articles and a book. The purpose of using this data from the resources breakdown the components how the police culture and domestic violence operate on the same level on independence without any repercussions or interference the research also looks the responses of Honolulu Police department and how its policies and standards are ignored and overlooked by many police officers. Domestic violence is a continuous cycle that locks the abuser and victim into a loop that neither one nor the otherRead MoreTraditional Organizational Structures Of Policing Agencies1013 Words   |  5 PagesTraditional Organizational Structures of Policing Agencies The principle role of police organizations is to uphold and enforce the law. Police organizations achieve this by safeguarding life and property, maintaining public order, and through detecting and preventing crime. 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Law and Order Essay Free Essays

In class, we watched the first twenty minutes of Law and Order episode â€Å"God Bless the Child†. The Episode starts with the parents of a young girl, that is deathly ill and in dire of medical assistance, and the parents won’t use modern medicine because it is against their religion. Neglecting help of modern medicine, the child eventually dies. We will write a custom essay sample on Law and Order Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now I believe that it is ridiculous that a parent will not help their own child and let them die when help is all around. I think prayer does not relinquish us from an obligation to act, so on these terms I do think these parents should be trialed for the death of their child. I see prayer to be similar to hope, guidance and communication with God rather than an act. Believing that everything can be solved with prayer is ridiculous, It Is like if someone wanted to end world hunger and didn’t donate but only prayed. I think prayer and acting should go hand in hand because God is not Just going to give you what you ask for, rather he will give you opportunities. Similar to the Joke about the lady in the flood that Ms. Ellsworth said In class, God sent a boat and a helicopter to rescue the lady but she refused. She would later die, and In Heaven, she asked God why didn’t you save me, and God replied â€Å"l did, I send you a boat and a helicopter what else can I do! † I think this Joke as the same situation as the parents In Law and Order. I strongly believe that the parents should go to trial for the death of the daughter because with all the opportunities God sent them, they avoided all of them. By neglecting all of these opportunities to rescue their child, the child suffered and soon after died. It Is ridiculous that she would not simply let her daughter drink some medicine for her to get better. If she was to go and drink alcohol, then why not let her daughter get treated. It Is most disturbing when the daughter was getting worse, but the mother thinks that what they are doing Is not working and they should do something else. Than an act. Believing that everything can be solved with prayer is ridiculous, it is like dad in the flood that Ms. Ellsworth said in class, God sent a boat and a helicopter to rescue the lady but she refused. She would later die, and in Heaven, she asked God what else can I do! † I think this Joke as the same situation as the parents in Law and after died. It is ridiculous that she would not simply let her daughter drink some daughter get treated. It is most disturbing when the daughter was getting worse, but the mother thinks that what they are doing is not working and they should do. How to cite Law and Order Essay, Essays

Braveheart free essay sample

Cutter courage Socrates once said, He Is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy. People around the globe have been suffering Injustice; a disease that kills values, injures dignity and leads some people to revenge, preferring death to life. Injustice affects Individuals as well as societies and the whole world. It is a disease created by human to euthanize human. Throughout an individuals life, one might come across many significant injustices that challenge an individuals courage. Self-respect, and whether or not an individual as enough strength to stand up to their morals and values. What is courage; well it is the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty. Or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. In the film, Breather, Randall Wallace pursues a courageous warrior, William Wallace, as he fights for his nation-states freedom from a dictator, Edward Longhairs. Every human being on this planet is given the gift of courage. However, there are very few that ever take advantage of this gift, and actually put it to good use. Courage is the ability to work ones way through a tough situation. Be it mental, or physical. Individuals have all tacked tough challenges before, the difference, however, is that some people tend to give up when the going gets rough, while others keep on. Initially, Wallace loses his family due to the English; this problem stimulates his hate for England. Before his death Malcolm Wallace told William l know you can fight, but It Is our wits that make us men. This quote from Wallachs father meaner you can fight but ones wisdom triumphs all. Moral and values are what make up a human being, one must be wakened to battle the unfairness brought upon ones self or a collective. All individuals have a virtue of courage inside their body and the true visionaries will pursue their dreams until the end. Throughout the film it is known that Wallace will end up freeing Scotland but he is not truly awakened yet, all William knows is that the English took his family away from him. Injustice can be different depending on the experience, people. Situation, and event. It can be seen as a negative thing but at the same time bring benefit to certain individuals. Facing injustice gives individuals he experience to deal and conquer inequality In the impending future. True courage is when you fight for whats right regardless of whether you win or lose. Furthermore, Wallace desired nothing more in life than to move back to his homeland years after his fathers death, to start a farm and, a family. Wallachs plans are drastically Interrupted when the English lord of the land executes his wife in order to get to him. Instead of making him weak, the murder of his Witt awakens Wallace trot his passive mindset and prompts William to begin a rebellion of English rule. He Inspires thousands of Scotsmen to fight the English soldiers for their freedom. Morals and values are what make William Wallace, without them, William would not be the individual he was, there would be no courage, no self-respect, and no Individuality. Longhairs once said Problem with Scotland Is that It Is full of Scots. This shows his (Scotland) free from the tyrants rule. If an individual really wants goal, one must show perseverance, a lot like William Wallace, his goal is to get freedom, and by having the courage, strength, wisdom, and self-respect he has, he is able to exercise his ambition to fight for freedom. Each difficult time in life has a moment to open ones eyes and mind to something far greater. As one strives to make it through problematic periods, hearing the wisdom of those who have struggled, questioned, and dreamed before one can make the Journey easier. Strength does not come from winning; an individuals struggle develops ones strength. When one goes through hardships and decides not to surrender, like William Wallace, not giving up on his dream of Scotland attaining freedom, which is true strength. Life has numerous ups and downs but they provide windows of opportunity to determine ones goals and aloes. Injustices are a part of life that every individual must deal with. These injustices can either enable one to succeed or cause one to fail. The most important aspect of life is thought to be happiness, in order to achieve success one must adjust to every situation with ease. When one uses the term successful, it does not mean the same as the conventional definition. The definition an individual is referring to is being able to overcome the injustice, nothing relating to business. Courage and self- respect has a major role in depicting whether or not one is able to overcome the injustices thrown towards them. In conclusion, in an individuals life, they will come across many major and non-major injustices. The individual can either chose to let it be or to stand up because their code of ethics tells them that this injustice is morally wrong. In the movie, Breather, William Wallace is able to overcome the injustices by fighting for what is right by using perseverance, one must have this aspect to complete anything in life. Without the traits of courage, perseverance, and self- respect one will not be able to go through with any goal or dream they think of. Courage is a state of mind that enables a person to overcome fear, pain, danger or hardship. Although different from one another, all aspects of courage involve taking risks. Courage is not the ability to be brave or to laugh in the face of danger. Courage is not risking your life for Justice. Courage is not a person who agrees to fight, but he who can stand up against it, William Wallace has true courage, he does not agree to fight but he wants to fight because his moral and values say that his people do not deserve to be treated inadequately, they are all humans, and warrant equality.

Should Student Athletes be Drug Tested Essay Example

Should Student Athletes be Drug Tested Paper There are many different ways in the world to train yourself in sports whether it is exercise or practice, many people in the world do something that is illegal in many different sports as they have rules and stipulations for it and that is taking drugs. Whether it’s PED’s or cocaine. Drugs ruin many aspects of every sport and cause harm to the player, and team. If an athlete takes drugs like steroids and is caught, he/she are not only cheating, but they are going to be punished and most likely suspended or kicked off the team. This could hurt a team like in high schools where, for most sports, hold tryouts and make cuts to build their sports teams. Let’s say a high school basketball team has 18 kids tryout for the team and they have none of them take any sort of drug test. They cut the team down to 12 and they go into the season with 12 kids. One kid gets caught by the league for using steroids, then that suspends the player or kicks them off the team knocking them down to 11 players. It could get lower if more players get caught. Then that leaves a bad reputation on the school. If that high school had performed a drug test on the 18 kids at the beginning, then they could have found out that the student has had a history of taking drugs and could cut him from the team and take one of the 6 that were cut and take one of them who pass ed the test. Now, because they did not make the players take a drug test, they wasted a roster slot and now have to go through the rest of the season one player short. We will write a custom essay sample on Should Student Athletes be Drug Tested specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Should Student Athletes be Drug Tested specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Should Student Athletes be Drug Tested specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Performing drug tests could play a huge role in someone’s personal life. For example, if a kid who is in love with football tries out for the team and is good enough, but gets cut because he failed a drug test, he would start to consider if he should give up drugs for the game he loves. Or should he keep taking them, quit the football team and take the chance of having his life go downhill from there. When schools test athletes for d

Due process revolution essays

Due process revolution essays The Warren Court (1953-1969) shifted the Supreme Court to a very liberal way of thinking and brought on many changes in the area of individual rights and criminal procedure. Although these changes were for the better not everyone agreed with what the Warren Court did. When Chief Justice Earl Warren stepped down in 1969, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger stepped in to take his place. Burgers underlying theme was Its adherence to the principle that criminal defendants, in claiming violations of their due process rights, need to bear most of the responsibility of showing that police when beyond the law in the performance of their duties. This was definitely a more conservative view than that of the Warren court. Burger did not agree with some of the things the Warren Court did. One of his main concerns was with the exclusionary rule that was established by the Warren Court. The Burger court began to chip away at the strict application of the exclusionary rule originally set forth in the Weeks and Silverthorne cases. In 1983 in the case of Illinois v Gates the court was asked to modify the exclusionary rule to permit the use in court of evidence that officers had seized in reasonable good faith. The court, however, chose not to address the issue at that time. But one year later in the case of U.S. v Leon (1984), the court recognized what has come to be called the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule. One problem that people had with this ruling was what did good Faith mean? The Burger courts interpretation of good faith was Any evidence that officers had seized in reasonable good faith. This means if an officer is given a false search warrant but does not know that it is false, any evidence he collects can be used in the court. This landmark ruling shifted things from a liberal, individual rights perspective to a much more conservative public- order perspective by the court. ...

Bertrand Surname Meaning and Family History

Bertrand Surname Meaning and Family History A medieval French form of the given name Bertram, the Bertrand surname means bright raven, derived from the elements beraht, meaning bright or intelligent and hramn,  meaning raven. Bertrando is the Italian version of the surname. Bertrand is the 17th most common last name in France. Surname Origin: French Alternate Surname Spellings: BERTRAM, BERTRANDO Famous People with the Surname Bertrand Alexandre Bertrand -  French archaeologistJoseph Bertrand - French mathematicianAlexandre Jacques Franà §ois Bertrand  Ã‚  - French physician and mesmerist; father of Alexandre Bertrand and Joseph BertrandÉmile Bertrand - French mineralogist for whom bertrandite was namedAntoine de Bertrand - French Renaissance composerLouis Jacques Napolà ©on Bertrand (pen name  Aloysius Bertrand)  - French poet Where the Bertrand  Surname Is Most Common According to surname distribution from  Forebears, the Bertrand surname is most prevalent in France, where it ranks as the 21st most common last name in the country. Bertrand is also fairly common in Luxembourg, where it ranks 55th, as well as Belgium (107th) and Canada (252nd). It is almost twice as common today in the United States (ranked 2,667) as it was at the time of the 1880 census (5,258). Surname maps from  WorldNames PublicProfiler  demonstrate that the Bertrand surname is common throughout France, but is found in greatest numbers in the regions of Poitou-Charentes, Languedoc-Roussillon, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine, as well as in nearby Wallonie, Belgium. Within the United States, Bertrand is, as you might expect, most common in Louisiana, while in Canada it is found in the greatest numbers in Quebec and the Northwest Territories. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Bertrand French Surname Meanings and Origins: Does your last name have origins in France? Learn about the various origins of French surnames and explore the meanings of some of the most common French last names.How to Research-French Ancestry: Learn about the various types of genealogical records available for researching ancestors in France and how to access them, plus how to locate where in France your ancestors originated.Bertrand Family Crest - Its Not What You Think: Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Bertrand  family crest or coat of arms for the Bertrand surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.BERTRAND  Family Genealogy Forum: Search this popular genealogy forum for the Bertrand  surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Bertrand query.FamilySearch - BERTR AND Genealogy: Explore over 500,000  results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Bertrand surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. DistantCousin.com - BERTRAND  Genealogy Family History: Explore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Bertrand.GeneaNet - Bertrand  Records: GeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Bertrand surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries.The Bertrand Genealogy and Family Tree Page: Browse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Bertrand  surname from the website of Genealogy Today. References Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Walt Disney World Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walt Disney World - Speech or Presentation Example Further, it maintains an informal link with England’s Swindon Company as a competitive measure (â€Å"The Walt Disney Company,† n.d.). Walt Disney World’s employees have high morale levels and remain empowered in their undertakings. They work towards providing high quality visitor relations, most notable through smiles. Employees at the resort delight in diversified job arrangements and an all-inclusive workforce nationalities as well as free tickets. They take on consistent self or team tasks and witness ever changing visitor interactions despite the minimal wages and little benefits that they receive. Employees at the resort demonstrate friendliness and learn new skills each day as well as have opportunities for advancement. With regards to strategy formulation, the management utilizes a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system along with information technology to ease crowding and re-design customer experience. The resort’s corporate, human resourc e and business strategies include modification plans for Downtown Disney’s art concept along with prospects for allowing advertisements application for Hulu initiative. Plans to open Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort in 2014 constitute the resort’s business strategy. Moreover, it aligned with Vera Bradley in generating a new track of bags as well as created a new logo art design for the company (â€Å"The Walt Disney Company,† n.d.). Strategy implementation capacities consist of youth centered initiatives with an annual budget allocation of $500,000 such as ‘A gift for Teaching’ program in addition to obliging to creativity and arts, for instance, summer camps. Social and compassion related services following economic hardships and natural disasters... The paper outlines the value of Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World originally focused on innovation and creativity. Demographic and labor trends for the resort indicate it as the ninth standing leading labor force among all Florida’s markets with increasing percentage of female workforce. The resort’s customer base takes in families, children, government and non-governmental groups, the community and learning institutions. Walt Disney World’s employees have high morale levels and remain empowered in their undertakings. They work towards providing high quality visitor relations, most notable through smiles. Employees at the resort delight in diversified job arrangements and an all-inclusive workforce nationalities as well as free tickets. They take on consistent self or team tasks and witness ever changing visitor interactions despite the minimal wages and little benefits that they receive. Employees at the resort demonstrate friendliness and learn new skills ea ch day as well as have opportunities for advancement. . Walt Disney World invests in local community infrastructures within Florida such as Florida’s children hospital based Walt Disney Pavilion in addition to hospitality and culinary science scholarships for college and university students at the resort. The resort also offers periodic discounts for their visitors on various reservation packages. Human capital as well as human resource metrics became considered with regards to assessment and evaluation. Walt Disney World makes use of less advertising as compared to its rivals in the industry.

Immigrants and Immigration - America Needs Immigration Essay

Immigrants and Immigration - America Needs Immigration - Essay Example Immigration also assists in the development and understand of cultural diversities and helps in promoting anti racist sentiments. Immigrants mainly belong to the underdeveloped nations where the financial crisis pushes them to immigrate. Policies which include the rules of free trade actually serve as a burden rather than reliefs for the poor countries making them dip into poverty even more. These underdeveloped nations have debts to pay off and much of their income goes into actually paying the interest of these debts. Moreover the developed nations do pledge to assist these countries by providing them aid but these developed countries never reach their set goal. The people living in these countries are left with no options and the final ray of hope for them is immigration. It is the only way for them to lead a better life ahead. America is the country of immigrants. Friedman (2006) explains the results of a study carried out by the National Academy of Sciences that immediate descen dents reimburse $80,000 in excess of what they receive as benefits in taxes in their whole life. Approximately 15% of the total labor force of America comprises of immigrants and terminating their services would reduce the output of the country by $1 trillion. The total agricultural industry can be distributed equally in domestic and immigrant workers in terms of population (Friedman, 2006). Immigration can also serve to be beneficial for the countries where these people migrate. This is because the developed nations like America have more of an aging population which they have to cater. The taxes paid by immigrants in America are helpful in upholding the social security and health expenses of this ageing population. Another cause is the decreased birth rates in these nations. This results in low skilled labor and hence immigrants can serve to fill in these gaps. Also the immigrants pay higher taxes comparatively and this can serve to compensate for the amount required to cater to t he aged. Thus, immigration serves to promote the betterment of the immigrants as well as proves to be beneficial to the economy of the host nation. America also benefits from these impacts of immigrants (Fienleib & Warner, 2005). With immigration there is development and understanding of other cultures and religions. The immigrants receive a chance of adapting according to the culture of the country where they have migrated. On the other hand the nationals of that country receive a chance to view the different cultures of the world and analyze them. America is culturally rich and is home to the immigrants from different parts of the world. This assists in the promotion of harmony in the U.S., as people from two different regions learn to live together and are exposed to different views and perspectives of the world. Thus immigration assists in broadening the human mind (Gabaccia 2002, pp. 8-15). Despite of this understanding there has been much opposition to the policy of immigratio n and immigrants have to face racism in the host country. The opponents argue that the immigrants actually take up the US native citizens’ jobs and the result is lower employment for them (Borjas 2001, p. 63). This point has been argued against as it has been analyzed the economic impact of immigration is not great and immigrants serve in to fill many vacant places and assist in boosting the income as a whole. Opponents also

The Future of Customer Experience Essay Example for Free

The Future of Customer Experience Essay Frowareness, discovery, attraction, interaction, purchase, use, cultivation and advocacy. It can also be used to mean an individual experience over one transaction; the distinction is usually clear in context. Analysts and commentators who write about customer experience (CX) and  customer relationship management  have increasingly recognized the importance of managing the customers experience. Customers receive some kind of experience, ranging from positive to negative, during the course of buying  goods  and  services. BlackBerry takes a look into the future of customer experience. This video depicts what the future of retailing could look like in the near future. A young woman uses mobile technology to identify, search and buy an outfit for a wedding and to interact with retailers in the online and physical worlds. This video also details how retailers can use mobile technology in the future to collaborate, and respond faster to trends and customer demand. This video shows how businesses could use integrated social networking to better serve customers and to improve employee collaboration and engagement. A fictional utilities company uses social networking to track, respond and improve their customer experience and service levels whilst increasing staff productivity. In this video, existing technologies have been  re-imagined  with smarter devices and better experiences. It showcases device integration, sharing and social networking, e-commerce, retail management systems, GPS tracking, mobile payment systems and augmented reality. BlackBerry takes a look at the impact mobile technology could have in the future of customer service. Analysis of the case The Future of Customer Experience? Its Getting Personal No matter what business, a growing percentage of customers are nearly always connected, with instant access to more advanced tools and detailed information than many enterprises had just a few years ago. These smart, digitally empowered consumers and businesses have the power to behave in a far smarter and better-informed manner than ever before. This power has also radically changed customer expectations, driving demand for better, more innovative, and personalized products, services, and experiences. This should come as no surprise to any executive. Given a choice, each of us (as well as our customers) prefers experiences tailored to our unique wants and needs. Firms that are best able to do so have significant competitive advantage over those that cannot. Though the promise–and power–of personalization has been at the forefront of marketing theory for some time, its widespread application to customer experience is only just beginning. Today, disruptive digital innovation is changing the ways companies serve their customers, as well as the ways these customers expect to be treated. Personalization is the Foundation Of Innovative Customer Experience. In the age of smart customers, personalization is the future of experience. Mass production and consumption of news, entertainment, products, and services have already lost the battle, giving way to personalization and customization. Apps such as  Zite  and  Flipboard  allow each of us to totally personalize the ways we consume news. Amazon has personalized the ways we shop, and Netflix and Hulu how we watch movies, TV, and other media programming. Pandora serves up increasingly personalized musical streams based on a listener’s taste (â€Å"thumbs up; thumbs down†), continuously learning about users’ musical preferences based on real-time customer feedback. There are hundreds of examples, with more coming every day. The point is these increasing levels of digitally driven personalization allow customers to choose what they consume, from whom, and how they interact with and consume it. These digital experiences are training smart customers to expect everything, from every company–product, services, experiences, and more–to be customized in a similar manner. When it comes to innovative customer experience, this all leads to one word: personalization. ‘One Size Fits All’ Simply Doesn’t Fly Anymore. And It Doesn’t Have To. No company can afford to or needs to deliver a fully customized â€Å"ideal experience† to each individual customer across the range of digital, human, and static touchpoints and interactions. The fact is, some customers are simply worth more than others, and it takes a great deal of intelligence for companies to figure out what the â€Å"right† experiences are for any given group of customers, much less how to personalize them. The good news is, â€Å"smart touchpoints† and the data they can produce, combined with the ability to analyze the digital breadcrumbs and data that surrounds almost every customer, means that any firm of any size has the tools for intelligent personalization at hand. Starting with what can be the biggest step, a firm needs to be willing to adjust its offerings to the needs of individual customers based on an understanding of what those individual customers (or the smallest possible groups they represent) want, and how that’s different from others. The more effectively a company uses customer information to understand and acknowledge both the differences and similarities, the easier it will be to provide benefits uniquely suited to those customers. In ways never before possible, you can approach them with truly personalized, highly customized offers, through relevant channels, in ways that drive stronger, more profitable relationships, better serving your customers by giving them exactly what they want, when they want it. Result: Customer experiences that are not only highly differentiated, but that cannot be easily duplicated by others. It is infact the hardest thing for competitors to copy. For many companies, it isn’t obvious to executives how or why they should provide meaningful personalization. Their customers have been satisfied with the existing product lineup. Their products may be commodities, or perhaps their firms are in a regulated utility. While the desire to create a â€Å"differentiated customer experience† is high on the list of objectives when it comes to customer experience strategy, they do not yet grasp that the most effective customer experiences are those tailored in a significant manner to meet the needs of that particular customer. They simply dont realize how fast customer expectations are changing, and what this means to the design of forward-looking customer experience strategies today. Companies that do realize this–and take action as a result–will create truly differentiated, category-leading experiences that make interacting with them so relevant, so much more convenient, and so perfectly suited to customers’ wants and needs that they won’t even  consider switching to a competitor. Points to consider while designing a customer experience The world has changed and the balance of power has shifted to the customers. The speed with which consumers have shifted to all things  digital/social/mobile  has taken many companies by surprise. â€Å"It’s like skating to a ping-pong ball 1. PERSONALIZATION AND CONTEXT With consumers adopting evermore numerous channels and devices to access information and interact with brands, businesses are scrambling to figure out how to deliver a more unified customer experience. In the wake of this, two new mantras are on the lips of every marketer: personalization and context. As a larger number of users become more familiar with social/mobile technologies, they’ll likely use them in more complex ways: sophistication breeds heightened expectation. Consumers will favor brands that provide context and relevance to their daily lives. Businesses can accomplish this by  producing quality content  that is not only relevant to their brand’s target audience, but promoted (and optimized) over multiple channels such as web, mobile and social, and accessible to them on demand. For many, this presents a daunting challenge that will likely put a strain on existing resources. If this is the case for a brand, they may want to consider outsourcing to an  inbound marketing services agency  that specializes on all aspects of digital marketing. Key Inferences * An explosion of customer touchpoints is at hand. Digital customer experience today is defined primarily by websites, with mobile applications on smartphones not far behind, and the future will include as many as 10 additional customer touchpoints. Deciding which channels to incorporate into your strategy is crucial to defining your organization’s future in digital customer experience. A unified experience requires the right people, process, and technology foundations. Customers love their devices but also want consistency across the devices and apps they use. Unified experiences that cross touchpoints demand improved yet common designs, common content assets and application code, and delivery processes tuned for speed and harmonized skills and roles. * Investments in unified experience founda tions will pay off now. Investments in foundations for unified customer experiences will pay dividends in the short term.

Eriksons Stage of Development Essay -- Application Development Stages

Erikson's Stage of Development †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 1: My mother fed me consistently throughout the day. I was fed at the same times daily. I learned how to blindly trust my mother for providing milk. I learned how to trust my environment in general and developed a secure attachment toward my parents. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 2: While I was learning how to walk, my parents left me alone to explore how to walk by myself. I would hold onto the edges of the walls to help support me up. My parents encouraged my use of initiative and reassured me when I fell down. I developed the confidence needed to cope with future situations that required choice, control, or independence. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 3: I had an imaginary friend named Billy at this age. I never felt shame when using my imagination or talking to my imaginary friend. However, I learned that I should not always do what Billy did. For example, if Billy threw away a penny, I knew that I should not do the same. This taught me the ability to accept what was happening without guilt and that there are certain things that are wrong to do. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 4: Through attending school, I learned the necessity to be productive and do my own work. I learned to make things, use tools, and acquire skills to be a worker and a potential provider. I participated in a wide variety of events throughout the day including academics, group activities and friends. Due to these activities I developed a sense of competence. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 5: Currently, I decide wh...

Literacy in the Modern World

Literature In the Modern World When exploring what it means to read and write, it is easy to forget how valuable the knowledge of literacy is. People take for granted the fact that our whole world revolves around communication and that our main sources of communication are reading and writing. Whether I’ve realized it or not, involvement in reading and writing comes into play for all different scenarios. It is used for everyday tasks such as reading directions, writing a grocery list, interpretating an email, or checking Facebook.Through this I have noticed how much reading and writing I actually do. In effect, it plays a huge role in how I communicate with others as well. Since current perceptions on literacy are typically schoolwork related I want to begin to rethink what it actually means to read and write. I want to explore the different types of literacy that have shaped who I am and what perceptions I have of myself when it comes to the knowledge of literacy. Throughout high school I strictly thought of reading and writing as a school related burden.I always viewed it with a narrow mind set because the fun of reading and writing was always overshadowed by the amount of mandatory work I had. Therefore, I typically had a poor attitude and struggled when it came down to writing a paper. Papers such as argumentative, persuasive, and research were just a few of the different kinds I was required to do. When getting started, I always had a tough time coming up with topics sentences and a thesis statement. I generally knew what I wanted to say, but getting it out into words was the hard part.I also had a hard time with transitioning paragraphs and concluding my papers. Reiterating what I had said in my introduction was always difficult. This could be part of the reason writing for school never excited me. It wasn’t until college application time that I found a school related writing type that made me see that writing could be enjoyable. After writi ng essay after essay I noticed how fun this type of creative writing was. I really enjoyed the creativity that was required and how you could use stories and personal examples to get your point across.Creative writing broadened my way of thinking and for the first time ever I was proud of my own writing. Aside from my struggle with school writing, school reading was not as bad. The reading I did was not by choice but I usually ended up appreciating the things I had to read. From Newsweek articles to history books, I always seemed to learn something new. Also by studying different types of literature through English classes I was able to understand different writing styles and appreciate how they relate to different time periods.Some memorable readings that I enjoyed from school were Frankenstein, the Scarlett Letter, Pride and Prejudice, to Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby. All of theses books were so different and I learned something new from each one. Reading got difficult when it would drag on. Fortunately I always seem to get through them even when the reading is not the most interesting. For example, I had to really focus when reading, â€Å"Creating a world without Poverty† but after I got through it I appreciated the knowledge I now know and have found it to be really eye opening.I feel that school literacy through its ups and downs has really expanded my critical thinking level. Aside from the school related reading and writing, I find that my attitude towards literacy becomes more positive as the readings get more interesting. Reading and writing for fun is so different because there is no stress and there is no one to grade you on it. I encourage myself and others to read for fun and learn at the same time without all the pressure. Fun reads for me consist of fashion magazines or celebrity news articles. These are what interest me and can be read without all of the pressure.I also like being able to choose what books I would like to rea d. The Twilight series were fun books that I chose on my own and I could sit there and read without worrying about finishing it. My most recent book was called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which again, I read for my own preference. I also enjoy reading when it comes to communicating though text messages, Facebook, twitter, or Gmail. On these Internet and technology sites I am constantly reading and writing but without stress. Therefore my approach on outside of school literacy is much more positive.Although it can be tedious and time consuming, literacy is important in the world we live in today. After exploring the various types of reading and writing. I have come to find that it is a much larger spectrum than just associating it with school related work. Without it, communication would be almost impossible. I have come to find that I have a lot more experience in reading and writing than I thought. I now, must work harder to hone my skills and become more experienced so that I have a limitless amount of knowledge for the future. My perception of my writing can only improve the more I do.

Conservative Party From 1951 To 1964 Essay

1) Labour failed to modernise its policies to a move affluent Britain and the party was constantly divided 2) The parliamentary party was split between the Left and Right: left-wing Bevan’s wanted an expansion of the public sector & hostile to Gaitskell, who did not 3) Gaitskell became leader after Wilson and agreed on a social democracy rather than a socialist one, but failed to remove Clause IV in 1961 Labour weakness enabled the Conservatives to avoid the electoral consequences of their mistakes, partially 1) Suez 1956 2) Resignation of Eden Conclusion The Labour party was dominating in votes up to 1950, however that year the difference between Labour and Conservative parties was very neglectful. There are several factors that might have contributed to Labours loss of power in 1951. The Labour government was associated with the period of austerity when people had to overcome rationing and devaluation. Additionally, many key members of the Cabinet were exhausted or unwell. Moreover, they were split internally and the event with Gaitskell that led to Bevan’s resignation in 1951, undermined the cohesion of the government. In comparison to them, the conservative party seemed to be more convincing at that period. The reign of Conservatives began in 1951 and lasted for 13 years, when Winston Churchill ran his campaign for election, and eventually, won. Here were several reasons that guaranteed his success: he agreed to maintain the post-war consensus that kept full employment under Keynesian policy and allowed to enlarge the system of social services. Moreover, Churchill’s second election victory was partially due to the gratitude of British public for being a good wartime leader. Another point is that, Conservatives reorganised the system of internal work and its campaign that was oriented toward gaining of additional votes. Also, they brought young and bright members into the government that made them stand out against old Labour government. The policy proposed by Churchill’s government was Keynesian and it guaranteed full employment due to the increased financing of projects by government and decreased taxation that led to increase of import. Additionally, growing industry, build of housing and development of welfare services guaranteed growing employment and high consumer demand; women found it easy to find a job that gave families at least 2 incomes. One of the important factors was that Conservatives finalised the austerity: rationing and licensing came to an end. However, there were some difficulties, too. Development of industry and services required more people, which resulted in immigration of low-cost workforce from colonies of GB. Consequently, up to 1962 the number of immigrants from India and African countries was about 200 000, that led to Commonwealth Immigration Act. Moreover, depressed areas continued to have the level of  unemployment above average that suggested costly measures to create intensives for workers, such as low interest loans, tax breaks and housing for key workers. But those measures could not guarantee safe functioning during difficult periods, for instance, firms closed as soon as recessi ons started. Winston Churchill was a prime-minister during 1951- 1955, even though he was very old and due to health issues was no longer dynamic. And this period is considered to be successful despite the fact that recovery of British economy was moving at a slow pace than one of Europe or USA. In 1955 the parliament was under direction of Anthony Eden, who worked close to Churchill and coordinated the work of government during his absence. He inherited good economic and political conditions, and it was hard to imagine that in 2 years he would resign in disgrace because of foreign affair matter, the very field area of government where his talent was praised for. His fiasco was caused by the Suez Canal seizure made by Gamal Abdel Nasser that was a strategically important point controlled by Britain since 1875. An attempt to intervene in Egypt with military force in secrete coalition with France and Israel was not supported by US government and would cause heavy pressure and withdrawal of its financial help from British economy. That event was humiliating failure of British foreign policy; and the secret collusion with France and Israel created a bad image for Eden. Harold Macmillan was a prime- minister from 1957 to 1964 and he followed the strategies of his fellow members. He implemented the Butler’s theory to operate a mixed economy and the policy of Keynesianism. The aims of these policies were to avoid extreme inflation and deflation by a series of government adjustments. If inflation rose too quickly, the government introduced measures to slow it down. These measures included, raising interest rates to prevent borrowing and increasing import controls to limit purchases from abroad, with the intent of reducing the trade gap. Alternatively, if demand was low, the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time would introduce ‘a giveaway’ budget whereby taxes and interest rates were lowered. The Conservatives maintained these economic policies from 1957 right up until 1964. The ‘give away’ budgets were criticised however, as they were said to be attempts to ‘buy votes’. Macmillan also introduced the policy of stop-go, which resulted in stagflation due to Britain’s lack of economic strategy. That indicated the failure of governments to develop  policies that encouraged a constantly performing economy. The policy of stop-go was about intervening of government when consumption rose too quickly. Despite any criticisms, Macmillan (also named as Supermac) created an image of full confidence in this policy and that reflected in increase of his popularity and general public approval. As the result, quality of life improved and people were able to buy luxuries. Macmillan had many qualities that gained him respect: he was decisive, portrayed his confidence through media and delivered on promises. He pulled out of the Suez affair as he knew Britain was not going the way Eden wanted to see. He promised to build 300,000 houses per year: in 1953 the number of new houses achieved 327,000 and in 1954 – 354,000. Finally, Macmillan got rid of the British Empire which saved enormous amounts of money. Though Britain was criticised for doing this, as they were said to be abandoning their empire, ultimately it was the right thing to do as too many extreme promises were made and Macmillan knew t hese could not be kept without risking the welfare of Britain themselves. Also, the empire wanted freedom and therefore it was impossible for Britain to ‘abandon’ them; they were just providing their colonies with the freedom they craved. In 1964 the last prime-minister to hold office while being the member of House of Lords. After becoming a lord he was criticized by Labour Party as an aristocrat, who cannot understand the needs and problems of ordinary families; and he had an image of rather stiffly person by contrast with the Labour leader, Harold Wilson. In conclusion, one might say that the period of 1951-64 was a great success for British economy when it came revived and more industrialized after the 2nd World War. It gave a start for new vision and policy that improved the face of the country with time.

Free Essays on The Taming Of The Shrew

In the beginning of â€Å"The Taming of the Shrew†, some say Shakespeare portrays Katherina as a very shrewish figure. Others may argue that she is not shrewish but just a very strong willed person. At the end of the play some people say she is transformed into a very kind and gentle person, while again others will argue that she is not â€Å"tamed† but just putting on an act to â€Å"show up† her younger sister Bianca, whom has always been more beautiful and charming. Kate is â€Å"like a wasp, like a foal, like foal that kicks from his halter; pert, quick and determined, but full of good heart.† 1. This statement made by one author, shows clearly that he does not see her as shrew-like, even at the beginning of the play. The same author states that at the end of the play she has not really transformed, rather she has just fallen in love with Petruchio, in essence she is free from torment because she is no longer seen as the shrew. In the beginning of the play Kate is â€Å"consistently in opposition to everything around her†2, meanwhile â€Å"Bianca obeys so gently and with such sweet submission that it is obvious why she is Baptista’s favorite daughter†2. In the end of the play, the roles switch and Katherina is submissive to every word of Petruchio and Bianca resists the commands of her new husband. Kate’s first reaction to Petruchio, her â€Å"mad wooer†, is self-pity, and even her father feels that his treatment of her would â€Å"vex a saint†. He takes her away from the home she is used to, with servants and maids to wait on her hand and foot, to the country. There she is away from the luxurious town life and is cold, hungry and tired. She somewhat learns to watch her temper and obey Petruchio so that he will feed her so she can survive peacefully rather than miserably. I believe that his method of taming her is not cruel yet very effective. He shows her that she can get much farther an d live life a lot happier if she is nice and â€Å"e... Free Essays on The Taming of the Shrew Free Essays on The Taming of the Shrew In the beginning of â€Å"The Taming of the Shrew†, some say Shakespeare portrays Katherina as a very shrewish figure. Others may argue that she is not shrewish but just a very strong willed person. At the end of the play some people say she is transformed into a very kind and gentle person, while again others will argue that she is not â€Å"tamed† but just putting on an act to â€Å"show up† her younger sister Bianca, whom has always been more beautiful and charming. Kate is â€Å"like a wasp, like a foal, like foal that kicks from his halter; pert, quick and determined, but full of good heart.† 1. This statement made by one author, shows clearly that he does not see her as shrew-like, even at the beginning of the play. The same author states that at the end of the play she has not really transformed, rather she has just fallen in love with Petruchio, in essence she is free from torment because she is no longer seen as the shrew. In the beginning of the play Kate is â€Å"consistently in opposition to everything around her†2, meanwhile â€Å"Bianca obeys so gently and with such sweet submission that it is obvious why she is Baptista’s favorite daughter†2. In the end of the play, the roles switch and Katherina is submissive to every word of Petruchio and Bianca resists the commands of her new husband. Kate’s first reaction to Petruchio, her â€Å"mad wooer†, is self-pity, and even her father feels that his treatment of her would â€Å"vex a saint†. He takes her away from the home she is used to, with servants and maids to wait on her hand and foot, to the country. There she is away from the luxurious town life and is cold, hungry and tired. She somewhat learns to watch her temper and obey Petruchio so that he will feed her so she can survive peacefully rather than miserably. I believe that his method of taming her is not cruel yet very effective. He shows her that she can get much farther an d live life a lot happier if she is nice and â€Å"e... Free Essays on The Taming Of The Shrew taming of the shrew analysis Petruchio: â€Å"Even in these honest mean habiliments. Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor: For ‘tis the mind that makes the body rich; and as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, so honour peereth in the meanest habit. What, is the jay more precious than the lark because his feather are more beautiful? Or is the adder better than the eel because his feathers are more beautiful? Or is the adder better than the eel because his painted skin contents the eye? O, no, good Kate; neither art thou the worse for this poor furniture and mean array. If thou account’st it shame, lay it on me; and therefore frolic; we will hence forthwith, to feast and sport us at thy father’s house.† The above passage, spoken by Petruchio at the end of scene three, does an excellent job of summarizing the theme of the entire play. The youngest sister, Bianca, is the most beautiful and the most sought after daughter in Baptista’s household. Through all the intricate plots that her suitors have, she is almost sure to choose the one whom she loves the most and therefore live happily ever after. Katherina, the so-called shrew and antagonist of the play, is publicly known as a vile woman who is the least likely to find a suitor, and almost certainly not love. However, all things change when Petruchio, the down on his luck noble and protagonist, comes along and finds his equal in whit and intellect. In an analysis of Petruchio’s passage we see a different man than that was originally presented to us in the beginning of the play. We see no mention of gaining riches, his purpose for considering wedding her, and in fact he denounces material things. â€Å"Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor: For ‘tis the mind that makes the body rich.† In other words: in wearing the ragged clothing that they did, he proves that his purpose is not for money and riches. He is able to see past her dowry and...

Top 10 Events in Race Relations This Decade (2000-2009)

Top 10 Events in Race Relations This Decade (2000-2009) The first decade of the new millennium saw extraordinary strides in race relations. New ground was broken in film, television and politics, to name a few. Just because accomplishments have been made in race relations doesnt mean theres no room for improvement, though. Tensions continue to run high over issues such as illegal immigration and racial profiling. And a natural disasterHurricane Katrinarevealed that racial divisions remain strong in the United States. So, whats in store for race relations between 2010 and 2020? Judging from the events on the race relations timeline of this decade, the skys the limit. After all, who in 1999 couldve guessed that the new decade would see Americas first black president ushering in, what some have called, post-racial America? Dora the Explorer (2000) Which cartoon characters did you grew up watching? Were they part of the Peanuts gang, the Looney Tunes crew or the Hanna-Barbera family? If so, perhaps Pepe Le Pew was the only animated character you came across who spoke two languagesin Pepes case, French and English. But Pepe never became as famous as his Looney Tunes companions Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird. On the other hand, when Dora the Explorer arrived on the scene in 2000, the series about an adventurous bilingual Latina and her animal friends proved so popular it has grossed billions of dollars. The popularity of the show proves that girls and boys of all ethnic groups will readily embrace Latino characters. It has already paved the way for another animated show with a Latino protagonistGo Diego Gowhich features Doras cousin. Dont expect Dora to be upstaged by Diego, or any other animated character, for that matter. As her audience evolves, so does she. Doras look was updated in early 2009. Shes grown from tot to tween, wears fashionable clothes and includes mystery-solving among her adventures. Count on Dora to be around for the long haul. Colin Powell Becomes Secretary of State (2001) George W. Bush appointed Colin Powell Secretary of State in 2001. Powell was the first African American to serve in the role. A moderate in a conservative administration, Powell often clashed with other members of the Bush administration. He announced his resignation from the position on Nov. 15, 2004. His service was not without controversy. Powell came under fire for his insistence that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction. The claim was used as justification for the U.S. to invade Iraq. After Powell stepped down, Condoleezza Rice became the first African-American woman to serve as secretary of state. Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks (2001) The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001 left nearly 3,000 people dead. Because those responsible for the attacks were from the Middle East, Arab Americans came under intense scrutiny in the U.S. and continue to be today. Arguments arose over whether Arabs in America should be racially profiled. Hate crimes against Middle Easterners rose markedly. Today, xenophobia against individuals from Muslim nations remains high. In the 2008 presidential campaign, a rumor spread that Barack Obama was Muslim to discredit him. Obama is, in fact, Christian, but just the insinuation that he was Muslim cast suspicion upon him. In November 2009, the Middle Eastern community braced itself for another backlash when Major Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded dozens in a murderous rampage at the Ft. Hood military base. Hasan reportedly shouted Allahu Akbar! before the massacre. Angelina Jolie Puts International Adoption in the Spotlight (2002) Transracial adoption was nothing new when actress Angelina Jolie adopted son Maddox from Cambodia in March 2002. Actress Mia Farrow adopted children from various racial backgrounds decades before Jolie, as did singer-dancer Josephine Baker. But when the 26-year-old Jolie adopted her Cambodian son and went on to adopt a daughter from Ethiopia and another son from Vietnam, she actually influenced the public to follow suit. Adoptions of children in countries such as Ethiopia by Westerners went up. Later Madonna would make headlines for adopting two children from another African nationMalawi. International adoption has its critics, of course. Some argue that domestic adoption should be prioritized. Others fear that international adoptees will be forever disconnected from their native countries. Theres also the notion that international adoptees have become status symbols for Westerners much like designer handbags or shoes. Halle Berry and Denzel Washington Win Oscars (2002) At the 74th Academy Awards, Halle Berry and Denzel Washington made history by winning Oscars for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively. While Sidney Poitier won a Best Actor Oscar for 1963s Lilies of the Field, no black woman had ever won a top acting honor from the Academy. Berry, who won for Monsters Ball, remarked during the ceremony, This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll . . . its for every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. While many were elated by the groundbreaking wins of Berry and Washington, some in the African-American community expressed dismay that the actors won Oscars for portraying less than admirable characters. Washington played a corrupt cop in â€Å"Training Day,† while Berry played an abusive mother who moves in with the white man who participated in her late husband’s execution. The film features a graphic sex scene between Berry and Billy Bob Thornton that also garnered criticism, including from actress Angela Bassett who said she turned down the part of Leticia (the character Berry plays) because she didn’t want to be a â€Å"prostitute on film.† Hurricane Katrina (2005) Hurricane Katrina touched down in southeastern Louisiana Aug. 29, 2005. One of the deadliest hurricanes in American history, Katrina took more than 1,800 lives. While residents with the means to leave the area evacuated before the hurricane hit, impoverished residents of New Orleans and surrounding areas had no choice but to stay put and rely on the government for assistance. Unfortunately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was slow to take action, leaving the most vulnerable residents of the Gulf region with lack of water, housing, healthcare and other necessities. Many of those left behind were poor and black, and President George W. Bush and his administration were criticized for not taking swift action because impoverished African Americans were apparently not a priority to them. Rallies for Immigrants Take Place Nationwide (2006) Although the United States is a nation of immigrants, America remains divided over the surge of immigrants into the country in recent decades. Opponents of immigration, particularly illegal immigration, regard immigrants as a drain on the country’s resources. Many resent having to compete for work with immigrants willing to work for extremely low wages. Supporters of immigrants, however, cite the many contributions newcomers to America have made to the country. They argue that immigrants don’t tax the nation’s resources but, in fact, boost the economy through their hard work. In a show of support of immigrants to America, a reported 1.5 million people demonstrated from coast to coast on May 1, 2006. Immigrants and their advocates were told to stay home from school and work and not patronize businesses so that the nation could feel the impact of what life would be like without immigrants. Some businesses even had to shut down on May Day because their companies depend so heavily on immigrant labor. According to the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington D.C., about 7.2 million undocumented immigrants hold jobs in the United States, making up 4.9 percent of the overall labor force. About 24 percent of farm workers and 14 percent of construction workers are undocumented, the Pew Hispanic Center found. Each year on May 1, rallies continue to be held in support of immigrants, arguably making immigration the civil rights issue of the millennium. Barack Obama Wins Presidential Election (2008) Running on a platform of change, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama wins the 2008 presidential election to become the first person of African descent chosen to run the United States. A multiracial, multigenerational coalition of volunteers helped Obama win the campaign. Considering that African Americans were previously denied the right to vote, forcibly segregated from whites and enslaved in the United States, Obama’s successful presidential bid marked a turning point for the nation. Anti-racist activists take issue with the notion that Obama’s election means that we’re now living in a â€Å"post-racial† America, though. Gaps between blacks and whites remain in the education, employment and healthcare sectors, to name a few. Sonia Sotomayor Becomes First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice (2009) The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States paved the way for other people of color to break ground in politics. In May 2009, President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor, raised by a single Puerto Rican mother in the Bronx, to the Supreme Court as a replacement for Justice David Souter. On Aug. 6, 2009, Sotomayor became the first Hispanic judge and the third woman to sit on the court. Her appointment to the court also marks the first time judges from two minority groupsAfrican American and Latinohave served on the court together. Disney Releases First Film With Black Princess (2009) â€Å"The Princess and the Frog† debuted nationwide Dec. 11. The film was Disney’s first with a black heroine. It opened to largely positive reviews and topped the box office its opening weekend, grossing approximately $25 million. Despite its relative success in theatersthere are reports the film hasn’t doesn’t as well as recent Disney features such as â€Å"Enchanted†controversy surrounded â€Å"The Princess and the Frog† before its release. Some members of the African American community objected to the fact that Princess Tiana’s love interest, Prince Naveen, wasn’t black; that Tiana remained a frog for much of the film rather than a black woman; and that the film portrayed Voodoo negatively. Other African Americans were simply overjoyed that someone who resembled them was joining the ranks of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and the like for the first time in Disney’s 72-year history.

Hard Bob, Funky, Gospel Jazz Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hard Bob, Funky, Gospel Jazz Music - Essay Example Generally, however, Gospel Music themes covered areas of Christian religious worship, praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity. There were several main characteristic of Black Gospel Music that distinguished it from other Gospels. Throughout the years since its development, many artists have also sprung and they not only contributed to its development, but took this particular subgenre into the next level. Black Gospel, also called Urban Contemporary Gospel, like the mainstream genre it belonged to, sought to express the collective Christian beliefs of the community. It was deemed the Christianized version of the mainstream modern music of the earlier half of the 20th century. Though the themes were somewhat fixed, the main characteristics of this subgenre changed throughout the years. Tempo and beat often differed according to the taste of the artists and the particular music era they belonged to. For instance, in the early years of its conception (1920s-1940s), Thomas A. Dorsey, the â€Å"Father of Gospel Music, along with pioneer singers Willie Mae Ford Smith and Sallie Martin, popularized Black Gospel by mixing elements of Blues or Spirituals with the Christian religious experience (Petrie). With â€Å"happiness† as the prime element in testifying a religious experience, there was a good deal of dancing (mainly employing the Boogie-Woogie style to the accompaniment of Jazz instruments). In the 1930s, the religiosity of Gospel Music mingled with political and social commentaries as popularized by male groups called quartets, who usually sang A Cappella and in jubilee style. Unlike the less lively hymns of the 20s, groups such as the Soul Stirrers and the Golden Gate Quartet blended more melodies in their songs, giving them a playful rhythm as well as more social significance (i.e. background music for the civil rights movement) (Petrie; Warner 35-6). The 30s also saw the rise of creative Gospel singers like Sister Rosetta

(writer's choice) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

(writer's choice) - Essay Example Charlie is not considered to be very smart because his I.Q. is much lower than his peers. The experiment involves a surgical procedure that aims to triple Charlie’s I.Q. Even though his intelligence is not very high, Charlie is a hard-working individual, which is shown through his regular attendance at the night class at the Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults (Keyes, progris riport 2). It is here that he was first recommended to be a subject for the intelligence experiment. Charlie works in New York at Donner’s Bakery as a janitor and delivery boy. His co-workers tease and make fun of him, even the ones Charlie considers to be his friends. After the operation is completed, Charlie returns to work only to find that things aren’t always the way he imagined. He is now able to realize that the other workers take advantage of him by mocking him while in the company of the other employees (Keyes, progris riport 8). However, his new behavior surprises many of his fellow bakery workers. Charlie is even able to operate a machine that mixes baking dough. The other workers start feeling jealous of Charlie and his newfound intelligence. Because of this, a majority of the workers agree to sign a petition to remove Charlie from his position in the bakery. Once Charlie is fired from his job by Donner, he begins the process of cramming of whole lifetime’s learning into a few short weeks. Charlie is fascinated by learning a number of ancient languages, and his intelligence level even surpasses that of Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss, the original scientists who began the experiment on Charlie (Keyes, progress report 12). However, Charlie’s increased intelligence allows him to recall his childhood and how he was treated by his parents. His father Matt simply tried to do the best for his son; his mother Rose disowned him because of his mental

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 102

Discussion - Essay Example She changes her shape and movement into something more meaningful to emphasize on her message to the audience. For example, when she kneels and opens her hand, but her two palms are together given out the importance of the moral values in the society based on the unification of the people living in the community (Kaufmann, 2006). Her message focuses on the welfare of the society and the importance that friendships carry in respect to the development of the community. The dancer is able to move around freely with her hands and legs both in the same direction as the body. She poses a lot of energy when she stretches one leg behind and both her hands are stretched in front of her face and quite high on her head. She manages to get up and move her legs in unifying steps. In this dance when the dancer kneel down and pulls her other legs far behind her and in the same position stretches her hands high in front of her face, she shows how much friendship and union of the society is important for their growth. This dancer tries to give the audience information through her movement of the body that exists through her changing of the body shape and form to describe the relationship that exists in the society. The facial expression she gives she gives during the dances supports the information regarding the culture and tradition they

Procurement Cost Plan for Heating Installation

Procurement Cost Plan for Heating Installation Q) Establish some contractual and procurement difficulties if your Organisation were to be main contractor for installation of a district heating scheme serving 100 pensioners bungalows. Produce a basic procurement cost plan for contractors to price against. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION District heating is a system where the heat for an area is produced centrally, and hot water or steam is transported to the buildings through a network of pipes. Heat is transferred into individual properties through a heat exchanger, and then used in conventional heating systems (in flats, for example, there may just be one heat exchanger for the whole block). District heating networks vary widely in scale from individual developments or apartment blocks to whole cities. In Denmark, where district heating accounts for about 60% of the heat supplied, cities such as Copenhagen receive heat from large-scale power stations and energy from waste plants situated up to 40km away. Modern district heating can be cost effective and reduce CO2 emissions compared to conventional heating systems. This is because generating heat centrally at large scale can reduce costs compared to generating heat in boilers in individual properties, particularly when combined heat and power (CHP) plants are used. Heat transported through the network can also be converted into cooling using absorption chillers, again improving the efficiency of the system and also providing an option to use heat produced in the summer.   District heating is more environmentally friendly than conventional heating, the potential to reduce emissions will depend greatly on the fuel used and the type of central plant that is generating the heat. Modern district heating offers the potential to use a variety of low carbon and renewable heat generation technologies, such as CHP using fossil fuels, biomass or waste, biomass boilers or surplus heat from industrial processes. As an experienced and tested technology, employed effectively in many countries, district heating has evolved significantly from the days when it was first installed. Networks are now highly efficient, with sophisticated heating controls that allow suppliers to maintain the network and consumers to easily manage their heat use. Underground sensors are able to quickly locate any leaks, and back-up generating plant, is used to limit the effect of possible problems with the central generating plant. CHAPTER 2: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY The main aim is to establish the contractual and procurement difficulties of the main contractor for installation of the district heating scheme serving 100 pensioners bungalows. The aims and objectives can be summarized as follows; To install a district heating scheme to serve 100 pensioners bungalows. To conduct the feasibility study of CHP/CH for district heating. To establish contractual and procurement issues that may occur in this project scheme. To study life cycle costing of the district heating scheme. CHAPTER 3:   FEASIBILITY STUDY OF CHP/CH FOR DISTRICT HEATING SCHEMES Any CH development, whether new or refurbished, large or small, should start with a feasibility study, during which the technical and economic viability of community heating, compared with other possible options, will clearly emerge. The application of CHP enhances the combined heat option by providing heat and power with a very high overall efficiency. So this section deals primarily with the feasibility of CHP/CH schemes. Options should be compared using sound economic principles, always ensuring that full life-cycle costing is used. The content of the feasibility study will be far reaching and, in the course of the work, many fundamental decisions will be made as to the technical approach and the most attractive option to be pursued. Once the project development stage is reached it is much more difficult to change course. Consequently the feasibility study needs to be carefully procured, managed and fully discussed before proceeding further. 3.1:   Defining the brief Whether the study is being carried out in-house or using external resources, it is necessary to define a brief. This must state the objectives clearly, and provide information on existing buildings and their heating systems, the general aspirations of the organisation commissioning the study, and the time-scale for the study. Any particular issues of concern should be mentioned, but otherwise the brief should not constrain the scope of the study.   If external consultants are to be appointed, their selection should be primarily on the basis of the capability, qualifications and experience of the study team and their approach and methodology. The study should include engineering, economics, environmental and commercial issues, together with related health and safety matters, for which a comprehensive team of experts needs to be assembled, often with external consultants working closely with in-house lead personnel.   An indication of the economic parameters to be used in assessing options should be provided in the brief, e.g. the test discount rate and the period of analysis to be assumed in a discounted cash flow analysis. Such information will be needed during the study, and early discussion and agreement on these parameters is advisable. It is important to insist that the correct basis of full life-cycle costing is applied to each of the options under consideration.   Once the main options have been established, capital costs will need to be estimated, as well as operating and maintenance costs where these are the responsibility of the CHP/CH developer. 3.2:   Heat and electricity demand assessment The starting point of a study is the determination of the market for heat, cooling and power. Initially, this involves enlisting support for a scheme from organisations such as the local authority, large hospitals or a university, all of which can help to provide essential core load for a proposed scheme. It is also important to consider the concentration of heat demand which can accure from such potential customers. Cooling by means of absorption chillers offers a further use for heat, particularly at times when heating is not required. The heating, cooling and power requirement for buildings can be obtained from previous data, provided the existing building use is to be remain unchanged, or by energy modelling techniques. It is important that all cost-effective energy-saving measures for the building either be implemented, or at least considered, before determining heat demand. The fundamental minimum requirements of the heat demand assessments are: †¢ the temperature requirements of the heating system †¢ the determination of peak heat demands †¢ annual energy consumption. These data’s will enable some approximate economic work to commence. However, the revenues from the production of electricity vary with time of day and time of year, and hence the cost of heat production from a CHP plant will also vary over the years. It will, therefore, be necessary to determine a heat demand profile over the year, at least on a monthly basis and preferably weekly.   Monthly heat demand profiles can be estimated using weather data, together with establishing a hot water energy demand profile. In addition, the variation of heat demands over a 24-hour period will be useful, but these data are likely to be available only if a high level of instrumentation has already been installed within the buildings. The hourly heat demand profile is required so that simultaneous heat and power production can be simulated. For electricity, half-hourly data will normally be available for larger users, and monthly data from bills. Consideration needs to be given to the effect of the following on demand profiles for heat and power:    †¢ metering and charging tariffs — if historical data are based on un-metered heat, a change to metered supply normally leads to significant reductions in heat use. †¢ there may be cost-effective opportunities to reduce heat demand by adding insulation to the building fabric. †¢ liberalisation of the electricity market makes it easier to sell electricity directly to residents on community heating schemes. †¢ use of surplus heat for cooling, particularly in summer, when residential heating requirements are low or zero. At the feasibility stage these decisions will not have been finalised and it may therefore be necessary to proceed with a range of possible heat and power demands. 3.3:   Heating systems within buildings It is necessary to establish details of existing heating systems within the buildings. Some of these may be unsuitable for connection to CH systems, in which an outline engineering design will be needed for their replacement. Where systems are more compatible, their operating temperatures and pressures need to be established together with an assessment of their effectiveness in meeting current and future needs. If there is some extra capacity available then it may be possible to reduce operating temperatures and flow rates in heating circuits, which will generally be of benefit to the CH scheme. It is also important to establish the method of control used for both time and temperature in order to predict accurately effects on the CH systems. When details of existing systems are available it will be possible to propose a programme of works that will enhance existing systems and yet still be compatible with the proposed CH system. However, several options may have to be considered and cost estimates are prepared for use, in an overall option appraisal. In some buildings, the provision of domestic hot water may represent a significant part of the demand, and there are a number of ways of generating domestic hot water from a CH system. The most energy-efficient schemes will involve taking advantage of the low temperature of the cold water feed so as to cool the community heating return as close as possible to this temperature. This leads to the use of non-storage calorifiers or additional coil surface in cylinders. In larger buildings, two-stage heating, utilising the return water from a space-heating circuit to carry out pre-heating of the cold water feed, is the best solution, provided it should be economical. 3.4:   Central Plant Once the heat demand assessment has been made, work can commence on examining the central plant options. The aspects to be covered are: †¢ prime mover choice †¢ fuel choice, contract flexibility, and security †¢ site location and topography, and interfaces with fuel, electricity and CH  Ã‚  Ã‚      infrastructure †¢ balance between CHP heat and boiler heat †¢ provision of standby capacity †¢ building to house the plant.    It is likely that a number of options will present themselves and each will need to be analysed under similar assumptions to determine the optimum selection. Capital, operating and maintenance costs will need to be assessed for each combination of plant. The CHP operating strategy needs to be developed to establish the most economical method of operation in relation to varying heat and power demand profiles and varying selling prices, e.g. following the heat demand at full output and dumping heat. A spreadsheet-based operating model is essential to ensure that the correct operating strategy has been made and to calculate the annual energy flows, and to permit rapid sensitivity analysis. The optimum CHP plant capacity needs to be determined by considering a range of plant sizes and by carrying out an economic assessment of each.   For single-site CHP projects it is important to have a reasonable match between the generated output and the electricity demand. For a CHP/CH system, electricity is often sold in bulk and the site demand must also be taken into account. However, there may be good opportunities for selling electricity to customers who are more directly linked to the scheme, by use of system arrangements. In this case, modelling the CHP plant in relation to electricity demand may need to be considered. The use of thermal storage and heat dumping may be of greater assistance in allowing the CHP plant a higher flexibility in matching demand profiles. There may also be opportunities for tri-generation (heat, chilling and electricity). Some CH schemes are initially established without CHP, due to the large capital outlay involved. Even without CHP, there may still be environmental and economic advantages from load diversification, and further economic benefits from purchasing fuel in bulk. The use of pre-insulated pipes and low NO2, high-efficiency or condensing boilers have helped to make modern combined heat systems robust, environmentally friendly, and economically advantageous. It should be stressed, however, that CHP offers immediate environmental benefits, and long-term economic advantages.    3.5:   Heat Distribution systems After the building demands and the central plant location have been determined it is then possible to examine the heat distribution system. In order to analyse the network rapidly and to calculate costs, computer software is essential. For large schemes, only the primary mains, together with sample areas of sub-distribution mains, will need to be analysed at this stage. The more difficult aspect is to determine which routes for CH pipe work are technically feasible and cost-effective. Considerable assistance may be obtained by consulting ordnance Survey maps. These are now available on CAD format but at a significant cost. However, there is no substitute for an informed site survey, and a detailed examination of other utility services drawings. Within the feasibility study it will be necessary at least to identify any major constraints to routes, e.g. road and rail crossings, the presence of underground sewers, railway tunnels, etc. In selecting routes the use of open, grassed areas will lead to significant cost savings, as with the avoidance of major roads. Consultation with the Local Authority Planning and Highways Department is essential. 3.6: Optimisation This is the most complex phase of a feasibility study, where the various options available for CHP plant, heat distribution and building heating systems need to be assembled into a number of scheme options — all with their individual sets of cost and revenue streams. Some cases may be simplified by a process of logical comparison, but normally it will be necessary to compare the options using discounted cash flow analysis, and hence to determine the preferred option on the basis of maximising net present value or internal rate of return. Some of the system optimisation issues that are likely to need evaluation are given below. 3.6.1: Operating temperatures A high flow temperature will result in a larger temperature drop, lower flow rates and hence smaller pipe diameters can be used. This capital cost advantage will be offset by the need for more expensive building connections and possibly higher heat production costs, depending on the CHP plant selected. 3.6.2: Operating pressures The option exists to run the system at a lower operating pressure by over-sizing the network; the extra cost incurred should be compared with savings from using the cheaper direct connection method to link building heating systems to the community heating network. Pumping costs also need to be considered, particularly for larger systems, where higher design pressure reduces the amount of booster pumping required. The topographic variation will also need to be considered when deciding upon operation pressure. 3.6.3: Size of scheme A smaller scheme may be more compact and have a relatively inexpensive network, but larger schemes may result in economies of scale for the CHP plant arising from higher efficiency and lower capital cost per kW. The phased expansion of the scheme also needs to be considered, as does ways in which this might affect the plant and the network design. 3.6.3: Heat meters The installation of heat meters will result in lower buildings energy use and reduced operating costs. If the individual dwellings are equipped with heat meters, energy savings should be compared with the additional capital cost and consumer administration charges. It is also possible that the provision of heat meters for each dwelling may be the only way to achieve market acceptability by residents and energy developers. In addition, the inclusion of heat meters will have a positive effect on Standard Assessment Procedure rating (SAP). 3.6.4: Building heating systems The conversion of a heating system to more compatible operating conditions will involve additional capital cost, but if it results in better plant selection or increased heat sales it may be justified. One example is converting steam heating at a hospital to low temperature hot water heating suitable for connection to a community heating network. 3.6.5: Improvements to building fabric Some buildings, fabric insulation improvements will be cost-effective in energy terms. The economic advantage is not as great when the building is supplied by CHP/CH as it would be for small conventional boilers or electric space heating, because the marginal cost of heat is lower. There is, however, a financial advantage in reducing peak heat demands as the capacity of the CHP plant and the heat distribution network can be reduced. The resultant saving in capital cost needs to be included in the economic assessment of insulation measures. Once the main options have been established, capital costs will need to be estimated as well as operating and maintenance costs where these are the responsibility of the CHP/CH developer 3.7:   Revenues from heat and electricity sales 3.7.1:   Heat sales A good understanding of a customer’s current and likely future costs for conventional heating is required in order to judge the maximum heat sales income available. These costs will include fuel, operating and maintenance and provision for future boiler replacement. It will be necessary to structure a heat sales package so that the advantages can clearly be seen. At feasibility level there will need to be a sufficiently large discount to be confident that this level of income can be obtained for the period of analysis. A long-term commitment is unlikely to be obtained at this stage and information on existing costs may be limited, so a cautious approach may be needed. The situation is clearer in the residential sector where the costs of the conventional individual boiler systems are generally well established. The main options available in the residential sector are: †¢ sales to individual residents by means of a fixed charge related to size of dwelling †¢ sales to individual residents based on measuring the heat energy actually used (dwelling heat meters) †¢ sales to individual residents based on the measurement of actual energy used by a block of flats and an apportionment based on size of dwelling/occupancy.    Pre-payment systems can be used to collect either fixed or variable charges or a combination of both. Some consideration should be given to assessing the likely levels of bad debt where prepayment systems are not installed, and bad debt costs may need to be incorporated in the economic analysis. 3.7.2:   Electricity sales Where CHP plant is installed, it is vital to obtain the maximum income from the electricity produced. Typically, a 10% increase in electricity sales will improve the internal rate of return (IRR) of a project (see section 1.10) by 2%, whereas a 10% increase in heat sales will improve the IRR by 1%. The CHP/CH company may opt to sell electricity in bulk to the host public electricity supplier (PES), which will normally offer terms on a p/kWh basis for electricity generated at different times of the day and year seasonal time of day (STOD) tariff. However, if the CHP/CH company can supply electricity users directly (this may include residents themselves) a much better return can be obtained. Among the more favourable options that exist, (following the liberalisation of the electricity market in 1998) is the sale of electricity direct to residents and other customers. A summary of the options is as follows: †¢ sale to the host PES †¢ sale to a second tier supplier, i.e. othe r PES’s and other suppliers of electricity †¢ direct sale to customers as a second tier supplier. This implies pool membership for    an aggregate supply of more than 500 kW †¢ sale under the non fossil-fuel obligation (NFFO) (only for energy-from-waste       projects which have bid for this arrangement in advance). †¢ sale through the pool (this entails having pool membership and is more appropriate    for projects in the range 30 MWe-50 MWe) †¢ sale as an on-site generator to other customers on the same site. It will normally be helpful to use the conventional route of sale to the host PES for the base case analysis, with the other options considered as possible improvements that can be investigated, depending on the scale of the project and the resources of the study. An element of negotiation will be needed in most of these options. As a result, definite figures are not likely to be available at the feasibility stage and a range of results may be presented as a sensitivity analysis. The sale of electricity as a second tier supplier may be of particular interest to CHP/CH schemes because there will be the opportunity to market heat and electricity together to customers on the community heating scheme. Selling two utility services may also bring benefits in metering and charging arrangements. This option is therefore discussed further below.   If a CHP/CH scheme is to undertake to sell electricity direct to customers, additional arrangements will be required, for example: †¢ a top-up and standby purchase arrangement for times when the generation is less than customer demand (including times of CHP plant outage); as a pool member a second tier supplier can purchase this power direct from the pool †¢ a contract for selling spill power for times when more power is generated than customers demand †¢ either the payment of use-of-system charges, the purchase of existing electricity infrastructure or the installation of new cables in order to transfer power to the customers. In the domestic sector, the creditworthiness of customers should be considered and the possible need for a form of prepayment. The management of debt collection is a customer care issue, and disconnection policies need to be fully developed if customers are to be retained in the long term. 3.8:   Development Programme An important output from the feasibility study is a development programme. This is required first to permit the construction of cash flows for capital expenditure, and second to enable advance planning of subsequent stages. A separate, more detailed programme may be produced covering the period of development from the conclusion of the feasibility study to the start of construction, if the route to achieve this is sufficiently clear. It is also worth establishing a watching brief on all work involving renewal of underground services, so that opportunities may be taken to coordinate projects, thus reducing costs and disruption. Issues to consider when drawing up the programme are: †¢ the need for a further project definition stage †¢ the need for further site surveys and investigations    †¢ consultation with customers and adjacent building owners and residents †¢ planning applications (and associated environmental statements) †¢ Building Regulations applications †¢ energy rating and emission improvements †¢ preparation of invitations to tender †¢ tender period †¢ short-listing construction companies †¢ short-listing energy developer companies †¢ short-listing operating companies †¢ assessment of tenders and final negotiations of contracts †¢ mobilisation †¢ site clearance †¢ construction †¢ commissioning and testing †¢ operation and maintenance. Supervision during construction is of paramount importance in order to secure the necessary quality of system. 3.9: Economic Appraisals At the heart of any economic appraisal are the cash flows, a set of annual capital, operating and maintenance expenditures, and annual revenues from the sale of heat and electricity. These cash flows are normally evaluated in real terms.   To compare scheme options, and determine whether the project is economically feasible, there are a number of arithmetical calculations based on the cash flows. It is essential that, when conducting an economic appraisal, full life-cycle costs are used to compare the various options. Simple payback period Defined as the period in which the initial investment is recovered by the annual saving. Generally this approach is too simplistic where the capital expenditure may be spread over a number of years, and where the income may vary from year to year. It is therefore not recommended. Net Present Value (NPV) To calculate the NPV it is necessary to define the cost of borrowing capital (or lost income from capital which could have been invested elsewhere) and the period for the analysis of the project. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) This can be defined as the test discount rate that results in a net present value of zero. IRR is less robust than NPV as it can lead to the selection of a smaller-scale project which, although generating a higher return, involves less capital so that the total value of the income stream is lower than the maximum potential. Both NPV and IRR calculations are available within most spreadsheet software packages. The above parameters are normally sufficient to compare options and present the results to the client organisation for a decision to proceed further. An appraisal by a financier is also likely to involve the calculation of tax implications and debt cover ratios. As an illustration of an economic appraisal, two approaches are outlined below. †¢ From the perspective of a building owner who wants to examine the cheapest method of supplying heat and power to the building or groups of buildings. The economic analysis would assemble cash flows for capital and operating costs for both the CHP scheme and the alternative approach of conventional boilers. The CHP scheme would involve significant initial capital and have an income stream for surplus electricity sales. The conventional approach will have investments in future boiler plant scheduled for future years. The NPV approach enables these varying cash flows to be summed to give a single figure; the NPV in this case being the net present cost for supplying the site with heat and power over a defined period. If the CHP/CH option gives a lower cost then it is the more economical option. †¢ From the perspective of an energy developer company, cash flows will be established for capital investments and income from both heat and electricity sales. The heat and electricity selling prices will be related to the market for these energy products. An IRR can be calculated for the project investment and the NPV for a given discount rate. The CHP/CH option with the highest NPV will be selected and the IRR must be greater than the minimum required by the energy developer company, taking account of the risks in the project.   It is worthwhile investigating whether any local major consumer, such as a local authority, is willing to connect all their buildings to a scheme. This can reduce the investment risk significantly and improve cash flow. The question of economic viability cannot be separated from an analysis of risk, particularly where project finance is the route employed. It will be necessary to carry out an analysis in which as many of the costs and performance figures as possible can be contractually underwritten before presenting the results to a financial institution for a view on financial viability. A sensitivity analysis is of assistance in identifying which of the many parameters are the most important when considering the risk to the economic performance of the scheme, and also for indicating the range of likely outcomes. From this analysis the advantages of obtaining longer-term fuel purchase contracts or heat and power sales contracts can be judged.   Some community heating schemes are initially established without CHP, due to the large capital outlay involved. It may, however, be instructive to consider the economics of a boiler-only community heating option so that the benefits of the CHP plant itself can be separately demonstrated. 3.10:   Environmental Assessments A preliminary environmental assessment should form a part of the feasibility study, identifying both the advantages and disadvantages of CHP.    3.11:   Health and safety Any construction project is covered by the Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations. The aim of these regulations is to ensure that safety issues are considered from the start of the project, and this may include the feasibility stage. It will be necessary to appoint a planning supervisor and to carry out an outline design risk assessment. CHAPTER 4: Contractual Issues   4.1:   Works contracts The EU Directive is implemented in the main by the Public Works Contracts Regulations 1991 (SI 1991:2680). The basic qualifying threshold is currently set at special drawing rights (SDR). The rules apply principally to building and civil engineering works together with associated activities such as installation work. Public work concessions are subject to a more relaxed regime under the rules.    Following the adoption of Council Directive 97/52/EC on 13 October 1997, amending the EU public sector directives to align with the new Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), all thresholds for the public sector should now be expressed in SDR.   Where the value of the contract exceeds the threshold, contracting bodies are required to publish a prior information notice giving the essential characteristics of qualifying works contracts following decisions to approve the planning of works. A contract notice should be published in the Official Journal when offers are sought in relation to a works contract. When inviting tenders, negotiated procedures may be used only in exceptional circumstances. The choice is mainly between open and restricted procedures under which all tenderer’s must bid against the same specification and terms and conditions of contract. The negotiated procedure allows a preferred bidder to be chosen before the final terms of the contract are agreed. There are strict provisions on technical standards requiring the use of European standards in tender documentation in preference to national ones.   The award of the contract must be either on the basis of the lowest price or the most economically advantageous te