Essay on PSGC Recommendation Report

Essay on PSGC Recommendation Report Essay on PSGC Recommendation Report Penn State Golf Courses Recommendation Report Prepared by Bobby Grech, Mac Farber, Matt Rakowich Smeal College of Business Pennsylvania State University August 7, 2013 Introduction As society continues to evolve it is essential for companies to expand upon their business practices and communication techniques in order to remain profitable and expand upon their success. Due to the current state of the economy, a business must act strategically in order to operate at the best of its potential. Although you, the Penn State Golf Courses, are currently a profitable business, this recommendation report will present innovative ways for you to improve your business practices and better your company as a whole. The purpose of this report is to provide effective solutions to the particular problem areas that you are encountering at the golf courses. These problem areas begin with overall involvement at the courses, as the amount of golfer activity has been on the decline. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of participation from the Penn State community. Also, you have expressed a disappointment in the effectiveness of your Facebook page as well as in the sale of your merchandise. In this report we will recommend and provide particular initiatives and deliverables that will support the solution to these problems. Background The problem involving overall participation at the golf courses is one that is industry-wide, as the amount of golfers throughout the United States has been on a decline since 2003 (The Golf Consumer). Although this problem may continue to exist due to the struggling economy, we have realized through research and discussion with your staff, that there particular problems that are specific to your golf courses here at Penn State. Being located just down the street from Penn State’s campus, home to over 40,000 students, your golf courses do not see nearly enough interest from the Penn State community. After communicating with your staff we learned that there are only about 100 student memberships per semester and the courses see roughly 25 students per week other than those members. The courses have not only been disappointed by these student levels of participation, but have also been unable to attract Penn State parents and alumni. The Penn State community as whole lacks interest and awareness of your courses. The Facebook page for your golf courses has been improving in the recent past, but it can definitely still be improved upon. The 510 â€Å"Likes† that the Penn State Golf Courses page has been able to obtain is less than half of that of your largest competitor, Toftrees Golf Resort. Your Facebook page could definitely be more insightful with the addition of more information and frequent updates. The visual appearance of the page can also be improved by adding more pictures and making some minor adjustments. As your staff has shown interest in renewing its page, Facebook can become a more effective tool in gaining awareness for your courses. Lastly, through communication with your staff and observation of your clubhouse, we have noticed you are having trouble when it comes to selling merchandise. As a result, the clubhouse is overstocked with products that see little interest and you are being forced to offer products discounted over 70%. Deliverables & Business Initiatives While being in contact with your staff over the past few weeks, we have been able to develop some physical deliverables as well as certain business initiatives that we believe will help solve your current problems. These include: A completely revamped Facebook page Flyers and Coupons Direct advertising within the Penn State community Offering incentives and selling merchandise at highly populated events Expanding merchandise to more lucrative retailers, such as McLanahan’s We will now go into to detail- considering costs, benefits and feasibility- on how we feel that you should utilize our proposed

Free Essays on Burger King Vs Mcdonalds

Burger King vs. McDonald’s. Everybody loves fast food, but not everyone agrees on which fast food restaurant is the best. Burger King and McDonald’s are two of the most successful chains on the East Coast. Of these two, Burger Kings quality and value far exceeds that of McDonald’s. I have felt this way for as long as I have been able to think for myself, and I can use several points to argue my opinion. First I’d like to point out the quality differences between Burger King's food and McDonald’s food. McDonald’s fries their burgers so they are pretty much cooked in their own fat, then after cooking they become dry rendering them almost flavorless. If that’s not bad enough, the burgers miniscule size makes you wonder why you even wasted your money on it. Burger King burgers on the other hand, I have often found myself drooling over. Being flame broiled, they are often very juicy, filling your mouth with that awesome fire grilled taste. Also, when it comes to size, Burger King burgers are huge. Even their regular hamburgers are almost as big as McDonald’s largest sandwich, the â€Å"Quarter Pounder†. Another example is the delicious flame broiled â€Å"Whopper†, the biggest and tastiest burgers on the Burger king menu. Being the sandwich that made them famous, McDonald’s tried to copy the â€Å"Whopper† by creating the â€Å"Big Extra†, a big disappointment. Although the burger was about the same size as the â€Å"Whopperâ€Å", it lacked that flame broiled taste, which they tried to cover up by adding steak seasoning to the patty, making it taste nauseatingly awful. Eventually the â€Å"Big Extra† was renamed â€Å"Big and Tasty†, the burger shrunk, they dropped the seasoni ng, and it then found it’s way to the dollar menu (they could barely even give them away). The next thing I want to compare are fries. McDonalds claims there fries are crispy and golden brown, now I don’t know about you, but every time I got McDona... Free Essays on Burger King Vs Mcdonalds Free Essays on Burger King Vs Mcdonalds Burger King vs. McDonald’s. Everybody loves fast food, but not everyone agrees on which fast food restaurant is the best. Burger King and McDonald’s are two of the most successful chains on the East Coast. Of these two, Burger Kings quality and value far exceeds that of McDonald’s. I have felt this way for as long as I have been able to think for myself, and I can use several points to argue my opinion. First I’d like to point out the quality differences between Burger King's food and McDonald’s food. McDonald’s fries their burgers so they are pretty much cooked in their own fat, then after cooking they become dry rendering them almost flavorless. If that’s not bad enough, the burgers miniscule size makes you wonder why you even wasted your money on it. Burger King burgers on the other hand, I have often found myself drooling over. Being flame broiled, they are often very juicy, filling your mouth with that awesome fire grilled taste. Also, when it comes to size, Burger King burgers are huge. Even their regular hamburgers are almost as big as McDonald’s largest sandwich, the â€Å"Quarter Pounder†. Another example is the delicious flame broiled â€Å"Whopper†, the biggest and tastiest burgers on the Burger king menu. Being the sandwich that made them famous, McDonald’s tried to copy the â€Å"Whopper† by creating the â€Å"Big Extra†, a big disappointment. Although the burger was about the same size as the â€Å"Whopperâ€Å", it lacked that flame broiled taste, which they tried to cover up by adding steak seasoning to the patty, making it taste nauseatingly awful. Eventually the â€Å"Big Extra† was renamed â€Å"Big and Tasty†, the burger shrunk, they dropped the seasoni ng, and it then found it’s way to the dollar menu (they could barely even give them away). The next thing I want to compare are fries. McDonalds claims there fries are crispy and golden brown, now I don’t know about you, but every time I got McDona...

Summery of Globalization, Politics, and Financial Turmoil economic Essay

Summery of Globalization, Politics, and Financial Turmoil economic - Essay Example experience such crises mainly because there is a breakdown in communication between the chief executive of the monetary authority and financial officers in such times, leading to insufficient banking regulations and eventually flight of capital out of the country, which then has a snowballing effect. For the purpose, Satyanath elaborates on three bodies of literature – 1) globalization of capital and the political scenario in which there are possibilities of miscommunication 2) the presence of ill-informed chief executive and 3) the existence of veto players, that is, those whose consent is necessary for any policy change. Prior to the 1980s, all developing countries had relatively stringent regulations on capital inflows and outflows. All foreign exchange transactions were strictly monitored and banks had limits on overseas borrowings. From the 1980s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) began to put pressures on the developing countries to liberalize the financial sectors, justifying that the access to foreign capital would allow these countries to invest more than the domestic savings allowed them to. Besides, short-term cyclical recessions could be balanced with countercyclical capital inflows from overseas. Also, free mobility of capital would also allow domestic investors to invest abroad thus neutralizing domestic shocks while also allowing them to earn higher risk-adjusted returns. Lastly, the dismantling of the bureaucratic shackles would allow the financial sectors of the developing countries become more professional, the IMF argued. Consequently, many Asian countries liberalized the capita l accounts as they did the trade accounts in the 1980s and 1990s, and the result was higher growth rates in Gross Domestic Product in the immediately succeeding years. However, by 1996, many of these same economies began to show signs of slower growth. Simultaneously, what disturbed the analysts were the growing current account deficits and increase in foreign

The Hubble Telescope Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Hubble Telescope - Research Paper Example The Hubble telescope was the first space anchored telescope by man. Hubble has proven to be the key to the casket of knowledge pertaining to the skies of the space. It has helped in answering the most fascinating and intriguing queries of the astronomers of the planet Earth. The Hubble has had the privilege of researching out and about almost everything in the Universe known so far, from black holes to other solar systems in which planets revolve around stars similar to our own milky way. Astronomy was given a new meaning ever since Hubble endeavored upon its cruise as a result of which mankind has been steered on a new mission. The present study initiates from an introduction of what the universe is. It proceeds further with the reason behind the development of the Hubble Telescope and ventures into its twenty one year journey so far. THE UNIVERSE The Universe is everything around us. It has unimaginable boundaries that can neither be seen with naked human eye nor can be imagined. P resent studies state that the Universe is ever expanding. Known to be made up of dust particles, numerous metals, gases, stars, clouds, galaxies and life forms, the universe has been the source of inquisitiveness for man ever since ancient times. The planet Earth on which human beings reside is one planet in one of the innumerable solar systems that spread out in the universe. Earth’s sky is filled with small specks of distant celestial objects whether they be stars or anything else. The fact that these specks of light are not just light bulbs in the sky but actually are celestial objects became known to man only after inventions and discoveries in the field of information and communications technology. Prior to them man could think of the Universe only till where his imagination took him. HISTORY The advent of information and communications technology dates back to the days of Galileo. Galileo’s invention of the telescope in the year 1609 was the major breakthrough in looking up distant things. It was the phenomenon of telescope only that bought life into the mere light specks that the Earth’s night sky displayed. There was unanimity in the desire of all the scientists: to see further more and more into the skies. Galileo’s Earth based telescope

The way we lie Essay Example for Free

The way we lie Essay People tell lies everyday,whether it is a simple white lire or a more complex lie. In article the way we lie written by Stephanie Ericsson she explains the different forms of lying, and how life is harder when we dont lie to authority figures, people we love.In the short story shooting an elephant the narrator is guilty of lying to the Native people in the village he is in. The narrator puts up a facade that he is like any other white man and can kill anything. A facade is an illusion, we put on to portray what we think the world expects from us. The narrator in Shooting an Elephant continuously lets us know that he does not want to kill the elephant but he feels that he must because thats what everyone is expecting from himI had no intention of shooting the elephant- I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary He also goes on to say how he feels like a fool going down the hill to kill the elephant, he continuously lets us know that he isnt what everyone thinks he is rather he is just as nervous as everyone else is. At the beginning of the short story we are told that the narrator is an european police officer in the town of Moulmein. When a person wears a police uniform one assumes many things.The first being that that person can protect us from harm and defend those who are weak. The narrator tries to preserve all these stereotypes in the short story. A stereotype is used to categorize a specific groups of people,although the narrator knows that he isnt a ruthless elephant killing machine he wants people to believe that they are safe around him. For them to think hes a good police officer he must kill the elephant regardless of what his initial intent was. because of the crowd gathering around him he doesnt want them to think that hes like any other white police officer, so he kills the elephant knowing that he didnt want to bring any harm to the elephant.

The Beatles :: Essay on The Beatles

The world's number one rock group consisted of John Winston (Ono) Lennon (born 10/09/40 - died 12/08/80), whose middle name came from his parent's admiration of Winston Churchill, and which John changed to Ono in later years; James Paul McCartney (born 06/18/42); George Harold Harrison (born 02/25/43 - died 11/29/01); and Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey 07/07/40). During the Beatles recording career from 1962 to 1970, they would release twenty-two singles (45rpm) in the United Kingdom, and thirty-three in the United States. Their first UK single was Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You, released October 5, 1962, on EMI/Parlophone Records. The first USA single would be Please Please Me/Ask Me Why, which they released on February 25, 1963 on Vee Jay Records. Although the Beatles were big in England, they had not yet caught on in the United States. Following their first USA single, came From Me To You/Thank YouGirl, which was released May 27, 1963 on Vee Jay, followed by She Loves You/I'll Get You on Swan Records. Finally on December 26, 1963, Capitol Records decided to release I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There, which went to number 1 on the Billboard Charts on January 18, 1964, and stayed there for seven weeks. As luck would have it, the Beatles first US visit planned for February 1964 with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show had been booked almost six months earlier. Only by accident did the Beatles I Want To Hold Your Hand happen to be at #1 the same time as their first US visit. One could not have asked for better timing. On January 30, 1964, following the success of I Want To Hold Your Hand, Vee Jay Records re released Please Please Me, only this time with From Me To You as the B-Side. In the United Kingdom, the Beatles released twelve albums (33 rpm/LP's), however released nineteen in the USA. There were several reasons for this. One is that UK albums had fourteen songs, whereby USA had only twelve. The second, and really the most important reason is that Capitol Records decided that they wanted to create their own albums, different from the UK, using titles taken from UK singles and EP (extended play) singles. Such US albums as Meet The Beatles, The Beatles Second Album, Something New, Beatles '65, The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help!, and Yesterday and Today, were never issued in the UK in this form.

History of football Essay

Football as well as rugby and soccer are believed to have descended from the ancient Greek game of harpaston. Harpaston is mentioned frequently in classical literature. where it is often referred to as a very rough and brutal game. The rules of this ancient sport were quite simple: Points were awarded when a player would cross a goal line by either kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player. The other team’s objective was simply to stop them by any means possible. There was no specific field length, no side line boundaries, no specified number of players per team, only a glaring lack of rules. Most modern versions of football are believed to have originated from England in the twelfth century. The game became so popular in England that the kings of that time (Henry II and Henry IV) actually banned football. They believed that football was taking away interest from the traditional sports of England, such as fencing and archery. Walter Camp Walter Camp was born April 17, 1859, in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended Yale from 1876 to 1882, where he studied medicine and business. Walter Camp was an author, athletic director, chairman of the board of the New Haven Clock Company, and director of the Peck Brothers Company. He was general athletic director and head advisory football coach at Yale University from 1888-1914, and chairman of the Yale football committee from 1888-1912. Camp played footba ll at Yale and helped evolve the rules of the game away from Rugby and Soccer rules into the rules of American Football as we know them today. One precursor to Walter Camp’s influence was William Ebb Ellis, a student at the Rugby School in England. In 1823, Ellis was the first person noted for picking up the ball during the soccer game and running with it, thereby breaking and changing the rules. In 1876, at the Massosoit convention, the the first attempts at writing down the rules of American football were made. Walter Camp edited every American Football rulebook until his death in 1925. Walter Camp contributed the following changes from Rugby and Soccer to American football one side retained undisputed possession of the ball, until that side gives up the ball as a result of its own violations the line of scrimmage 11 on a team instead of 15 created the quarter-back and center positions forward pass standardized the scoring system, numerical scoring created the safety, interference penalties, and the neutral zone tackling as low as the knee was permitted – 1888 a touchdown increased in value to six points and field goals went down to three points – 1912. The NFL or the National Football League, was formed in 1920 soccor/football Soccer is one of the most popular sports in Europe and the Americas. It has a vivid and interesting history in the world of sports. Early evidence of soccer being played as a sport finds occurrence in China during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. In China, it was during the Han dynasty that people dribbled leather balls by kicking it into a small net. Recorded facts also support the fact that Romans and Greeks used to play ball for fun and frolic. Some facts point to Kyoto in Japan where kicking of ball was a popular sport. It is said that early growth of the modern soccer started in England. Some amusing facts even mention that the first ball used was the head of some Danish brigand. It is said that during medieval times, the old form of soccer used to allow many ill practices like kicking, punching, biting and gouging. The main aim was to carry the ball to a target spot. People grew so fond of the game that they would throng the field all day long. Sometimes the competition grew fierce and masses got so wild that there were frequent incidents of violence during the game. It is also said that soldiers admired the game so much that they missed archery practice to watch it King Edward III banned soccer in 1365 owing to the growing incidents of violence and military indulgence in the sport. In 1424 King James I of Scotland also proclaimed in the Parliament— â€Å"Na man play at the Fute-ball No man shall play football When and where exactly did soccer start is a question that has no precise answer to it. You can easily say that this popular game has been played for more than three thousand years. The nativity of modern-day soccer must be credited to Britain. It was also known as the association football, with Scotland and England being the co-founders of the systematic game of soccer. Modern History of Soccer: 18th Century onwards In 1815, a major development took place that made soccer popular in Universities, Colleges and Schools. The popular English School and Eton College came forth with a set of rules, known as the Cambridge Rules. Football was segregated into two groups; some colleges and schools opted for Rugby rules that allowed tripping, shin kicking and also carrying the ball. These rules were exclusively prohibited as per the Cambridge rules. The history of modern-day soccer was established in 1863. In October 1863, eleven representatives from London clubs and schools met at the Freemason’s Tavern to set up common fundamental rules to control the matches amongst themselves. The outcome of this meeting was the formation of the Football Association. In December 1863, the Rugby Football and Association football finally split as the supporters of the Rugby School rules walked out. Firmly establishing the foundation of soccer in 1869, the Football Association strictly banned any kind of handling of the ball. Soccer’s popularity spread rapidly during the 1800s as British sailors, traders and soldiers introduced the sport to different parts of the globe. Italians, Austrians and Germans drew to Europe, while Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil adopted the sport in South America. FIFA was established in the year 1904 and by early 1930s, different leagues were operating from various countries. FIFA is credited with organizing the first world cup in Uruguay. The history of soccer is rich with events, development and its growing craze all over the world. You will find yourself amazed as you learn about different times of this wonderful sport that has held our awe and admiration for over 3000 years. why is soccer called football The game that the rest of the world calls football or â€Å"the beautiful game† goes by a different name in the United States and Canada soccer. Americans adopted the name soccer after almost 100 years of playing this game under the name football. The game’s history and development provides important clues about the use of the word soccer to identify the game in the countries that do not call it football.

How Can Building Surveyors Efficiently Differentiate Asr and Attack

Contents 1. Introduction2 2. Concrete attacks2 3. Alkali-Silica Reaction – ASR3 4. Sulphate Attack5 5. Reference List8 1. Introduction This report was issued in order to provide an in depth understanding of how a surveyor can differentiate between Alkali-Silica Reaction and Sulphate attacks in concrete when inspecting a building. In order to satisfy the requirements for this report, the author will give a detailed description of both kind of attacks, different study areas, experiments, diagnosis and forms of repair.To be able to define and analyse this topic, the author of this report has used different sources of reference such as books, academic journals, World Wide Web and several British Standards. By the end of this report, the writer will be able to demonstrate that the questioned concrete attacks can be differentiated by any professional surveyor when inspecting the concrete in a building. 2. Concrete attacks Chemical attacks usually occurs when using poor quality cemen t although good concrete has been known to be subjected to conditions that can lead to its deterioration.The environment â€Å"supplies† several physical and chemical forces which can contribute to concrete deterioration. BRE (2005) delivered a full list of chemical attacks that can arise both land contaminated by human and natural ground. There are several rarely occurred chemical attacks that are mainly caused by contaminated land; these are chemical species such as ammonium or chromium, but also organic such as phenols. The higher the quantity of these chemicals is, the higher the concrete attack.The most known forms of concrete attacks are: * Chloride penetration leading to corrosion of steel and spilling of the concrete cover; * Inadequate cover of reinforcing steel. Less common causes of concrete deterioration caused by chemicals or chemical reaction are: * Cycles of freezing and thawing; * Carbonation resulting in an increase of steel corrosion; * Sulphate attack; * Sh rinking aggregates; * Alkali-aggregate reactions. . Alkali-Silica Reaction – ASR It is believed that there are three types of alkali-aggregate reactions that will affect the condition of concrete: alkali-silicate reaction, alkali-carbonate reaction and alkali-silica reaction. It is believed that the alkali-silica reaction â€Å"may be found in the concrete because microcrystalline quartz or stained quartz is often present in aggregates contacting phyllosilicates† (Hobbs D. W. , 1988).The Institution of Structural Engineers (1988) described Alkali-Silica Reaction as being a chemical process in which the alkalis, found mostly in cement, when combined with specific types of silica found in aggregates, particularly in moist condition, will produce an alkali-silica gel that eventually will absorb the moisture from concrete, causing cracking and disruptions of concrete. British Cement Association (1993) advised that in order to determine that the inspected concrete cracking is a result of Alkali-Silica Reaction, the surveyor should sample and test the area â€Å"before any definite interpretation can be attempted†.Because of poor workmanship, shrinkage, weathering or differential stresses, the concrete can produce characteristics that will often be confused with Alkali-Silica Reaction. BCA (1993) are aware that â€Å"it is not always easy to distinguish these features from those indicative of ASR†. Their recommendation is that if suspected the sample should be taken into laboratory and further investigated. Because of the damping characteristics, the surveyor should allow dry weather when inspecting a suspected Alkali-Silica Reaction area.The degree of wetting should be recorded by the surveyor as this might be due to rain, condensation, leaking pipes, water run-off or poor detailing of construction. A second inspection is recommended if damp patches at the junction of the cracks are observed. It is known that Alkali-Silica Reaction will form a mapping crack at the surface of the concrete. Fig 1 is and extreme example of macrocracking found at the Hoover Dam, USA. Fig1. Example of cracking due to ASR at the Hoover Dam, USA Image taken from Hobbs, D. W. (1988, pp. 16)As it can be seen from the image, there are specific signs that this is an Alkali-Silica Reaction such as damp patches at the junction of the cracks and the edges of the cracks often appearing to be light in colour. Cracking like this will often be confused by surveyors as being caused by an expansion or contraction. As it was said before, one major feature of Alkali-Silica Reaction in concrete is cracking. In order to record data for further investigations, the surveyor should sketch or photograph the crack pattern. One other characteristic of Alkali-Silica Reaction is discoloration.This occurs along the cracks and although similar to rust caused by reinforce bars within the concrete, the surveyor is advised that colour photographs are to be taken for a n off-site second investigation. If occurred in reinforced concrete, the cracks caused by Alkali-Silica Reaction will tend to follow the lines of the reinforcing bars. Although often confused with the cracks produced by the corrosion of the reinforcements, in order to provide a definite confirmation of ASR, the surveyor should enforce a microscopic examination of a sample taken from the interior of the concrete.It is often that the surveyors confuse the cracking pattern of the affected cement. Other characteristics of Alkali-Silica Reaction are discoloration, efflorescence, exudations and pop-outs. 4. Sulphate Attack â€Å"Sulphate attack is the term used to describe a series of chemical reactions between sulphate ions and the components of hardened concrete, principally the cement paste, caused by exposure of concrete to sulphate moisture† ( Skalny et al. 2002, p. 3) It is well known that sulphate attack mainly affects the brickwork and concrete by creating a disruption of t he mortar. The sulphate attack can create expansion, bowing and/or cracking of affected material. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) are the most vulnerable to sulphate environments (Bonshor 1996, Amin et al. 2007). OPC is one of the most common cement used in construction industry. Its main composition is ground limestone and clay.When burned, these components form the basis of most concretes. According to Ramson (1993, p. 19) if bauxite is used instead of clay, a high-alumina cement is produced. The main characteristic of this cement is its rapid rate of strengths developed and also if not ‘covered’ the high resistance to sulphate attacks. This can be one of the first evidence for surveyors that the concrete is not affected by sulphate attack. The main idea of sulphate attacks is simple.Bonshor and Bonshor (1996) describes that the sulphate salts migrating from neighbouring building materials, or sometimes even enclosed in th e groundwater react with elements of the OPC to produce ettringite or thaumasite. The most common circumstance of sulphate attack is when the unprotected concrete contains sulphate based materials or is exposed to sulphate groundwater. There are three main requirements necessary for sulphate attack to occur: (i) soluble sulphate salts such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.It is important to specify that attacks from different sulphates will have different result. Mortars or concretes attacked by sulphates such as calcium or sodium will have a soft mush; on the other side when attacks form magnesium sulphate occurs, this being considered the most aggressive, the main feature of this attack are the salts that sometimes crystallize out or near the surface of the attacked material; (ii) tricalcium aluminate consisted in ordinary or rapid hardening cement; (iii) a persistent wetness on the material.To understand the main manifestations of sulphate attacks in building component s, the author will describe the visual characteristics that a surveyor will look for, in order to distinguish and recognise when sulphate attack has occurred. * The mortar in the brickwork is considered by Addleson and Rice (1995) to be under sulphate attack from as early as two years after construction. One of the main visual appearances of the attack is the white colour of the cement. The mortar subjected to sulphate attack will become loose at the surface, sometimes presenting cracks along the bed joists.It is important to mention that surveyors often confuse the horizontal cracking from rendered walls caused by corrosion of strip ties in cavity walls with the sulphate attack. Bonshor and Bonshor (1996) recommend that if not confident with the diagnosis from visual inspection, the surveyor should sample the affected mortar and further examine in a specialist laboratory. University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol (2006) advice that sulphate attacks occurs where saturation is greatest and usually around parapet walls and chimney.This is due to the large exposer to rainfall. UWE believe that although in some cases repairs are possible, in most instances once started, the sulphate attack is impossible to stop therefore the only option is the re-building. * When the sulphate attack is detected in rendered brickwork there are several visual signs for a surveyor to distinguish the type of attack. Wide horizontal and vertical cracks will appear in the rendering. Outward curling of the rendering in the cracks might appear as a result of sulphate attack. Fig2. Example of Sulphate Attack on chimney brickworkImage taken from University of the West of England, Bristol, (2006) The adhesion of the rendering on the brickwork may fail; this can result in rendering falling off either from one brick or even a large portion this depending on the seriousness of the attack on brickwork. If untreated, the brickwork may be exposed to efflorescence. * There are several occasi ons when the sulphate attack occurs on the underside of the ground slabs. If not isolated by a damp proof membrane, the salts in the ground will react with the Portland cement causing a map-pattern of cracking.Bonshor and Bonshor (1996) recommend that BRE Digest 363 will provide guidance in the case of a sulphate attack on concrete. Generally sulphate attack in ground-bearing slabs will form cracks in a solid ground floor mainly if the recycled colliery shale has been used as capping layer for the ground underneath the slab. Because the sulphate attack in ground bearing slabs, the surveyor will have to investigate further whether the slab has a damp proof membrane and if possible what sort of material has been used as colliery shale fill.WRAP Organisation (2011) recommends colliery shale should be tested for sulphates especially if it is to be used in proximity to concrete. As building professional, a surveyor will be able to differentiate between Alkali-Silica Reaction and Sulphate attacks in concrete. There are several visual differences between these two chemical attacks. One of the major confusion made by surveyors is when inspecting a cracking pattern in a building. It is highly recommended that if suspected, the surveyor should take samples for laboratory examination. There are numerous chemical reactions that are likely to produce disruptive cracking in buildings.This is the reason why a professional surveyor should not rush and give diagnosis unless entirely sure about the cause. Word count: 1759 5. Reference List Addleson, L. and Rice, C. (1995) Performance of materials in buildings. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Alan Wood & Partners (2012) Sulphate attack . Available at: http://www. alanwood. co. uk/pdf/Sulphate-Attack. pdf (Accessed on 5th October 2012). Amin, M. M. , Jamaludin, S. B. , Pa, F. C. & Chuen, K. K. (2008) ‘Effects of magnesium sulphate attack on Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) mortars’, Portugaliae Electrochimica Acta, (26) , pp. 235-242. Bonshor, R. B. and Bonshor, L.L. (1996) Cracking in buildings. London: Construction Research Communication. British Cement Association (1993) The diagnosis of alkali-silica reaction. Available at: http://homepage. tudelft. nl/n89v3/LinkedDocuments/1992-DiagnosisOfASR. pdf (Accessed on 5th October 2012). Cook, G. K. and Hinks, A. J. (1992) Appraising building defects: perspectives on stability and hygrothermal performance. Essex: Longman Scientific & Technical. El-hachem, R. , Roziere, E. , Grondin, F. & Loukili, A. (2012) ‘New procedure to investigate external sulphate attack on cementitious materials’, Cement & Concrete Composites, (34), pp. 57-364. Farny, J. A. & Kosmatka, S. H. (1997) Diagnosis and control of Alkali-aggregate reactions in concrete. Available at: http://www. nebrconcagg. com/assets/PromotionPages/Mix%20Design/ASR1. PDF (Accessed on 6th October 2012). Giaccio, G. , Zerbino, R. , Ponce, J. M. & Batic, O. R. (2008) ‘Mechanical behavi our of concretes damaged by alkali-silica reaction’, Cement and Concrete Research, (38), pp. 993-1004. Hobbs, D. W. (1988) Alkali-silica reaction in concrete. London: Thomas Telford. Mittermayr, F. , Bauer, C. , Klammer, D. , Bottcher, M. E. , Leis, A. Escher, P. & Deitzel, M. (2012) ‘Concrete under sulphate attack: an isotope study on sulphur sources’, Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, 48 (1), pp. 105-117. Ransom, W. H. , (1993) Building failures: diagnosis and avoidance. 2nd edn. London: E & FN Spon. Sachlova, S. , Prikryl, R. & Pertold, Z. (2010) ‘Alkali-silica reaction products: Comparison between samples from concrete structures and laboratory test specimens’, Materials Characterization, (61), pp. 1379-1393. Sarkan, S. , Mahadevan, S. , Meeussen, J. C. L. , van der Sloot, H. & Kosson, D. S. 2010) ‘Numerical simulation of cementitious materials degradation under external sulphate attack’, Cement & Concrete Composites, (32 ), pp. 241-252. Skalny, J. , Marchand, J. & Odler, I. (2002) Sulphate attack on concrete. London: Spon Press. The Concrete Society (1985) Alkali-silica reaction: new structures-specifying the answer existing structures-diagnosis and assessment. London: Concrete Society. The Institution of Structural Engineers (1988) Structural effects of alkali-silica reaction: interim technical guidance on appraisal of existing structures. London: the Institution of Structural Engineers.University of the West of England, Bristol, (2006) Durability of clay bricks. Available at: https://environment7. uwe. ac. uk/resources/constructionsample/Conweb/walls/bricks/section6. htm (Accessed on 20th October 2012). WRAP, (2011) Burnt and unburnt colliery spoil, Available at: http://aggregain. wrap. org. uk/applications/wrap_pdf/aggregain/pdf_material. cfm? id=2910 (Accessed on 22th October 2012). Zerbino, R. , Giaccio, G. , Batic, O. R. & Isaia, G. C. (2012) ‘Alkali-silica reaction in mortars and concre tes incorporating natural rice husk ash’, Construction and Building Materials, (36), pp. 796-806.

English-language films Essay Example

English English-language films Essay English-language films Essay Love is a fallacy tells us about the not-so-brilliant idea of a self-conceited law student named Debbie to steal the girlfriend of his stupid roommate Petty by luring him to accept the raccoon coat which all he ever wanted in exchange of dating and marrying his beautiful dumb girlfriend, Poly. He believes that he would become a lawyer someday and observes that successful lawyers are decorated with beautiful, graceful and smart wives. He believes that under his audience he could smarten up Poly and will soon match his criteria. His overconfidence that he could change Poly to become an intelligent girl by teaching her the logic of fallacies backfired to him when he confessed his love for her. Unfortunately, Poly rejected his intentions to be his girlfriend by refuting his words with every fallacy that he taught her. In the end, Poly chose Petty because he has a raccoon coat. Love is a fallacy is indeed a hilarious and ironic story. It is a story about love which is written in such a ay that it stirs our reasoning and tickles our heart. I would like to commend the author for his admirable writing style making the story more realistic and dramatic even if he uses figures of speech and terms on logic and philosophy. It didnt focus on the romantic side of love rather it highlights the meaning of love based on each of the characters intention. It simply teaches us that deception begets deception and not love. The story is an affirmation that each one of us can do anything for love in our own silly ways. Sometimes, our wan misconceptions about love can lead us to carry out selfish plans for personal gains but will definitely boomerang to us in more hurtful and unexpected ways. People often tend to misinterpret, immiscible, misconstrue and even delusional about love because just like the title itself love is a fallacy, love cannot be explained by reasoning per SE because it is the purest of all emotions. The story as a whole didnt romanticizes about love rather it gave us a glimpse of the consequences of our actions based on how we deal with love.

Tensions and Conflict on the Korean Peninsula

Tensions and Conflict on the Korean Peninsula The Korean Peninsula is a region located in Eastern Asia extending south from the Asian continent for about 683 miles (1,100 km). Today, it is politically divided into North Korea and South Korea. North Korea is located on the northern part of the peninsula, and it extends from China south to the 38th parallel of latitude. South Korea then extends from that area and encompasses the rest of the Korean Peninsula. The Korean Peninsula was in the news for much of 2010, and especially toward the end of the year, because of growing conflicts between the two nations. Conflict on the Korean Peninsula is not new however as North and South Korea have long had tensions with one another that dates back before the Korean War, which ended in 1953. History of the Korean Peninsula Historically, the Korean Peninsula was occupied by only Korea, and it was ruled by several different dynasties, as well as the Japanese and the Chinese. From 1910 to 1945 for example, Korea was controlled by the Japanese, and it was mostly controlled from Tokyo as a part of the Empire of Japan. Toward the end of World War II, the Soviet Union (USSR) declared war on Japan, and by August 10, 1945, it occupied the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. At the end of the war, Korea was then divided into northern and southern portions at the 38th parallel by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference. The United States was to administer the southern part, while the USSR administered the northern area.This division started the conflicts between the two areas of Korea because the northern region followed the USSR and became communist, while the south opposed this form of government and formed a strong anti-communist, capitalist government. As a result, in July of 1948, the anti-communist southern region drafted a constitution and began to hold national elections which were subjected to terrorism. However, on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was officially founded, and Syngman Rhee was elected as president. Shortly after that, the USSR established a Communist North Ko rean Government called the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) with Kim Il-Sung as its leader. Once the two Koreas were formally established, Rhee and Il-Sung worked to reunify Korea. This caused conflicts though because each wanted to unify the area under their own political system and rival governments were established. Also, North Korea was heavily supported by the USSR and China and fighting along the border of North and South Korea was not uncommon. The Korean War By 1950, the conflicts on the border of North and South Korea led to the beginning of the Korean War. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and almost immediately the United Nations member states began to send aid to South Korea. North Korea was, however, able to quickly advance south by September 1950. By October though, U.N. forces were able to move the fighting north again and on October 19, North Koreas capital, Pyongyang was taken. In November, Chinese forces joined North Korean forces and the fighting was then moved back south and in January 1951, South Koreas capital, Seoul was taken. In the months that followed, heavy fighting ensued, but the center of the conflict was near the 38th parallel. Although peace negotiations began in July of 1951, fighting continued throughout 1951 and 1952. On July 27, 1953, peace negotiations ended, and the Demilitarized Zone was formed. Shortly after that, an Armistice Agreement was signed by the Korean Peoples Army, the Chinese Peoples Volunteers and the United Nations Command, which was led by the U.S. South Korea however, never signed the agreement, and to this day an official peace treaty has never been signed between North and South Korea.   Todays Tensions Since the end of the Korean War, tensions between North and South Korea have remained. For example according to CNN, in 1968, North Korea unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate South Koreas president. In 1983, a bombing in Myanmar that was linked to North Korea  killed 17 South Korean officials, and in 1987, North Korea was accused of bombing a South Korean airplane. Fighting has also repeatedly occurred both land and sea borders because each nation is continually trying to unify the peninsula with its own system of government.In 2010, tensions between North and South Korea were especially high after a South Korean warship was sunk on March 26. South Korea claims that North Korea sunk the Cheonan in the Yellow Sea off the South Korean island of Baengnyeong. North Korea denied responsibility for the attack and tensions between the two nations have been high ever since. Most recently on November 23, 2010, North Korea launched an artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. North Korea claims that South Korea was conducting war maneuvers, but South Korea states that it was conducting maritime military drills. Yeonpyeong was also attacked in January 2009. It is located near a maritime border between the countries that North Korea wants moved south. Since the attacks, South Korea began practicing military drills in early December.To learn more about the historic conflict on the Korean Peninsula and the Korean War, visit this  page on the Korean War as well as North Korea and South Korea Facts from this site. Sources CNN Wire Staff. (23 November 2010). Korean Tension: A Look at the Conflict - CNN.com. Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Korean War - Infoplease.com. United States Department of State. (10 December 2010). South Korea.

Economics and business strategies Research Paper

Economics and business strategies - Research Paper Example Practically, the objective of the team owners differs depending on the nation, league and the team. Further, the objective of the team members is significantly affected by the relation of the team to additional assets of the team owner. Consequently, Zimbalist presents that there is no league, which has all the members with equal motivations as well as objectives; therefore, the generalization that leagues can have members with similar motivations and objectives is inconsistent and imperfect.i On the other hand, a corporate-guided market is a form of a dominant market through which abundance is achieved. Through corporate guided markets, aggregate spending is also conducted. In order to understand how this market works, it is crucial to put into consideration how corporations succeed at providing a new market for a branded product. Discussion Zimbalist’s Explanation of Different Owner Motivations of Sports Teams Concept of Competitive Balance and Different Owner Motivations Zi mbalist illustrates various concepts that motivate team owners in their business. First, he states that the team owners are not primarily motivated by the quest to make profits. Certain team owners are motivated by the social prestige so that they seek to be associated and identified with well-liked and successful sports team. Media publicity accounts for the reasons the team owners are motivated to invest in sport teams.ii Even though profit making is part of the business objectives, it does not count as the leading motivation behind such kind of businesses. The push for power, aspiration for prestige, predisposition to team identification and associated feeling of team loyalty drive and motivate the team owners to invest in league business. In addition, the other motivational reasons for team owners that equate to social prestige include personal fulfillment and enjoyment, commitment to professional sports and satisfaction found in sports.iii Second, a part of the team owners is m otivated by the pursuit of profits in sports business. Team owners may be motivated to invest in teams for nonprofit making reasons, making such team owners to be perceived as philanthropists. In contrast, some team owners are primarily motivated to achieve profits out of their investments in the teams. The behaviors revealed by the team owners in pricing regulations and the player salaries demonstrate that profit maximization also accounts for team owner motivations in sport teams. Nevertheless, the ownership motivation involving profit maximization has various inconclusive dimensions to support the hypothesis.iv Third, team ownership is motivated by the need for successful business tycoons to advertise the business products and seek approval of the community in the business they operate. The sports teams are used by these businesspersons to commercialize their ventures in sports sphere.v Furthermore, Zimbalist asserts that team ownership is motivated by the need to publicize busin ess ventures and seek refuge in the federal tax legislation’s development.vi The ownership of teams offers business tycoons tax sheltering opportunities unavailable to other types of ventures. Generally, the

Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli Severance Pay Case Study

Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli Severance Pay - Case Study Example On a closer look many factors are behind Robert Nardelli's huge severance package that cannot be traced to Nardelli alone; but there are measures that could be used to done to reign over-the-top CEO compensations such as Nardelli's. According to Alan Sloan, business analyst of Washington Post (Sloan, p. D01), Nardelli is not receiving a severance pay more than he was actually entitled to under the employment contract he signed in 2000 with the board of Home Depot. Ken Langone, one of the founders of Home Depot, continued Sloan was in fact was one of those of people who was involved in negotiating for Nardelli, one of the two GE executives who was one-time candidate to replace famous Jack Welch when he left GE. In the same article, Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate at the Corporate Library which investigates corporate governance said that the trouble started in 2000, and that everything was in Nardelli's contract. ... One of the issues raised by Nardelli's case was how shareholders who are the owners-at-large of a company could be relegated to the sidelines in deciding executive pay packages. This was borne out when Nardelli with an absent board presided alone over the annual stockholders held on May 28, 2006 in which he was criticized for cutting off stockholders' questions over his compensation (NPR, January 6, 2007; Grow par. 8-9). On December 2006, Relational Investors rebuked Home Depot's management and called on a review of the firm's direction and even a possibility of a sale. What came to pass with Nardelli's resignation a month later, with him leaving with a fat severance package even highlighted the need for more power granted to shareholders in deciding what and how much to pay company CEOs. In a report by CNNMoney.com, a proposal filed by one of Home Depot's investors and endorsed by long-time shareholders Laborers' International Union of America (LIUNA) would require the board to get shareholder approval for what was termed as "extraordinary retirement benefits". In other companies such as Sprint, GE, Qwest, Delta and Verizon, investors have filed similar proposals to scale down severance packages according Hodgson in an interview with CNNMoney.com. Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli Severance Pay Another reason for reducing huge pay packages of huge CEOs is in the interest of wealth equality. National Public Radio reported in an article by Uri Berliner that one of the reasons that the very rich or the top-earning one percent continue to increase their share of the country's wealth (from 8 percent to 16 percent in 2004) was that affluent people own more in stocks. CEOs like