Charles Booth Essay

The social history of 19th century London can only be deduced through the remaining surveys and various documents left from that time period. Charles Booth was an innovative surveyor and social investigator in the late 1800s and formed surveys of the life and labor of the 19th century London population. Charles Booth took initiative to look into the various areas of poverty, but also examined the possible reasons for poverty. Past surveyors did not use accurate methods to create statistics or charts. Most social investigators used observation for their respective purpose. Booth used scientific methods and created better detailed censuses and surveys of London. Booth was the first to make connections and implications of poverty from the areas in which the people lived, living conditions, religious life, and occupation. His methodologies were complex and his conclusions were based upon empirical data. Charles Booth used innovated research methods such as: detailed questionnaires, personal interviews, and visual observations to investigate the cause of poverty. Certain areas in London, for example the East End, were infamously known for its poverty and unfortunate crimes. Many knew only of the conditions in the East End because of authors such as Charles Dickens and George Moore that â€Å"often set their works in poorer parts of town. † The conditions were overly exaggerated and were only representative of a small section of the East End. Inwood describes the situation accurately with his statement, â€Å"how many people lived in squalor and malnutrition was not known, although some writers tried to quantify London poverty, on the basis of inadequate evidence. Mayhew produced many pages of statistics, but most of them referred to the ‘street folk’, beggars, hawkers, scavengers, and entertainers, a tiny proportion of the London poor. † There were other social surveys conducted before Charles Booth started his social investigation, however none were as detailed and representative of the entire London population as Booth. â€Å"Investigative journalist, Henry Mayhew, reported on their interviews with the poor, while a few intrepid social explorers dressed as tramps and experienced at first-hand a night in the casual ward of a workhouse. Nonetheless, there were still no in-depth and comprehensive surveys conducted until Charles Booth. Charles Booth was commissioned by the Lord Mayor of London’s Relief Fund in 1885 to analyze the census responses. Booth felt that the census was disorganized and not an adequate indication of the social problems in London. Therefore, he took it upon himself to fix and reorganize the cen sus. The first meeting was held on April 17, 1886 for the reconstruction of the census. From 1886-1903, Booth continued to use his methodologies to gather data and research the cause of the social problems in London, specifically poverty. Charles Booth studied the integral parts of the city by examining the background information of the citizens of every street in London. He focused his efforts into three main areas: the exploration of poverty, the occupations of Londoners, and the religious influence. Poverty was a major social concern during the Victorian era, as well as a continual struggle with even the most sophisticated societies in the 21st century. Booth found the social problem of poverty an important issue to explore. Poverty maps of Charles Booth were the first color-coded maps during the late 19th century. Booth created a map that encompassed the levels of poverty and wealth with different colors ranging from black to yellow to indicate a specific level of poverty that was placed directly to the London address of the household. There were eight poverty levels labeled A-H; with the lowest class labeled with the letter A and increasing in wealth with the wealthiest class labeled with the letter H. The hierarchal poverty classification system starts at the bottom with letter A and color black, which includes the criminals, street sellers, occasional laborers, and loafers. Letter B is the color dark blue and includes the very poor, casual earners that work no more than 3 days a week, and the persons that are â€Å"mentally, morally, or physically incapable of work. † Letter C includes the persons of â€Å"intermittent earnings† and an income of â€Å"18-21s for a moderate household,† laborers with irregular work,† and the â€Å"poor artisans. Letter D includes the â€Å"small regular earners,† poor, and â€Å"struggle to make ends meet† but are â€Å"decent steady men, paying their way and bringing up their children respectably. Letter C and D are represented by a light blue color and sometimes as purple if grouped with Letter E. Letter E includes the â€Å"regular earners earning 22-30s a week,† wives normally do not take trade, and boys and girls who normally do work. Letter F includes the â€Å"highest paid artisans,† â€Å"high class labor† that makes more than 30s a week. Letter E and F are represented by the color pink. Letter G includes the â€Å"lower middle class† described as â€Å"hardworking sober energetic men. † Letter G is signified by the color red. The wealthiest class, Letter H includes the â€Å"upper middle class† that keep servants. Letter H is represented by the color yellow. All of these poverty levels are placed onto the corresponding street on the map of the household described. In order to make the poverty map, Booth enlists others to help him gather his research. Booth instructed the â€Å"School Board visitors† to visit each individual home with children that were registered with the school district and collect information. The â€Å"School Board visitors† were to collect detailed information on the house address, number of rooms that the family inhabited, rent, occupations’ of the head of the household and the wife, and number of children in the household. Then the â€Å"School Board visitors† were to categorize the household into the poverty level according to the eight levels and then to assign the household to the corresponding color for the map. Due to the number of households in London, it became evident that taking a survey of every household would be too time-consuming. Therefore, a general survey of the street was also taken in addition to a small number of households on the street. The â€Å"School Board visitors† were instructed to write down notes on the street name, surveyed houses and the color associated, street condition, number of children between the ages of 3-13, and the color the street is associated with the poverty map. The end result is a color coded map of the levels of poverty specific from street to street. To inspect the social reasons for poverty, Charles Booth looked into the occupations that various household members held. Charles Booth saw industry as a major contributor to the level of poverty associated with a household. For that reason, he requested surveys and interviewed persons with particular occupations about their personal experiences to gain insight into the possible associations with poverty. Booth broke down the occupations into 18 categories and 89 subcategories with each industry given an occupation survey.

!0 Mary Street Short Analysis

10 Mary Street Analysis 10 Mary Street is a poem by Peter Skrzynecki, appearing in Migrant Chronicle. The poem discusses family, connection to place and the impacts of Peter’s own migrant experience. Skrzynecki details richly impassioned recounts told in snippets of symbolism, imagery and throwbacks to the pre-war European environment Skrzynecki’s family belonged in. * The first stanza depicts the habitual routine of Skrzynecki’s family, as indicated by the use of the phrase â€Å"Each morning† in the third line. This helps evoke a clear sense of normal practice and routine in the lives of the Skrzynecki family.Additionally through the use of industrial imagery; â€Å"rusty bucket†, â€Å"bridge†, â€Å"factory† the audience can see a sense of comfort and connection to their humble surrounds. * The second stanza presents the strong connection that Peter’s parents share with their garden. But while Skrzynecki’s parents tak e fulfilment in nurturing and fostering the garden (Tended roses and camellias/ Like adopted children), Skrzynecki himself didn’t hold the same values as his parents (I’d ravage the backyard garden/ Like a hungry bird).This contrasting use of simile accurately depicts the sort of cultural background Skrzynecki feels he doesn’t belong to. * The third stanza discusses the connection to the 10 Mary Street address that his family holds. The use of personification in the first line; â€Å"The house stands† highlights the human value of the house and establishes a strong sense of belonging to the house. Additionally, the use of Cumulative listing lines in 13-17 helps to reinforce the family’s strong connection to their European heritage. The final stanza presents a contrasting view of belonging whereby Peter feels his family â€Å"became citizens of the soil/ That was feeding us† and indicates a sense of comfort and acceptance of the Australian wa y of life. The last 3 lines: â€Å"Inheritors of a key/ That’ll open no house/ When this one is pulled down. † Re-establishes what the house symbolised for them and the notion that the sort of connection 10 Mary Street had to their new lives in Australia will be a challenge to recreate.

The Electronic Appliance Maker And Marketer (Samsung) Essay

The Electronic Appliance Maker And Marketer (Samsung) - Essay Example No company is a unique entity independent of its external environment. These factors influence how a business operates and compiling a pest analysis generates valuable information to analyze a company’s business environment as a whole (Johnson, 2008). Political Despite the political situation being conducive in the majority of the countries where it operates, Samsung faces serious, political threats in its countries of operation. The political climate in South Korea has recently become a perturbing for Samsung, and the company faces similar political instability in North Korea (Michell, 2010). The situation is not as grave  as that in some of the countries where it operates. In African and South East Asian countries, Samsung is experiencing a discrete limitation due to the harsh business environment. The company enjoys favorable political conditions in countries like china and India, allowing it to build a better focus and concentrate on the markets. South Korea's relations with China have improved recently, creating a favorable business environment for Samsung. Taxes in China are also low, and the Chinese tariffs are on a declining trend (Michell, 2010). Economic Since entering the China market, Samsung posted its first profit in 1911 and 23 of its local manufacturing companies achieved a cumulative surplus in 2000. The company started to formulate a new business strategy for undertaking its business in china at the group level after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States (Luo, 2001). The attacks highlighted how the company’s reliance on the US market left it vulnerable. Samsung reconstructed its global strategies around china in order to overcome the... This paper approves that Samsung is an established comprehensive manufacturer of electronic components and parts, therefore playing a significant role in the electronic industry. Its competitive strategy, vision and mission have focused on differentiation and cost leadership. Samsung statements have included continuous development leadership and competitive production costs with high quality being one of its major strategic items. The company has been investing on strengthening its cost competitiveness and restructuring its production mix. It is constantly improving its innovation, quality, and customer service to stay competitive. Strong innovation is a key priority for product differentiation and Samsungs manufacturing system focuses on flexibility, quality, and retaining balance to attain the core of problems faster. This strategy is critical in the company’s effort to attain international recognition as being a leader in the industry. The company also stresses on securing the latest level of technology and quality assurance at the highest standard possible in attempts to continue improving reliability. This report makes a conclusion that the company has developed a strong structural integration which includes production, procurement, marketing, and research and development. Through this everyone in the company shares information and logistics on a real-time basis to support organizational downsizing, management renovation and engineering concurrently. Samsung has insisted on sticking to its purchasing policy in obtaining superior quality.

Ford Motor Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ford Motor Company - Essay Example It houses 12 major suppliers, both tier one and tier two suppliers providing optimal conditions for lean manufacturing and just-in-time inventories. The project has reduced time travel thereby enabling Ford to save on its component inventories. It has enabled restoration of a 6-acre wet land polluted by sludge from nearby steel plants, reduced model change over time, and provides long-term savings. Body shop operations determine flexible manufacturing. It uses industry first system of standardization cells. Most of the tools are reused thus helps in cost cutting and reduces down time during product change over. They have programmable robots for the change over and welding. The shop has geo-stations for producing parts for several vehicles at the same time and ensures accurate positioning of parts. Measuring machines were also installed for precise dimensioning as the units move through the assembly process. At the body shop, vehicles stop at each station. Partial body parts are loaded to the geo-station turntable in the first station as quarter panels are loaded in adjacent station. They are remarried in the next station, the sealer. It then goes to the pre-clamp (clamp-up) area where the body side is married with floor pan. From here it goes to two framers, A and B, to be welded after which it goes to roofing station for layer welds and re-spot areas. The vehicle is now framed. Fully framed vehicle is finally inspected to clear defects and vehicle system inside. The vehicles are put on rollers test for engines, brakes and acceleration. After which they released to the yard. Renovation for the plant was indeed necessary. It set a benchmark in the automobile industry by setting up first flexible assembly system. This would definitely set competition among players in the industry. Bringing together suppliers under one roof

Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Executive Summary - Essay Example Friedman presents three phases of globalization: globalization 1.0 presents countries globalizing, globalization 2.0 presents companies globalizing and globalization 3.0 entails individuals and small groups globalizing. Fried’s argument is based on two major tenets: the ten flatteners of 1990s and the triple convergence in 2000. Friedman presents the collapse of Berlin wall, netscape, workflow software, open sourcing, outsourcing, offshoring, supply chaining, insourcing, and in-forming and the steroids as the ten forces that flattened the world. Friedman further argues that when the ten forces converged in 200, the product was a flat world. Similarly, in Hans Rosling’s lecture â€Å"Hans Roslings 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats,† he explores the development of the world in the past present as well as the future using massive quantities of public data. Rosling presents to his audience the tale of the world focusing on 200 countries in a period of 200 years by use of 120,000 numbers within 4 minutes. Rosling also conveys the concept of technological advancement spurring globalization where he issues an example of a technology in San Francisco that keeps the entire city under police watch and help curb crime. He asserts that statistics is the basis through which human confusion is eliminated and brings out a vivid picture of how the world was, is and will be. A flat world impacts international businesses in various ways. First, it leads to increased level of competition because firms can easily get access to new markets across the flat world. Second, it leads to increase in business opportunities. Finally, it gives rise to multi-national and cross-cultural management, which is a big challenge to managers. Both Rosling and Friedman present how globalization has flattened then world over time. The world has become one leveled playing field for multinational

Electric Cars Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Electric Cars - Research Paper Example In 2008, during the presidential campaign, President Obama promised Americans that he would oversee the implementation of a project of over one million green vehicles grazing our roads, this however has not occurred for various reasons. Recently the department of Energy confessed that this was impossible. They projected that only two hundred and fifty thousand green vehicles could be in the roads by 2015. This is only one percent of all automobiles in the United States. The complete takeover of electric cars over gasoline powered cars has failed because to kick off because the consumers of cars have doubts about electric cars. In this research paper I will answer the question Are electric cars superior and much better than fuel powered cars? Unsurprisingly recently I was made to think by an uncle who wanted to purchase a new automobile and he asked me if I would give him an advice about the latest models of cars. We ended up discussing the prospects of electric cars. The electric cars are more efficient in power consumption than the fuel driven automobiles. The standard electric model car uses 0.20 to 0.40 kilowatt per hour per mile. However the average gasoline powered automobile uses about one gallon of fuel in every 25 miles. This is approximately 1.58 kilowatt per hour per mile. The difference clearly shows that the electric cars are way more efficient than the fuel dependent counterparts. Electric cars are eco-friendly. Electric automobiles are a powered using powerful rechargable battery which is categorized as clean sources of energy. The batteries are recharged using either electricity produced from natural sources such as hydropower, wind power and solar power. This ensures that the environment remains clean and free of harmful substances that would cause air, noise and water pollution. Fuel powered cars are completely eco unfriendly. They use of fuels such as gasoline and other petroleum have proved to be quite destructive. These models

Government (social contract theory and redistribution of wealth) Essay

Government (social contract theory and redistribution of wealth). Chose one of them - Essay Example I am more inclined to believe that man by default is good and influenced by his or her environment where he can be better or slide into misery, as Hobbes argues. Misery and chaos are not the natural conditions of man but, rather, the blank state or tabulasa rasa subject to the condition and influence of the society, environment and government. Hobbes’ argument about the basis of government is also flawed, as per the statement that government is formed by its citizens’ giving up some of its destructive rights to have a government. While it may be partially correct that people must cede or limit some of their freedoms to achieve order, it does not necessarily mean giving up their freedom. Simply, government was not created on the basis of men agreeing not to kill or rob each other; rather because it is better for them if there is a government to set the direction of what the ideal behavior in society is and to protect their rights and freedom. Locke Locke agreed with Hobb es in the fundamental need for a government. They, however, differ in the reason and principle for forming such government. For Locke, government is created by people who agree to bind together and form a government who would look after them for their protection and security of their lives, properties and their freedom. I am inclined to agree with the proposition of Locke because, unlike Hobbes, Locke’s philosophy is hinged on morals where people agreed to bind each other for their mutual protection and security and not because they cannot be left on their own as they are chaotic and miserable, as what Hobbes contended. One of the many facets of Locke’s argument I like is his idea of the basis of government’s legitimacy. I believe he started the idea of democracy. For Locke, government must have the consent of the governed to preside over them. This principle is the basis why we have elections and why the elected officials are beholden to the people and why the people are sovereign compared to the old principle of Divine Right of Kings where kings ruled even without the consent of the governed. This idea of Locke that the government must have the consent of the governed has also its safeguard mechanism against the abuses and incompetence of the government. In cases where government and its officials are abusive, incompetent or corrupt, the governed can hold them accountable during elections by not voting for them, thus, removing them from office. In extreme cases, it is possible to even change the government itself through revolution, as what we have seen in many countries where dictators were toppled because the governed no longer wanted authoritarian rule. Above all, I agree with Locke’s social contract because the Declaration of Independence which is the basis of our government was based on Locke’s social contract theory. Without Locke’s idea of social justice, America as a society will be something else, which coul d be far from the ideal and not what it is today. II. Government responsibility for the citizens I am more inclined to believe in Rawl’s theory of justice. In Rawl’s theory of justice, he advance two kinds of justice, one of which is the merit theory;as the title suggests, it rewards the person depending upon one’s contribution to society. The other one which is more applicable to this case is the need theory which posits that

Hiring and Retaining Staff Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hiring and Retaining Staff - Term Paper Example Because of this reason alone, it is important to understand the issues discussed in this paper and learn how to better overcome the modern day obstacles related to staff and recruiting. It is important to note that current trends indicate the current year has seen the competition for highly qualified individuals only intensity. This is partly due to the reality that the employment market has picked up substantially. As a result, it is important to note that talented professionals now have many job prospects in front of them, so companies are forced to really provide increased incentives if they are to truly attract the best of the best. In essence, it is up to the company today to market themselves in an attractive manner to prospective employees. There will likely be the need for counteroffers to be accepted, many applicants will outright reject solid job offers, that there will be a renewed focus on recruiting those that are already employed at another firm. In essence, we are regressing to the boom years of the late 90’s where if was definitely a job seekers market. One commonly held theory today is that employers need to return to a strategy of branding their organization as a long term recruiting strategy moving forward. In previous years, many organizations were forced to drastically reduce their budgets related to Human Resources, meaning that recruiters did not have much to work with. Now that business is picking up across numerous sectors, however, it is possible to change this to a more long term outlook detailing the various attributes of a company and what it has to offer prospective employees, particularly related to salary and benefits. This is similar to the branding of a product. The need for branding has emerged partially as a result of the increased competition for taken, but also because of the various ways that companies around the company are making use of

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay Example for Free

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay 1. Introduction: With the announced adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for publicly accountable starting 2011 by the Canadian’s Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), issues about the effect on the usefulness of financial statement need serious attention starting on knowing the similarities and differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS.   Some critics have argued that IFRS will   give up too much reliability in order to achieve relevance, while others have argued that the increased relevance and comparability will promote usefulness of the financial statements.    This paper attempts to address some of these issues as is seeks to analyze the potential effects of Canada Adoption of IFRS by making an opinion as to whether the change will result in more or less decision useful information, thus making securities markets either more or less efficient. 2. Analysis and Discussion 2.1 What is IFRS and its advantages if adopted? IFRS is being promoted by its supporters as a â€Å"single set of globally accepted, high quality accounting standards† (KMPG Canada, 2007), that is adopted by over a hundred countries, including five of the G8 countries (KMPG Canada, 2007).   It appears to have gained the support of a number of countries and with announced adoption in Canada, starting 2011 by AcSB, there is good ground to believed about the benefits of the said set of international accounting standards in Canada compared staying on with the present Canada GAAP.   To cite names of countries, it could be asserted that as early as 2005, publicly listed companies in European Union member countries , Australia, Hong Kong,   and South Africa and have used IFRS (KMPG Canada, 2007).   In the absence of these countries’ plan or indication of returning to where they came from, with more reason and interest it is to know about the improvement from IFRS adoption in the financial statements of Canadian comp anies. Given therefore the similarities of the two standards under Canadian GAAP and IFRS, there is basis to state that Canada has had considerable input and influence in the development of IFRS over the years (KMPG Canada, 2007).   Therefore, Canada’s decision to join the many countries in adopting IFRS carries with it the intention to benefit enterprises in Canada.   That it would provide better access to international capital, funding and investment opportunities should not come as a big surprise.   The realities of samurai bonds or Eurobonds (Hill, 2009) could be asserted to have strong support from the presence of IAS or IFRS in the countries where bonds are floated as companies seek cheaper sources of capital as finding the same outside each homo country   helps in minimization of cost of capital as an objective (Brigham and Houston, 2002).   The improved information in terms of comparability of financial reports across countries could just be easy to accept as many c ompanies pursue international business. Another advantage of using the IFRS is the belief that it   should also more cost effective for the accounting information compared with maintaining a separate and isolated set of Canadian accounting standards (KMPG Canada, 2007).   This could be the same reason for the move by the US to eventually adopt harmonization of its accounting standards with the IFRS since non-US companies, which want to list their stocks in the US stock exchanges, are required still to make translation of IFRS based financial statements into US GAAP based.   From the practical sense of view, it would be easy to see the added cost for companies making still translations in the same way that non-Canadian companies may be required to make the translation   when they go to Canadian stock exchanges. Another advantage of adoption is to make financial results more transparent and consistent for user globally, which will mean using more judgment and providing more disclosure in the short term (KMPG Canada, 2007).   For this reason,   persons involved in the public company financial reporting of Canada will have to   expect to pass under   a steep learning curve (KMPG Canada, 2007).   IFRS and Canadian GAAP compare in just few important lines   but since IFRS standards are comprehensive and principles-based, it is expected that its application would require greater use of professional judgment than Canadian GAAP.   The availability of more accounting policy choices under   IFRS would take companies longer time now to evaluate these choices for each organization and is expected to result in valuable outcomes in the long-term (KMPG Canada, 2007). 2.2 The impact of the IFRS adoption It is believed that the first and most obvious impact of IFRS adoption would be in the effect on the presentation of the financial position of an entity as set out in its financial statements   (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   Since IFRS represents a statement of principles that must be applied based on judgment and assumptions given the facts at hand, it is expected that many principles will change including possibly modifying the many rigid prohibitions or rules that have become part of Canadian GAAP over time   via either practice or prescription (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   To illustrate since IFRS allows for more fair value accounting policy choices, this would open to a greater degree of interpretation and professional judgment.   The new principles underlying the presentation of financial measures will change both the way in which things are measured and what is included in the measurement as wells timing of measurement and needed disclosure (Romano and Grewal, 2009). The impact of the adoption of the IFRS would be in the allowing greater freedom to exercise professional judgment on which will make the financial statements to have greater relevance that will enhance the usefulness of the accounting information.   It may be recalled that the qualitative characteristics of accounting include both reliability and relevance of the accounting information for decision-making (Meigs and Meigs, 1995). A financial information may therefore be too reliable as to approximate a high a degree of objectivity but may no longer be of significance to decision makers since the decision is already done. To illustrate,   a person buying a car   or any typical product may be interested to know what is the estimated cost of production for a car that he or she wants to buy for the buyer for comparing it with the actual price of the product. On the other hand, another buyer may not really know what is the actual cost but he or she has information that the production possess so much value that is it relevant and unique about the product being sold and could be used for commercial production. The second buyer may not have the actual objective cost of production for the product but he or she has a good and businesslike assessment of the situation because of familiarity of relevant information which can generates value and could make a reasonable estimate of the values of possible input cost of the product.   He is therefore more strategically positioned than the first buyer is.   Thus, relevance at this point may be more advantageous than having greater reliability of information.   Adoption of IFRS is however not expected to amount of total loss of reliability of information. The adoption of IFRS is criticized by the fact that it would provide too much management flexibility or the freedom of interpretation that may be adopted with the concurrence of the independent auditors, thus it would reduce the quality of financial reporting.   There is however, no strong evidence to believe that feared consequence of the adoption on these ground.   In fact, this feared consequence remains to be seen (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   On the hand, one great inducement of adoption is for greater international comparability due from a perspective of globalized-investment market place.   There is now movement towards the implementation of the adoption and there are now plans to effect a successful transition (Romano and Grewal, 2009). 2.3 Sample Partial Application of IAS or IFRS to Business about Fair value Accounting One sample interesting effect of adoption of IFRS is the eventual effect International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39.   It is asserted that IAS 39   is   partial application of fair value accounting since the said standard gives institutions the possibility of irrevocably applying fair value valuations to any financial instrument starting from the concept of â€Å"fair value option† (Enria, et al, 2004). It is argued that one fundamental building block of   developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB),   the present makers of standards under the IFRS based in UK, is to bring the financial statements up to day with market developments hence, a working group on the issue has proposed the use of Full Fair Value Accounting (FFVA) for all financial instruments.   (Enria, et al, 2004).   While adoption of the IFRS by Canada would not immediately result to adoption of fair value accounting, it will open the great possibility because as stated earlier, the use of international accounting standard would give more flexibility to company’s management and accounting professionals and fair value accounting is part of the IFRS. If it feared that FFVA could produce effects on financial stability of banks, the same arguments could be made applicable to the Canadian companies, which are just to co-exist with other international and global companies in the use of IFRS.   The analysis of authors found confirmation about concerns on the potential wider application of fair value in unduly increasing the volatility of banks’ balance sheets, which could reduce possibly ability of companies to react to adverse shocks.   The adoption of fair value could also result to the pro-cyclicality of the bank lending especially if the application of fair value happens simultaneously with other developments under a new accord.   Thus, one of possible consequence is for encouraging banks to react if values change by use of FFVA through panic selling and tightening lending standard (Enria, et al, 2004).   The effect could be far reaching as it could bring a possible financial crisis at the worst case possibly. From deeper tests, however, the researchers have found no significant impact on volatility by the introduction of FFVA standards for companies studied in the 1980s and 1990w.   However, they cautioned about the need to be interpret the result with caution for several reasons and call for further research citing as one reason the lack of clear-cut choice of the cut-off dates on which banks change from one accounting standard to the other (Enria, et al, 2004). 3. Conclusion To conclude, this researcher   believes that the adoption   by the Canadian Accounting Standard Board of IFRS for companies   concerned starting in 2011 will result to   more useful information that would make securities markets either more or less efficient than not adopting the said international; accounting standard.   The adoption, while could result to possibly losing some reliability,   is expected bring   greater relevance of the financial statements and increased comparability which would then it more useful for Canadian companies and the users of these information.   The possibility of losing some reliability may possibly be counter checked by user still requiring from these companies from which they would like to deal with the production of financial statements prepared under the present Canadian GAAP but they could run the risk of losing the benefit of a decision that would be based on relevant grounds.   The mere fact that CASB has announced the adoption should signal there the advantages could outweigh the disadvantages of IFRS adoption.

The Affects of Cutting Nasas Budget Essay Example for Free

The Affects of Cutting Nasas Budget Essay Many people undermine the importance and contributions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also known as NASA. As president Obama is forced to make severe budget cuts, NASA is among the most affected programs to endure the blow. This issue does not take aback many people, but experts say that what is occurring will affect everyone as well as the economy more than they may believe. These extreme budget cuts recently issued by Congress impinge on the NASA space program by having a large impact on culture, and risking the setback of innovation in today’s machine-driven society. With all do respect, I have never seen an 8th grader sit up in their chair and say I want to be an NSF Researcher. With all do respect, these agencies do important scientific work but they are unknown and invisible at the age where people choose what they want to be when they grow up. † [1] Neil Degrasse Tyson brings into play a very important thought as he explains the affect of the budget cuts on the younger population of America. Scientists are worried that if NASA is taken way, we are taking away the birthplace of the STEM research fields. STEM, which stands for Scientists, Technologists, Engineers, and Mathematicians†[2] are those who make up tomorrow, or in other words, our future. By eradicating the space agency, we are also eradicating potential heroes to come. Furthermore, â€Å"NASA is the only agency that taps into the frontiers of all basic subjects including, biology, chemistry, physics, math, astronomy, geology, atmospherics, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. †[3] The people involved in these subjects, who innovate through opportunities given to them by the NASA program, are being deprived of their chance to invent and potentially become heroes. These heroes are those who leave lasting impacts on society and culture. For example, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, and as time progressed, the telephone evolved into the cell phone. Today the cell phone is used for almost everything; web browsing, emergencies, work and entertainment, and serves as a sizeable part of everyday life. Therefore, it’s easy to see that destroying the funds of NASA is simultaneously ruining our chance for new innovative heroes who are likely to create and impact the world we live in. Lastly, during the decade of the 1960’s, the average person knows that this was a decade of many important events; to name a few, the construction of the Berlin Wall, MLK Juniors â€Å"I Have a Dream† Speech, the first heart transplant, the first super bowl, the assassinations of JFK, MLK Jr. , and Kennedy and the Cold War. But most importantly these major events were not necessarily the highlight of the 1960’s but more so â€Å"the shining pearl of that decade was the ‘Mission to the Moon. ’ Everyone was a participant, emotionally and intellectually. [4] Many people say, â€Å"I think we should solve our problems here on Earth before we go into space. †[5] In the year 2007, the requested budget for the NASA program totaled to roughly $17 billion dollars. Numerous people argue that this amount of money could and should be used to solve other problems that concern the people here on Earth. For example hospitals contend that the money should be used for needed medical expenses. Others argue that the money could be used to solve poverty problems and debt.

Importance Of Using Self Compacting Concrete Construction Essay

Importance Of Using Self Compacting Concrete Construction Essay 10 weeks Civil Engineering M.Sc. Civil Engineering: Structural Engineering Permission given to use this project Word account: 3185 The Importance of Using Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) in Engineering Applications 2 September 2011 Abstract The self-compacting concrete (SCC) was first produced and developed in Japan in 1988 to achieve durable concrete structures. Since it was produced in Japan, self-compacting concrete has been used in Japan, Europe and the United State of America because it has many benefits. This project will firstly be aimed to gain understanding more about SCC. Secondly, its importance uses regarding civil engineering fields and finally, it shows some advantages and possible disadvantages or drawbacks of using SCC. The main conclusions from this study is that using of SCC can reduce the production time period of project effectively, increasing the efficiency of the project production and improving work environment. Based on researches, it can be expected that using SCC will be increased progressively. CONTENTS Abstract Introduction 1 1. Historical reasons for development of SCC 3 2. Ingredients and requirements of SCC mixture 4 3. Mechanism for achieving self-compactability of fresh concrete 6 4. Some applications of SCC 8 5. The advantages of using SCC in engineering implementations 10 6. Disadvantages and obstacles for the implementation of SCC 13 Conclusion 15 References 16 Introduction Concrete has become one of the most popular construction materials in worldwide, this because its raw materials can be provided widely in different places around the world and it is considered as the man-made material. Moreover, it has a key role to play in sustainable construction, since it needs less effort in its manufacture. These facts have not only led to many inventions in the field of concrete but have also led to many studies in order to improve its quality, reducing the cost of implementation and make the concrete friendly with the environment; besides, amending its aesthetical appearance when it is used as a structural construction members. Nowadays, It can be seen that as a result of the research progressions concerned the concrete technology, various types of concrete such as High Performance Concrete, Ultra High strength concrete, Light Weight Concrete, Architectural Concrete and Self compacting concrete (SCC) are commonly heard not only among engineering Society but ordinary people also. In this prospective, the awareness and more knowledge regarding the concrete types should be considered. In fact, civil engineers should have more awareness and information about concrete types so as to be able to keep themselves abreast with the most recent developments, new technological innovations and future prospects. Regarding the SCC, it can be considered as a one of the recent developing types of contemporary concrete. It is an innovative concrete mixture that can be mold into place without the use of vibrators to form a product free of empty spaces within the formwork. It is commercially known by various names such as self-consolidating concrete, self-compacting concrete, self-leveling concrete, or rheoplastic concrete (Mehta and Monteiro 2006: 476). The Prototype of (SCC) was first developed in 1988 in Japan, by Professor Ozawa in 1989 at the University of Tokyo (Okamura and Ouchi 2003).However; the name of SCC was given to this Prototype by Okamura of the University of Tokyo. The aim of this project is to review or gain understanding about SCC in terms of its ingredients, mixture requirements and mechanism for achieving self-compatibility depending on previous researches. It also evaluates the results of using this type of concrete in some modern implementations. Finally, it demonstrates the benefits and potential disadvantages of using SCC in terms of safety, economy, and construction quality. 1. Historical reasons for development of SCC According to Goodier (2003:405), the initial emergence of Self compacting concrete was in Japan in the late 1980s and its subsequent introduction into Europe through Sweden in the mid- to-late 1990s. In the 1980s, the problem of the durability of concrete structures and acceptable compaction were the main subject that was considered in Japan; meanwhile, the skilled workers were required in order to achieve durable concrete and acceptable compaction. It seems to be the lack of the numbers of skilled workers in Japans construction industry at this time was the main reason for decrease in the quality of construction work. One solution for achievement of durable concrete structures was the using of self-compacting concrete, which can be compacted into every corner of a formwork, completely by means of its own weight and without the need for vibrating compaction. This means that it can be gained sustainable concrete structures and acceptable compaction by using minimum number of workers and equipment (Fig.1).Moreover, the use of SCC was also implemented to provide economic, social and environmental benefits over conventional vibrated concrete construction. (Okamura and Ouchi, 2003:5)The conception of this type of concrete was proposed by Professor Hajime Okamura in 1986 who Studied the development of self-compacting concrete and comprised a fundamental study on the workability of concrete (Okamura and Ouchi 2003). 2. Ingredients and requirements of SCC mixture With respect to its composition, SCC includes the same components as conventionally vibrated normal concrete, which are cementitious materials, different sizes of aggregates, and water, additives and admixtures. On the other hand, in the SCC, high volume of super plasticizer for reduction of the liquid limit and for better workability, the high powder content as lubricant for the coarse aggregates, as well as the use of viscosity-agents to increase the viscosity of the concrete have to be taken into account (Dehn et al. 2000). Regarding to the requirements of SCC mixture, a concrete mix can only be classified as SCC if the requirements for all the following three workability properties are fulfilled which are filling ability, Passing ability, and Segregation resistance (Abdul Hameed 2005). Filling ability or flow ability means that, the SCC must have the ability of to fill a formwork entirely under its own weight. According to the European Guidelines for Self Compacting Concrete (2005: 20), the tests that are used for assessing filling ability of the fresh SCC are Slump-flow, and Kajima box. Passing ability means that the SCC must have the ability to flow through restricted places, such as spaces between steel reinforcing bars, sharp corners, and small openings, without using any means of vibrators (to flow by its own weight), also without produce any blocking or hindrance during its use. According to the European Guidelines for Self Compacting Concrete (2005: 20), the tests that can be used to determine passing ability are U-box, L-box, Fill-box, and J-ring test methods. Segregation resistance means that the SCC must meet the filling ability and passing ability with Homogeneous composition during and after the process of transport and placing. It is generally accepted that the three main properties of fresh self-compacting concrete must then be maintained for required period of time after mixing. 3. Mechanism for achieving self-compact ability of fresh concrete Okamura and Ouchi (2003:5 ) suggested that In order to achieve self -compact ability of fresh concrete, deformability of past ( mortar) and resistance to segregation between aggregate particles and mortar when the concrete flows through the restricted zone of reinforcing bars, have to be considered. Okamura and Ozawa (1995) have utilized the following methods to achieve self-compact ability of fresh concrete. Firstly, they limited the amount of aggregate content (coarse aggregate  ­ 50% of the concrete volume and sand ­ 40% of the mortar volume).Secondly, they used low water/powder ratio, with higher dosage of superplasticizer admixture. According to SHETTY (2005:573), using superplasticizer which is used with concrete components as an essential chemical admixture, leads to increase the workability of fresh concrete without regard to reducing water content in the concrete mixture. When concrete is placed in to the formwork, the relative distance between the concrete particles will decrease. As a result, the frequency of collision and contact can increase and consequently, internal frictions between concrete particles also increase, especially near hindrances. Research has found that the energy which is required for flowing the concrete during the casting is consumed by the increased internal friction between particles, and resulting in blockage of aggregate particles to flow through confined places. For this reason, limiting amount of coarse aggregate, whose consume more energy, to a level lower than normal will increase the efficiency of concrete flow ability and avoid concrete particles from this kind of blockage. To prevent the interlocking (blockage) incidence of coarse aggregate when the concrete is poured through obstacles, highly viscous past is required. Since the concrete which has a high viscosity prevents localized increases in internal stress as a result of the approach of coarse aggregate particles (Okamura and Ouchi 2003:6). 4. Some applications of SCC Based on the researches which have been performed on SCC over the last two decades, it can be said that the use of SCC has been increased dramatically. It is commonly used in place of traditional concrete not only to reduce time of construction projects but also to reduce the cost of construction projects. According to Okamura, Whatever conventional concrete can do, SCC can do better, faster, and cheaper, especially for concrete elements with special textures, complex shapes, and congested reinforcements (Mamaghani et al. 2010:5). It can be seen that there are a range of using of SCC around the world. Many researches show that this type of concrete is commonly used within cast-in-place (in field) and precast construction. Furthermore, it is also used in the structural and architectural concrete sections where the tightness of steel reinforcement and /or surface quality is required. However, other implementations of SCC include drilled piers, caissons, bridge abutments and walls. In Japan, the first use of SCC was in 1991 for the construction of bridge towers (Daczko and Vachon, 2006:638). While the first large-scale project using SCC was the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which completed in 1998. It is estimated that the construction time of this project was reduced by 20%, from 2.5 to 2 years due to the use of SCC (ibid.). A second implementation was performed, in 1998, for the building of the walls of a natural gas tank for the Osaka Gas Company. The estimated amount of SCC that was been using during the construction is approximately 12000 m3. It was observed that the construction time of the project was also shortened from 22 to18 months meanwhile; the number of labours worked in the project was reduced from 150 to 50 (ibid.). In Sweden, the Sodra Lanken Project (SL) was one of the largest infrastructure projects that were implemented by using SCC. The total cost of this project was estimated at approximately 800 million USD. Ouchi et al. (2003) point out that the SL project included seven major junctions, with bridges, earth retention walls, tunnel entrances and concrete box tunnels; the overall length of the rock tunnels were 16.6 kilometers. Also, the volume of concrete used in the project estimated at 225,000 cubic meters. It was observed that SCC was used in the project because it included structural sections that were required high demands on aesthetics, and at the same time they were difficult to compact by normal vibration. Recently, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has used significant amounts of SCC. Mamaghani et al. (2010: 5) report that the current projects in the New York State include the use of SCC for prestressed, high performance concrete bridge beams on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from 61st Street to Broadway in New York City. According to a NYSDOT official, The performance of SCC has been excellent. NYSDOT is achieving very good quality with a minimum of defects. There has been a slightly higher cost for admixtures, but NYSDOT saves on labor. It can be anticipated that, in the future, concrete elements or buildings will be designed considering SCC from the start with shapes, textures, and structures that would be impossible to achieve with normal concrete. 6. The advantages of using SCC in engineering implementations Improved concrete construction environment The SCC is considered an environmentally friendly material. Firstly, regarding the construction site, the SCC can eliminate the need for vibration to compact the concrete; since SCC has ability to fill the form work completely under its own weight. The compaction of fresh concrete by vibration is generally recognized as a heavy physical job and an unpleasant activity in the concrete construction process. Moreover, using the vibration can also cause high noise levels which are not good for public health; especially the health of the operators. Secondly, the acceleration generated by vibrators can reach 0.70 to 4m/s2 and has potential to injure the vibrator operator. Hence, eliminating the vibration significantly improves health and the environment on a concrete construction site (Li 2011). It can be said that some skills and experience are needed for vibrator operators in compacting fresh concrete in order to gain a satisfactory concrete. Lack of experienced workers in many regions ma y lead to decline the quality of concrete. It is generally accepted that the application of SCC can solve this problem and ensure consistent high quality for concrete structures. Cost-efficient production With respect to the required number of labours on the construction project compared with conventional (normal) concrete types, the SCC needs less number of workers and shorter times for placing (casting). It is generally believed that by using SCC, the process of production can be accelerated, and the quality of concrete structures can be improved as well. According to Peterson (2008:66), the elimination of vibration means rationalised casting technique with less need of personnel and/or more rapid production cycles and thereby presumptively reduced production costs. New opportunities with respect to architectural and structural applications SCC benefits structural and architectural applications. New types of structural elements, which were not possible to be produced by traditional concrete, can be produced by using SCC because these types of structural elements include different types of steel or concrete structural elements with more complex shapes, which are thinner with a much heavier reinforced cross section. With regard to the construction of heavy structure (mega structure) fields such as multistory building, high rise building or ultra-high rise building, since the SCC does not need any vibrators and finishing surface tools, it means that it reduces lifting of heavy equipment and reduces handling of fresh concrete by labours. Also, there is no need of repairs to hardened concrete as there are no chances for producing any remarkable voids. With respect to construction consideration, Ouchi et al. (2003:18) found that When placing a new layer of SCC on old SCC, the bond between the old and new SCC is equal to or better than in the case of conventional vibrated concrete. On this basis it may be inferred that the normal vibrated concrete needs vibration to provide well compacted concrete, while SCC will not need the vibration and consequently it will not destroy the concrete. Regarding the durability of SCC, researches have shown that ingredients of SCC and the avoidance of using vibration have a significant role in improving the microstructure of the concrete (Holton 2004). The ingredients and avoidance of using vibration acquires the concrete many benefits. First, they gain the concrete lower surface permeability and absorption against harmful chemical materials such as chlorides and carbon dioxide which have a negative effect on the durability of concrete. Second, they improve the resistance of the concrete against freezing- thawing which the concrete may be subjected during different seasons. Finally, they play a key role in producing a good bond between the concrete materials and the steel reinforcement after the concrete hardening. Another advantage of the SCC is that, it can be used when the normal placement of concrete is difficult e.g. tunnel linings, heavily reinforced structures, prestress concrete structures and other inaccessible places. One example is the design of the Millennium Tower in Vienna, which is described as it had been impossible to build without using SCC (Peterson 2008:66). Moreover, Using SCC for the construction of tall building, bridge tower, and tunnels leads to increase the use of concrete pumping. Nowadays, by using special high- pressure pumps, SCC can be pumped distance as far as 1400m horizontally or as high as 420m vertically (Li 2011:130). 7. Disadvantages and obstacles for the implementation of SCC Absence of acceptance SCC Despite the fact that the SCC has a great numbers of stunning and successful applications; it was only hesitantly accepted by the industry. This could be attributed to a number of reasons (Holton 2004).First of all, the standard specification tests that were used for testing and evaluation conventional concrete was no longer useful for SCC. As a consequence, it was very difficult to smoothly put SCC into practice; also, before using SCC, the intensive preparation efforts were required in the laboratory in order to achieve an appropriate quality. Second, the sensitivity of SCC is increased proportionally with change of its mix proportions (particularly the water content) or with change of the environment such as temperature variations. This increased sensitivity produces an extra hindrance to the wider use of SCC as it puts a prices working at the production field (ibid.). Potential disadvantages and obstacles of using SCC Based on the recent studies, despite the possible benefits of SCC compared to normal concrete, it can be seen that the implementation of the SCC is still noticeably limited. According to Peterson (2008:67), the obstacles for increased application of this type of concrete can be attributed to technical and non- technical aspects. In the SCC, the quality of mix design and the conditions of casting concrete should be considered; slight differences in mix proportions or during its casting may cause a number of technical quality problems that may pose as hindrances for future use of SCC. Despite of the intensive and extensive studies on SCC, it can be seen that there are still some unsolved technical problems and a great number of technical difficulties related to SCC. Peterson (2008:67) described these problems in many aspects; such as the problems related to the quality production of the ready-mix design and the Problems related to the hardened SCC especially when there is a low surface quality which leads to reduce fire resistance due to spalling, increase cracking owing to early shrinkage. It is widely accepted that SCC tends to dry faster than traditional concrete, since there is slight or no bleeding water at the surface before it is hardened. For this reason, SCC should be cured when it is practicable after placement to avoid the incidence of surface shrinkage cracking. Moreover, Peterson (2008:71) indicates that although the SCC has been considered as one of the main important invented technology for a more rational way of building with cast in-situ concrete; there are some projects where SCC has led to create technical problems such as concrete segregation with non-acceptable surfaces, concrete cracking owing to plastic shrinkage and formwork failure due to the high form pressure that may be produced as a result of the flow ability feature of SCC. It would appear that further studies are required to achieve a durable and fully satisfying concrete product. Conclusion It can be concluded that SCC helps to improve the environment of the construction locations (reducing noise produced in the plants and construction fields) and reducing the exposure of labours (Reduction manpower) where concrete is being casted. In the other word, the SCC is an ideal type of concrete that can be used for narrow spaced of reinforcement and architectural demanding sections, or, in more general , for all structural applications where require higher efforts in order to gain sufficient compaction. Furthermore, it can be seen that SCC offers many other benefits for the precast, prestressed concrete sector and for cast-in-place construction such as eliminated problems related to vibration, faster construction, gaining higher strength and better quality for the concrete after hardening. On the other hand, Although SCC can have many advantages and significant effects on the engineering applications such as its importance role in reducing the project construction time period, it can be said that special attention should be concentrated on particularly, in terms of selection the suitable ingredients of SCC mixture before the production (mix design of SCC). It can still be expected that, in the future, using SCC will help engineering designer (architects and structural engineers) to design concrete sections or structural elements which would be impossible to achieve with conventional concrete. Based on these facts it can be said that SCC will have a bright future.

A Comparison of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen Essay -- English Liter

A Comparison of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen ADVANCED ENGLISH LANGUAGE ESSAY Of the many authors to emerge during the nineteenth-century, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen were among the few who would make a lasting impression on the literary world for generations. Hard Times, often referred to as Dickens’ ‘Industrial novel’ and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice have been much read and well-loved classics for many years. It is the purpose of this essay to compare and contrast the different worlds depicted in both Hard Times and Pride and Prejudice. It will also look at the literary development between the early and late nineteenth-century. The essay will end with the examination of the stylistic characteristics of each author. In the world depicted in Hard Times, workers are treated as little more than interchangeable parts in the factory's machinery, given just enough wages to keep them alive and just enough rest to make it possible for them to stand in front of their machines the next day. The town in which the story is set is called Coketown, taking its name from the ‘Coke’, or treated coal, powering the factories and blackening the town's skies. It is a large fictional industrial community in the north of England during the mid-nineteenth century. In Chapter 5 of the novel, Dickens describes the town as having buildings and streets that looked the same with red brick but were forever masked with smoke. The reader is told that the town looked like the ‘painted face of a savage’ and ‘serpents of smoke’ trailed out of its factories. It is easy to imagine the sunshine struggling to break through the thick smoke. The lives of the workers were monotonous and hard as they lived in ‘a town so sacred to ... ...ast, Miss Austen’s very finely written novel of Pride and Prejudice. That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with.’ (Watt, 1963). BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, W. (1954) The English Novel, Dutton, New York Allen, W. (1960) The English Novel, Pelican, London Bygrave, S. ed. (1996) Approaching Literature: Romantic Writings, The Open University Gray, M. and Gray, L. (2001) York Notes Advanced: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, York Press, London Page, N. (1985) Macmillan Master Guides: Hard Times by Charles Dickens, Macmillan Education Ltd, London ("Romanticism (literature)," Microsoft ® Encarta ® 98 Encyclopedia.  © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.) Watt, I. Ed. (1963) Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays, Prentice-Hall Inc, USA A Comparison of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen Essay -- English Liter A Comparison of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen ADVANCED ENGLISH LANGUAGE ESSAY Of the many authors to emerge during the nineteenth-century, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen were among the few who would make a lasting impression on the literary world for generations. Hard Times, often referred to as Dickens’ ‘Industrial novel’ and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice have been much read and well-loved classics for many years. It is the purpose of this essay to compare and contrast the different worlds depicted in both Hard Times and Pride and Prejudice. It will also look at the literary development between the early and late nineteenth-century. The essay will end with the examination of the stylistic characteristics of each author. In the world depicted in Hard Times, workers are treated as little more than interchangeable parts in the factory's machinery, given just enough wages to keep them alive and just enough rest to make it possible for them to stand in front of their machines the next day. The town in which the story is set is called Coketown, taking its name from the ‘Coke’, or treated coal, powering the factories and blackening the town's skies. It is a large fictional industrial community in the north of England during the mid-nineteenth century. In Chapter 5 of the novel, Dickens describes the town as having buildings and streets that looked the same with red brick but were forever masked with smoke. The reader is told that the town looked like the ‘painted face of a savage’ and ‘serpents of smoke’ trailed out of its factories. It is easy to imagine the sunshine struggling to break through the thick smoke. The lives of the workers were monotonous and hard as they lived in ‘a town so sacred to ... ...ast, Miss Austen’s very finely written novel of Pride and Prejudice. That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with.’ (Watt, 1963). BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, W. (1954) The English Novel, Dutton, New York Allen, W. (1960) The English Novel, Pelican, London Bygrave, S. ed. (1996) Approaching Literature: Romantic Writings, The Open University Gray, M. and Gray, L. (2001) York Notes Advanced: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, York Press, London Page, N. (1985) Macmillan Master Guides: Hard Times by Charles Dickens, Macmillan Education Ltd, London ("Romanticism (literature)," Microsoft ® Encarta ® 98 Encyclopedia.  © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.) Watt, I. Ed. (1963) Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays, Prentice-Hall Inc, USA

Autonomy and Political Responsibility after the Cold War Essay

Autonomy and Political Responsibility after the Cold War After World War II, Europe emerged as a continent torn between two very different political ideologies, Communism and Democracy. As the two major superpowers, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States, struggled to defend their respective governmental policies, the European Continent was caught in an intrinsic struggle to preserve the autonomy which had taken so long to achieve. During the Cold War, Eastern European nations struggled to achieve autonomy with the help of the West's dedication to break the Soviet sphere of influence. After the disintegration of the USSR, the struggle for autonomy among nations shifted from an intense, inward, nationalistic struggle to break away from a superpower to a commitment of international unity and cooperation as nations began to take moral and political responsibility for their actions. The alliance formed between the US and USSR during the second world war was not strong enough to overcome the decades of uneasiness which existed between the two ideologically polar opposite countries. With their German enemy defeated, the two emerging nuclear superpowers no longer had any common ground on which to base a political, economical, or any other type of relationship. Tensions ran high as the USSR sought to expand Soviet influence throughout Europe while the US and other Western European nations made their opposition to such actions well known. The Eastern countries already under Soviet rule yearned for their independence, while the Western countries were willing to go to great lengths to limit Soviet expansion. "Containment of 'world revolution' became the watchword of American foreign policy throughout the 1950s a... ... and a special exhibit on the Internal Workings of the Soviet System. This site provides an accurate representation of the Soviet System during the Cold War as seen by the actual Soviet documents. Also, this site gives detailed information of pivitol moments during the Cold War era, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Berlin Wall gives a brief over-view of the Berlin Wall, its history and its fall. Provides many useful links to several other sites which offer a more in depth exploration of the circumstances surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. This is a vital link for gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the role of the seperation of East and West Germany and the Berlin Wall itself during the Cold War era. Crockatt, Richard. The fifty years war : the United States and the Soviet Union in world politics, 1941-1991. London; New York; Routledge, 1995. Autonomy and Political Responsibility after the Cold War Essay Autonomy and Political Responsibility after the Cold War After World War II, Europe emerged as a continent torn between two very different political ideologies, Communism and Democracy. As the two major superpowers, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States, struggled to defend their respective governmental policies, the European Continent was caught in an intrinsic struggle to preserve the autonomy which had taken so long to achieve. During the Cold War, Eastern European nations struggled to achieve autonomy with the help of the West's dedication to break the Soviet sphere of influence. After the disintegration of the USSR, the struggle for autonomy among nations shifted from an intense, inward, nationalistic struggle to break away from a superpower to a commitment of international unity and cooperation as nations began to take moral and political responsibility for their actions. The alliance formed between the US and USSR during the second world war was not strong enough to overcome the decades of uneasiness which existed between the two ideologically polar opposite countries. With their German enemy defeated, the two emerging nuclear superpowers no longer had any common ground on which to base a political, economical, or any other type of relationship. Tensions ran high as the USSR sought to expand Soviet influence throughout Europe while the US and other Western European nations made their opposition to such actions well known. The Eastern countries already under Soviet rule yearned for their independence, while the Western countries were willing to go to great lengths to limit Soviet expansion. "Containment of 'world revolution' became the watchword of American foreign policy throughout the 1950s a... ... and a special exhibit on the Internal Workings of the Soviet System. This site provides an accurate representation of the Soviet System during the Cold War as seen by the actual Soviet documents. Also, this site gives detailed information of pivitol moments during the Cold War era, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Berlin Wall gives a brief over-view of the Berlin Wall, its history and its fall. Provides many useful links to several other sites which offer a more in depth exploration of the circumstances surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. This is a vital link for gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the role of the seperation of East and West Germany and the Berlin Wall itself during the Cold War era. Crockatt, Richard. The fifty years war : the United States and the Soviet Union in world politics, 1941-1991. London; New York; Routledge, 1995.

Illustrate the Fundamentals of Islamic Banking Essay

Introduction: This report seeks to give an analysis of Islamic Banking and an organisational comparison to a corporate Global banking system/western one whilst identifying key issues and challenges that may arise for the use of such Islamic banking in the United Kingdom. â€Å"Islamic banking is a growing sector with its diversity in different segments and spectrum. It Caters to religious Muslims in Muslim’s societies as well as in countries where Muslims are in a minority. In addition, it is a broad standard: non-Muslim individuals and communities that seek ethical financial solutions have also been attracted to Islamic banking. It is clear from banking practice that Islamic banking is equally popular in all communities†. (www.islamic-bank.com). The first Islamic bank was set up in the late 1960’s in Egypt to fulfil the needs of Muslims who wanted to bank but still live by Sharia law. An Islamic bank is not a religious institution but caters for the needs of the Muslim and is also appealing to non-Muslims who perceive Islamic banking as an alternative to commercial banking successful Islamic banks such as the Dubai Islamic Bank also known as (DIB) who opened in 1975 have set out a good public image for such choice of banking. Over recent years especially in the last decade Islamic banking has seen a rise in popularity and global development in western countries. Upon focusing on the UK The Islamic bank of Britain is United Kingdom’s mainly recognised sh’aria compliant organisation, Usmani, (2005) defines sha’ria compliance as ‘An act or activity that complies with the requirements of sha’riah Islamic law’. Islamic banking As already stated Islamic banking is based on Islamic Sha’riah Law which sets out the principles of all banking activities for such Islamic banks this means all banking activity must be sha’riah compliant, a significant characteristic of this means interest is prohibited not only is this mentioned in the holy Quran as having bad affects on society but the main concept of Islamic banking is set upon the foundations of profit-sharing instead of being ‘interest based’ which is referred to as (Riba in Islam) which is highly known in conventional western banks in the UK such as NatWest, Lloyds tsb, HSBC etc. In a western bank system money will be lent/loaned to a customer with no real interest shown or involved in the outcome or business of the customer obviously some risk assessment would be considered but not to the extent of which risk would be shared, Ridzwa, (2004) states the difference within Islamic banking is that â€Å"cash/loans will not be given to the customer, first of all they purchase the commodity and transfer to client then all profit and loss will be distributed between parties according to agreed terms and conditions†. As Islamic banking is based strictly on Islamic ethics and Quran practices Bown, (2005) states this also means loans/investing in projects or businesses that have ‘haram’ significance which means forbidden activity in the holy Quran will not be invested upon for instance places that plan on serving alcohol or promote gambling and sexual influences like nightclubs will not be agreed to investments. Upon analysing the financial side of Islamic banking the clear principle it is financially based on for its trading activity is ‘the risk/gain is shared upon the provider of the loan (bank) and the expertise of business idea (customer)’ IBB, (2010) by this both parties have a mutual agreement for the bank the money they are providing is being lent with a risk but also an agreement with the customer to share of any profits. The commercial law side of Islamic banking is actually based on four basic principles (Bellalah and Ellouz, 2004) claim â€Å"the fundamental of first Islamic business principle is profit and loss sharing and the second is based on fixed service fees and charges and third is based on free of cost and no charges. T e other principles are changing with the situation of the business and its operation.† Methods of Islamic banking Islamic banking has many different methods and Islamic approaches to what a conventional/western bank would give out a mortgage/loan. Dar and Presley, (2000) state that the key banking methods Islamic banks use are Ijara, Mudarabah, Murabahah and Musharakah. Ijara: Is a form of rental contracts mainly for goods/property mortgaging it involves the sale and the transfer of assets title to the customer lending at the end of Ijara. In a banking scenario the Islamic bank would buy a property lease it to a customer for a fixed price till the agreed price has been met through lease/ijara then the customer will become owner of such asset’s a rent contract by which the owner of the good rents it to another party can also be part of this. According to the (IBB) Nowadays the Home Finance and Islamic mortgage are based on the concept of Ijara and it is very successful tool in Islamic financial system and popular amongst non Muslims too who are ever increasingly using this type of finance. Mudarabah: khan, (1993) states this form of finance is mainly known as profit sharing and involves a type of partnership agreement between two sides in this scenario the bank and the person lending the money (customer) the bank will provide the funds and the customer will provide the business venture and idea however all profits will be shared amongst both parties with an agreed fee. It can also be said some characteristics of western banking are still slightly involved with this type of financing as the entrepreneur must guarantee full refund in case of contract breaching and negligence. Murabahah: This type of banking is referred to as cost plus/mark-up sale this involves a sale of which he buyer (customer) offers to purchase a commodity at a price equal to its cost to the seller plus an agreed profit margin. â€Å"It is a trust or a transparent sale in which the cost of acquiring the goods by the seller must be disclosed. The cost to the seller includes the price he had paid plus all other expenses. Payment of price can be made against the delivery of the goods sold or deferred as lump-sum or instalments† Islamic bank of Britain, (2010). Murabahah usually starts with the buyer signing a promise to purchase. The seller then acquires the goods and takes their possession. Finally, the buyer signs the Murabahah sale contract and receives the good in return for payment or an obligation to pay later. It is one of the most popular modes used in Islamic banking system in different countries to promote interest-free transactions. Musharakah: this method of banking is mainly for mortgages similar to the ijara method with slight differentiations both have forms of agreements from both parties but difference in this method rather than rent instalments covering the cost to have full ownership of a property or goods instalment payments will be for shares of the product/property which once fully covered will fulfil full ownership to the customer giving them 100% ownership. Comparison of Islamic banking to western/conventional banking It can be said that Islamic and conventional/western banking Islamic and traditional banking actually are not different in what they supply but to how they supply such services Shahin, Z, (2004). Islamic banking has the same features as western/conventional banking and provides the same services as conventional banking for example current accounts, saving accounts, insurances, mortgages and investment opportunities in the society. Upon comparing Islamic banking and conventional/western banking for example like the Islamic bank of Britain compared to Barclays bank there some evident differences not only is the main one being that of the sha’riah law principles that are followed by the Islamic banks which therefore means business approaches in forms of investments, responsibility and product features will all be based upon the Islamic faith and must stay within the limits of Islamic Law or the Sha’riah. However other key significant differences in the two types of banking are factors such as interest, taxation, risk/profit sharing and the restriction of investments. Comparison towards the use of interest within Islamic banks and western/conventional banks: Lending money and getting it back with compounding interest is the main fundamental function for a western/conventional bank it is a main source of profit making for major high street banks in the United Kingdom almost sometimes criticised for their high rates of such interest. However this is in contrast to Islamic banking where interest is forbidden and deemed as Riba’ but a more partnership approach is given to the customer and agreed payments with profit sharing agreements set upon the provider and lender. When comparing the two methods the main difference here is that western/conventional banks follow the principle that interest is the price of credit, therefore reflecting the opportunity cost of loaning the money. Whereas in Islamic banking the creditor (bank) should not take advantage of the person lending the money as this in Islam is perceived as injustice where the first Islamic principle underlying for such kind of transactions is â€Å"deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly† [2:279], Holy Quran. Comparison of taxation and additional charges for Islamic banks and western/conventional banks: In the United Kingdom all organisations/businesses must pay tax commodities including Islamic banks and non Islamic banks however in Islamic banking such additional charges are approached with caution and compliance to sharia law and have no provision to charge any extra money from the defaulters. Only small amount of compensation and these proceeds is given to charity which is known as ‘zakat’ claims often enough is welcomed by the Muslim population of customers as it is the Islamic term of charity. When comparing this type of additional zakat charge many western/conventional banks state this as normal VAT and APR charges which vary in price and cost from bank to bank it can be said for Islamic banking this type of charge still exists but named and dealt with differently in the form of zakat. Comparison of Risk sharing in Islamic banking and money loaning in a western/conventional bank: Islamic banking involves risk and profit sharing with the person lending the banks somewhat ‘forming a partnership feel with the customer’ Bhatti, I.M, (2008) which means Islamic banks are more involved with customer projects and pay greater attention in developing and appraising certain enterprises/projects where in comparison to western banks like Lloyds tsb where in a case study on Islamic and high street banks some customers who transferred from their branch over to Islamic bank of Britain branch stated â€Å"they felt the bank was only interested as seeing the customer as a debtor and themselves as the creditors†. When comparing the Western banks method of loaning/lending money such banks will often enough place a fixed rate of interest as part of the charge and will not really be as closely involved in the participation of the business venture as Islamic banks wou ld be due to the risk/profit sharing factor. Comparison on the restriction of investments for Islamic banking and western/conventional banking: as stated many of times throughout this report Islamic banking is strictly sha’riah compliant meaning all activities are in conjunction with Islam and the teachings of the Quran and the prophet Mohammed PBUH therefore all business investments/ventures must be deemed as ‘pure’ and accepted in the eyes of Islam for an Islamic bank to invest in Dixon, R. (1992) therefore any business proposals that are brought forward to an Islamic bank that consists of serving alcohol, promoting gambling and sexually influence will be strictly turned down. Where as in comparison to a western conventional bank plans will be accepted on the basis of good credit, business venture and the ability to pay back such fees. Challenges that Islamic banking may face within the United Kingdom: Islamic banking is becoming ever more popular in the United Kingdom with many non-Muslims also interested and joining the Islamic bank of Britain as customers but upon research and case study readings many people in Britain feel they don’t fully understand the concept of Islamic banking and that it should be made more user friendly for society. There is need to make a clear and transparent system of general as Islamic banking is in a transition development stage a key issue in Britain according to Khalaf (2007) Islamic banking industries have a barrier to overcome with the whole sha’riah law compliance being appealing to non-Muslims as many non Muslims can perceive this as influencing a ‘different law for a different country with a different religious view point’. Also opinions of Islamic scholars, suppose a product or practice may be accepted to one scholar, could be considered un-Islamic by another scholar. Malaysia has established a standard sha’riah board which is supported by government which in the united kingdom is not applicable and that the banks set these out themselves according to basic sha’riah compliance. (Khalaf, 2007) claims it is evident in Britain that Islamic banking faces many challenges with society and keeping up with such growth of western conventional banks due to its new growth in the UK market however with strong middle eastern financial backers such as Qatari national bank the Islamic bank of Britain is financially stable in this sense and that it is gaining more recognition amongst the Muslim popularity of Britain with many Muslim customers holding accounts with them but it can be stated a key challenge is the ‘Different beliefs in society make that some Islamic banking activity acceptable to one part of community and to others it is not’ . Conclusion Islamic banking in Britain now has great opportunity for growth as it offer certain benefits that conventional western banks do not put in place many Muslims feel this type of banking is relevant for their practice of religion whilst some may argue that costs such as interest also known as ‘Riba’ are still put in place just named and charged differently and then opt to carry on using such ‘western banks’ however it can be said great ethical value is taken into consideration in contrast to western banks and vulnerability and risk of business venture is shared and discussed which if western banks applied could see a great rise in popularity and custom however in the united kingdom the regulatory authority and structure of Islamic sha’ria practice can sometimes have setbacks for such Islamic banking activity as society may not accept this. Overall Islamic banking has great opportunity to grow because many numbers of muslims are residing in the united kingdom and there is a steady growth for such market, however it can be said if such rise of awareness and identity was put in place to market Islamic banking this could possibly promote it further and on the scale of such western banks. References: Bellalah, M. and Ellouz, S. (2004) Islamic Finance, Interest Rates and Islamic Banking Bokhari, F. (2007) Lloyds TSB spots growing appetite. Financial Times Bown, J. (2005) Islamic banking set to boom. Sunday Times Belder, R.T. and Khan, M.H. (1993) the changing faces of Islamic banking. International Financial Law Review Chris, Cook. (2006) is Islamic banking religiously sound? Financial Times Dixon, R. (1992) Islamic banking. The International Journal of Bank Marketing, Hassan, M.K. (1999). Islamic banking in theory and practice: Haron, Sudin (1995) The Framework and concept of Islamic interest-free banking

Bioterrorism: Biological Warfare and Public Health Nursing

What is bioterrorism and how might you prepare for its effects? Bioterrorism uses pathogenic biological agents, such as biological warfare agents, which are colorless, and odorless derived from microorganisms that can be spread in the air as aerosols or placed into food or drink to infect as many people as possible. The agents are concealed easily and said to be difficult to detect. Terrorists tend to attack major cities or densely crowded areas, and government buildings (Nicolson, 2001).One such agent that was used as early as 1520 by Cortez as an assault on the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitilan in Mexico was the smallpox virus. The American Government used this weapon during the wars with the Native Americans. The United States has eradicated the disease with vaccines over the many years (Graber, 2010). The latest known agent that imploded on the communities was the Anthrax virus, which was known to be in affect since 2001.Some people would actually take the agent and put it in b oxes, envelopes, etc. and send it in the mail to affect others with the disease. Nurses can help to be ready in different situations, by not only knowing about early warning signals of diseases, but to know how to deal with the terrorist attacks. Healthcare workers can review disaster plans in the workplace, be available as a first responder, review the evacuation plan, and help others to deal with the events that are taking place (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008).Nurses need the understanding of disaster plans in their workplace and community and review these plans every 6 months for changes and updates. Planning for future outbreaks of disease is always a good idea, as we can never know when a disaster may strike.References: Graber, M. (2010). Terrorism Updates. Retrieved from http://www. emedmag. com. Nicolson, G. (2001). Bioterrorism. Retrieved from http://www. immed. org. Stanhope, M. , & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public Health Nursing: Population Centered Health Care in the Community ( 7th ed. ). St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc.

Rio Grande Medical Center Case Study

Case Study # 3 Rio Grande Medical Center-Cost Allocation Concepts 1) Is it fair for the Dialysis Center to suffer (in profitability) from the move even though it had nothing to do with it? I do not think that the Dialysis Center suffering in profitability from the move is fair. Being that the Dialysis Center was moved as a result of the Outpatient Clinics need for extra space, I do think that some of the costs of the new building and the relocation of the Dialysis Center should be paid through the Outpatient Center (a â€Å"buy out†).The fact that the indirect costs of the Dialysis Center are going up solely because of the fact that they were forced out to accommodate the Outpatient Center, forcing them into the red, is simply unfair and bad practice. 2) Should the Dialysis Center be charged actual facilities costs for its new location? After all, the move was forced by the Outpatient Clinic, which is being charged for facilities at the lower average allocation rate.Under the concept of charging for actual facilities costs, department heads may be better off resisting proposed moves to new (and potentially more efficient) facilities because such moves would result in increased facilities allocations. Without the expansion, the Dialysis Center was paying $300,000 in facilities costs ($15 per square foot x 20,000 square feet). With the expansion, the Dialysis Center is paying $400,000 in facilities costs, $100,000 more solely because of the move forced upon them due to the Outpatient Centers need for more space.I believe that the Dialysis Center should pay the same amount in facilities costs considering that they would have the same amount of square footage as they did before the move. All or at least a portion of the additional $100,000 in facilities costs should be absorbed by the Outpatient Center, not only did they force the Dialysis Center out, but they also have an expected 25 percent increase in volume while the Dialysis Center is expected to have n o increases at all. 3)Even if the true cost concept were applied to the Dialysis Center, is the 400,000 annual allocation amount correct? After all, the building has a useful life that is probably significantly longer than 20 years – the life of the loan used to determine the allocation amount. If the true cost concept is applied, what would be the allocation in the 21st year, after the mortgage had been paid off? 4) The revenue that the Dialysis Center â€Å"receives† from patient use of the pharmacy appears to be passed on directly to the pharmacy.That is, the Dialysis Center books $800,000 in annual revenue but then is charged $800,000 for the drugs used. Should this â€Å"revenue† be counted when general overhead allocations are made? To make this point, John discovered that the pharmacy supplies used for dialysis actually cost the pharmacy $400,000, so the pharmacy makes a profit of $400,000 on drugs that are actually â€Å"sold† by the Dialysis Cent er.

Plug-in Hybrid vs. Pure Electric Cars Research Essay Essay

This world has prospered with gasoline cars since the late eighteen hundreds and nineteen hundreds. In fact, the world we live in today cannot stand without the benefits of gasoline-powered vehicular travel. Since the modernization of travel, the public can drive cars anywhere, including other countries, cities, streets, houses, or even backyards. The mass want of private automobiles has led to more drivers, then a huge amount of pollution, and then that familiar phrase: Global Warming. This is why we need a new alternative to the combustion engine, and there are very many ways to achieve this including plug-in cars and pure electric cars. But, to fully prevent Global Warming, our economy must run on pure clean energy. Plug-in hybrid cars have their benefits, including the ability to revert to an internal combustion engine when the battery dies, but pure-electric cars are the way to go because the battery has a much larger store of electricity and electric cars do not run on harmful gasoline; they run on clean energy. The pros of hybrid plug-in cars do not match the pros that the pure-electric car boasts. Although, there are some so-called experts who disprove this theory, and say that hybrid cars are the best way to go. A pro in the mind of Philip Dunn, a hybrid car advocate, is that â€Å"at higher speeds – above forty miles per hour – the gas motor kicks in and gives that peppy feel so many car owners look for when driving on the highway. † Another pro is that the hybrid car can â€Å"already get one-hundred mpg on fifty-five-mile trips using cobbled-together PHEVs,† (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) says Ben Hewitt, another advocate of hybrid cars. The hybrid vehicle also does not produce any Carbon-Dioxide from a stop, and does not produce any Carbon-Dioxide moving at less than under forty miles per hour. These pros, nonetheless, are better than a pure-gas engine, which compares with an average 21 mpg (estimation courtesy of EPA), and produces Carbon-Dioxide all of the time that it is running. But, these pros do not scratch the surface of the pure-electric car and its wonders. The cons of the plug-in car are various. The plug-in car costs â€Å"anywhere from three-thousand dollars to eight-thousand dollars more than conventional automobiles† (Watson), but these prices will go down as manufacturers start developing more hybrids and create more competition. Until there is more research, hybrids also use up the electric engine in under five-hundred uses, which leads to more money spent replacing the un-chargeable battery. Adding onto the list is the fact that hybrid cars will still use gasoline. In order to clean up Earth, hybrid plug-in cars and their problems shall not be created. Hybrid cars are also weighed down by both engines. The two engines also instigate the problem of maintaining two engines instead of one, which will make repair cost more than gas-powered cars in certain circumstances such as a car crash that damages both engines. Both pros and cons of the hybrid plug-in do not reach the level of pure electric cars. Few cons are tacked onto the pure electric car, but those few are important. Pure-electric cars cannot drive long distance road trips without being recharged. This can take up to three-and-a-half hours in some electric cars, which isn’t good for being late to work or a party. â€Å"The beneficial trend toward more environmentally friendly vehicles has had the unintended effect of placing the blind and other pedestrians in danger,† said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-New York, 10th) in introducing The Pedestrian Safety Act of 2008 that would protect the blind from electric cars, which are silent. These cars are also pricy, with the Tesla Roadster reaching over one-hundred thousand dollars. These cons come with a reward, though. The pros of having a pure-electric vehicle are heavier than that of its cons. With an average of 220 mpc (miles per charge [based on EPA combined city/highway cycle]), the pure-electric car can cover the average daily driver’s commute and then some. The pure-electric Tesla Roadster can reach up to â€Å"125 mph and has a 0mph-60mph in less than 4 seconds† (Tesla Motors – Tesla Roadster). Also, whenever the brakes are used to stop, you charge the engine. Another thing is that, when stopped, the car does not consume any energy. All of this and zero-emissions boost the pure-electric car to the top of the list of daily drivers and high performance gas-guzzlers. Both types of car oust that of the gas-guzzlers on the road today. Although, to provide a cleaner and more-efficient future for Earth, humans must set aside fossil fuels and use clean electric energy, which a pure-electric car uses. The public cannot make a huge change into hybrid plug-ins and then switch to full electric power; just look at the Digital Television switch that has been postponed twice because people are too lazy to go out and get a free digital cable box. The people are slow to change, which means that in order to switch before humans destroy the world, humans must first change to pure-electric energy. If humans are ready to start the massive change to clean up Earth, those humans must first stop making a new mess. Works Cited Dunn, Philip. â€Å"Hybrid Cars – Pros and Cons. † (2006) 4 Apr 2009 . Hewitt, Ben. â€Å"Plug-in Hybrid Electric Cars: How They’ll Solve the Fuel Crunch. † May 2007 4 Apr 2009 . Watson, Jerry. â€Å"Hybrids – pros and cons. † (2005-2009) 4 Apr 2009 . http://www. teslamotors. com/performance/perf_specs. php Towns, Edolphus. Introduction of Pedestrian Safety Act of 2008, April 9th, 2008.