William Shakespeare s Hamlet Prince Of Denmark

Hamlet Prince of Denmark is one of the key plays that gives the audience an insight into human character. William Shakespeare chooses to focus on the influence of people’s emotions on their actions, rather than their rationality. In the play, the melancholic Prince Hamlet, chooses to avenge his murdered father by killing his uncle who marries his mother and assumes the throne. Although the plot is simplistic, it shows how Hamlet undergoes considerable emotional stress before exacting his supposed revenge. Traditionally, audiences characterize Hamlet as a hero because of the sympathy that his situation attracts. However, a deeper analysis reveals Hamlet as a selfish and immature person whose death is necessary in order to bring†¦show more content†¦Horatio, or I do forget myself† (I.2.160), he implies that he spends considerable time in his head that he has almost forgotten the face of Horatio. Although the statement is an exaggeration, it paints Hamlet as a self-absorbed character who interacts with people in a rather impersonal sense. Given his conversation with his mother and Claudius in the second scene of the first act, Hamlet is only interested in interacting with people as an audience to his ideas. Hamlet’s self-indulgence contrasts with the simplicity and humanity demonstrated in Ophelia. Ophelia is disinterested in philosophical contemplation and her life is constructed externally through the love of people around her, especially Hamlet. Ophelia is uninfected with the pessimism of Hamlet and tries to see people as made up of goodness rather than corruption. In the beginning, although Ophelia is attracted to Hamlet, Polonius and Laertes warn her not to see Hamlet because they believe he is selfish. When Ophelia converses with Hamlet, Hamlet renounces that he never loved her in spite of the fact that he harbors a romantic attachment to the girl. The progression of the play makes the audience discern that Hamlet is using the girl as an outlet for his rage against his society. Hamlet is bound to distress Ophelia with his cynicism and the inability to appreciate love from the people around him. In the end, Hamlet causes so much

Campaign Essay - 2294 Words

‘Start Thinking Soldier’ Recruitment Campaign Contents Page Summary 1 * Aim * Message * Development Marketing communication techniques * Advertising 2-3 * Personal selling 4 * Public Relations 4 Success of the campaign 5 Improvements in the†¦show more content†¦The radio advertisement was broadcasted on the radio stations below: * BFBS Radio (UK) – This station broadcasts news tailored to the military community and is targeted at 16 overs. (BFBS,2009) * Local community radios (Scotland, Northern Ireland amp; England) – They cater for whole communities or for different areas of interest. I.e. it caters for young people, religious communities and Armed Forces. (Ofcom, no date) The radio advertisement for this campaign drove people to the website in order to turn their sound dimensions to a visual. This resulted in an increase of visitors to their website and attracted a wider audience. Print: Advertisements were published in the ‘Soldier’ magazine which was aimed primarily at junior ranks but also of interest to all ranks of the British Army and the wider military community. (Army, 2009) The print advertisements were designed explicitly to drive customers to their campaigns website where more information could be found. Advertisements in order: Girlfriend, Football and Kitten. (Advertolog, 2009) Viral Viral marketing utilises social networks to quite a large extent to create awareness and can be spread by word-of-mouth or through the internet. The campaign used this method to target 17-21 year olds by uploading a number of different video clips, including the Start ThinkingShow MoreRelatedEssay on Campaigns and Elections2217 Words   |  9 PagesCampaigns and Elections Political campaigns are very significant in American politics and elections. It is the period before the electorate makes political decisions in the form of elections. 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The First Presidential Debate in 2000 Free Essays

For the first time face to face the first debate of the 2000 presidential election was held at the campus of the University of Massachusetts. For ninety minutes last night, Democratic candidate Vice President Al Gore and Republican Candidate Governor of Texas George W. Bush battled one another over tax cuts, prescription drugs, Social Security, energy policy, abortion, and education. We will write a custom essay sample on The First Presidential Debate in 2000 or any similar topic only for you Order Now On issues such as tax cuts, the Vice President proposed a plan, which cut taxes for middle class families, balance budgets every year, and pay down the national debt. He accused the Governor of cutting taxes for only the wealthiest 1% of the population. Gore†s plan was for every $1 given to things like education and health, another $1 would be given for middle class tax cuts, and for every dollar spent there, $2 would be expended to bring down the national debt. Gore felt that it was important to resist squandering the budget surplus. He also felt the prosperity should be used to enrich families and help parents strengthen families, making sure the schools they attended were safe, and preventing exposure to â€Å"cultural pollution.† Governor Bush†s views on tax cuts differed. His proposal was to put one half towards Social Security, one fourth towards important projects and the remaining one fourth to the people who pay the bills. Also accusing Gore of â€Å"Medi Scare,† he said he would make sure all seniors have Medicare and a variety of options to choose from. He also proposed a plan, Immediate Helping Hand, in which seniors could get immediate healthcare if they needed it. Gore opposed his Medicare payment plan saying that it would fail to help seniors for the first four to five years and that Bush†s plan spends â€Å"more money on tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent, than all the spending he proposes for education, health care, prescription drugs and national defense combined.† He also had much to say about the energy crisis. He wants to explore local areas for gas and oil, thus reducing dependency upon foreign sources. Gore agreed that reliance overseas for oil should be reduced but had something else in mind to reduce it. He proposed the idea of new trucks, cars, and machinery that reduces pollution and uses less energy. Bush felt that we should, rather than import one million barrels of oil a day from Saddam Hussein, drill the oil here. He wants to also join Canada and Mexico in exploring the land for oil reserves. Out of all the comments that Bush made about Gore last night, the most prominent one probably was when he kept on asking why Gore†s priorities haven†t been accomplished by now. For example, on prescription drugs, he said, † It seems like they can†t get it done† And on energy policy to prevent future shortages he said,† He should have been tackling it for the past seven years.† Another would be when Gore did the math on Bush†s tax plan and demonstrated why it would not be a good decision, Bush replied that he was doing â€Å"fuzzy math.† and â€Å"phony numbers† They couldn†t even agree on the size of the tax cut. Bush said that he would return $1.3 trillion of the predicted ten-year budget surplus to taxpayers. Gore said it would be $600 billion more than that. How to cite The First Presidential Debate in 2000, Papers

My Two Brothers free essay sample

No two people are exactly alike, and my two older brothers, Thu Nguyen and Thang Nguyen, are no exceptions. When I think of them, I think of Rudyard Kipling’s words, â€Å"East is East. West is West. Never the twain shall meet. † Even though they have the same parents, their considerable differences in looks, personalities, and attitude toward life reflect the differences between Eastern and Western cultures. Like the majority of oriental men, Thu is short, small, and has a full moon-shaped face. His smooth white skin and small arms and feet make him look somewhat delicate. Thu always likes to wear formal, traditional clothes. For example, on great holidays or at family rice celebrations, Thu appears in the traditional black grown, white pants and black silky headband, all of which make him look like an early twentieth-century intellectual. In contrast to Thu, Thang looks more like an American boxer. He is tall, muscular and big-boned. We will write a custom essay sample on My Two Brothers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He is built straight as an arrow and his face is long and angular as a Western character. Unlike Thu, Thang has strong feet and arms, and whereas Thu has smooth skin, Thang’s shoulders and chest are hairy, large and full. Unlike Thu, Thang likes to wear comfortable T-shirts and jeans or sports clothes. At a formal occasion, instead of wearing traditional formal clothes, Thang wears stylish Western style suits. Thu and Thang also differ in personality. Thu has the smile of an ancient Chinese philosopher that western people can never understand. He always smiles. He smiles because he wants to make the other person happy or to make himself happy. He smiles whenever people speak to him, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. He smiles when he forgives people who have wronged him. Thu likes book, of course, and literature and philosophy. He likes to walk in the moonlight to think. Thu also enjoys drinking hot tea and singing verses. In short, in our family, Thu is the son who provides a good example of filial piety and tolerance. Thang, on the other hand, does not set a good example of traditional respectful behavior for his brothers and sisters. Unlike Thu, Thang only smiles when he is happy. When he talks to people, he looks at their faces. Because of this, my eldest brother Thu considers him very impolite. As one might expect, Thang does not like philosophy and literature; instead, he studies science and technology. Whereas Thu enjoys tea and classical verses, Thang prefers to take sun baths and drink whisky while he listens to rock and roll music. And like American youths, Thang is independent; in fact, he loves his independence more than he loves his family. He wants to move out of our house and live in an apartment by himself. He is such an individualist that all the members in my family say that he is selfish. My brothers’ differences do not end with looks and personalities. Concerning their attitudes toward life, they are as different as the moon and the sun. My eldest brother Thu is concerned with spiritual values. Besides Catholicism, he is affected by Confucian and Taoist theories. These theories consider that the human life is not happy. Therefore, if a man wants to be happy, he should get out of the competitiveness of life and should not depend on material objects. For example, if a man is not anxious to have a modern car, he does not have to worry about how to make money to buy one. My oldest brother is deeply affected by these theories, so he never tries hard to make money to buy conveniences. In contrast to Thu, my brother Thang believes that science and technology serve human beings. Therefore, each person must compete with nature and with other people in the world in order to acquire different conveniences, such as cars, digital devices, etc. Thang is affected by the western theories of real values; consequently he always works hard to make his own money to satisfy his material needs. In accordance with the morality of the cultural of my country, I cannot say which one of my brothers is wrong or right. But I do know that they both want to improve and maintain human life on this earth. I am very lucky to inherent both sources of thought from my two older brothers.

Why Credit Companies Target College Students

Introduction This paper discusses why credit card companies should not market to college students .The culture of spending has become an important shaper of societal approach towards money and is now a widespread way of life in colleges.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Why Credit Companies Target College Students? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In a bid to get more customers, the credit card companies target college students, and to do this, they employ assertive marketing techniques in order to attract students. College students have been raised in homes where money acquired through credit is used without inhibitions (Ritzer 1995).Since credit is available easily, students tend to overspend. College students now have easier access to credit than any earlier generations. However, the use of credit cards and the debts that is a consequence of cards have become an increasingly monetary threat to students. Todayâ €™s credit card companies are getting outrageously ridiculous with their marketing ideas and strategies. Many of their strategies are pointed towards people who are more likely to be irresponsible. The one strategy I would like to talk to you about and my opinion about it is credit card companies should not be on campus marketing to college students. Why credit companies target college students One point of view to this is that credit card companies target college students because many of them are young. Younger people are most likely naive and do not spend their money wisely. They would use a credit card for everything and maybe let the balance pile up and only pay the minimum. This would make the interest pile up and when they did pay their bill, most of the payment would be going towards the interest. This would be making the credit card companies more money. Another point of view would be that maybe credit card companies think that if people are smart enough to go to college that maybe they are really smart with their money and are completely in control of their financial status. Maybe the companies view it as a place to pick up some continuous valued customers. I got that point of view when I asked my mother to read what I was writing and that was her point of view! I do see her point of view as a valuable opinion and I enjoyed her criticism of the topic. But let me tell you some of the facts and things that I have learned while studying this argument.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In a report from trueCredit.com students graduate from collage while being indebted to credit companies for significant amounts This report further indicates that ten percent of undergraduates graduate with thousand of dollars as loans. After finishing your studies it’s a night mare for you to start thinking of paying debt to credit cards companies. It†™s more than enough for a twenty year old to think of how he will pay school loans, utilities and rent if he used them and how he will support himself in life. There will be bills to be paid every month and other additional debt, for example, car loan. That is already a lot of concerns that must handled by a young student. Prior to going to college, a student should employ some fundamental principles to avoid falling into the debt trap. These are some interesting facts I learned from an author named Latoya Irby. She was also interested in this argument. I learned a lot from her. Students who are in college are the main target of credit companies. This is so because of several rationales: They expect the credit accrued from the cards will be cleared by the student’s parents. Students face many years of clearing the debt. Companies go even further to give credit to students who have no security. For illustration, a student can have access to credit without any security being required. This proves that they are out for blood so to speak. They prey upon young people and try to get them hooked and sucked into the system. I think it is sad that this is allowed to go on, especially in a place where we go to better ourselves. Of all places a school is not a place that these types of things should be happening. Attitude of college students toward credit card usage The change of outlook towards money has become an essential means for the broadening of the college student’s consumer habits. Findings intimate that the resultant attitudes towards money: â€Å"power, prestige, distrust, and anxiety† (Yamauchi and Templer 1982) are linked to purchases that are compulsive, whereby the use of credit cards averages these correlations. Studies entailing a wide range of adult consumers revealed that approximately 1%-6% fall under the category of buyers that are compulsive. When Faber and O’Guinn’s (1992) â€Å"clinical screener for compulsi ve buying† is used to examine the respondents, 6% of questioned college students are deemed to use money for purchases out of compulsion. As a result, the indicators point to the need for an enhanced comprehension of the attitude towards making purchases of college students. Some factors, that include: psychological and socio-economic influences are the main contributors of the attitudes towards the use of credit cards. When buying trends of college students are analyzed, a sentimental attitude towards credit and gender were the main affecters of the students’ decision to use (or not use) credit for purchases.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Why Credit Companies Target College Students? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This sentimental attitude towards credit affected how clothes, entertainment, gasoline, travel and food (that is not home made) were bought. Females made more purchases of clothes, wh ile males made more purchases of electronics and entertainment related goods. Females were found to have made purchases that followed the principles of economics more than males. Conclusion According to a press release statement of the American Consumer Federation, when the credit card debt and study loans of a student are added, the total is approximately $20,000. Consequently the debts of the student that has attended college may exceed those of the populace that has not attended collage which means that students who use credit cards will be burdened with severe financial concerns later on in life. This paper has discussed how credit accrued by students while still in college has significant consequences on their future monetary health. This paper concludes that credit companies should not market to college students, so as not induce students to undertake debts unnecessarily which would lead to a long-term financial burden. References Faber and O’Guinn. 1992. â€Å"A Clini cal Screener for Compulsive Buying†. Journal of Consumer Research, 19:459–469. Ritzer, G. 1995. Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society, Thousand Oaks , CA : Pine Forge Press. Yamauchi, K. and D. Templer 1982. â€Å"The Development of a Money Attitudes Scale†. Journal of Personality Asses This essay on Why Credit Companies Target College Students? was written and submitted by user AlexWilder to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

An Analysis of Counterfeit Culture in Fashion Essay Essays

An Analysis of Counterfeit Culture in Fashion Essay Essays An Analysis of Counterfeit Culture in Fashion Essay Paper An Analysis of Counterfeit Culture in Fashion Essay Paper Among the societal concepts that exist in most civilizations and societies. manner is likely one of the most equivocal ; it can be purposive yet frivolous. indispensable yet expressive. and functional yet influential. What started as mere protection from the elements has become a planetary industry that defines coevalss and mentalities. bring forthing life styles and penchants that are adhered to by big sections of universe population. This phenomenon is linked to the creative activity of trade names and branding- symbols of a peculiar life style pick that may reflect certain values and beliefs. which finally translate into an economic system marked by persuasion and aspiration. Popular civilization has appropriated manner and its related constructs in a battalion of ways. and has contributed to the growing of a important figure of trade names. An first-class illustration of this is the pattern of famous person indorsement. wherein trade names are assigned to celebrated individuals- those who have gained success and tantamount reputes in their chosen countries of expertise- and manner is likely the most seeable. The enticement and entreaty of these famous persons immediately affect consumer behaviour. and assure economic success for the manner trade name proprietor. Similarly. a famous person increases his or her position by being associated with trade names that have a positive. aspirational image- which is so communicated to the consumer. This is possibly the individual most of import ground why certain trade names are coveted ; and such desire is measured in its practical effects: increased gross revenues. trade name growing. and higher ticket monetary values. However. these consequences besides correlate with negative patterns. and one of the most controversial is the production of imitative goods. The journey of the garment. which is the basic unit of manner. hints a long route from its beginnings in the head and custodies of its creator- the designer- who must hold included the necessary constituents for protection and look. combined with manner. Now. a individual garment already connotes bigger constructs of individuality and socio-political impressions ; but the dangers of forging threatens to redefine the societal and political facets associated with an original creative activity. every bit good as the denudation of its alone individuality. If the end of counterfeiting is to assist persons with their position and self-esteem issues. so the act could be evaluated on the degree of psychological support and alternate agencies of get bying ; but since forging manner goods is non of all time likely to hold this selfless aim at its nucleus. there can be no other manner to specify it but downright stealing and violation. Forging. as apparent in its proliferation worldwide. is a profitable concern ; people involved in it- the manufacturers and consumers- are apt for their actions. While consumers could be falsely seen as inactive participants in the dealing. manufacturers have no other ground to be in it but to claim rights and net incomes meant for the original beginning. II. The Practice of Counterfeiting Fashion Counterfeit goods are defined by Rutter and Bryce ( 1146 ) as â€Å"those which illicitly imitate. transcript or double a good or utilize a hallmark without authorization† . and therefore are capable to certain parametric quantities and standards that will uncover its true beginning. The pattern of counterfeiting is a trade no longer new. but its happening in manner and its high-profile industry has produced effects that delve non merely on allowing person else’s ideas- it is now an industry in itself. founded on the copied factors of design and entreaty. and. most significantly. on the deliberate effort to claim the benefits originally meant for the beginning. Key in this treatment is the degree of desire associated with a peculiar manner point. which needfully stems from the popularity and repute achieved by a trade name. In order to prolong this sort of sole image. most manner trade names use purchase on monetary value and availability- the more expensive and limited. the better opportunities they have for presuming desire. apart from the given quality and originality of design. Therefore. if a manner point is deemed unapproachable or exists in limited measures. it about ever translates to advancing privation and desire in consumers. Take for case the Hermes Birkin. an ordinary-looking ladies’ pocketbook that uses the scheme of exclusivity ; with its brawny tag monetary value and purchasing process of holding prospective purchasers on a list that may be addressed after months- even years- the point has realized its position as a must-have for the position searcher. Forging enters the image at this point. taking advantage of the limited production and handiness. Fake Birkins are now introduced. which greatly diminishes the value placed on the original. whether or non Markss of designation are put in topographic point. International manner trade names have become victims of the forging trade. based on the documented $ 15. 8 billion in footings of losingss in entire gross revenues of all counterfeited merchandises ( Rutter and Bryce 1148 ) . The original point of views on the societal and political significances of manner within the countries of individuality and civilization have now been taken over by the issues of equality and category. III. China and the Economy of Counterfeiting The procedure of forging in its affinity with contention would non hold reached great highs if non for the engagement of the manufacturer and the consumer. News and information in recent old ages have pointed to specific venues where forging originates on a big graduated table. and China- the biggest among several states involved in the practice- is possibly the most important participant in the industry. With its immense land country and population. the acclivity of China toward economic high quality is evident. and is acknowledged as the possible determiner of universe manner and its hereafter ( Mead 419 ) . However. its issues sing its history and political relations have pushed the Chinese toward a work moral principle of adversity and the thought of measure ( Mead 424 ) . believing that this attitude equates to a richer. better life. Its sheer size and the diligent quality of its people have made China a major mark of international companies. in the same manner admiting that China has the capableness of bring forthing any random trade good required by the market ( Pang 120 ) . These two factors. size and capacity. are the same factors that have allowed the Chinese to take on occupations that wage less than required by their Western opposite numbers. therefore doing them the perfect participants in the end of mass-producing consumer goods. Apparel trade names such as Nike and Adidas ( Pang 129 ) . to call a few. have been manufactured in China for some clip ; the presence of these coveted trade names in the same work environment can finally give rise to their imitative versions. China should non be mistaken as a state that disrespects ownership and originality of thoughts ; in fact. its history should ever be appropriated. and the connexions between the past and present should be made. Work and production were the landmarks of Maoist China. and its recent acceptance of capitalist economy has resulted in a fanatism for Western trade names. Puting these two together would let one to understand the motives behind the civilization of forging in China- as it is but a merchandise of opposing cultural and societal values informed by history. However. states like China and other bastions of forging will non be able to warrant their concern any longer ; stricter regulations on forgery goods have been put in topographic point in major venues around the universe. and statements of tradition and historical events will shortly go passe and inconsqeuential. IV. The Fashion Consumer in the Counterfeit World The consumer of imitative goods in general is frequently referred to as the ‘other’ ( Rutter and Bryce 1149 ) . and justly so- for the ingestion of merchandises already known to be bogus and copied reveals a statement that corresponds to the consumer’s societal. political. and economic position. every bit good as political orientation. These are people who have been excluded from the privilege of affording ware that may be excessively dearly-won or unavailable. yet possess a desire to accomplish the same effects gleaned from ownership.

Is Company Sponsorship in the University a Boon or Evil Coursework

Is Company Sponsorship in the University a Boon or Evil - Coursework Example When the sponsoring company controls the curriculum in the university, they put into the design the long experience they have gathered from the field of their expertise. They could contribute practical insights relevant to the study needed by the student and is proven to be practical guides. Furthermore, they can give inputs as to what kind of studies and researches are really needed by the industries that could contribute to the sciences. It becomes advantageous to students in the sense that they are assured that the knowledge they are getting comes from the rightful authorities whom they could use as sources of information for their study. In terms of employment, students from this particular university have an edge over other employees because they have practically mastered the skills needed by the industry that designed the program.Let us take the example of McDonald's that will be sponsoring Health Sciences.   McDonald's could probably be interested in the field of Health Scie nce because of its program on nutrition, diet, and fitness. Taking control of the curriculum on Health Science by McDonald would lead to the development of the design of researches for the improvement of Nutrition, diet, and fitness which are part of Health Science study. It is advantageous for students because they are practically putting in efforts and contributing to the wealth of information that could benefit the wellbeing of man.   The partnership assures McDonald's of the continuous research on the field that could be useful in their business in the long run.

Risks and Optimal Capital Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risks and Optimal Capital Structure - Essay Example USA being a relatively efficient and informed market environment. Risks tend to be closely correlated with returns expected. The components of risks that are unique to US alone include: 1. Inflation risk._ inflation can provide a way to keep up with or stay ahead of inflation. It is defined as the rise in general levels of prices. During high period of inflation, there is a risk that the financial return of an investment will not keep pace with the inflation rate. It reduces the purchasing power, besides; this risk varies form one investment to the other. Small businesses can be seriously affected because this risk can not be insulated against such risk. 2. Market risk: _ the prices of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and various commodities and even services may fluctuate because of the behaviour of investors in the market place. As a result, economic growth is not as systematic and predictable as most investors might believe. Periods of rapid expansion are followed by periods of recession; it may be quite difficult to sell investments like real estate. Fluctuations in the market price for stocks and bonds may have nothing to do with the fundamental changes in the financial health of small businesses. Common causes of such fluctuations can be caused by political or social conditions. 3. 3. Interest rate risk _ this risk is associated with a fixed return investment in preferred stocks or government bonds. It is the result of changes in the interest rates in the economy. The value of these fixed investment securities and borrowed investment funds decreases when overall interest rates increase. 4. Global investment risk__Nowadays small businesses have become global hubs, as the world has become increasingly interconnected into a global village. Small traders keep their investments in foreign companies and other global players and this creates additional risks due to exchange rate in international currencies as exchange rates directly affect returns. 5. Business failure risk_ this is associated with the possibility of bad management, unsuccessful products, competition, or many other factors that can cause the business to be less profitable than originally anticipated. Lower profits would mean lower dividends or no dividends at all. Businesses can also close down due to bankruptcy too. Optimal capital structure means that businesses decide on what the best ratio is, between equity or owners capital and borrowed or debt should be. When such is carefully done, businesses should minimize borrowings as much as to avoid paying high interest on them. Incases from capital contributed from outsiders, corporations should first pay them (obligatorily) before paying themselves .this posses the question of maintaining an optimal capital structure to businesses regardless of their magnitude. REFERNCES 1. Financial management journal vol.33, 2004. 2. www.fma, 2007 3. Geoffrey A.Hirt and Stanley block, fundamentals of investment management 2003. 4. Kapoor Dlabay, personal finance 6th edition 2001. 5. Richard loth, www.investopedia.com, evaluating a company's capital structure, Oct

Schedule and Cost Control Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Schedule and Cost Control Techniques - Essay Example Section 1.6.2 is about the post-live project review and acceptance. The sub-activities related with this main activity are leadership review, key stakeholder review & production support review. These activities will be performed to analyze the post live issues especially within the context of leadership review, stakeholders review as well as production support review. These activities will be done in order to judge the response of the key players involved in the project. I.e. the stakeholders. The stakeholders review activity will be performed in order to assess the response of all the stakeholders of the project. This is a stage where if we analysis suggest that the stakeholders are not particularly satisfied with the work done so far, the previous activities will be reviewed to analyze whether the system activities can be carried forward or not. Section 1.6.3 is the most important activity to be undertaken as it will be the core activity where we will be making a transition to our new system. The sub-activities will involve the gradual transition to the new system with a final activity to review the defects and other transition issues. This activity will be undertaken only after the activities at section 1.6.2 are successfully completed. During this activity, extensive work will be done in order to ensure the smooth transition to the new system which will also include the re-checking of the system to know whether the errors and omissions left during the manufacturing phase of the project i.e. actual customization of the resources required for the implementation of this project. This would be the final activity as for as the implementation and tailoring of our new system is concerned. Section 1.6.4 would involve the post implementation activities. The feedback will be sought from our stakeholders on the overall performance of the new email system and if any changes are required, they will be garnered into the system in order

Improving Education Healthy Lifestyle Malaysia Health And Social Care Essay

Improving Education Healthy Lifestyle Malaysia Health And Social Care Essay Healthcare systems are facing major challenges as they struggle to meet increasing demand with limited resources. Demographic changes, changing disease patterns, illegal immigrants, industrialization, issues of quality and efficiency, shortages or misdistribution of human resources, financial constraint, inadequate research and globalization are the major challenges faced by Malaysias healthcare system as it prepares to restructure itself. Globalization can be described as the integration of economic systems, capital movements and opportunities for different peoples through better information and communication technologies. But locally it has come to mean the increased insecurity and powerlessness that people (particularly poor people) feel in the face of global processes. Impact of globalization on populations health is predictable since globalization will change trade processes and also social and cultural shift. The future healthcare must transform the healthcare system, by making it more integrated, disseminated and virtual. The Malaysian future healthcare system will need to align with and support national health vision and goals. The services must be seen in the context of achieving the vision and the value it adds in achieving national health goals. Existing and the health system of the future must be guided by clear guiding principles and philosophy as well as being robust. Malaysia will develop one of the most advanced health systems of the world by harnessing the power of information and multimedia technologies to transform the delivery of healthcare. Hypertension Hypertension is one of the most common worldwide diseases affecting humans. Because of the associated morbidity and mortality and the cost to society, hypertension is an important public health challenge. 33% of the Malaysian adult population suffering Hypertension and it is including overall gender, race and ages (Lim, Morad et al, 2004) Over the past several decades, research widespread patient education and a concerted afford on the part of healthcare professional have led the decreased mortality and morbidity rates from the multiple organ damage arising from years of untreated hypertension. Hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive cardiac failure, end stage renal failure and peripheral vascular disease . Many interrelated factors contribute to these mechanisms and may differ between individuals, such as the rennin-angiotensin system, endothelial dysfunction, salt intake, obesity, genetics and low birth weight (Beevers et. al 2001). The significance on the high blood pressure condition will be more critical, which may lead to the complex complication such as stroke, increase mortality rate and also increase risk of cerebral haemorrhage. The increasing prevalence of the Hypertension due to ageing process, the identification of the risk factors and diagnosis will able to control the Hypertension among the elderly people ( Ong, Oung et al , 2010). In view to improve the healthcare system to be more healthy, the responsibilities of the healthcare provider will focus on the preventive strategy as it will be able to decrease the prevalence of Hypertension in the general population. The main issue to be focused will be on the unhealthy eating habits among the population, lack of physical activity, genetic factor, unhealthy lifestyle, stress and other contributing factors related.. Prevention From Intervention Strategy The prevention and management of Hypertension is to reduce morbidity and mortality by the least intrusive means possible. This maybe accomplish by achieving and maintaining the systolic blood pressure below 140mmHg and diastolic blood pressure below 90mmHg and lower if tolerable, while controlling other modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The treatment to lower levels maybe useful particularly: 1. To prevent stroke 2. To preserve renal function 3. To prevent or slow heart failure progression The above goals maybe achieved by non-pharmacological and pharmacological methods. Before we consider any active treatment of establish hypertension, there is an even greater need to look at the prevention of the disease. Without planning prevention, the hypertension problem will always remain and it will only rely solely on the detection of existing high blood pressure. Primary prevention provide an attractive opportunities to interrupt and prevent the continue costly cycle of managing hypertension and its complications. This primary prevention (non-pharmacological treatment) can be achieved by the following manners: Lifestyle Modification There is no direct randomized evidence demonstrating that reducing blood pressure through lifestyle measure will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease but it seems likely since trials have shown that benefits of anti-hypertensive treatment are determined primarily by the blood pressure reduction. The benefits of the lifestyle modification are summarized as below To lower the blood pressure in the individual patient. To reduce the need for anti-hypertension drugs and maximize the efficacy To address the other risk factors presence For primary prevention of hypertension and associated Cardiovascular disorders in population. Although there are difficulties in achieving and maintaining proper lifestyle changes, a systemic team utilizing health care professionals and community resources when possible can assist in providing the necessary education support and follow up. Smoking Cessation Cigarette smoking is one of the most powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease and avoiding of tobacco in any form is essential. There is significant raise in the blood pressure accompany the smoking of each cigarette. All hypertensive patients who smoke should receive appropriate counseling for smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy should be considered. Those who continue to smoke may not receive the full degree of protection against cardiovascular disease from anti-hypertensive therapy. The cardiovascular benefit of discontinuing tobacco use can be seen as early as within 6 months in all age groups and by 2 years; they are probably at the same risk with non smoker. Manson et al 1992, Doll et al 1994 (Breen J, 2008) state that Smoking cessation is probably the most effective lifestyle measure for the prevention of a number of cardiovascular diseases . Weight Reduction Excess body mass is correlated closely with an increase of blood pressure. Excess body weight increases the risk of hypertension (Stamler, 1991). Usage of nonpharmacological therapy can be used to reduce the weight loss as it has been proven that it is also able to reduce the blood pressure level (Kuller, 2009). The responsibilities on the weight reduction should be begin with own awareness by the high risk population. However with the frequent advertisement by the healthcare provider in the electronic advertisement will be able to create the depth understanding on the important of the reduction of weight. The losing of weight should not drastically occurs, as it lead to the haemodynamic status in the cardiovascular circulation Diet changes In Malaysia, most of the adult and elderly ages develop habit to take heavy supper meal late of the night and sometimes it is contain of high saturated fat that might lead to increasing fat deposition among the population. Fast food consist of high carbohydrate and high sodium contain in prepared foods, that also introduce to the risk of Malaysian population to develop Hypertension. This unhealthy dietary habit only lead to the high statistic of incidence Hypertension. Increasing fruit and vegetable, higher intake of calcium, magnesium or potassium has contributed to the beneficial effects of some of this diet. Regular fish consumption may enhance blood pressure reduction in obese hypertensive patient and yield additional benefits on the lipid profile. Hence all hypertensive patients should be advised to eat more fruit and vegetables, fish and to reduce their fat intake. This diet habit should be developed by providing continuous awareness among the high risk population with providin g them a pamphlet at the public area and introduction on the preparation of low salt diet copyright in the compact disc or download into the website, as it will assist the public on the good eating habit on their own convenience. Physical activity Sedentary patients should be advised to take up moderate level of aerobic exercise on regular basis such as a brisk walk or swim for 30 45 minutes, 3 4 times a week. Regular aerobic exercise reduces BP in nonmotensive and hypertensive individuals (Cooper et al 2000).When compared with more active and fit individuals, sedentary individuals with normal blood pressure have 20 50% increase of developing hypertension. Regular exercise activity has been documented to lower the systolic blood pressure by about 4 8mmHg. Isometric exercises such as heavy weight lifting can have a pressor effect and it should be avoided. Patient with cardiac while other serious health problems need a more thorough evaluation, often including a cardiac stress test and may need referral to a specialist or medically supervised exercise program. Prioritization the Health Issue Policy Government and private healthcare should consider on the development of the policy for the benefit for all. Reinforcement of the government policy will enhance the public oriented program on the important of preventive the hypertension rather than treat the hypertension. Target Group The prioritization will be focus on the high risk group of population, such as executive, professional, new graduate adolescence, obesity individual and genetic. These groups are exposing to the risk of hypertension. The fast pace in the working environment , compounded the fact that work was physically demanding and influence the workers on the limited role (Rafnsdottir and Gudmundsdottir, 2004) especially on their well being activities. The proactive intervention will be able to assist the healthcare provider to prepare the public towards the reduction of the prevalence hypertension, especially in managing obesity, improve diet and increase physical activities. Activities and Reward Program Suggested that all the organization or company focus to improve the healthy well being environment such as formation of the mini gymnasium in order to encourage the involvement of the workers after duty or during break. Nevertheless, it will encourage high commitment to improve their healthy lifestyle without prejudice. Rewards program introduced to the actively participation in the gymnasium will be boost the enthusiasm among the workers in the organization. Thus, it will reduce risk of incidence hypertension and increase healthy life style among the population in cosmopolitan era. Broadcasting Involvement of the broadcasting in promoting the important of healthy lifestyle will enhance the awareness among population on the management of preventing hypertension. Billboard along the highway, public area also able to assist the improvement of knowledge among the public. Public Talk Should be conducted at all ages, begin with primary school students, elementary schools, universities, seminars, workshop and promotion using bunting and banner, as it will create continuous understanding of the disease. Conclusion In 2006 The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey, The Prevalence of hypertension among adult 30 years old and above was 43% has increase 30% compared to 10 years ago (Merican, M, I., 2008). This figures shows that the hypertension can be considered serious illness which may effect the healthy well being among Malaysian population. Furthermore it can cause potentially life threatening if not detect and treated early. Awareness on the hypertension will be no ending as this condition might occur at any level of ages. Contribution of the public towards reducing the hypertension prevalence and early identification of the risk factor enable the well being lifestyle among Malaysian.

My Summer Vacation in Florida Essays -- Summer Vacation Essays

Have you ever been on a vacation? To me a vacation is a time to be with friends or family. When I think of vacations, I think of packing, the flight or drive, and relaxation. Not only is it very exciting to go on a vacation, but you get closer to the people that go with you. Linda, my best friend's mom had asked me if I would want to go with their family to Florida. When she asked me I thought she was kidding, but when she said, "I need to know because if you are I need to get you a airplane ticket," I knew she was serious. I was so excited I could have kissed her. I was going to Florida with my best friend, Lisa, and her family. The people from Lisa's family that were going were Tina, Randy, Ashley, and Linda. Tina is Lis'?s sister, Randy is Tina?s husband and Ashley is Tina?s daughter. Linda is Lisa?s mom and she was the only one out of all Lisa?s family I knew. Going on a trip packing is defiantly a priority. The whole week before the trip I had began packing. I didn?t realize how many things I was going to need until I started packing. I packed two suit cases full of clothes, but I figured I?d rather have more clothes because you never know what the weather will be like. I packed cards, connect four, guess who, I pod, and food so we wouldn't be bored on the flight. When I was done packing my mom asked ? Are you moving out?? The night before leaving I couldn't sleep. When I woke up that morning it was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining brightly, and the clouds in the sky looked like giant marshmallows. I was so excited because this was my first time going on a vacation. I had already put my suitcases and bags in my car the night before. After I said my goodbyes to my family, I was on my way. I met with Lisa a... ...icking because we didn?t want to miss our flight. Randy called the company where he had rented the van from and they came to pick us up. We made it to the airport just in time because when we walked in the airport they called our flight. This made us very relieved. The flight home went just as well as the flight there except this time I didn't have the butterflies. Overall going on a vacation is something I want to do more in the future. I learned many things from this vacation such as even though you go with some people you don't know as well, you get to know them and by the end of the vacation it's like you have known them your whole life. This vacation brought my friend Lisa and I closer because we experienced things together. Going on a vacation with someone makes your relationship stronger and you find out many different likes and dislikes about each other.

Online Examination Portal

INTRODUCTION About The Project The project, â€Å"Online Examination Portal† aims at creating a common platform for the college administration to conduct online (objective) examination for students of every semester of the institution on a regular basis or in regular intervals of time as desired by the administration. With this site, the institute can register and host online exams. Students can give exams and view their results. This site is an attempt to remove the existing flaws in the manual system of conducting exams.Purpose The client here, the college administration uses MS Excel, and maintains the student records, however it is not possible them to share the data from multiple system in multi user environment, there is lot of duplicate work, and chance of mistake. When the records are changed they need to update each and every excel file. There is no option to find and print previous saved records. There is no security; anybody can access any report and sensitive data, also no reports to summary report.This Online Examination Portal is used to overcome the entire problem which they are facing currently, and making complete atomization of manual system to computerized system. Students can give exam without the need of going to any physical destination. They can view the result instantly at the end of the examination session. Thus the purpose of the site is to provide a system that saves the efforts and time of both the institutes and the students.What is Online Examination Portal all about? Online Examination Portal is a web application that establishes a network between the institutes and the students. Institutes enter on the site the questions they want in the exam. These questions are displayed as a test to the eligible students. The answers given by the students are then evaluated and their score is calculated and saved. This score then can be accessed by the institutes to determine and evaluate their performance.

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 2

â€Å"Poppy!† Poppy could hear her mother's voice, but she couldn't see anything. The kitchen floor was obscured by dancing black dots. â€Å"Poppy, are you all right?† Now Poppy felt hermother's hands grasping her upper arms, holding her anxiously. The pain was easing and her vision was coming back. As she straightened up, she saw James in front ofher. His face was almost expressionless, but Poppy knew him well enough to recognize the worry in hiseyes. He was holding the milk carton, she realized. He must have caught it on the fly as she droppedit–amazing reflexes, Poppy thought vaguely. Really amazing. Phillip was on his feet. â€Å"Are you okay? Whathappened?† â€Å"I-don't know.† Poppy looked around, thenshrugged, embarrassed. Now that she felt better shewished they weren't all staring at her so hard. Theway to deal with the pain was to ignore it, to notthink about it. â€Å"It's just this stupid pain-I think it's gastrowhatchmacallit. You know, something I ate.† Poppy's mother gave her daughter the barest fraction of a shake. â€Å"Poppy, this is not gastroenteritis.You were having some pain before-nearly a monthago, wasn't it? Is this the same kind of pain?† Poppy squirmed uncomfortably. As a matter offact, the pain had never really gone away. Somehow,in the excitement of end-of-the-year activities, she'dmanaged to disregard it, and by now she was used to working around it. â€Å"Sort of,† she temporized. â€Å"But That was enough for Poppy's mother. She gavePoppy a little squeeze and headed for the kitchen telephone. â€Å"I know you don't like doctors, but I'mcalling Dr. Franklin. I want him to take a look at you. This isn't something we can ignore.† â€Å"Oh, Mom, it's vacation†¦.† Her mother covered the mouthpiece of the phone.†Poppy, this is nonnegotiable. Go get dressed.† Poppy groaned, but she could see it was no use.She beckoned to James, who was looking thoughtfully into a middle distance. â€Å"Let's at least listen to the CD before I have to go.† He glanced at the CD as if he'd forgotten it, and put down the milk carton. Phillip followed them into the hallway. â€Å"Hey, buddy, you wait out here while she gets dressed.† James barely turned. â€Å"Get a life, Phil,† he said almost absently. â€Å"Just keep your hands off my sister, you deve.† Poppy just shook her head as she went into her room. As if James cared about seeing her undressed. If only,she thought grimly, pulling a pair of shortsout of a drawer. She stepped into them, still shaking her head. James was her best friend, her very bestfriend, and she was his. But he'd never shown even the slightest desire to get his hands on her. Sometimes she wondered if he realized she was a girl. Someday I'm going to makehim see, she thought,and shouted out the door for him. James came in and smiled at her. It was a smile other people rarely saw, not a taunting or ironic grin, but a nice little smile, slightly crooked. â€Å"Sorry about the doctor thing,† Poppy said. â€Å"No. You should go.† James gave her a keenglance. â€Å"Your mom's right, you know. This has been going on way too long. You've lost weight; it's keeping you up at night-â€Å" Poppy looked at him, startled. She hadn't told anybody about how the pain was worse at night, not even James. But sometimes James just knewthings. As if he could read her mind. â€Å"I just know you, that's all,† he said, and then gaveher a mischievous sideways glance as she stared at him. He unwrapped the CD. Poppy shrugged and flopped on her bed, staring atthe ceiling. â€Å"Anyway, I wish Mom would let me have oneday of vacation,† she said. She craned her neckto look at James speculatively. â€Å"I wish I had a mom like yours. Mine's always worrying and trying to fix me.† â€Å"And mine doesn't really care if I come or go. Sowhich is worse?† James said wryly. â€Å"Your parents let you have your own apartment. â€Å" â€Å"In a building they own. Because it's cheaper thanhiring a manager.† James shook his head, his eyeson the CD he was putting in the player. â€Å"Don't knockyour parents, kid. You're luckier than you know.† Poppy thought about that as the CD started. Sheand James both liked trance-the underground electronic sound that had come from Europe. James likedthe techno beat. Poppy loved it because it was real music, raw and unpasteurized, made by people who believed in it. People who had the passion, not people who had the money. Besides, world music made her feel a part of otherplaces. She loved the differentness of it, the alienness. Come to think of it, maybe that was what she likedabout James, too. His differentness. She tilted her head to look at him as the strange rhythms of Burundi drumming filled the air. She knew James better than anyone, but there wasalways something, something about him that was closed off to her. Something about him that nobody could reach. Other people took it for arrogance, or coldness, oraloofness, but it wasn't really any of those things. It was just differentness. He was more different thanany of the exchangestudents at school. Time after time, Poppy felt she had almost put her finger on thedifference, but it always slipped away. And more than once, especially late at night when they were listening to music or watching the ocean, she'd felthe was about to tell her. And she'd always felt that if he didtell her, itwould be something important, something as shocking and lovely as having a stray cat speak to her. Just now she looked at James, at his dean, carvenprofile and at the brown waves of hair on his forehead, and thought, He looks sad. â€Å"Jamie, nothing's wrong, is it? I mean, at home, oranything?† She was the only person on the planet allowed to call him Jamie. Not even Jacklyn or Michaela had ever tried that. â€Å"What could be wrong at home?† he said, with asmile that didn't reach his eyes. Then he shook his head dismissively. â€Å"Don't worry about it, Poppy. It'snothing important-just a relative threatening to visit. An unwanted relative.† Then the smile didreach his eyes, glinting there. â€Å"Or maybe I'm justworried about you,† he said. Poppy started to say, â€Å"Oh, as if, â€Å"but instead she found herself saying, oddly, â€Å"Are you really?† Her seriousness seemed to strike some chord. Hissmile disappeared, and Poppy found that they were simply looking at each other without any insulating humor between them. Just gazing into each other's eyes. James looked uncertain, almost vulnerable. â€Å"Poppy Poppy swallowed. â€Å"Yes?† He opened his mouth-and then he got upabruptly and went to adjust her 170-watt Tall-boy speakers. When he turned back, his gray eyes were dark and fathomless. â€Å"Sure, if you were really sick, I'd be worried,† hesaid lightly. â€Å"That's what friends are for, right?† Poppy deflated. â€Å"Right,† she said wistfully, andthen gave him a determined smile. â€Å"But you're not sick,† he said. â€Å"It's just somethingyou need to get taken care of. The doctor'll probably give you some antibiotics or something-with a bigneedle,† he added wickedly. â€Å"Oh, shut up,† Poppy said. He knew she was terrified of injections. Just the thought of a needle entering her skin †¦ â€Å"Here comes your mom,† James said, glancing atthe door, which was ajar. Poppy didn't see how he could hear anybody coming-the music was loud andthe hallway was carpeted. But an instant later her mother pushed the door open. â€Å"All right, sweetheart,† she said briskly. â€Å"Dr.Franklin says come right in. I'm sorry, James, but I'm going to have to take Poppy away.† â€Å"That's okay. I can come back this afternoon.† Poppy knew when she was defeated. She allowedher mother to tow her to the garage, ignoring James's miming of someone receiving a large injection. An hour later she was lying on Dr. Franklin's examining table, eyes politely averted as his gentle fingers probed her abdomen. Dr. Franklin was tall, lean,and graying, with the air of a country doctor. Some body you could trust absolutely. â€Å"The pain is here?† he said. â€Å"Yeah-but it sort of goes into my back. Or maybe I just pulled a muscle back there or something The gentle, probing fingers moved, then stopped. Dr. Franklin's face changed. And somehow, in that moment, Poppy knew it wasn't a pulled muscle. Itwasn't an upset stomach; it wasn't anything simple; and things were about to change forever. All Dr. Franklin said was, â€Å"You know, I'd like toarrange for a test on this.† His voice was dry and thoughtful, but panic curled through Poppy anyway. She couldn't explain what was happening inside her-some sort of dreadful premonition, like a black pit opening in the ground in front of her. â€Å"Why?† her mother was asking the doctor. â€Å"Well.† Dr. Franklin smiled and pushed his glassesup. He tapped two fingers on the examining table.†Just as part of a process of elimination, really. Poppysays she's been having pain in the upper abdomen, pain that radiates to her back, pain that's worse atnight. She's lost her appetite recently, and she's lost weight. And her gallbladder is palpable-that meansI can feel that it's enlarged. Now, those are symptomsof a lot of things, and a sonogram will help rule out some of them.† Poppy calmed down. She couldn't remember whata gallbladder did but she was pretty sure she didn't need it.Anything involving an organ with such a silly name couldn't be serious. Dr. Franklin was goingon, talking about the pancreas and pancreatitis andpalpable livers, and Poppy's mother was nodding as if she understood. Poppy didn't understand, but thepanic was gone. It was as if a cover had been whisked neatly over the black pit, leaving no sign that it had ever been there. â€Å"You can get the sonogram done at Children's Hospital across the street,† Dr. Franklin wassaying. â€Å"Come back here after it's finished.† Poppy's mother was nodding, calm, serious, andefficient. Like Phil. Or Cliff. Okay, we'll get this taken care of. Poppy felt just slightly important.Nobody sheknew had been to a hospital for tests. Her mother ruffled her hair as they walked out ofDr. Franklin's office. â€Å"Well, Poppet. What have you done to yourself now?† Poppy smiled impishly. She was fully recoveredfrom her earlier worry. â€Å"Maybe I'll have to have an operation and I'll have an interesting scar,† she said,to amuse her mother. â€Å"Let's hope not,† her mother said, unamused. The Suzanne G. Monteforte Children's Hospitalwas a handsome gray building with sinuous curve sand giant picture windows. Poppy looked thoughtfully into the gift shop as they passed. It was clearly akid's gift shop, full of rainbow Slinkys and stuffed animals that a visiting adult could buy as a last-minute present. A girl came out of the shop. She was a little olderthan Poppy, maybe seventeen or eighteen. She was pretty, with an expertly made-up face-and a cutebandanna which didn't quite conceal the fact that she had no hair. She looked happy, round-cheeked,with earrings dangling jauntily beneath the band anna-but Poppy felt a stab of sympathy. Sympathy†¦and fear. That girl was reallysick. Which was what hospitals were for, of course-for really sick people. Suddenly Poppy wanted to get herown tests over with and get out of here. The sonogram wasn't painful, but it was vaguelydisturbing. A technician smeared some kind of jelly over Poppy's middle, then ran a cold scanner over it,shooting sound waves into her, taking pictures of her insides. Poppy found her mind returning to the prettygirl with no hair. To distract herself, she thought about James. And for some reason what came to mind was the first time she'd seen James, the day he came to kindergarten. He'd been a pale, slight boy with big gray eyes and something subtly weirdabout him that made thebigger boys start picking on him immediately. On the playground they ganged up on him like houndsaround a fox-until Poppy saw what was happening. Even at five she'd had a great right hook. She'dburst into the group, slapping faces and kicking shins until the big boys went running. Then she'd turned to James. â€Å"Wanna be friends?† After a brief hesitation he'd nodded shyly. Therehad been something oddly sweet in his smile. But Poppy had soon found that her new friend wasstrange in small ways. When the class lizard died, he'd picked up the corpse without revulsion andasked Poppy if she wanted to hold it. The teacher had been horrified. He knew where to find dead animals, too-he'dshown her a vacant lot where several rabbit carcasseslay in the tall brown grass. He was matter-of-factabout it. When he got older, the big kids stopped pickingon him. He grew up to be as tall as any of them, and surprisingly strong and quick-and he developed areputation for being tough and dangerous. When he got angry, something almost frightening shone in hisgray eyes. He never got angry with Poppy, though. They'dremained best friends all these years. When they'd reached junior high, he'd started having girlfriends all the girls at school wanted himbut he never kept any of them long. And he never confided in them;to them he was a mysterious, secretive bad boy. Only Poppy saw the other side of him, the vulnerable, caring side. â€Å"Okay,† the technician said, bringing Poppy backto the present with a jerk. â€Å"You're done; let's wipe this jelly off you.† â€Å"So what did it show?† Poppy asked, glancing upat the monitor. â€Å"Oh, your own doctor will tell you that. The radiologist will read the results and call them over to your doctor's office.† The technician's voice was absolutely neutral-so neutral that Poppy looked ather sharply. Back in Dr. Franklin's office, Poppy fidgeted whileher mother paged through out-of-date magazines. When the nurse said â€Å"Mrs. Hilgard,† they bothstood up. â€Å"Uh-no,† the nurse said, looking flustered. â€Å"Mrs.Hilgard, the doctor just wants toseeyou for a minute-alone.† Poppy and her mother looked at each other. Then,slowly, Poppy's mother put down her People magazine and followed the nurse. Poppy stared after her. Now, what on earth . . . Dr. Franklin had neverdone that before. Poppy realized that her heart was beating hard. Notfast, just hard. Bang†¦bang†¦ bang, in the middle of her chest, shaking her insides. Making her feelunreal and giddy. Don't think about it. It's probably nothing. Reada magazine. But her fingers didn't seem to work properly. When she finally got the magazine open, her eyes ran over the words without delivering them to herbrain. What are they talking about in there? What's going on?It's been so long†¦. It kept getting longer. As Poppy waited, she foundherself vacillating between two modes of thought. 1) Nothing serious was wrong with her and her motherwas going to come out and laugh at her for even imagining there was, and 2) Something awful waswrong with her and she was going to have to go through some dreadful treatment to get well. The covered pit and the open pit. When the pit was covered, it seemed laughable, and she felt embarrassed for having such melodramatic thoughts. But when it was open, she felt as if all her life before this had been adream, and now she was hitting hard reality at last. I wish I could call James, she thought. At last the nurse said, â€Å"Poppy? Come on in.† Dr. Franklin's office was wood-paneled, with certificates and diplomas hanging on the walls. Poppy sat down in a leather chair and tried not to be tooobvious about scanning her mother's face. Her mother looked†¦too calm. Calm with strainunderneath. She was smiling, but it was an odd,slightly unsteady smile. Oh, God, Poppy thought. Something isgoing on. â€Å"Now, there's no cause for alarm,† the doctor said,and immediately Poppy became more alarmed. Her palms stuck to the leather of the chair arms. â€Å"Something showed up in your sonogram that's alittle unusual, and I'd like to do a couple of othertests,† Dr. Franklin said, his voice slow and measured, soothing. â€Å"One of the tests requires that you fast from midnight the day before you take it. But your mom says you didn't eat breakfast today.† Poppy said mechanically, â€Å"I ate one Frosted Flake.† â€Å"OneFrosted Flake? Well, I think we can countthat as fasting. We'll do the tests today, and I think it's best to admit you to the hospital for them. Now, the tests are called a CAT scan and an ERCP-that's short for something even I can't pronounce.† Hesmiled. Poppy just stared at him. â€Å"There's nothing frightening about either of thesetests,† he said gently. â€Å"The CAT scan is like an X ray. The ERCP involves passing a tube down the throat, through the stomach, and into the pancreas. Then we inject into the tube a liquid that will show up onX rays .† His mouth kept moving, but Poppy had stoppedhearing the words. She was more frightened than she could remember being in a long time. I was just joking about the interesting scar, shethought. I don't want a real disease. I don't want to go to the hospital, and I don't want any tubes down my throat. She looked at her mother in mute appeal. Her mother took her hand. â€Å"It's no big deal, sweetheart. We'll just go home andpack a few things for you; then we'll come back.† â€Å"I have to go into the hospital today?† â€Å"I think that would be best,† Dr. Franklin said. Poppy's hand tightened on her mother's. Her mind was a humming blank. When they left the office, her mother said, â€Å"Thankyou, Owen.† Poppy had never heard her call Dr. Franklin by his first name before. Poppy didn't ask why. She didn't say anything asthey walked out of the building and got in the car. As they drove home, her mother began to chat aboutordinary things in a light, calm voice, and Poppy made herself answer. Pretending that everything wasnormal, while all the time the terrible sick feeling raged inside her. It was only when they were in her bedroom, packing mystery books and cotton pajamas into a small suitcase, that she asked almost casually, â€Å"So whatexactly does he think is wrong with me?† Her mother didn't answer immediately. She waslooking down at the suitcase. Finally she said, â€Å"Well, he's not sure anything is wrong.† â€Å"But what does he think?He must think something. And he was talking about my pancreas-Imean, it sounds like he thinks there's somethingwrong with my pancreas. I thought he was looking at my gallbladderor whatever. I didn't even know that my pancreas was involvedin this†¦.† â€Å"Sweetheart.† Her mother took her by the shoulders, and Poppy realized she was getting a little over wrought. She took a deep breath. â€Å"I just want to know the truth, okay? I just wantto have some idea of what's going on. It's my body, and I've got a right to know what they're lookingfor-don't I?† It was a brave speech, and she didn't mean any of it. What she really wanted was reassurance, a prom ise that Dr. Franklin was looking for something trivial. That the worst that could happen wouldn't be so bad. She didn't get it. â€Å"Yes, you do have a right to know.† Her motherlet a long breath out, then spoke slowly. â€Å"Poppy, Dr. Franklin was concerned about your pancreas allalong. Apparently things can happen in the pancreas that cause changes in other organs, like the gallblad der and liver. When Dr. Franklin felt those changes, he decided to check things out with a sonogram.† Poppy swallowed. â€Å"And he said the sonogramwas-unusual. How unusual?† â€Å"Poppy, this is all preliminary†¦.† Her mothersaw her face and sighed. She went on reluctantly.† The sonogram showed that there might be something in your pancreas. Something that shouldn't bethere. That's why Dr. Franklin wants the other tests;they'll tell us for sure. But-â€Å" â€Å"Something that shouldn't be there? You mean †¦ like a tumor? Like †¦cancer?† Strange, it was hard to say the words. Her mother nodded once. â€Å"Yes. Like cancer.†

Carry out test on different compounds and write down what it looks like Essays

Carry out test on different compounds and write down what it looks like Essays Carry out test on different compounds and write down what it looks like Essay Carry out test on different compounds and write down what it looks like Essay Wear safety goggles when carrying the flame test and appropriate clothing. Take small quantity hydrochloric acid. When busen burner is not being used, close the air hole so that you can see the yellow flame. Keep your clothing away from the flame. Calcium acetate Irritant to eyes. Avoid raising and it also irritant to eyes. Keep it away from water it could cause water to boil if because of the salt. Contact with combustion material may cause fire. Lithium sulphate Reacts violently with water and acids liberating a highly flammable gas (hydrogen). Can cause burns and it reacts vigorously with water to form lithium hydroxide which is corrsive.it reacts dangerously with nitric acid and ignites on contact with metal. Irritant to eyes and skin also harmful by ingestion in quantity and effect of ionic balance in the blood. Sodium carbonate Irritant to eyes skin and respiratory system. Potassium chloride Explosive when mixed with combustion materials. Never use fabric gloves to handle substance. Harmful if inhaled or swallowed. Solution labelled if stronger then 2m .it may cause your eyes and skin to irritate. These substances are dangerous with material like sugar, wood, clothes and etc.these solution ignite easily burn vigorously when dry. This should not be made available in the lab with concentrated sulphur. Copper oxide Harmful if swallowed. Dust irritates lungs and which could cause a health risk. It is dangerous with aluminium, magnesium. Explosives mixers are formed. Do not react copper oxide with aluminium in thermite reactions. Important = If you spill any chemicals on your skin and eyes quickly wash it for it for 10 min and if you can still feel it keep it like that until you dont feel anything. Then get it checked by doctor. METHOD * Put three drops of hydrochloric acid on the watch glass. * Light the Bunsen burner and open its air hole to give a roaring flame. * Then dip the loop at the end of nichrome wire into the acid and heat it in the busen burner until the flame is no longer coloured. (This process cleans the wire, burning off the previous remains of any sample.) * Then use a spatula and add a little sodium salt to the acid on the watch glass * Mix the salt with the acid using the loop at the end of the wire. Tap the loop against the dry part of the watch glass to remove the acid. * Hold the loop in the edge of the flame. * Then record the colour of the flame in the table. Then I choose from the following colours: -brick red (orange red), green (with blue streaks); lilac (pale purple); yellow. RESULTS TABLE METAL CATION COLOUR OF FLAME SODIUM Na+ YELLOW POTASSIUM K+ LILAC CALCIUM CA 2+ ORANGE COPPER CU2+ GREEN LITHIUM LI+ RED CONCLUSION I found the colour of different metal when I flame tested each of them. I found that when you burn sodium you get a yellow colour, when you burn potassium you get a lilac colour. This also shows us that cat ion is positively charged. This will also help me identify the chemical colours when they are burning.

Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Personal statement - Essay Example Through my Canadian experiences, and beyond I have acquired the ability to be able to suffer through the more difficult times and come out stronger and more determined as well. This has taught me independence and the learning skills necessary to overcome many adversities, which undoubtedly an abundant amount of foreign exchange college students must deal with if they are going to make it in their lives in a foreign land. Traveling to the United States had to be the scariest for me because I had heard so many stories about the country but was not sure if they were true. After I moved past my initial fears I soon devised ways to work past the obstacles that were in my path such as with language barriers and cultural disorientation, etc. However, after moving past the language barriers I found that I had a hard time trying to fit into what Americans considered to be the â€Å"norm† for the youth population in society. I definitely became rather defensive because I realized then that I was a minority and did not clearly fit in to the whole puzzle. Nevertheless, I have come to realize over time that a person’s attitude can make all the difference and that ethnicity is not necessarily what holds people back. A positive attitude and good communication skills are two of the most pertinent interpersonal skills that an individual needs to have in a country like America. This is due to the fact t hat I have come to learn with there being so many different ethnicities there has to be an open communication network to avoid misunderstandings and to get past the confusion of it all. This can be very difficult but again, with effort from both sides of the cultural boundaries it can be done. Perhaps if I had realized this earlier on one of my good friends would not have lost his life due to racial violence and stereotyping. However, even

U02d1 Research and Discuss Rationing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U02d1 Research and Discuss Rationing - Essay Example The term rationing is one where the United States is not faced with a shortage of service as the level of goods and services of the country are not used, or are out of demand. This generally tends to happen when there is a limit that is implemented on the goods and services and is based on the ability to pay. Considering the general public here in the case, there is a huge misbelieve that if there is a medical condition and a possible treatment for it, then the insurance companies are liable to pay irrespective of the costs. This however is never the same if a person needs to pay for the treatment from their own pockets. This is simple human nature. However there is always rationing that happens when a person is not covered by insurance. Here the individual or even the practitioners would consider whether it is useful to allow the treatment on the person and whether the outcome might be useful or not. The first article by Newt Gingrich is one which describes the current day situation where there is a clear level of rationing. The author states a very interesting point, ‘if you are a single male with no children, the legislation still requires you to have maternity benefits and well-baby and well-child care coverage. You dont want or dont need that coverage? Sorry, you have to pay for it anyway’. This is the current situation among all Americans and the perspective of the citizens is clear from the title of the article: ‘Healthcare rationing: Real scary’ (Gingrich, 2009). The second article by Floyd on the other hand discusses the issues faced by the government. It is clear that in the current situation the health care systems are very costly and the Americans expect to receive the best without the will to pay for it. This leads the author to set down three important questions which have been answered here in the document. The author has set down the following: ‘The current debate over healthcare rationing surrounds three key

6 - 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

6 - 7 - Essay Example Strategy is done through the application of Porter’s five force model to reduce supplier power, which enables them to price their goods at a lower price than competitors in the market. One of the factors that have also helped Wal-mart is innovation and change management. With an embracement of change through creative ideas, Wal-mart is able to stay before other competitors by continually changing their strategies to fit the market. As already mentioned, using a business model based on cost leadership has also helped Wal-mart. This strategy helps them manage their suppliers and share business risks with them, thus reducing costs and ultimately the final price faced by the customer. However, despite the market leadership enjoyed, Wal-mart has continually lost customers to its competitors who have attractive prices and better convenience. This can be related to problems of managerial capability, which can be overcome by innovation. Wal-mart needs to stop focusing a lot on meeting shareholders’ needs and instead focus more on customers’

The characters of The Divine Wind Essay Example for Free

The characters of The Divine Wind Essay In the novel The Divine Wind, written by Gary Disher, the characters have to make important choices. With every character in the novel their choices are not always good and in some cases effect other characters in the novel a bad way. Different reasons and circumstances compel different choices. To see whether the choices made where good ones, we need to take a look at each choice specifically. Ida chose to leave her family and husband so she could return back to her homeland where her heart still was. Ida was very unhappy in Broome, and she longed for her life back in England. All throughout the novel there was a visibleline between the differences of Ida, her family and the people of Broome. Ida simply did not fit in. Alice chooses to end her relationship with Carl after she sees his true colours. Carl wants Alice to be moulded into a station wife and Alice does not want to repeat the same mistake as her mother by trying to be changed by a loved one. Also if Alice was to stay with Carl, she wouldnt have been able to fulfil her dream of becoming an army nurse. One of the Consequences of Ida leaving was it had sent Michael in state and his hurt had surfaced. as a result, he decides to take the lugger boat out ealry, despite how bad the weather was. this bad choice of Mikes injured his son and caused the death of his trustworthy head pearler and friend Zeke. Afterwards Michael admitts that he had mad the wrong decision in taking out the lugger boat and he grows a guilty conscience. Hart is forced to make many choices throughout the novel. although some of his choices were not seen as good by the ones that he loves. for example when he dismisses Mitsy and sides with his mother even though he is in love with Mitsy. This was a bad choice as it caused friction between the two. Mitsy then chooses Hart to persue a relationship with which then turns sexual. When Mitsy decides to take her mother and leave from the Penroses housefor them to be interned this also causes heat between Mitsy and Hart. Although looking forward into the future its what could have saved Mitsy and Harts friendship. The characters in the Divine Wind are forced to make important decisions. Their choices shape theie lives and also have an influence on the lives around them. Often these choices that the characters make are later redemmed by actions.

Scottish Architecture Building

Scottish Architecture Building The Scottish Parliament Building- A report into Project Failure Introduction Sitting within the UNESCO World Heritage site, the new home to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood from its outset has proven to be controversial. Opening in 2004, politicians, the media and the Scottish public have criticised many aspects of the build. Aside from cost controversy surrounded the decision to construct a new building, the choice of site, the selection of a non-Scottish architect and the selection of Bovis as a construction Manager after being earlier excluded from the shortlist. In amongst its criticisms the building has seven awards, including the 2005 Stirling prize, the Vill Biennial of Spanish Architecture and the RIAS Andrew Doolan award for architecture, and after being shortlisted for the Stirling prize in 2004 was described by judges as a ‘statement of sparkling excellence. The building finally opened in 2004, three years after its scheduled opening with a final estimated cost of  £414 million, exceeding the originally estimate of between  £10m - £40m. In 2003 the former Lord Peter Fraser chaired a major public inquiry into ‘the cost over-run and delays in the construction of the Scottish parliament building finally concluding in September 2004, criticising the management of the project. Lord Fraser said his inquiry had been hampered by the unwillingness of those involved in the project to take responsibility for what went wrong. The ancient walls of the Canongate have echoed only to the cry of, it wisnae me, he said. He concluded that there is no single villain of the piece behind the Holyrood building fiasco. This report looks at the fundementals of what went wrong and to what extent project management could be held responsible. Strategic and Operationall project management actions that could have been taken to better control the project and increase its chance for successful delivery against time and cost targets are discussed. The report finally concludes by indentifying the key lessons that project management can learn from the experience. I do not wish to pass comment on the subjective viewpoint of the aesthetics of the building yet rather seek to analysis the reasons to explain the delay and cost over run of the project. This report has been broken down into the following sections. Delays and Cost The role of the Project Management Strategic and Operations Management Conclusion Delays and Cost There are many factors that attributed to the cost and delay of the building which when added together led to disastrous consequences: Primary Coast and Brief The primary cost projection by the Scottish office for housing MPSs in a new Scottish parliament were never achievable from the outset. The estimate took no account of either location or design of its buildings. Lord Frasier concludes that the figure of  £40 million which appeared in the white paper was informed by a range of costs put forward in a minute of 10th June 1997 which was based upon very general assumptions and for a ‘bog standard and new building.  £40 million was never a realistic estimate to cover anything other than a basic build, certainly not a complex building such as the building which was finally procured when considered it was based upon a cleared site of 16,000sqm on Brownfield land in either Leith or Holyrood, a basic design and was unclear if this sum included professional or construction fees. Consequently as the project progressed and the design of Enric Miralles was chosen, the cost projection increased dramatically, being revised to include VAT, acquisition costs, contingencies, site costs, and consultancy fees. Over the course of the five year build it is reported that 18,000 design changes occurred resulting in a three year delay. There was clearly an inadequacy of the brief and a failure to adequately investigate the size requirements of such a building, with the gross area of the building having to be increased by 35%. The increase of security features such as the incorporation of bomb-proof cladding in October 2002, may have amounted to as much as nearly  £100 million. Security requirements envisaged for the new parliament building were contained in the building user brief of 1998, however rather than designing to a security specification, the ‘nature of the concept meant that a realistic assessment of the detailed security requirements could not be undertaken until the detailed design of the building had commenced. This would have the greatest impact in regards to cost and programme on the project. Architect Selection In July 1997, it was announced that a competition would be held to select ‘the best design for a new Scottish parliament, with the press release stating ‘we want value for money as well as quality. We will be looking at ways in which the cost of the parliament can be kept to a minimum. The time frame was set with a designer to be in place by early 1998 and for the building to be complete for the new Millennium. As such, it seems the Scottish parliament was unable to decide where there priorities lay with respect to quality, cost and time. The panel selected designer Enric Miralles with the work being awarded to EMBT/RMJM (Scotland) Ltd, a Spanish-Scottish joint venture design company set up specifically for the project. The two practices found the two different cultures and ways of working difficult to adapt to, especially since they were also working from two different locations and communicating mainly via fax. In 1998, Bill Armstrong, Project Manager to the project, resigned from his position due to not receiving the support necessary to enable him to carry out his job and heavily criticising Miralles saying ‘a stand must be taken to either bring Miralles to heel or to accept his inadequacies. He does not believe he has any. The programme will drift, the cost will increase, the design team will make claims, the contractors will make claims and the project will become a disaster. Project communication was also hindered by the multi-headed client comprising of the SPCB, the presiding officer and an architectura l advisor. The project was also further complicated by the deaths of the architect Miralles in July 2000 and Donald Dewar, first minister in October of the same year. Procurement path The decision to procure the building under Construction Management is said to be ‘one of the most significant, if not the most significant decision taken during the course of the project. The choice of procurement was chosen rather than under a Private Finance Initiative for its speed in construction by overlapping design, tendering and construction. The Holyrood Inquiry criticises that the choice of procurement was not properly identified or evaluated, describing it as ‘beggars belief that ministers were not ask to approve the proposal to adopt construction management. The Scottish office publicly declared that they would be working to a fixed budget and where highly ‘risk adverse, yet they followed a procurement path which had no fixed budget and also a route where a high degree of risk lies with the client. In an attempt to achieve early completion the management contractor produced an optimistic programme from which the flow of design information was destined to fail to meet expectations. As such, construction cannot proceed in accordance with the programme and cost entailed. While some failures have been attributed to the architect arising from co-ordination and communication in differences between Edinburgh and Barcelona the client should have been made aware that high quality design work takes time and that the programme was un realistic given the complex nature of the design. The appointment of the Construction Manager Although initially rejected on tender price, Bovis were readmitted to the selection on the basis of past performance on the Museum of Scotland. On finalising the contract the Scottish Office left themselves open to large construction fees if the project over ran by not processing Bovis agreement in regard to their fee. Bovis proposed a Construction Management Fee of 1.25% to be converted to a lump sum on agreement of the Project Cost Plan. A formal letter of intent was issuedby the Scottish Office of their intention to enter into a contract with Bovis on 19th January with the formal legal Memorandum of Agreement not being signed until October of the same year. Although Schedule 1(J) confirmed a fee of 1.25% it failed to make provision for conversion of that fee to a lump sum on agreement of the cost plan. Had a lump sum value been stipulated, it would have have acted as a powerful incentive for Bovis to complete the project on time .  The Auditor General in his 2000 report makes the point that a tapering percentage scheme could have been implemented in that the percentage fee would reduce as a proportion of construction cost as that cost increases, although Lord Frasier also makes the valid point that this would not have been as significant as the possible conversion to a lump sum upon agreement of the cost plan. As demonstrated above the project was a catalogue of errors resulting from a number of decisions at a relatively early stage of the project that were ‘fundamentally wrong or wholly misleading and it was those decisions that caused massive increases in cost and delays. The next section in this report looks at to what extent the project manager be held accountable. The role of the Project Management Brief After the identification of the requirements of a new parliament building by civil servants in June 1997, a project manager was engaged for the specific task of developing a brief for a parliament building. The project brief is a comprehensive statement of the requirements of the project which enables construction professionals to understand the scope and extent of the project and quality requirements. The outcome of any project relies on the quality of the briefing provided. The project brief in this instance had many failings, proved by the fact that it was necessary to increase areas due to under estimating the actual requirements of the parliament and its end users. The Auditor General was complementary about the user brief in that it presented a ‘clear vision of the requirements of the new parliament, however it failed to address the potential conflict between cost, time and quality. More time should have been spent developing the brief at an early stage taking into account risk and requirements which would have reduced the likelihood of changes later which could have direct cost implications and knock-on effects with regard to programme. Communication The relationship between the project manager and architect and also the project managers relationship with his employer is vital. From reports submitted to the Holyrood inquiry it is concluded that the project manager did not succeed in developing constructive dialogue with the architect. Indeed from the time of the architects appointment the project manager had reservations and serious misgivings about the appointment and subsequently resigned in 1998. Although the project manager had been praised on an earlier project Victoria Quay, for his commitment, organisation, single mindedness and attention to systems and detail which had served the project well, these qualities which carried with them rigidity and inflexibility were not enough to develop and sustain a productive relationship with the EMBT/RMJM design team. Again this recurring theme was echoed in late 2000 when the Project Director also commented that he found it difficult to develop a constructive relationship with the architect. Procurement Choice- Construction management The Holyrood Inquiry notes that while the timetable was developed by the project manager ‘using his considerable experience of project management the tight deadline was undoubtedly driven both by the political objective of an early completion and the occupancy of the parliament building. While the programme may have been a given factor which dictated a ‘fast track construction method, greater investigations and evaluation should have taken place to appropriate the best procurement path. Construction management is a procurement option for high quality, potentially high cost projects if the client is fully engaged and has a clear goal. The Holyrood inquiry however found that the project managers were not fully engaged and failed to appreciate cost downsides and risks involved with managing 60 contractors according to an everlasting brief. The project manager should have given better understanding and advice to both the client and non construction professionals involved in the project about the significantly higher client risk and cost uncertainty that both construction management and management contracting entail over traditional procurement methods. Risk could have been passed to the contractor under another route. Although tender prices are likely to have been higher there would have been a greater degree of cost certainty. Sir Michael Lathem believes that full partnering should have been used to share the risk between client and contractor. The conceptional design work could have been complete by Miralles than novated to a major design and build contractor to work out construction drawings as part of the construction team. The client could have had proper cost control while bringing in value management at an early stage to design out things that adds cost but no value. Prime contracting could possible have been another option. Although still evolving in the late 1990s it benefits from joined up team from inception with the supply chain on board. Project Execution Plan There was a failing by project management to finalise the draft Project Execution Plan, as highlighted in the Auditor Generals September 2000. The Project Execution Plan is a key document governing the project with fundamentals such as project strategy, organisation, control procedures and responsibilities. The HM Treasury describes this document as ‘a live management document, regularly updated to be used by all parties both as a means to communication and as a control and performance measurement tool. The Auditor Generals main findings in his 2000 report highlights there should have been change control procedures based on a detailed cost plan agreed between all parties at an early stage. Cost reporting was also deficient in a number of areas, such as an absence of an arrangement requiring project management to provide full cost information on regular and systematic basis and also in a departure from good practice in the failure to identify and quantify a separate allowance for the major risks potentially affecting the project. Strategic and Operations Management For project management to be effective, it must incorporate both strategic management and operational project management techniques. Strategic management planning at its simplest produces both primary goals for operational plans and also the framework within which they can be realised. Cole (1997) describes strategic management as being much about vision and direction as about mechanisms and structures. At strategic level, project management is concerned with the provision of the organisational and integration structures while at operational level, project management is concerned with how particular processes common to all projects should be executed and controlled. With the application of a clearly defined Body of Knowledge, project objectives can be appropriately defined and objectives successfully delivered. When looking at the Scottish Parliament project there are a number of strategic and operational management actions that could have been undertaken to better control the project and increase its chance for successful delivery against time and cost targets.. Project Organisation Burke (2005) comments that projects are performed by people and managed through people. Therefore it is essential to develop an organisation structure which reflects the needs of the project (task) and the needs of the project team, just as importantly as the needs of the individuals. Central figures within the Holyrood project organisation were the project owner, the project manager and the project sponsor. The project owner sat within a steering group of senior civil servants who took strategic decisions on behalf of the client. The project manager was responsible for the day to day management of the project and reported directly to the project sponsor and acted as the interface between project sponsor and the supply chain. It is the project sponsors role to act as the clients representative and act in the clients interest in the project. In the case of the Holyrood project the project sponsor was not familiar with construction or sponsorship of major construction projects. On a project of such complexity and playing such an important link within the organisation structure the project sponsor should have had sufficient knowledge of both. In my opinion this ultimately had a impact on both the projects successful delivery against time and cost. Decision making mechanisms of the project structure were criticised during Lord Frasiers summary of the Holyrood inquiry. Frasier recommended that where independent advisors are retained, their views should not be filtered by civil servants but put to ministers alongside any disagreement officials may have with the judgements expressed by those advisors. Ministers did not have any formal indication of the apparent threat to the agreed budget of  £50 million during late 1998 and early 1999 when officials were aware of the ‘evolving situation. Forecasting the future, Scenario Planning Cole (1997) describes forecasting in a strategic context as referring to ‘any attempt whether qualitative or quantitative and usually based on past performance, to predict future outcomes and trends in the internal and external environments of an organisation in order to limit the risks involved in devising and implementing strategy Forecasting at an operational level may be focused on the next few months to a year and need a considerable level of exactness, whereas on a strategic level a reasonable level of predicted trends is required in the longer term often on the basis of a 3 or 5 year plan. There is a number of techniques that can be used when forecasting the future such as such as Delphi technique, brain storming and scenario development. Scenario planning, essentially provide a framework for formulating strategy under conditions of uncertainty. Porter (1985) comments that when combined with ‘substantive conceptual tools for understanding industry structure, competitive behaviour, and competitive advantage, the scenario tool can be an important part of the strategists arsenal. The most important difference between rational approaches to strategic planning and scenario planning is that the past is not always representative of the future as continuity cannot be assumed. By challenging assumptions and questioning things that we sometimes take for granted, the Holyrood project team could have been provided with the flexibility it needed to cope with the uncertain times ahead such as the death of the architect and factors such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America which has been suggested had a direct effect to the increase in security requirements including bomb proof cladding at Holyrood. Conclusion Although the choice of construction management was heavily criticised in Lord Frasers report many of the decisions that contributed to the massive costs and delays attached to the project were made at a relatively early stage due to the project not being managed properly. With an unrealistic estimated budget and programme the project was destined to fail from the outset. It would be unfair to compare the end cost figure to the original  £49 million cited in the white paper because as previously discussed this was not an accurate figure. Had these estimates derived from final designs and contingencies for the variations then a more realistic comparison for the end cost versus the estimated cost could have been made. It would be fair to say that during the project there were a number of unforeseen circumstances that were unavaioidable which had an effect on both time and cost of the build, notable the deaths of Miralles and Dewar in 2000 and the existence of a multi-headed client (consisting of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, the Presiding Officer, and an architectural advisor), who took over the project from the Scottish Executive (formerly the Scottish Office) while it was already under construction. Although events like these cannot be predicted they can be properly managed if the correct contingency measures are in place to effectively manage the risk. It seems that project management can be successfully implemented as seen in other industries such as aerospace and manufacturing, however as both the Latham and Eagn reports outline, the construction industry is behind in terms of performance improvements. In order to be successful project management must implement management at both strategic and operational level. If systems and tools that are used at an operational level to implement project management are not used in conjunction with corresponding integration and organisational aspects of strategic management, then problems are bound to occur. 6.0  Ã‚  Ã‚   References Books Burke, R (2003) Project Management, Planning and Control Techniques. Wiley Cole, G, (1997) Strategic Management, Letts Educational Porter, M (1985) Competitive Advantage- Creating and sustaining superior performance, The Free Press Reports Journals Lord Fraser, 2004.   Holyrood Inquiry, Final Report.   Available from: http://www.holyroodinquiry.org/FINAL_report/report.htm [7 Nov 2006] R. Bayfield, 2004.   Insights from Beyond Construction:   Collaboration The Honda Experience.   Available from: www.scl.org.uk [15 Nov 2006] Websites http://scottish.parliament.uk