Leasing Research Paper Essay

A lease is a contract written between two people one of whom is the owner of a property lending it to another party who uses it and gives financial compensation for the exchange. There are many different types of lease arrangements for property. They include full service, net, percentage, and gross leases (Lank, 2003). Â  To begin with, full service lease is mostly used by tenants who use multi-tenant office buildings where the landlord provides all essential services to his or her lessee (Kennedy, 2005). Such landlord-provided services include water as well as security. Another kind of lease is the gross lease whereby the tenant pays for the gross rent but the landlord pays for the maintenance, insurance, and also the property costs (Steingold & Steingold, 2010). Conversely, the net lease is implemented whereby the tenant takes responsibility for all expenses and amenities which he or she needs to use in the running of his or her business (Peca, 2009). On the other hand, percentage lease plays out when the tenant pays a percentage of the gross revenue (Tamper, 2002). Further, when calculating the gross revenue, one has to deduct all the items that might overstate one’s revenue, for example, items that may overstate sales. There are other lease terms which need to be taken into consideration when entering into a contract related to a lease property. They include lease hold improvements which, if overlooked, can ultimately be very expensive. Knowledge of these issues ensures that the landlord makes any necessary renovations or else leave it open for the tenant to improve for himself or herself, as per certain guidelines and restrictions. In addition, the lease length matters since the duration depends on the landlord, all the amenities offered, as well as the tenant. The advantages of leasing building, medical equipment, and office furniture and equipment include: – Flexibility, when we lease a building, there is room to relocate to another area which suits our provision of medical services to the people. This arrangement can enable us to shift our services to a place where we can access more customers than if we built it in a place where there is low demand for our services. Moreover, there are few responsibilities attached to the management since most of the responsibilities are passed onto the land lords, thus increasing the turnover. Conversely, there is less tax paperwork since the income tax will be simpler to file. This is because building owners normally have very many forms to fill which will not be present in leasing. When we want to run the business without affecting the cash flow, it will be more beneficial to preserve the cash flow by leasing equipment rather than buying them since high initial capital is required to purchase the medical equipment. Further, when we lease equipment, it helps to maintain and build a strong credit background which helps to expand the working capital through smaller initial investment (Haight & Singer, 2005). Further, such an initiative helps in reduction of tax since one does not pay tax on the leased properties. In turn, this helps the business to regain money spent on regular expenses which are adjusted to increase credits and deductions. Lease of property allows business operators to satisfy the business needs on the allotted budget which is more flexible than when purchasing a commodity. Leasing agents always try to please their customers and thus always offer upgrades. The initial capital of upgrading your equipment is therefore highly minimized since one does not purchase them but the leasing agent improves his equipment. This allows one to use improved equipment. The cost of purchasing equipment is spread over a long period of time. After leasing the equipment, it is still owned by the leassor thus one has security of their money, therefore making one to have a credit check pass rather than other forms of finance. A lease contract is always fixed, therefore making it easier to budget. The major disadvantages of leasing property are that there is no ownership of property or equipment. One cannot thus upgrade his or her equipment to improve the performance of one’s office. If the equipment becomes outdated, one cannot sell or discard them without paying much money so as to cancel the contract. The purchase of the equipment may be very hard since it may be difficult to arrange for the purchase which is not simple. Rather, arranging for the purchase of the mostly very expensive items is easier. Sometimes it becomes a long-term expense, although it saves one from paying a large sum of money at once. This is clearly seen when one uses the standard lease wherein one pays for the cost of purchase with the charges of the leasing company. After a leasing period expires, one has to continue paying rent so as to use the equipment. The money one pays for an equipment is thus considerably more than the actual marked price of the product. Although one has not purchased the product, he or she has to maintain and repair it. If one lacks trained personnel, it may prove to be very expensive when a major repair is required, thus increasing the monthly payments (Perlis & Bradley, 2004). A lease has a high interest cost because the lessor makes returns from the leased products, implicating that they get high returns thus making their firm more qualified to borrow so as to purchase other assets. There is lack of the recovery value of the product if one needs to purchase the product. This is evident in products which depreciate in value. There is also difficulty in improving the products. This is because one is prohibited to make improvements on the products without the owner’s approval. It makes it hard to put finances on the leased property, thus making the lender the security to improve the product. If a product becomes outdated, one continues to pay for it till the lease period is over and even continues to use it even if it increases the production cost of one’s products. There are other expenses which follow if the owner had not paid for them, for example, one has to insure property if the owner had not insured. If you have to purchase a property, you lack background information about it unless a nearby neighbor sells to you, a situation which makes many leases to be inflexible (Boiron & Boiron, 008). When one wants to purchase a product, the market is usually untested to the resold product. There is also depreciation of the asset value before the end of the lease period. When it comes to selling of the companies head office, it is a very bad idea to sell and lease it again as this can cause a lot of damages to the company’s outlook if the owner decides not to lease it back. Further, we have to go and search for another to lease. If we decide to get any mortgage loan, we shall lack property to assist us in securing a loan which can help us run the business. The advantage of selling the head office is that we can shift to an area with high market for our services. References Boiron. P.; & Boiron, C. (2008). Commercial real estate investing in Canada: The complete reference for real estate. Â  Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Haight, G. T.; & Singer, D. (2005). The real estate investment handbook. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Kennedy, J. (2005). The small business owner’s manual: Everything you need to know to start up and run your business. Career Press. Lank, E. (2003). Modern real estate practice in New York: For salespersons and brokers. La Crosse, WI: Dearborn Real Estate. Peca, S. P. (2009). Real estate development and investment: A comprehensive approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Perlis, A.; & Bradley, B. (2004). The unofficial guide to buying a home. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Steingold, F. S.; & Steingold, F. (2010). Legal forms for starting & running a small business. Berkeley, California: Nolo. Tamper, R. (2002). Mastering real estate mathematics. La Crosse, WI:Â   Dearborn Real Estate.

Learning from Failure Essay

Everyone strives for perfection, for most people failure is not an option. However, the reality is that failure is an unpleasant fact, each day, a person fails in his or her tasks, decisions and ideas and organizations fail in their strategies and policies. In this highly competitive and achievement oriented society, a failure in any aspect of a person’s life is construed negatively and stereotyped as a sign of weakness. Failures are indeed negative occurrences that involve the inability to carry out the desired objective or goal of the individual or organization (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005). Failures can be either large scale or small scale, and it can have far-reaching effects than mere criticisms. Small-scale failures are normal consequences of the individual’s actions and decisions form day to day, for example, not being able to come to work on time is a failure on the part of the employee. Being tardy is a negative behavior and failing to be punctual can directly affect the work performance of the individual; however, such tardiness can also have dire effects on the organization. Chronic tardiness results to missed hours of work per week and probably lesser output for the department or unit and the organization as a whole. Such a failure can be dissected and analyzed as a personal failure, but it has varied implications for the organization’s policies and performance. On the other hand, large-scale failures are highly sensationalized and have the potential to lessen the competitiveness and the trust that people have on their organizations (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). F or example, Martha Stewart’s failure and fiasco in her business enterprise have led to criticisms and stigma and for that time, sales of Martha Stewart’s products were very low. Organizational failures are often not highlighted as a basis for learning; instead, it is covered-up and undisclosed to the public. Learning from failure is not a popular concept in the American reality. Failures have a negative connotation and it is not a thing that is shared to most people. Likewise, organizations steer from the issue of failure and find immediate solutions to such failures and problems without considering the possible learning that the failure brings (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). For example, mass resignations of pilots in an airline company spell disaster, and the most likely action for the company is to reduce flights. Learning from failure dictates that the airline company should look into the reasons of the pilots for leaving the airline. The result of the survey would be used as basis to institute changes in their policies in order to address the concerns of the pilots and to prevent mass resignations in the future. Organizations however, try very hard to keep their failures from becoming public since it would not be good for their business but making failures public communicates that the organization is willing to accept their mistakes and further commit to the improvement of their policies and procedures to prevent and minimize the occurrence of mistakes (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005). Large-scale failures that reach the consciousness of the public become common knowledge and these are used as a learning tool for other individuals and organizations.   The stock market scandals have resulted to clearer and stricter guidelines in the stock market. Thus, failures are not entirely negative; instead, it has the potential for driving new information and concepts and in the development of better policies and guidelines for all. Learning is a process that occurs throughout life, and failures play an important role in facilitating learning. Without mistakes and failure, an individual would not be able to learn what is right and acceptable from what is wrong and unacceptable. Failure is as essential to life as learning; one cannot exist without the other. Learning does not occur in a vacuum, it utilizes whatever information, and knowledge is on hand. However, the best kind of learning is said to come from failures and mistakes as it provides concrete basis for differentiating what is positive and good from what is negative and bad (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). At an individual level, workers sent on a training workshop to learn new skills in the operation of new equipments would only have a working knowledge of the new equipment. Actual operation of the equipment would test the knowledge of the worker and the amount of learning that he has gained from the training workshop. A failure on the part of the worker would lead to the inefficient use of the equipment, and identifying one’s mistakes and source of failure would result to more learning. At this point the worker can now identify which of his actions had resulted to the mistake and which actions would control for the effects of the mistake and what behaviors he should do to prevent the mistake from recurring. In terms of organizational learning, failures are also a rich source of information that could be used to improve and strengthen the strategies that they already have in place (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005). It is important for organizations to learn from their failures as it is a factual occurrence that reflect the true state of the organization (Carmeli & Sheaffer, 2008). For example, a miscommunication between departments can bring about significant problems and difficulties in the conduct of the organizations’ activities. The most likely reaction is for the department heads and managers to resolve the problems brought about by miscommunication, but if the organization wants to apply the concept of learning from failures, they should b able to identify the source of the miscommunication and in what channels the miscommunication occurred, then the organization should look into the communication patterns of the organization and take the necessary steps to ensure that the communication systems would be corrected to prevent miscommunications in the future. Even though learning from failures has been found to be a useful tool for increasing the efficiency of organizations and in cultivating a positive culture, one that is open to experimentation and failure, not many organizations have embraced the concept and continue to disregard the learning that could be had from failures (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). In a discussion of why organizations fail to learn from failures, it was pointed out that organizations fail to utilize failures as rich sources of information because of the lack of critical thinking skills that would identify failures as an opportunity for growth (Carmeli & Sheaffer, 2008). Additionally, organizations does not take into account and monitor for failure, instead it is systematically removed and not dwelled upon. Another reason for not being able to learn from failures is the human tendency to reduce the effect or to cover-up the incidence of a failure. Even without undue pressure, individuals have the tendency to downplay failures and mistakes and for most to find excuses and blame the failure on the system, and other individuals (Carmeli & Sheaffer, 2008). It is important to recognize that failures present a learning opportunity for organizations and even for one’s personal life, and although it takes courage and a more open and willing perspective, it is not impossible to attain. References Cannon, M. & Edmondson, A. (2005). Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): How organizations put failure to work to innovate and improve. Long Range Planning, 38, 299-319 Carmeli, A., & Sheaffer, Z. (2008). How learning leadership and organizational learning from failures enhance perceived organizational capacity to adapt to the task environment. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44:468. Nevis, E. C., DiBella, A.J., & Gould, J.M. (1995). Understanding organizations as learning systems. Sloan Management Review, 36, 73-85.

Julia Salas

Julia Salsas – the woman Alfred fell in love with and the sister-in-law of Judge Del Valley. She Is the other girl of Alfred Salary who remains single in her entire life. Julia Salsas Is a smart girl In a way that she Just let go after she knew that Alfred Is engaged to Spenserian. Carmen – Carmen is the sister of Alfred Salary and the daughter of Don Julian. She this â€Å"wide† understanding. Donna Delia – sister of Julia Salsas, she is small and plump but a pretty woman with a complexion of a baby with an expression of a cow. Bribing Sammy – she is the illusive woman whose Alfred is looking for. Title: The Small KeyBy: Pas Lateran Solaced – (also Challenge) a woman who's on her pass twenties. She is the second wife of Pedro. She is curious and discontented on what she knows about his husband's past marriage. She worries that those things she found in the trunk owned by his husband will destroy their relationship, and so she still managed t o burn all those things. Tia Maria – she is the housemaid of Pedro and Solaced. She also helped Pedro in taking care of his wife Solaced when Solaced was not feeling well. Title: Harvest By: Loretta Para's – Slit Miss Francis – She is a tall woman having a voice too deep and throaty.She is not exactly very young or very beautiful but there is something disquieting in the instrument of her features and the mole on her face Just above her lips tinged her whole face with a strange loveliness. Vidal and Fabian have feelings for her. She mold figures out of clay. Tinny – she is the wife of Fabian. An obedient wife and a loving mother to her child. Mila – She is the lady Fabian wanted to be marry to his brother Vidal. Amelia's family owns a lot of carobs. Turning – she is the child of Fabian and Tinny, who have white skin as those of the rice grains and her nose is high-bridged.A girl who respects her parents. Title: Zeta and the man in Her Life B y: Arturo B. Rotor Zeta – She is the daughter of Don Older, a simple and a sweet daughter. She has feelings for Mr.. Retch but as what she's not expecting, fate didn't cooperate to her feelings. She knew little things about how a lady should act and display her physiques. By: Matador T. Adagio Alumna – she is the first wife of Away. She love Away so much that she let go of Away after knowing that they can't bear a child. Alumna is sweet and patient that she even visited during Dyads wedding ceremony.She's not selfish and she looks not only on the side of her own story but also on those people she love. Modality – she is the present wife of Away. Modality is also an understanding person, because she never hurt Alumna. She also loves Away so much that she will forget everything but never Away. Title: How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife By: Manuel Irregular Female characters: Maria – A tall, lovely girl. She is an urban girl whom Leon loves so much. In r eturn, she also loves Leon that she didn't bother even if Leon is staying in a rural area with Carobs and mud's. Title: Love in a CorncobsBy: Aid Riviera Ford Constantine Trill â€Å"Attain† – she is the housemaid of Senora and Senorita. Attain was simple and beautiful when she was in her teen age. She is the lover of Madam Jugular but then Madam loss connection and communication to Attain. Years passed, Attain still haven't heard about Madam and so she married a Bugaboo and had a child Bigot. Senora – the woman whom Attain is working with. Title: Mayday Eve By: Nick Joaquin Dona Agued – (young Agued) she is pretty like all other girls in her age and she has also a kind of attitude that will make her do things which rings her curiosity.She was loved by Don Badly and later prepared a fix marriage for both of them. She then became the mother of the two kids, a girl and a boy named Voltaire. Anastasia – she is the housemaid old woman who taught Agued a superstitious belief about mirrors. That if twelve midnight struck and you will look into the mirror's reflection you will see your soul mate. By: Estella Aloof Mother of the two kids – she was described â€Å"with eyes that held pride and maternal gloating she exhibited†. She was not Just a mere woman but a mother that went through all the bravery to defend her daughter from Vaccine.She has also a mistake withdrawn in the story because she Just easily relied and trusted so much in the man without knowing the background. Although the man is described as gentle, slow in manner and helpful but these characteristic don't guarantee a true personality. But she was able to drive Vaccine out of the house in a very forceful, magnificent manner but toned down. She was indeed a mother and a woman of valor. Title: The Virgin By: Kermis Polytonal-Advert Miss Miseries – a 34-year-old woman who works in the placement section of an agency. Described as impolite and bossy whe n it comes to dealing with Job applicants.She routinely lives her life in discipline making her life dull. Later on in the story, she finally let go of her control with herself and gave in to the new carpenter in the agency. Miss Miseries was a stern, responsible woman with hidden desires. Title: The Visitation of the Gods By: Gilda Corded Fernando Miss Noel – a woman of compassion, integrity and competence. Ms. Noel is the only serious character, the only one the reader can really identify with. She is an English teacher assigned in landscaping the school's garden together with the freshmen boys. Mrs.. Lobes – she is the wife of Mr..Lobes, the principal of the school. She acts like his husband with full authority over the teachers in the story. Mrs.. Advancing – the harassed Home Economics instructor, and some of the less attractive lady teachers. She was assigned to prepare the food for the visitors. Miss Santos – she is the Mrs.. Alexandra – Mrs .. Dells Santos – Title: The Bread of Salt By: NV Gonzales Female Character: Aid – the subject of the protagonist's affections; young, messiest, high-society. She is Alicia and Josephine – they are twins in the story which are the cousins of Aid.Filipino ladies in selected Philippine short stories possess different personal qualities and characteristics. Most of the authors described their female characters like what Filipino ladies are, as ladies having stunning attractiveness like Spenserian, Julia Salsas, Donna Delia, Miss Francis, Maria, Zeta, Dona Agued and Aid. Some were portrayed as a kind-hearted person and understanding in their own little ways like Julia Salsas, Tia Maria, Alumna, Maria, Miss Miseries, and Miss Noel.Although there re few of the female characters who portrays the negative attitude but with some reasons, like Julia Salsas, who didn't know that Alfred is already engaged, Solaced, who burnt all the things her husband kept in a very long ti me but that's because of jealousy, Attain who Just marry a Bugaboo and left the memory of her past lover and just forget him and Mrs.. Lobes who doesn't care whether she already step on someone's dignity and life. The authors treat the women characters as if they are important in the society.They portray the characters like the Filipino women who are generous, very caring, understanding and extremely patient and sometimes can also be powerful as men. But there are authors who also treat women's inferiority. Just like in the case of Attain in the story â€Å"Love in the Corn husk† there she was treated as someone who's unlucky for marrying a Bugaboo, Dona Agued in the story â€Å"May Day Eve† and Mrs.. Advancing with the other female teachers in â€Å"The Visitation of the Gods†. Most of the women in the story were treated equally with men but there are few who were not, some of this are the female teachers in the story â€Å"The Visitation of theGods† whe re in they were Just told to what they are going to do during the evaluation and were told that they are JUST women. And Dona Agued who was Just forced to marry his husband without considering what she wants. Another unfair treatment of women is in the story â€Å"Wedding Dance† that women will be left by their husbands if they are not capable of providing their husbands a child. Just like what happened to Alumna, even if she really loves Away, they should still break the bond of being a couple.

MIH512-Demography and Health (Module 5-SLP) Essay

MIH512-Demography and Health (Module 5-SLP) - Essay Example The total fertility rate (births per women) has come from 3.1% to 2.7% and is expected to further go down to 2.4%. The crude birth rate (per 1,000 population) has also come down from 25 (in 2001) to 21 (in 2010) and is expected go down to 18 by 2020. Comparatively, the mortality rates have drastically come down. The infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births) has come down from 66 to 49 and expected to go down to 35 by 2020. The net migration rate remains at a constant of -0%. The population of China has grown from 1,270,744 in 2001 to 1,330,141 in 2010, which is further expected to increase to 1,384, 545 by 2020. The growth rate had been constant for the past 10 years (at 0.5%) though it is expected to reduce to 0.2% by 2020. The total fertility rate has also been maintained at 1.5%, which is expected to increase to 1.6% by 2020. The crude birth rate has also been maintained for last 10 years at 12, which is expected to come down to 11 by 2020. The infant mortality rate has come down from 27 in 2001 to 17 in 2010 and is expected to be 13 by 2020. The net migration remains at constant of -0%. The mid year population of United Kingdom has grown from 59,723 in 2001 to 61,285 in 2010, which is expected to further grow to 63,068 in 2020. The growth rate has been constant and is expected to be constant at 0.3%. The fertility rate has been maintained at 1.7% constantly over the last few years and is expected to be maintained. The crude birth rate is also at a constant of 11. The infant mortality rate has been maintained at 5 for last 10 years and is expected to be down to 4 by 2020. The migration rate is maintained at 2% constantly and is expected to be maintained. The mid year population here has steadily increased from 12,622 in 2001 to 14, 753 in 2010 and is expected to increase to 17, 601 in 2020. The growth rate has been maintained at 1.8% for the last 10 years but is expected to be low by 2020 to 1.6%. The fertility rate has been reduced by 0.6% in past few

Violence in the public schools Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Violence in the public schools - Research Paper Example Other forms of violence such as assault with or without weapons, theft, kicking, biting, and gang violence can lead to serious injury and to some extreme cases death (McCluskey 75-77). The public schools teachers have rated the following as the most common disciplinary problems in public schools. They consist of; talking out of turn, making noise, violations of the dress code, littering, drug and alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, and assault. This is because socialization in the public schools is often violent and cruel. Bullying, peer pressure, sexual tensions, racial cliques, and the competition for the approval of the teacher often create a stressful and violent environment. Cameron (57-59) reported that bullying can actually leave anyone feeling angry, frightened, depressed, and totally undermined. The children’s acts of bullying crop up because the bullies have a biased concept that the bully acts are justified According to Snell and Volokh (45-6) assert that the risk factors that contribute to violent behavior is attributed to the following: poverty which typically lays a foundation of discontent and anger; illegitimacy and breakdown of families, which often lead children to seek for stability and caring environments of gangs. They act violently during periods of unsupervised time. Moreover, the constantly shifting school demographics often reflect huge upheavals as communities undergo changes in economic well being, size, and racial and ethnic mix can impact negatively on the behavior of the youth. Next is that some of the children are subjected to neglect, sexual, and substance abuse by their parents making them to develop negative violent behavior pattern Another factor is societal violence rates and the juvenile violence rates. This makes the children to be affiliated to certain subcultures in the society. The subcultures decision to affiliate and

Computer security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Computer security - Essay Example Software licensing refers to all legal measures that govern the dispersion of software. The licensing is undertaken to help protect and prevent the computers information and data from loss and fraud. Computer software licensing is essential in preventing the loss of data and thus should be an area of great concern. In addition, computer licensing is vital for the protection of others work from those who would want to benefit from it without undergoing the costs. Coming up with a software involves a lot to do with the brain, and it would be unfair if someone would just enjoy the use of such without paying for the same. Using this approach, we would say that computer licensing may or may not be antisocial. Software licensing is antisocial given the fact that it can terribly damage social cohesion. A proposal to permit only one individual or only a group to use the program, while locking out the others, is divisive and should be unacceptable in a social community (Stallman 2010). Software is used to share information among others, but if they are licensed, then only a few people can get the rights to use them. As a result, the licensing of this software prevents information sharing that is largely reclusive. Software engineers and developers are also of the idea that personalities that do not exist in their inner cycles ought not to benefit from their hard earned sweat, and this further divides the society (Stallman 2010). Therefore, computer licensing in the computer savvy world is not so conducive for the development of a social setting in as much as computers are necessary. Yes, it is ethical and widely acknowledged learning the solutions to computer problems. People should be trained and taught about the computer problems so as to know what it is they should anticipate when using the devices (Tompsett 2009). Similarly,

Health & Safety in the Nursing Home Industry Assignment

Health & Safety in the Nursing Home Industry - Assignment Example However, concentrating on work activities and categories with high incidences of nonfatal injuries, then healthcare is by far the most injury prone industry where work-related injuries occur. Further, the work-related injuries are also highest among the CNAs working at homes, a category of health professionals that are among the lowest paid professionals (Melnyk&Fineout-Overholt, 2011). Startling facts indeed, which various reports and survey evidence that incidences of non-fatal injuries are highest in the nursing assistants’ category working in the home care services. Thus, the course of this dissertation explores various elements associated with the subject of work-related injuries among the CNAs while reiterating the importance of the unit of nursing home care within the health provision services. The established recent findings from publicized health reports indicate that at least 60% of the certified nursing assistants working in the home nursing care incur the occupational injuries (Rice, 2013). These injuries are vast, ranging from back injuries to cuts as well as, human bites, lack eyes among many other injuries. Further, the cause of these studies reflects nursing assistants were working in the home care capacity often experience higher rates of violence from the very people they seek to help. For instance, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reflects that at least 12 percent of the CNAs sustain human bite wound or worse injuries, particularly for nurses assisting people with dementia among other critical health conditions (Rice, 2013). Certification of the care programs recognizes the significant impact that CNAs facilitate in caring for the patients.  

Does 'free trade' advance or retard development in poor countries Essay

Does 'free trade' advance or retard development in poor countries - Essay Example The following paper evaluates the effectiveness of the free trade policies as far as the betterment of the poor nations is concerned. It analyses the arguments in favor and against of free trade with references of the development of the developing nations or the poor trading partner in the equation. Free trade has become one of the debated topics around the economic world. The terminologies of globalization, free trade, liberalization, socialization are also discussed in this paradigm. Before the actual argument can be established, it is imperative to understand the different terms and concepts that can have an impact on the argument itself. As the name suggests, globalisation refers to strengthening relationship between organisations, governments and individuals across geographical horizons. The term is generally used to regard economic globalisation. Economic globalisation can be explained as: increasing economic activities across the globe, through distribution of products or services by reducing international trade barriers. International trade barriers are placed by countries for various reasons. Some strong reasons could be to stipulate the use of local products, not compromising taxes, fear of rise in un-employments, pressure in maintaining budgets and dilution of long held customs and culture. Trade barriers can be tariff, import quotas, exchange rates, conflicting cultures and export fees etc. A dramatic increase in the process has been witnessed in the last decade. Technology has reduced the communication gaps between geographies. Travelling across national borders has been made easier and as a result doing business internationally has lesser complications in the modern age. The introduction and implementation of International Accounting Standards (IAS’s) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS’s) has made comparisons between organisations appropriate. Comparable and understandable flow of

MT140 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

MT140 - Assignment Example In the same way, they also correspond to the goals of an organization such that Strategic Planning represents long-term goals that may span from more than 3 years and up to 7 years, then Tactical Planning represents mid-term goals that is between 1 to 3 years, while Operational Planning represents the short-term goals which includes the day-to-day planning or the execution phase that could be around a year or less. In this stage, it was also stated that a mission or a policy usually goes from top to bottom but there are instances when it may go from bottom up because of instances where middle or operational management is able to see something relative to the company operations. The SWOT analysis was also discussed where it was pointed out that Strengths and Weaknesses are those that are internal to the organization while Opportunities and Threats are external to the organization. This tool in management is important so that one may be able to accurately evaluate the environment of the company and realize where it is yielding the best results but also looking at its potentials despite the dangers posed by other factors that may be beyond its

An overview of prevailing trend of Chinese hotel joining hotel chains Essay

An overview of prevailing trend of Chinese hotel joining hotel chains - Essay Example With the exposure to the foreign markets most of the single hotels are adopting the trend of joining the chains in order to get the advanced facilities with continuous renovation and updation. "Increasingly the chains are offering a better and better selection of services and products from around the world, which is rapidly exposing the Chinese consumers to products that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to sample." (Tibbits, 2003) "The growth of China's inbound tourism market appears to have matched its economic growth and has consistently outstripped the world wide average. Between 1990 and 2000, international visitor arrivals to China increased by an average of 11.8% pa, while global tourism grew by a modest 4.3% pa. During 2001, the disparity was magnified. In the face of a global decline of 1.3%, international visitor arrivals to China increased by 6.7% to reach 89.0 million. This growth continued into the first six months of 2002, with international arrivals increasing by 9.4% over the six months to June 2001. The World Tourist Organisation recently announced that China was set to overtake Italy, US, Spain and France and become the top destination by 2020, attracting 130 million international visitors" (Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, October 2002) Most of the hotels in China are undergoing the process of management improvement. The new techniques of planning by objectives and improved decision making are being implemented by following the lines of the foreign hotels in order to achieve the competitive edge among the industry participants. Another trend, which is gaining popularity in the industry, is the collaborative projects and ventures of the domestic and foreign hotels proving fruitful for both. The foreign personnel trains the trains the domestic employees about the modern techniques on the other hand the local hotel facilitates environmental and legal adjustments of the foreign hotels in the market. The Chinese regulatory bodies have opened the hospitality industry for the foreign hotels but restricted them to the level of 3 star hotels in order to save the domestic hotels having weak position (Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, October 2002). But with encouraging the foreign hotels to support the domestic hotels the Government has taken cautious measures to limit the role of the foreign hotels to effect the tourism market of the country. Most of the Chinese single hotels are joining into hotel chains in order to undertake better development and provision of strong financial back up in order to respond to the competition posed by the foreign hotels laced with most advanced facilities management and booking system. Most of the single hotels need to undertake strong and aggressive strategic steps to keep themselves present in the market. This surge of drastic steps forces them to affiliate with the foreign large hotel chain such as Six continents, which are the symbol of aggressive and effective strategies. The adoption of the pattern of joining the hotel chain by the single hotels in China has lead to the domination of the large international hotel chain domination in the

Beauty and the self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Beauty and the self - Essay Example With these characteristics, a woman will always be â€Å"beautiful, whole, and free† (Walker 255), no matter what physical imperfections she may have. The beauty of a woman is multi-dimensional, combining the tradition aesthetic notions of attractiveness and inner self-realization with a soul pursuing her most innermost desires and dream in life. Beauty is a complex word with numerous, often conflicting, definitions. When connected to inner beauty, however, it results in a process of actualizing one’s identity by realizing one’s value. Walker first emphasizes the outer beauty. For the photographer, this is the beauty of what a photo can capture and for the artist; it is the beauty that can only be seen by the eyes when a picture is drawn. For the writer, just like most women, regardless of her age or ethnicity, to be beautiful is one of most important aspects of her life. After being blinded at a young age, Walker was so depressed about her eye, not because of her loss of vision, but because of the perceived blemish to her beauty. She was not strong enough to accept the fact that she was no longer the â€Å"cutest thing† in â€Å"biscuit-polished paten-leather shoes and lavender socks, tossing [her] head in a way that makers [her] ribbons bounce†, but instead the girl with â€Å"a glob of whitish scar tissue, a hideous cataract on [her] eye† (Walker 251, 253). She â€Å"[did] not pray for sight,† she â€Å"[prayed] for beauty† (Walker 254). She became lost inside herself. She did not find her true identity at first because she thought that her identity, or the ‘self’, was defined by how she looked. The relationship between the ‘self’ and beauty cannot be described without being conscious of one’s weaknesses and strengths. For a long time, Walker only saw her own weaknesses and used that as a basis for defining the roots

Philosophy as Metaphysics Essay Example for Free

Philosophy as Metaphysics Essay ABSTRACT: Philosophy works with special types of objects: the totalities. The basic characteristics of this type of object are their metaphysical, transcendental, and total character. The character of these objects determines the specificity of language and the methods of philosophy. The language of philosophy represents symbolic language; speculation is the basic method of philosophy. On the one hand, objects of this type emphasis homo sapien as essences capable of constructing such objects, which in turn assumes the ability of human consciousness to make synthetic acts. On the basis of philosophy as metaphysics, an original approach is offered which divides the history of philosophy into periods as well as providing analysis of different philosophical systems. Feature of philosophical activity, as against a science, is the work with special, not physical objects — the totalities, which are constituted by the philosopher. One of such objects is the world, and, in this sense, we often say, that philosophy is a wel-tanschauung (world-outlook) . Certainly, the world as some set of things can be studied by physics (sciences in a broad sense), but in this case a researcher can miss the point that the world is a totality, not just a simple set of things. As distinct from scientific study the philosophy takes its objects as the totalities, which the subject of knowledge cannot study as ordinary objects, because the including the learning subject character of these the totalities excludes any standard scientific approach to knowledge in principle. Others examples of the above mentioned objects (the totalities) are Ego and God. Objects of this type (with some reservations) are a lot of human being phenomena, such as love, virtue, conscience, courage, bravery, understanding and so on. All these objects are those, that the precise fixing of objective criteria of their existence is impossible, it is impossible to create the high-grade theory of these phenomena (for example, theory of love or bravery), as they assume not only objective Contemplator (as it occurs in case of objects of scientific knowledge), but also postulate the Actor inside them, that causes essentially twinkling way of them being. (2) Exactly the character of these objects determined essential features of the philosophizing as metaphysical activity. The underlining of metaphysical character of philosophy objects dictates the special procedures of work with them, distinct from of methods of scientific knowledge. Metaphysical objects — constructs cannot be given in frameworks of physical experience; the study — constructing of these objects occurs by a way of thinking means, procedures of speculation. That is why the one of the most typical mistakes in the researching of these objects is procedures of naturalization metaphysical objects, i. e. consideration of natural (physical) analogs of these objects. For example, instead of work with the world (the world as totality) we consider the world as some sets of physical, chemical, biological etc. objects, and instead of the analysis of phenomenon of consciousness proper as metaphysical object the natural analog of consciousness — brain or mentality of the particular human being, we examine. Specifying the status of these objects, it is possible to tell, that the subject of the philosophy activity are metaphysical-transcendental objects, i. e. objects having the boundary status of their existence. The boundary character of these objects allows to specify Kantian distinction sensible phenomena and transcendent things in itself. Moreover, metaphysical-transcendental objects are located on border of other known distinctions of classical philosophy. (3) They are, for example, not subjective and not objective, not conscious and not material. It is interesting in this respect appearance of the first proper philosophical category of being, which, in fact, was entered Parmenid`s as boundary metaphysical-transcendental object being-thinking (in this case, alongside with Parmenid`s postulating his first thesis, entering a category of being, presence of the second his thesis, establishing the coincidence of an entered category of being with another category — the category of thinking). In some sense, metaphysical-transcendental objects are Husserl`s phenomenal, from which as a result of procedures of objectivizing and (or) subjectivizing the subjects and objects can be received, i. e. is entered subjective-objective distinction of New time. On the other hand, the boundary character of these objects allows still to work with them ( I specially avoid the term to learn, as far as these procedures are applied only for work with usual objects). Above this mode of working with them was named as speculation, which, as a result, the construction of these objects to occur by a way of thinking means. The creation such thinking construct is caused by that the person aspires to understand mode of functioning of the totalities, which surround him. And just this phenomenon of surprise before presence of such totalities is a beginning and basic nerve of philosophy. In this sense, philosophizing is possible only as an act of work of the beings, capable to postulate these totalities, due to synthetic acts (Kant), as being, perceiving the environmental world not in itself, but by means of symbolical function (Cassirer), through a prism of the transformed forms (Marx, Mamardaschvili). Another important characteristic of metaphysical objects is their total-making nature. It means, that the purpose of designing such objects is the attempt of understanding of some phenomenon of totality (for example, the world as whole, totality) in light of a question how (why) this phenomenon is possible?. The answer to this question assumes revealing mechanism of existence of this phenomenon. That is why it is important for the philosopher not to know some common aspect, that is allowed at a level of the primary, superficial description of it and other similar objects, but to know general (total) principle of functioning of objects of this type. For example, if a row of the plane polygons is given to us, a triangle(4) will act as general principle of this variety, because all others plane polygons can be given with the help of a triangle. Thus, philosophical constructs act as transcendental condition of seeing of other physical objects. That the phenomenon of seeing of a house was possible as some totality, it is necessary to postulate a row of transcendental conditions of this phenomenon, among them we can allocate necessity being of the house (Parmenid), recognition (and taking shape) this being by means of idea of home (Plato), fixing the house as an object of perception by some subject (Decartes) within spatial-temporary a priory forms of sensuality (Kant). On the other hand, a row of such philosophical constructs define a horizon, a way of seeing of subjects (Wittgenstein), associated with a certain epoch. For example, the mentioned above transcendental conditions of a phenomenon of seeing of a house define a way of seeing of subjects within the framework of classical philosophy. In this sense these constructs act as total-necessary cultural machines, that set the cultural way of living activity of the person and made imperceptible but essential background of his existence. For example, when a modern man looks at star sky, he sees not simply separate stars, but constellations — and it is impossible to explain to a person from other culture (and the more so, being, which is not having ability to the synthetic acts). Moreover, developing this example with constructing of constellations, it is possible to tell, that exactly it has made possible occurrence of such activity as an astrology. The above mentioned metaphysical character of philosophy objects causes the specification of the language and methods philosophizing. The language of philosophy has not signal, but symbolical character. Lets stop on it hardly more in detail. Already science differs from the common sense description, because it uses some abstraction, ideal elements, which, in a common case, it is impossible to compare any certain objects of the physical validity. For example, as D. Gilbert says, in mathematics, those are language fictions, and one of the main problems of a substantiation of mathematics is either an exception these fictions, or imposing some certain restrictions — all that prevent the appearance of negative consequences, while using language fictions. Any language works with signs, besides that, any theory deals with mentioned language fictions (=  «symbols »), i. e. such kinds of signs, with which nothing corresponds in sensible reality. For example, in physics has concepts a material point, an absolutely black body, etc. They are often called as abstract — ideal objects, which turn out by a way of abstraction (idealization) from any properties of real physical objects. But in physics there are and more fictitious objects: cwarcks, for example, which not only is evident not imagine, but also until last time have acted only as theoretical constructs essentially of unobservable nature. In this case we can postulate a metaphysical mode of existence for these objects. It is important to emphasize, that these metaphysical objects do not exist in the same sense, as it is for the particular objects of a physical reality, such as table, chair,etc. The majority of the philosophy terms, its categorical apparatus have such symbolical character. It is impossible to give any referents of philosophical categories inside a physical reality. We can take as an example of such philosophical categories as being, consciousness etc. , for which we can somehow find certain physical analogues (for example, for a philosophical category  «being  » such analogue is the category  «substance » or matter). But there are more humanitarian objects connected with some features of a human being way, for which in general there are no analogues in a nature. These are, for example, concepts virtue, conscience, love, debt, bravery This specification of the philosophy language, which symbols indicate an existence of a special metaphysical dimension of a reality could be expressed by Kantian exclamation Excuse me, but it is not, what I speak about (mean)! in reply to German poet Schiller`s misunderstanding his categorical imperative. The metaphysical character of the categorical philosophical apparatus predetermines also specification of philosophical reasoning. The postulated non-sense character of perception of objects of the filosophizing assumes the special procedures of work, which were above characterized as a procedure of speculation. The main difficulty thus — is absence of a support on sensible analogy, which often helps us in daily life. The structure a reasoning about pure being (or conscience) is principle different from the reasoning about a tree, or a sex, or other objects of the physical world. Danger, which here waits us — influence of our vital experience, influence sensible hooks, which can destroy the ability for the reflex and philosophical analysis. To explain the idea about involuntary influence ours sensible apparatus, M. Mamardaschvili in the lectures about M. Proust, used as an example biblical commandment when they beat you on the one cheek — put another one as a vivid example of inhibition (Husserl`s  «phenomenological reduction ») of a standard human reaction (reflex), imposed to us by sense-figurative thinking (if somebody hearts you — reply with the same). Moreover, it is possible, that some other logic operates in area of speculative objects, distinct from usual, earthly logic. In particular, according to opinion of the Russian philosopher and the logic N. A. Vasiljev, validity of the logic law of excluded third, has purely earthly an origin and it is connected with primacy, after Aristotle, of individual existing things. (5) If we, following Plato, consider classes of subjects as primary (for instance, subject a class of tables), the law of excluded third will be incorrect, as the table as one of set of subjects of a class of tables can be simultaneously both white and non-white (in instance, green). Of course, here it is necessary to realize, that the opposite properties are attributed to the different individuals of primary subject — different things of the same class). The transfer of the point of view from single objects to classes of objects has allowed N. Vasiljev to formulate imagined logic with the law of excluded fourth. This logic in anything does not concede on its parameters to our habitual logic with the law of excluded third, but expands opportunities of our thinking. Within the framework of this logic the paradoxical coincidence between maximum and minimum, revealed Nikolaj from Kuza, does not cause surprise. The only acceptable procedure for understanding of philosophical categories within of some philosophical framework is the correlation of the different speculative (metaphysics) objects with the help of a method language game.

The Precast Concrete Piles Engineering Essay

The Precast Concrete Piles Engineering Essay 2.1 introduction 2.1.1 Introduction of pile Piles are the very common elements in a foundation. Pile foundation have the function that transfer loads from superstructure through through water or through the weak compressible strata, onto rock, less compressible soils or onto stiffer. This type of foundation need to carry uplift loads when it is used to support tall structures. Not only that, it is also to overturning the forces from winds or waves. Thus, piles used in marine structures are also the subjected to lateral loads from the waves and impact of berthing ships. The combinations of horizontal and vertical loads are to carry where the piles are used to support, bridge piers and abutments, retaining walls and machinery foundations. In the late of nineteenth years, reinforced concrete was developed as a structural medium. This is the replacement of timber for high-capacity piling of works into soil on land. This can be precast in structural forms and also suitable for ground conditions and the imposed loading. The durability of pile was satisfactory for immersion conditions and most of the soil. Replacement of the driven of precast concrete of cast in-situ piles had due to most of the development of highly efficient machines. This is for drilling pile boreholes of rock conditions, great depth in wide range of soil and the large diameter of pile than to other deficiency in performance of the precast concrete element. Steel is used to increase when extension for pile due to ability to withstand hard driving, handling, to its ease of fabrication. The corrosion problem in marine structures have had solved by the introduction of cathode protection and durable coatings.(Michael Tomlinson, 2008) 2.1.2 Type of pile 2.1.2.3 displacement piles Precast concrete pile Precast concrete piles have their principal use in marine and river structures, i.e. in situations where the use of driven and cast-in-place piles is impracticable or uneconomical. For land structures unjoint precast concrete piles are frequently more costly than driven and casting- place types for two main reasons: 1. Reinforcement must be provided in the precast concrete pile to withstand the bending and tensile stresses which occur during handling and driving. Once the pile is in the ground, and if mainly compressive loads are carried, the majority of this steel is redundant. 2. The precast concrete pile is not readily cut down or extended to suit variations in the level of the bearing stratum to which the piles are driven. However, there are many situations for land structures where the precast concrete pile can be more economical. Where large numbers of piles are to be installed in easy driving conditions the savings in cost due to the rapidity of driving achieved may outweigh the cost of the heavier reinforcing steel necessary. Reinforcement may be needed in any case to resist bending stresses due to lateral loads or tensile stresses from uplift loads. Where high-capacity piles are to be driven to a hard stratum, savings in the overall quantity of concrete compared with cast-in-place piles can be achieved since higher working stresses can be used. Where piles are to be driven in sulphate-bearing ground or into aggressive industrial waste materials, the provision of sound high-quality dense concrete is ensured. The problem of varying the length of the pile can be overcome by adopting a jointed type. From the above remarks it can be seen that there is still quite a wide range of employment for the precast concrete pile, particularly for projects where the costs of establishing a precasting yard can be spread over a large number of piles. The piles can be designed and manufactured in ordinary reinforced concrete, or in the form of pre-tensioned or post-tensioned prestressed concrete members. The ordinary reinforced concrete pile is likely to be preferred for a project requiring a fairly small number of piles, where the cost of establishing a production line for prestressing work on site is not justifiable and where the site is too far from an established factory to allow the economical transportation of prestressed units from the factory to the site. Precast concrete piles in ordinary reinforced concrete are usually square or hexagonal and of solid cross-section for units of short or moderate length, but for saving weight long piles are usually manufactured with a hollow interior in hexagonal, octagonal, or circular sections. The interiors of the piles can be filled with concrete after driving. This is necessary to avoid bursting where piles are exposed to severe frost action. Alternatively, drainage holes can be provided to prevent water from accumulating in the hollow interior. To avoid excessive flexibility while handling and driving the usual maximum lengths of square section piles, and the range of working loads applicable to each size are shown in table 2.1 . Where piles are designed to carry the applied loads mainly in end-bearing, for example, piles driven through soft clays into medium-dense or dense sands, economies in concrete and reductions in weight for handling can be achieved by providing the piles with an enlarged toe. This is practised widely in the Netherlands where the standard enlargements are 1.5 to 2.5 times the shaft width with a length equal to or greater than the width of the enlargement. Table 2.1 Working loads and maximum lengths for ordinary precast concrete piles of square section Jointed precast concrete piles The disadvantages of having to adjust the lengths of precast concrete piles either by cutting off the surplus or casting on additional lengths to accommodate variations in the depth to a hard bearing stratum will be evident. These drawbacks can be overcome by employing jointed piles in which the adjustments in length can be made by adding or taking away short lengths of pile which are jointed to each other by devices capable of developing the same bending and tensile resistance as the main body of the pile. BS EN 12794 defines pile joints in four classes, Class A to Class D, depending on whether the pile is used in compression, tension, or bending and the impact load test to be applied to verify the static design calculations. If the pile joint satisfies the impact and bending tests then the ultimate capacity of the joint is identical to the calculated static bearing capacity. Annex ZA to this standard deals with the CE marking of foundation pile units and the presumption of fitness for the intended use. The Hercules pile, originally developed in Sweden, is available in the UK from Stent Foundations Ltd in two square sizes with standard lengths of 6.1, 9.2, and 12.2 m, and properties as shown in Table 2.6. C45/55 concrete is normally used. The precast concrete units are locked together by a steel bayonet-type joint to obtain the required bending and tensile resistance and a rock shoe incorporating an Oslo point seating pile into hard rock. A length is chosen for the initial driving which is judged to be suitable for the shallowest predicted penetration in a given area. Additional lengths are locked on if deeper penetrations are necessary, or if very deep penetrations requiring multiples of the standard lengths are necessary. Other types of jointed precast concrete piles include the Centrum pile manufactured and installed by Aarslef Piling in the UK using C40/50 concrete and rigid welded reinforcement cages in varying lengths from 4 to 18 m in square sections from 200 to 600 mm. Lengths greater than 4 m for the 200 and 250 mm sections can be jointed using a single locking pin driven horizontally into locking rings in the joint box (four locking pins for the larger sections), which are designed to provide a degree of pre-tensioning to the typical locking pin joint. Depending on the length, section, and joint used and the ground conditions, working loads up to 1200 kN in compression and 180 kN in tension are possible. RB precast square concrete piles made and installed by Roger Bullivant Ltd are available in four sizes with working load capabilities (depending on ground conditions) from 200 kN for the nominal 150 mm square section to 1200 kN for the 355 mm square pile, in lengths of 1.5, 3, and 4 m. The standard joint for the limited tensile and bending capability is a simple spigot and socket type bonded with epoxy resin with each pile length bedded on a sand/cement mortar. Special joints and pile reinforcement can be provided as needed to resist bending moments and tension forces. Precast concrete piles which consist of units joined together by simple steel end plates with welded butt joints are not always suitable for hard driving conditions, or for driving on to a sloping hard rock surface. Welds made in exposed site conditions with the units held in the leaders of a piling frame may not always be sound. If the welds break due to tension waves set up during driving or to bending caused by any deviation from alignment, the pile may break up into separate units with a complete loss of bearing capacity. This type of damage can occur with keyed or locked joints when the piles are driven heavily, for example, to break through thin layers of dense gravel. The design of the joint is, in fact, a critical factor in the successful employment of these piles, and tests to check bending, tension, and compression capabilities should be carried out for particular applications. However, even joints made from steel castings require accurate contact surfaces to ensure that st ress concentrations are not transferred to the concrete. The Presscore pile developed and installed by Abbey Pynford plc is a jointed precast concrete pile consisting of short units which are jacked into the soil. The concrete in the pile units and precast pile cap is 60 N/mm2 and a reinforcing bar can be placed through the centre of the units of Presscore pile. On reaching the required bearing depth the annulus around the pile is grouted through ports in the units. The use of jacked-in piles for underpinning work is described in Chapter 9. A high strength cylindrical precast pile, 155 mm diameter and 1m long, was developed in Canada for underpinning a 90-year-old building in Regina. The segments were cast using steel fibre reinforced concrete with a 28-day compressive strength of 90 N/mm2 and steel fibre content of 40 kg/m3. Each segment was reinforced with four steel wires (9 mm) welded to a steel wire circumferential coil. Recesses were provided at each end of the segment and stainless steel rods connected each segment to form the joint. Hydraulic jacks with a capacity of 680 kN reacted against a new pile cap and as each segment was jacked down the next segment was screwed and tensioned onto the connecting rod. The required 600 kN pile capacity was achieved at depths ranging from 11 to 13 m. Table 2.2Dimensions and properties of square section Hercules piles as manufactured Driven and cast-in-place displacement piles In the Cementation Foundations Skanska version of the withdrawal tube pile, the heavy wall section tube has its lower end closed by an expendable steel plate or shoe and is driven from the top by a five-tone hydraulic hammer. On reaching the required to level, as predetermined by calculation or as determined by measurements of driving resistance, the hammer is lifted off and a reinforcing cage is lowered down the full length of the tube. A highly workable self-compacting concrete is then placed in the tube through a hopper, followed by raising the tube by a hoist rope operated from the pile frame. The tube may be filled completely with concrete before it is lifted or it may be lifted in stages depending on the risks of the concrete jamming in the tube. The length of the pile is limited by the ability of the rig to pull out the drive tube. This restricts the length to about 20 to 30 m. Pile diameters range from 285 to 525 mm with working loads up to 1500 kN. In a further variation of the Franki technique, the gravel plug (or dry concrete plug) can be hammered out at several intermediate stages of driving to form a shell of compact material around the pile shaft. This technique is used in very soft clays which are liable to squeeze inwards when withdrawing the tube. Composite Franki piles are formed by inserting a precast concrete pile or steel tube into the driving tube and anchoring it to the base concrete plug by light hammer blows. The drive tube is then withdrawn. A full-length reinforcing cage is always advisable in the driven and cast-in-place pile. It acts as a useful tell-tale against possible breaks in the integrity of the pile shaft caused by arching and lifting of the concrete as the tube is withdrawn. BS EN 12699 requires minimum reinforcement of 0.5% of the pile cross-section or four 12 mm diameter bars over the top 4 m of all such piles; with minimum cover of 50 mm where the casing is withdrawn, 75 mm where reinforcement is installed after concreting (or where subject to ground contaminants), and 40 mm where there is permanent lining. The problem of inward squeezing of soft clays and peats or of bulging of the shafts of piles from the pressure of fluid concrete in these soils is common to cast-in-place piles both of the driven and bored types. A method of overcoming this problem is to use a permanent light gauge steel lining tube to the pile shaft. However, great care is needed in withdrawing the drive tube to prevent the permanent liner being lifted with the tube. Even a small amount of lifting can cause transverse cracks in the pile shaft of sufficient width to result in excessive settlement of the pile head under the working load. The problem is particularly difficult in long piles when the flexible lining tube tends to snake and jam in the drive tube. Also where piles are driven in large groups, ground heave can lift the lining tubes off their seating on the unlined portion of the shaft. Snaking and jamming of the permanent liner can be avoided by using spacers such as rings of sponge rubber. In most cases the annulus left outside the permanent liner after pulling the drive tube will not close up. Hence, there will be no frictional resistance available on the lined portion. This can be advantageous because drag down forces in the zone of highly compressible soils and fill materials will be greatly reduced. However, the ability of the pile shaft to carry the working load as a column without lateral support below the pile cap should be checked. Allowable stresses on the shafts of these piles are influenced by the need to use easily workable self-compacting mixes with a slump in the range of 130 to 180 mm and to make allowances for possible imperfections in the concrete placed in unseen conditions. BS EN 12699 for driven displacement piles requires the rules on the concreting of bored piles using self-compacting concrete as recommended in BS EN 1536 to apply to all cast-in-place displacement piles unless otherwise specified. BS 8004 limits the working stress to 25% of the 28-day cube strengths, but BS EN 12699 specifies concrete strength classes of C20/25 to C30/37 which are 25% stronger than the cube strengths usually adopted in the UK under BS 8004, that is, a range of 20-30 N/mm2. EC2-1-1 Clause 3 refers to characteristic cylinder strengths for the determination of design compressive strengths, and if the 25% limit is applied the allowable stresses range from 5 to 7.5 N/mm2 (i.e. similar to the BS 8004 limits, but for the stronger mixes). For these values, allowable loads for piles of various shaft diameters are as shown in the following table: The higher ranges in the above table should be adopted with caution, particularly in difficult ground conditions. Maximum working loads are as shown in the following table: The spacing of bars in the reinforcing cage should give ample space for the flow of concrete through them. Bars of 5 mm diameter in the form of a spiral or flat steel hoops used for lateral reinforcement should not be spaced at centres closer than 100 mm (80 mm when using 20 mm aggregate). Replacement piles Bored and cast-in-place piles In stable ground an unlined hole can be drilled by hand or mechanical auger. If reinforcement is required, a light cage is then placed in the hole, followed by the concrete. In loose or water-bearing soils and in broken rocks casing is needed to support the sides of the borehole, this casing being withdrawn during or after placing the concrete. In stiff to hard clays and in weak rocks an enlarged base can be formed to increase the end-bearing resistance of the piles. The enlargement is formed by a rotating expanding tool. Hand excavation is now uneconomic because of stringent statutory health and safety regulations, even in piles with a large shaft diameter. A sufficient cover of stable fine-grained soil must be left over the top of the enlargement in order to avoid a run of loose or weak soil into the unlined cavity. Bored piles drilled by hand auger are limited in diameter to about 355 mm and in depth to about 5 m. They can be used for light buildings such as dwelling houses, but even for these light structures hand methods are used only in situations where mechanical augers. The versatile, light cable percussion tripod rigs can bore piles up to 600 mm diameter 10 m deep with working loads up to 1200 kN in suitable ground conditions. Temporary casing can be driven to cut off unstable ground and reinforcement inserted prior to concreting. Bored piles drilled by mechanical spiral-plate or bucket augers or by grabbing rigs can drill piles with a shaft diameter up to 7.3 m. Standard plate auger boring tools for use with kelly bar rigs range from 600 to 3650 mm. Rigs with telescopic kelly bars can reach 70 m depth and 102 m exceptionally. Under-reaming tools can form enlarged bases in stable soils up to 7.3 m in diameter. Rotary drilling equipment consisting of drill heads with multiple rock roller bits have been manufactured for drilling shafts up to 8 m in diameter. In a stable dry bore, concreting is carried out from a hopper over the pile with a short length of pipe to direct flow into the centre of the reinforcement, ensuring that segregation does not occur. When concreting boreholes under flooded conditions or under stabilizing fluid a full length tremie pipe (6 times the maximum diameter of the aggregate or 150 mm diameter whichever is the greater) is essential. For reasons of economy and the need to develop shaft friction, it is the normal practice to withdraw the casing during or after placing the concrete. As in the case of driven and cast-in-place piles this procedure requires care and conscientious workmanship by the operatives in order to prevent the concrete being lifted by the casing, and resulting in voids in the shaft or inclusions of collapsed soil. Reinforcement is not always needed in bored and cast-in-place piles unless uplift loads are to be carried (uplift may occur due to the swelling and shrinkage of clays). Reinforcement may also be needed in the upper part of the shaft to withstand bending moments caused by any eccentricity in the application of the load, or by bending moments transmitted from the ground beams. However, it is often a wise precaution to use a full-length reinforcing cage in piles where temporary support by casing is required over the whole pile depth. The cage acts as a warning against the concrete lifting as the casing is extracted. The need to allow ample space between the bars for the flow of concrete is again emphasized. 2.2 Procedure of driving precast pile and cast in-situ pile. 2.2.1 Driving precast concrete piles A helmet for precast concrete piles are carefully centered on the pile, and the hammer position should be checked to ensure that it delivers a concentric blow. The hammer should preferably weigh not less than the pile. BS 8004 requires that the weight or power of the hammer should be sufficient to ensure a final penetration of about 5 mm per blow unless rock has been reached. Damage to the pile can be avoided by using the heaviest possible hammer and limiting the stroke. BS 8004 states that the stroke of a single-acting or drop hammer should be limited to 1.2 m and preferably to not more than 1 m. The Swedish piling code requires a drop hammer to weigh at least 3 tonne, except that 2-tonne hammers can be used for piles with a maximum length of 10 m and a maximum load of 450 kN, but a 4-tonne hammer should be used for long piles in compact materials. This code recommends that the drop of the hammer should be limited to 300 to 400 mm in soft or loose soils to avoid damage by tensile stresses. The drop should be limited to 300 mm when driving through compact granular soils. The driving of the piles should be carefully watched, and binding by toggle bolts due to the pile rotating or moving off line should be eased. The drop of the hammer should be reduced if cracking occurs, and if necessary the hammer should be changed for a heavier one. After the completion of driving the pile heads should be prepared for bonding into the pile caps. Hollow piles with a solid end may burst under the impact of the hammer if they become full of water, and holes should therefore be provided to drain off accumulated water. Where a soil plug is formed at the toe of an open-ended pile, water accumulation or arching of the soil within the pile may also result in bursting during driving. The installation of withdrawable-tube types of driven and cast-in-place piles

Environment Primary Factor That Influences Plant Growth Development Biology Essay

Environment Primary Factor That Influences Plant Growth Development Biology Essay Although there is no doubt that the world population grows up in more gradual way every year, demanding more food than any other time before, Environment is the primary factor that influences the plant growth and development and has also the greatest effect on the crop distribution on the earth. In this ten page report, the most important environmental factors that affect the crop growth and development namely light, water, temperature and carbon dioxide are covered, emphasizing their influences on crop productivity. Moreover light as the most environmental factor importance on crop production and productivity, all light quality, quantity and duration effect directly on crop yields, also in most cases plant reactions and processes are greatly influences by the temperature, plants key process affected by temperature is photosynthesis followed by germination, transpiration, respiration and flowering. However, crop temperature requirements in a specific physical, chemical or biochemical process varies from one spice to another resulting difference among crops in their geographical distribution. On the other hand, water and humidity play an important role for the crop productivity since most plants need 90% water content to grow effective and efficiency way until some crops like rice demand flooding the area to grow properly. In addition to the plant water needs, plants are number one consumers of carbon dioxide on the earth so as to synthesize food and energy. Each of these factors were discussed in this report emphasizing and giving more detailed look on their effect on crop productivity. Light Why solar energy is important to a successful plant growth, development and improvements to its yields? On the planet life is mostly solar-powered, sun is the only natural source of light energy, all the living organisms depend on the amount of light energy (solar radiation produced by the sun) harvested by green plants at any level of ecosystem, only few types of bacteria can derive the energy they require from sulfur and other inorganic chemical compounds or substances. Photosynthesis which is the process that the plants manufacture their food molecules from carbon dioxide and water by using the sun light, therefore the rate of duration of photosynthetic activities directly effects the amount of dry matter produced by the plant, and energy harvested as crop yields to transfer energy from primary producers to the other components of the ecosystem which are the consumers, so the ultimate source of food in the globe is the green plant, because plants have the ability to harvest and ut ilize the sun light manufacturing a usable food after three main consecutive processes during plants photosynthetic activities. Photosynthesis The management of that resources available to the production, that the crop requires to grow and develop and show its potential genetic characteristics as much as possible is a major factor that contribute the dramatic rise of the crop production, only organisms/plants that contain a certain pigment called chlorophyll which is the most abundant enzyme/protein on the earth are capable to utilize solar energy directly. It is therefore; light is an important factor to produce energy by the plants and the energy produced will be supplied to the different levels of the ecosystem. The light influence on the plant development and productivity can be discussed into three main categories. Quality of light The intensity of light and its concentration are what decide the quality of light; light densities differ from one season to another, countries that have three or four seasons, the largest amount of light is found in the summer season, where the least amounts are available in the winter, as the case is in many European countries, but areas like Malaysia the amount of light available throughout the year is almost the same, so the light intensity varieties depend on the geographical area, for example in Sub-Saharan Africa where the climate is desert, clouds and other sun light barriers are not found in the atmosphere, the sunlight density is very high. Not straying from the main point, the more light radiation that a plant harvests, the greater and the ore ability to manufacture food through photosynthetic processes even though this relationship will depend on the pathway group that a certain plan flows. From this interactions, the scientists specially those botanists, ecologists and physiologists realized the direct relationship the amount of light available to the plant and the crop productivity, that is why the greenhouse managers to fix artificial light sources to supply light their fields to create longer photoperiod in the greenhouse targeting more improvements to the final output, even though this strategy will negatively affect the cost of every unit produced under this system. However, they can easily manipulate the amount of light of the planned growth patterns to their plants. Quality of light Are there different light qualities? Light colors, which can be divided into bands of red, yellow, blue, orange, violet and indigo. The red and blue color lights that the plant can absorb have the biggest influence on crop growth, the blue light is primarily responsible to the leaf vegetative growth and the combination of red and blue lights encourage the flowering process. The solar rays produced by the sun, or what is normally known as wavelength of the light constitute the light quality, wavelengths that the sun sends to the earth ranges 250 7000 nanometers, these solar rays reaching the earth are divided into eight parts, only the visible radiation is called light, and the other which are Cosmic rays, Gamma rays, X-rays, Ultraviolet, Infrared, Microwaves and Radio waves are invisible. The visible solar rays or light is the small proportion of the range of wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation occurring somewhere between 400 and 735 nanometers. In other words the visible light is between Ultraviolet which are shorter waves than 390 nanometers and Infrared which are longer waves than 700 nanometers. Only 47% of the light produces by the sun is gained by the earth (P. Bannister 1978), where the other 53% part of it is absorbed by the atmosphere while other part is reflected by some barriers and finally gained by the space. Only 2% of that 47% o f the light that reaches the ground is used in the photosynthetic processes and about 10% is used different processes that occur in the plant. Duration of light Photoperiod or the duration of light is referred to how long of time the plant exposes to light, the flowering of many plant species is controlled by the photo duration, as a result that, the plant physiology experts tend to name and classify plants into short-day and long-day plants relating to under which condition do these crops flower. In contrast, the duration of uninterrupted darkness which presents a critical situation to the crop development and flowering process is the factor that show the importance of light duration not only the plants but also on farm animals specially poultry production therefore shorter darkness periods are encouraged. The amount of carbon dioxide fixed and assimilated by a specific plant is determined by the light density, because several situations can be seen when the plant is grown the area where the light intensity is not constant this is much explained in the plants light response curve, which shows light compensation point, plant light response area and plants light saturated period where any further increases of the light available to the plant will not result an increase in the amount of the carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere, meaning photosynthetic activities will peak t that point and all the enzymes involved to this process are active. From this concept, the ecologists realized some remarkable differences among the two main pant pathway groups C3 plants, C4plants. Because the carbon dioxide concentration is not the same in these pathways as soon as there are variations in amounts of light available (lower, neutral and higher) the different light amounts are available to the cro p, the growth, development and productivity are highly effected by the light factor. In addition to that, C4 plants showed higher net rate of photosynthesis as a result of light intensity increases than C3 plants. Even though at a very low light intensities C3 plants are more affective and efficiency than C4 plants because of their low compensation points, crops like corn and sorghum full sunlight for photosynthesis while tobacco can tolerate only partial sunlight. Water Water is the most component in the living cell, plants contain nearly 90% of water content , this high percentage enables us to understand the remarkable role of water on the crop growth and development, large quantities of agricultural output all over the world is heavily depend on different types of irrigation, over 1500 million hectares of agricultural land are irrigated every year, the continuously rise of the global temperature is seem to be the highest impact on the irrigated agriculture when considering water (hydrological) cycle. Water in a primary component in plant photosynthesis, the plant respiration, responsible to balance the pressure (turgor) in the plant cell, turgor is required to form the cell shape, tissue firmness and fullness, and ensure cell development. Also water is the place and the solvent where carbohydrates and minerals are transported from the soil and/or leaves to the other parts of the plant. Water treats as a cooling system to regulate the plant temperature specially on the leaf surface through a process called transpiration, water controls the stomata opening and closure, water provides a kind of power to encourage roots to penetrate the soil more in depth and this will enlarge the space that the crop can absorb the nutrients needed for growth and development. One more crucial role is that the water is the medium where biological reactions take place, also water is a component in the organic reactions, and it is used in the cell growth. Amount of water available in the plant compared the atmosphere water content (atmosphere humidity) is the limiting factor of crop photosynthesis, the ratio of the amount of water vapor available in the air to the volume of water that the air can keep at specific temperature and pressure is called relative humidity. Water vapor is the whenever a water molecule leaves from the surface of the ground, it is said to have  evaporated. Each individual water molecule which transitions between a more associated (liquid) and a less associated (vapor/gas) state does so through the absorption or release of kinetic energy. On the other hand, In the hot climate, wind and dry air conditions while there is a moisture stress or what scientifically called water deficit caused by the low water content, in this situation the stomata aperture is dramatically reduced and the photosynthetic reactions are weakened because the activeness and the effectiveness of the enzymes have a direct proportional relationship to the amount of water found from the s urrounding environment and inside the plant tissue and indirectly proportional to the temperature specially the extreme one. Temperature As said in the beginning temperature is important factor to the plant growth, development and yield, since it affects approximately most of the plant processes including germination, photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration and flowering. As the degree of temperature increases this will result an increase to the plant respiration and photosynthesis. Generally in temperate species, the increase in temperature about 10oC (18oF) will cause to the rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) assimilation approximately to double. Furthermore usually plants in the tropical areas require higher temperature degrees to perform successful photosynthetic processes to the possible maximum level that the plants in the temperate areas can generate. Usually, plants differ their temperature requirements for example radish, spinach and lettuce which are cold weather (season) crops germinate at 55oF 65oF best, where crops like petunia, lobelia and tomato which are hot climate crops germinate at about 65oF 75oF best. According to the level of the temperature, plant processes can speed up or slow down the period that each activity completes. For instance, the 18 months that the oil palm plants need to live in the nursery can be reduced to about 10 months when provided higher temperatures from artificial sources. Flowering however, experts in horticulture sometimes relate the length of the day to the temperature to manipulate flowering. For example the combination of short days with low temperature degrees helps cold-season plants to the set the flowers as the case in Christmas cactus, when the temperature levels are in their highest points and the days are in their longest hours the summer (cold-season) crops will bolt as in the case in spinach. In contrast, when the temperature is extremely cold, plants like tomato which is warm climate crops will set their fruits in unsuccessful manner. Temperature influence on biochemical plant processes Biochemical reactions of the plant are directly affected by the temperature through one or two principle functions, an exponentially dynamic increase to the rates of proceeding activities. And sometimes as the climate gets hotter more exponential delay will be experienced resulted by enzymes lost their naturalness. The most important and involved factor is the weather, it is not impossible to rise the quality of enzyme stability so as to avoid losses in their naturalness. The everyday changes on the temperature is called thermo-period the best crop growth occurs when the difference between the day and night temperatures is about 10 to 15o C. under this situation plant build up their food and break down the energy, higher temperatures than that required by the crops cause some crops to photo-respire and the amount of food manufactured by the photosynthesis will equalize the energy used to at that time and carbon dioxide CO2 assimilated will be zero meaning that the crop is in the state of light compensation point. Therefore food molecules synthesized from the photosynthetic activities must overweight the energy that the plant consumes otherwise the plant will grow poorly resulting drops in the ultimate yields. Higher temperatures and their long-term influences on the crop The chronic effects meet the crop growth and development when the temperature is getting higher every day the crop stress will become more serious because of the extreme hot weather. However C4 plants showed a higher net rate of photosynthesis than C3 plants when temperature levels at the surface of leaves were increased. In 1993 Kropff and his colloquies, found that 9% decrease of rice productivity were recorded for every 1o C increase of the temperature, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) coordinating with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), their second evaluation report in December 1995 forecasted that the temperature of the planet will rise about 2 5oC during 21st century and the sea level will grow up about 30 t0 100 cm more, and this higher sea levels can submerge many agricultural areas in the world, these weather conditions will negatively affect the food production in the globe. Carbon dioxide When crops are manufacturing their food through photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is the most component factor importance in that process, plants obtain CO2 from the air through the pore spaces on the surface of the leaf when open, CO2 flow in the plant tissue depends on the carbon dioxide concentration inside the plant and the plants surrounding atmosphere, the carbon dioxide molecules (substances) move inside the plant when the concentration inside is less density than its concentration outside and this is a physical process called diffusion. The carbon dioxide flow in the plant is controlled by the stomata then the pore spaces on the leaf surface are open, and the aperture of the stomata its turn depends on the amount of water available in the guard cells. Overview of carbon dioxide influence on plant growth and development Plants are divided into two main categories according to their response and their first stable product after the fixation of carbon dioxide. The first category is those species whose first stable products after the fixation of carbon dioxide is three carbon molecules and the plants under this group are called C3 plants or C3 pathway. The second group is the species that their first stable products after the fixation of carbon dioxide are four carbon molecules and plants in this group are called C4 plants or C4 pathway, also there are CAM plants, these plants have different character, because the plant here operate fixing carbon dioxide in dark, plants depend on the amount of carbon dioxide accumulated in the leaf in the night. The photosynthetic rates of the plant directly relate to the growing amounts of carbon dioxide until it reaches approximately 700 ÃŽ ¼ mol/mol or higher according to the plant type and other factors. Furthermore photosynthesis always develops with the rise of temperature to optimum levels and after specific maximum level the photosynthesis in C3 plants show decline, as a result of photorespiration process which takes place in the plant. As some scenarios of the world climate change mentions, a global worming is forecasted and that will increase the amount of carbon dioxide available in the atmosphere as well as other gases in the green house. Mean while the amount of rain in many places of the world may also experience changes, generally scientists believe that certain plant species will indicate yield increase especially in C3 plants (C3 pathway includes many important crops like wheat, rice, oats, soybean, pea, peanuts, sunflower and tomato) because of the CO2 increase. However, benefits of increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are limited, because stomata close and photosynthesis stops at CO2 concentrations higher than 0.15%. On the other hand, C4 plants which include coin, sorghum, sugarcane and millet and many other crops are more efficient in higher bright-nesses and higher temperatures than C3 plants even though the reverse is true when light intensity is very low. Soybean responses different amounts of CO2 As IPCC and FAO reported in their second assessment in December 1995, the amount of production harvested from soybean fields was generally increasing by the elevated CO2 levels Allen et al. (1987). The following table shows the percentage increases of soybean yield predicted across selected carbon dioxide concentration ranges associated with relevant benchmark points in time, adapted from Allen et al. (1987). Period of time (years) [CO2] midday Biomass photosynthesis Seed yield Initial Final (Nmd/mol) (% increase over initial [CO2]) IA 17001 200 270 38 33 1700 1973 270 330 19 16 1973 20732 330 660 50 41 1 IA, the ice age is about 13 000 to 30 000 years before present. The atmospheric CO2 concentration that prevailed during the last Ice Age, and from the end of the glacial melt until pre-pioneer/pre-industrial revolution times, were 200 and 270 ÃŽ ¼ mol/mol respectively. 2 The first world energy crises occurred in 1973 when the CO2 concentration was 330 ÃŽ ¼ mol/mol. This CO2 concentration is used as the basis for many CO2 doubling studies. The CO2 concentration is expected to double sometime within the 21st century. Conclusion Crop production and productivity entails the management of production resources, since the world population increases demanding more food and fiber the need of utilizing the sunlight energy, water, temperature and carbon dioxide is important since plants are the ultimate source of energy for all lives on the earth. We humans and other animals cannot utilize the solar energy, only organisms that contain chlorophyll are able, but we are capable to give more attention to the factors that affect photosynthesis. The management, conservation and protection of water, land and atmosphere are the most challenging issues to realize higher and stable crop yields. In the future, the main that the researchers discuss will be to identify and select plant species that have the ability to perform more photosynthesis and carbon dioxide assimilation for higher dry matter production. Also when more is understood from influences of the present climate changes on plant production and productivity, much money, time and effort should be invested to introduce cultivars that can adapt the environment biologically and systems to contribute the management of crop production to create more stable, sustainable and productive agricultural models.

Ritalin - The Wonder Drug Or The Monster Creator? Essay -- essays rese

`Why didn't the ADHD boy introduce his girlfriend to any of his friends? A) He can't remember her name; or better yet, How would they diagnose ADD in a chicken? A) It never gets all the way across the road because of all the distractions. You could say growing up was hard; everyday I had to endure cruel teeny bopping teenagers who didn’t understand my condition. What really made it hard was that I didn’t even understand my condition. Seven years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD or Attention Deficit/ Hyper- activity Disorder. In other words, my brain was like a light constantly going off and on at the worst possible times. As a form of treatment for ADHD, I was put on a controversial drug called Ritalin. At the age of sixteen, it was not really my choice whether I wanted to take a doctor’s prescription or not. Now that I have grown up a bit and understand things better, I am questioning the benefits of prescribing Ritalin to treat ADHD. My personal experience with Ritalin is mixed. I use it when I am in school and at work and it allows me to concentrate and focus on what I need to do. I use to be a troubled student. I use to have consent run-ins with the law. Things never came easy to me and far too often they never came at all. Ritalin was like putting on a pair of glasses worn by Superman. Suddenly everything became focused and organized. My schoolwork went form a category I will refer to as second-rate to a straight A student. I was no longer battling with myself to comprehend something. People who knew me as a child would never believe me as to what I have accomplished. That came at a price though, when I am taking Ritalin I drop about fifteen pounds and have constant nausea. I also feel it changes my personality making me a very bland person to talk to just like Al Gore. Last year I found myself in the hospital with what can be described as a mild heart attack because of Ritalin. Most of these side effects I ha ve been able to coupe with because the benefits have been so high. I do question if I could have gotten this far without it and if it was really worth it. On the other hand, According to a Time magazine article about the benefits of Ritalin, Ritalin even though its controversial, it seems to be the most effective way of treating ADHD. Lisa Horowitz of Brooklyn, says, "I was against the medication at first, like everybody else," Lisa was u... ...fails.html 08 Feb 1999. Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology. â€Å"Ritalin--Other Resources.† <a href="http://www.bregin.com/ritalin.html">http://www.bregin.com/ritalin.html 08 Feb 1999. CHADD. â€Å"A Disability Named ADD.† http://www.chadd.com/fact1-a.htm 06 Feb 1999. Diller, Dr. Lawrence H. â€Å"Running On Ritalin.† <a href="http://www.docdiller.com/html/running.htm">http://www.docdiller.com/html/running.htm 07 Feb 1999. Hallowell, Dr. Edward M. â€Å"Whats it like to have ADD.† 11 Feb 1999. <a href="http://www.add.org/content/abc/hallowell.htm">http://www.add.org/content/abc/hallowell.htm Long, Dr. Phillip W. â€Å"Methylphenidate .â€Å" 07 Feb 1999. <a href="http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-r03.html">http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-r03.html 08 Feb 1999. Mediconsult Limited. â€Å"Attention Deficit Disorder News.† 11 Feb 1999. <a href="http://www.mediconsult.com/add/news/">http://www.mediconsult.com/add/news/ 08 Feb 1999. Time Magazine. â€Å"When Pills Make Sense† 20 March 2000. <a href="http://www.www.time.com/time/magazine/articles">http://www.www.time.com/time/magazine/articles (20 March 2000)