A Guide On Writing A Winning Creative Essay

A Guide On Writing A Winning Creative Essay How to Write a Strong Creative Essay An essay is a special type of written assignment that requires much more from the student than good research skills. The biggest component of successful essay writing is writing skills, and most people aren’t born with a set of skills that a professionally written essay requires. We acquire writing skills throughout our education, but what if you have an essay due in a couple of days and fear that your might lack creative writing skills? This isn’t an uncommon situation at all many students and newbie writers realize that putting their thoughts into words that will engage the audience and make up an interesting piece of writing isn’t the easiest thing in the world. However, there is also no need to become desperate, as we have some helpful tips to make your creative writing assignment easier and more successful. What Is A Creative Essay? So what exactly makes creative writing so different from anything else you’ll encounter in your life as a student and more challenging than any other assignment? A creative essay is a type of nonfiction writing, which means it should be based on real-life events. Unlike technical literature or journalistic pieces, creative essay doesn’t simply inform readers of an event or concept it introduces the subject in a way that is fascinating and informative to the audience. A creative essay writer can use different methods to convey their point of view: in many successful creative essays you will find as many literary devices as in a strong fiction piece. Depending on the purpose and the subject of the assignment, you may be asked to write a descriptive or narrative essay. 4 Features Of Creative Essay There are several types of creative essays you may sooner or later encounter, but all truly creative nonfiction essays have these 4 features in common: The writer should base their writing on thorough research and analysis of the facts, which should then be interpreted for the story. A good creative essay combines facts with fiction in a manner that is both enlightening and entertaining to the readers. The writer employs various techniques to engage the audience starting from the very first sentence of the essay and keeps them interested until the last word. A creative essay needs to be based on a major, universal experience. This is essentially everything you need to know about creative essay as a genre. If you want to know how to write a convincing creative essay, keep reading for some helpful tips! How To Pick The Right College Creative Essay Topic If you are free to choose your own topic for the next creative essay assignment, here are some ways to find the perfect topic for your writing exercise: Find a concept that greatly influenced your opinion and tell your audience about it; Imagine you have been assigned as a keynote speaker: what would you talk about? Describe your biggest talent and how it helped you navigate through life; Choose one historical event from the past that influenced you the most and talk about it; Who is the one historical figure you would like to talk to and why? Choose a viral video or some other piece of content everyone is familiar with and analyze it. How To Write A Creative Essay Working on any writing assignment and creative essay in particular requires a lot of effort from you, and in order to do the best job with creating a convincing piece of writing, there are some rules you need to follow. As soon as you have the topic for your essay, it is time to brainstorm some ideas. The best way to keep the ideas organized and connected to each other is to create a mind map, which will highlight the links between different concepts and points of your writing. The next thing you need to do is conduct thorough research using every method available to you to gather as much evidence supporting your ideas as possible. You can use internet for doing the research, but don’t forget to properly reference your findings in the writing. When enough research was done, you can move on to creating the outline of your work. And don’t forget to design a powerful thesis, as it will serve as the base for the rest of the essay. Creative Essay Structure The structure of a typical creative essay isn’t different from the most traditional written assignment structure you likely worked with before. Your creative essay needs to have an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and conclusion. The introduction has to be powerful: view it as a way to grab attention of your readers and convince them to give your piece a more detailed look. The first sentence is especially important in this regard: you can use statistics, facts, quotes, or anecdotes as your hook. The final sentence of your introduction is a thesis statement make sure to put some extra thought into it. The next step in writing a creative essay is designing the body paragraphs. Each key point of your essay needs to be discussed in a separate paragraph. Start each paragraph with an opening sentence that explains what the readers are about to find out from the paragraph. Each point must be supported by strong evidence. You should also use smooth transitions between each paragraph to ensure a logical flow of the writing and showcase your excellent writing skills. The conclusion is the finishing touch that also influences the success of your essay. Here you can once again state your thesis, briefly reintroduce the supporting ideas, and tell the audience why your work is significant. Editing and Proofreading Even the most skilled writers create several drafts of their work before showing it to the audience. Editing your essay may take some time, but it’s the best way to make sure your writing meets the highest standards. When reading and editing your work, pay attention even to the smallest details: correct the structure and flow of the essay if necessary. Proofreading is another important aspect of essay writing. While proofreading your essay, you not only have to correct possible grammar and punctuation mistakes, but also ensure that your choice of words fits proper academic style. Of course, spelling mistakes have no place in a quality creative paper. Writing a Creative Essay Title The title of your creative essay is the first impression the reader gets of your work, so it’s super important not to take time and pay enough attention to coming up with a great title for the essay. The title should be completely relevant to the subject and grab the reader’s attention from the first words. The most effective strategy for designing a winning title is taking the most essential idea of the essay and rewriting it to make it even more powerful and engaging. Do You Need Help with Creative Essay? These tips explain the nature of writing creative essay and give you some valuable insight into how to do a great job in this challenging task. But what if writing is simply not your forte? What if you have been looking for the ideal essay topic for days but still haven’t found one? What if there is simply not enough time and you already have several other important assignments? Many students struggle with writing creative essays, but there is one simple solution that will help you improve your grades in the most effortless way possible! Let our professional writers create the essay for you, strictly following all the guidelines and requirements you provide. We have every tool and solution to deliver custom-written academic papers whenever you want, so don’t hesitate and get in touch with us to get the help you need.

Maos Hundred Flowers Campaign in China

Mao's Hundred Flowers Campaign in China In late 1956, just seven years after the Red Army prevailed in Chinas Civil War, Chairman of the Communist Party Mao Zedong announced that the government wanted to hear citizens true opinions about the regime. He  sought to promote the development of a new Chinese culture, and said in a speech that Criticism of the bureaucracy is pushing the government towards the better. This was a shock to the Chinese people since the Communist Party had always previously cracked down on any citizen bold enough to criticize the party or its officials. The Liberalization Movement Mao named this liberalization movement the Hundred Flowers Campaign, after a traditional poem: Let a hundred flowers bloom/Let a hundred schools of thought contend. Despite, the Chairmans urging, however, the response among the Chinese people was muted. They did not truly believe that they could criticize the government without repercussions. Premier Zhou Enlai had received only a handful of letters from prominent intellectuals,  containing very minor and cautious critiques of the government. By the spring of 1957, communist officials changed their tone.  Mao announced that criticism of the government was not just allowed but preferred, and began to directly pressure some leading intellectuals to send in their constructive criticism. Reassured that the government truly wanted to hear the truth, by May and early June  of that year,  university professors and other scholars were sending in millions of letters containing increasingly assertive suggestions and criticisms.  Students and other citizens also held criticism meetings and rallies, put up posters, and published articles in magazines calling for reform. Lack of Intellectual Freedom Among the issues targeted by the people during the Hundred Flowers Campaign were the lack of intellectual freedom, the harshness of previous crack-downs on  opposition leaders,  the close adherence to Soviet ideas, and the much higher standard of living enjoyed by Party leaders versus the ordinary citizens.  This flood of vociferous criticism seems to have taken Mao and Zhou by surprise. Mao, in particular, saw it as a threat to the regime; he felt that the opinions being voiced were no longer constructive criticism, but were harmful and uncontrollable. Halt to the Campaign On June 8, 1957, Chairman Mao called a halt to the Hundred Flowers Campaign.  He announced that it was time to pluck the poisonous weeds from the bed of flowers. Hundreds of intellectuals and students were rounded up, including pro-democracy activists Luo Longqi and Zhang Bojun, and were forced to publicly confess that they had organized a secret conspiracy against socialism. The crackdown sent hundreds of leading Chinese thinkers to labor camps for re-education or to prison. The brief experiment with freedom of speech was  over. The Debate Historians continue to debate whether Mao genuinely wanted to hear suggestions on governance, in the beginning, or whether the Hundred Flowers Campaign was a trap all along.  Certainly, Mao had been shocked and appalled by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchevs speech, publicized on March 18, 1956, in which Khrushchev denounced former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for building a cult of personality, and ruling through suspicion, fear, and terror. Mao may have wanted to gauge whether intellectuals in his own country viewed him the same way. It is also possible, however, that Mao and more particularly Zhou were truly seeking new  paths for developing Chinas culture and arts under the communist model. Whatever the case, in the aftermath of the Hundred Flowers Campaign, Mao stated that he had flushed the snakes out of their caves.  The rest of 1957 was devoted to an Anti-Rightest Campaign, in which the government ruthlessly crushed all dissent.

Smoking should be banned in public places Annotated Bibliography - 1

Smoking should be banned in public places - Annotated Bibliography Example Naiman et al are all health professionals working in health centres or tutoring in institutions of health qualifies them to expound on the issue. Neiman et al article introduction covers the historical implementation of the public ban on smoking in Canada. The authors later share the findings of their study on the effect of the ban on public and workplace second hand smoking. They rely on the Canadian community health survey data. Neiman et al is a point on article as it focuses on the topic on my interest as it gives evidence to my argument. The findings of their study that the ban has led to reduced second hand smoking by use of empirical evidence validates my study and is a worthwhile source. The study shows where the ban has been applied, substantial success has been observed as it focuses on the municipalities of Canada an d measures exposure rates, comparing them to data before the ban. I would recommend this source although most of the issues discussed are at an advanced level, and the review part is rather taxing to follow. Patience is required in using it, as list of sources is

Enviromental Economics Problem Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enviromental Economics Problem - Research Paper Example Healthcare by products have been disposed to rivers and other areas that are ineffective for their disposal. As a result these wastes have brought with them different devastating affects most of them affecting the economy of the country. The waste is as a result of various economic activities taking place in the country. This therefore means that the waste and their effects are as a result of market failures. Identification of the problem is a key factor here and it involves looking at all the externalities of the various economic activities and the economic activities that are associated with them. Problem analysis is the other factor that we consider here. By the use of a demand curve, we can determine the net social benefit and the marginal private benefit and determine the causes of these externalities. At the end a solution which is economically appropriate is given out to replace the various policies. Problem identification There are various environmental problems that are seen in Kuwait. Following the announcement by Mohammed Al-Enzi that Sabah Al-Ahmad city was at a risk of pollution due to the exposure of the various liquid industrial wastes. This is situated just four kilometers from the city. He also states that Kuwait is one of the countries that have challenges regarding environmental waste disposal. Municipal solid waste is also a problem that is faced by the country. The collection of this waste, their transportation and disposal is a major challenge for the country various suggestions have been put forward to help in the management of these sites such involves the use of anaerobic digestion of the waste before disposing them to the land. Using LCA, the impact of these waste were seen to influence people a lot negatively. Electronic waste is another important point of discussion here. E waste should always be separated with other waste that is decomposable. However in Kuwait, these E wastes are mixed with other waste materials that can be decompo sed thereby making it even hard to dispose. People are also ignorant about the effects of electronic waste on the life of an individual and the entire world. Most people therefore do not take necessary effects needed in order to separate the E wastes from other bio degradable wastes. Awareness is therefore needed and this is the call for both public and government intervention. Healthcare products waste is also common in Kuwait. There are various diseases that are seen in the area of Kuwait due to the rising number of bad disposal of healthcare products. These result in negative economic impact on the government and the people of Kuwait as this disease are expensive to treat and better ways of disposal are also expensive to set and maintain. Poor disposal of these materials is also a major challenge that is faced by the people of Kuwait. By products from healthcare is also a challenge to the people as they have to think of the best way to dispose them and make them have no threat to causing diseases. Various hospitals are also taking the advantage of government reluctance and disposing their waste in a dangerous manner. This result in environmental pollution which in the long run affects the economy. Problem analysis The externalities experienced in Kuwait are as a result of the marginal social cost (MSC) being more than the private costs (MPC). From the look, there is more profit that the government an

Research Methods for Social Epidemiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Methods for Social Epidemiology - Essay Example In looking at Beaglehole’s work on Basic Epidemiology a general understanding of the discipline can be comprehended. The World Health Organization (2002) defines social epidemiology as â€Å"the study of how society and different forms of social organization influence the health and well-being of individuals and populations†. The appearance of social inequalities in the way that economic related issues are concerned are ways in which the study of a society can reveal needs that must be addressed to thwart the way in which disease affects the lives of members of a social group in comparison to the way it affects those of another group. It has been shown through the work of social epidemiologists that inequities within the economic social structure of a nation can lead to inequities within the medical care that is available and provided. By looking at the ways in which this research is approached, an understanding of the impact of these kinds of studies can be assessed for merit and for future responsibility toward social change. Dennis Raphael (2000) has created a study of the inequities that exist in the health care within the United States. His research is based on U.S. statistical information on economics and health, correlating the two to create conclusions about the way in which economic inequalities create diverse general health implications. With the use of secondary research to prove his hypothesis, he is able to create support for his points of interest and create strong connective dialogue for his theories. However, one of the weaknesses of this use of secondary research is that much of the information is not recent to his publication date of 2000. As an example, in the section that makes a connection between health differences in relation to race, the statistics that are being used are from 1985 and 1987. With this topic, the way in which

The Wembley National Stadium Construction Essay

The Wembley National Stadium Construction Essay It was built to be the new home of football; to be one of the largest and magnificent stadiums in the world and designed to be state-of-the-art with a seating capacity of 90,000. Designed by the World Stadium Team led by Mott MacDonald, the Wembley Stadium now stands as the most expensive stadium ever built, the longest single-span roof structure in the world (315m), second largest stadium in Europe and the tallest in the world (133m) with every seat under roof cover. The concept was to build a state-of-the-art stadium, with none that can compare anywhere else in the world. The new stadium has a partly retractable roof which can be adjusted to allow sunlight to reach all parts of the pitch. During bad weather, the roof can be retracted in about 15 minutes to cover every seat (http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/wembley/).  £120 million from the Lottery Fund was invested into the stadium with an additional loan of  £426 million through West Deutsche Landesbank. A fixed price contract was reached between the client and contractors. This made provision for a building cost of  £352 million and total project costs of  £757 million (Public Accounts Committee, 2004). However, like most iconic construction projects of national interest, the Wembley project was not spared its own share of controversies, accusations, rumours, anxieties and fascination. The Football Association (FA) must have imagined a spectacular 2006 FA Cup grand finale, the biggest UK soccer championship at Wembley National Stadium. Unfortunately, this important event had to be moved all the way to Wales! What was wrong? Wembley Stadiums extraordinarily ambitious re-development was utterly behind schedule.  The project later opened in March 2007, almost a year behind schedule and  £70million over budget and has since then kept some of the finest construction lawyers in constant employment. The Wembley Stadium concept was definitely ambitious and the product stands now impressively. Even more breathe taking is the 133m arch which when lit up at night shinning gloriously, and can even be seen across London. Wembley has indeed become Englands new icon of football. The client for the project was the Football Association (FA) working through its subsidiary the Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL). The main contractor was Multiplex Constructions with Mott MacDonald being the Lead Designers. The project used two project advisors; Tropus at the initial stages (1997-2001) and Capita Symonds (2001-2006). The initial steel contractor was Cleveland Bridge 2.0 Problems during the project A litany of problems can be identified that bedevilled the construction of the Wembley Stadium mainly adversarial contracts, unreasonable risk allocation, cash-flow problems, design changes, poor performance, poor site management and litigations. These are presented in details below: Delays and indecisiveness even before the project begun: Plans for a new stadium were beset with delays, management problems and increasing costs since December 1996. The designs were revealed in 1999 and the stadium should have been completed in 2003 but the work itself started only in September 2002 due to many political and financial problems. The project was finally rescheduled to complete in May 2006 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2119413.stm). Design Problems: Multiplex argued that Mott MacDonald`s design for the Wembley steel work was not fit for purpose and that the initial designs were not correct, constructible, co-ordinated and consistent. It further stated that Mott MacDonalds deficient design, failure to warn and/or take action is shown in many thousands of individual acts or omissions (Technology and Construction Court (TCC), 2006). Scope Creep: The initial scope was to accommodate athletics, rugby and football in the same stadium. This later became very controversial and resulted in the removal of athletics from the scheme in 1999, because of the technical and commercial challenges of accommodating the three sports within the same stadium. In December 2001, the scope was further changed with the removal of a hotel from the project, the expansion of hospitality suites and considerable changes to the north side of the stadium bowl. This took the Mott Consortium 7-8 months to redesign. These changes increased the cost of the project especially in steel works (TCC, 2006). Procurement Issues: In the conclusions of Public Accounts Committee (Eighth Report of Session 2003-04), it stated that Best procurement practice has not been followed on what is a high profile project Organisations responsible for managing projects should be expected to set out a formal procurement process, which treats all bidders equally to avoid giving any one a potential advantage over the others. It further criticised Wembley National Stadium Limited for failing to follow a detailed and overt formal procurement process and having dialogue with Multiplex prior to starting the procurement process. A report by former Wembley project manager Tropus, said the appointment was made with undue speed. The James Report also concluded that there had been serious flaws in the procurement policies.'(James Report, 2002) Poor Communication: Apart from the major changes in the scope of the works, Multiplex  lamented not given access to vital design information which made them underprice the steelwork. Mott on the other hand thought Multiplex was aware of the state of design, having managed the design process and having been intimately involved in the design work. (Wembley Stadium into Injury Time, 2002) Poor Planning and organisation: A lot of decisions seem to have been made hastily. No wonder several changes had to be made at later stages. When it became a prime objective to finish the project in time for the FA Cup finale in May 2006, efficiency and cost effectiveness became secondary issues. In my opinion, a lot of problems could have been avoided if Multiplex did not have to rush the job to meet unrealistic deadlines. Multiplex claims that it has sustained significant losses as a result of a multitude of breaches of contract and/or acts of negligence by the consultant, which had far-reaching effects for Wembley (TCC, 2006; Baloch, 2008). Disputes and disagreements: Cleveland Bridge (CB), the steel contractor terminated their contract in 2004 because they did not believe they would be paid for materials and that there were seemingly insurmountable difficulties between them and Multiplex. A sustained input from a steelwork subcontractor could have greatly influenced the timely completion of the project but eventually CB had to be replaced with all attending problems of a new project team member. Health and Safety problems: In March 2006, a temporary roof support fell by over half resulting in the evacuation of all construction workers and delay of work. Another accident occurred January 2004 resulting in the death of one construction worker and the injury of another when a platform collapsed without warning, trapping the men underneath (http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/wembley/) Poor Performance by Cleveland Bridge: Delays were caused by CB as not all the steel sent to China could be fabricated in time to comply with the programme. So the steel sent to China was often shipped back to England with most not fabricated. Furthermore the steel sent to site was often missing crucial pieces (meaning it could not be erected) or else was untagged with the consequence that site staff could not identify the relevant pieces of steel (TCC, 2006). Poor Supervision by Sports England: The Government was less than happy with the level of supervision offered by Sport England. It stated that Sport Englands performance in monitoring the progress of the project has been lack, slovenly and supine. This ultimately resulted in supply team missing the focal point of the project right from the beginning and before long, a lot was out of hand (Wembley Stadium into Injury Time, 2002). Poor Stakeholder management: In a statement by The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee, it blamed some of the problems encountered on the project on poor stakeholder management. It said, the project had been undermined by the fundamental failure to include all representatives at the outset in planning the redevelopment (www.publications.parliament.uk). The resignation of Ken Bates in 2001 as chairman of WNSL gives a further hint. He cited a lack of support from the board and that he had been undermined by senior figures within both the government and the FA. He remarkably said, Even Jesus Christ only had one Pontius Pilate I had a whole team of them. (www.forbes.com). 3.0 The Problems Encountered: The Role of Project Management Project Management (PM) is the . . . application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to achieve project requirements. (PMBoK, 2004). This same theme runs through other standards for PM including BS6079 and ISO 10006. Suffice it for now to say that PM is the managerial responsibility and actions involved in completing a project on time, in budget and to the specified quality standards, in accordance with the traditional performance criteria. The role of PM in the Wembley project will now be appraised under some of the key knowledge areas identified in the PMBoK. 3.1 Project Scope Management This involves developing a scope statement that will define the boundaries of the project and verify the amount of work to be done. PM uses such tools as brainstorming, fast diagrams, Value Management workshops to define the project. This is because if you have the wrong definition, you may come up with the right solution-to the wrong problem!(Lewis, 2007). If scope definition is not holistically carried out, major changes such as those experienced on Wembley may occur later and cause delays, cost variations leading to claims and litigations. This, I believe, was the akiles heel of this iconic project. Where change becomes inevitable, PM should manage them to protect the project from the effects of scope creep. Wembley failed in this area resulting in the considerable cost and time overruns. Lewis (2007) rightly said, I have become convinced that projects seldom fail at the end. Rather, they fail at the definition stage. 3.2 Project Time Management PM adorns itself with yet another accolade of being able to effectively estimate time frame for projects realistically and defining work packages and milestone to achieve this target. It employs one of its popular tools of Critical Path Method and scheduling in this respect. Many softwares including Primavera and MS Project have also been developed to helped in the management of time. Kaming (1997), Elinwa (2001) and Aibini (2006) however reveal that the occurrence of time overruns is high and that overruns can occur of projects irrespective of its size. Wembley was no exception. Some of the disputes, changes, cash flow problems, design problems etc. that caused resulted in the project being delivered in 10 months late and the subsequent changing of the FA Cup finals to Wales could have been avoided through effective project time management. PM should have helped to come out with a realistic duration for the project. 3.3 Project Cost Management This involves estimating the cost of all resources and such things as travel and other support details. After this is done, costs are budgeted and tracked to keep the project within that budget (Rad, 2002). This is very important in PM as the first question most clients ask is how much will it cost? It is the duty of the PM to realistically determine what it will cost to achieve a particular scope. The tough question then arises. Was Wembleys initial cost of  £445million realistic? Why did cost rise astronomically to  £757million at completion? The project even had to be stalled into injury time just to seek additional funding. Why couldnt PM prevent this? Much of the blame lies squarely on PMs failure to realistically estimate cost at conception. 3.4 Project Communications Management This is the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and disposition of project information. (PMBoK, 2004). Multiplex  claims it was not given access to vital design information and that this led to increased steelwork costs. Mott MacDonald on the other hand dismisses this saying, Multiplex was aware of the state of design, having managed the design process and having been intimately involved in the design work (TCC, 2006). PM is supposed to create a smooth communication interface between all parties to forestall these misunderstandings. 3.5 Project Procurement Management This helps in selecting the most appropriate contractors and suppliers, administers the contract as well as form the best working relationships between all parties to achieve project goals. The Public Accounts Committee (2003-04), stated that Best procurement practice has not been followed on what is a high profile project PM should have also salvaged the problem between Mott, Cleveland and Multiplex before it got out of hand, resulting in Cleveland walking away from the project with its attending problems. More also, it is known that competitive tendering and cost as a selection criteria has produced poor results in construction over the years and PM should have helped in designing the best procurement approach to prevent the problems (Egan, 1998). The contract used for the project was fixed cost method in which the client cleverly shirks risk to the contractor. This form of contract invariably results in creating an adversarial environment with where each party involved focuses their attentions on the needs and risks of their businesses as opposed to those of the project (Morriss, P. and Hollis, A., 2005).This may well be another area that grossly affected the results on Wembley and effective PM should have prevented this. 3.6 Stakeholder Management: Freeman and McVea (2001) describe this function as looking out from the firm or project and identifying, and investing in all the relationships that will ensure long-term success. At concept stage, this is used to collect views of all interested parties, especially those of end users who usually hold vital information that may be critical to the design, function and success of a project. If this was effectively done, it would have prevented the acrimony that grew between some of the contractors and would have saved the project from unnecessary delays and increased cost of replacing Cleveland Bridge. It would have helped to produce the best fitting design as well as sort out the fact that athletics, football and rugby in the same venue would present a lot of technical and functional difficulties at the design stage saving the project from about 8 months of redesign. 3.7 Site Management: Chan (1997) showed that out of 8 group factors that caused delays in construction projects, poor site management and supervision was amongst the top five. The accusations and counter-accusations during the hearing at the Technology and Construction Court between Multiplex and Cleveland Bridge gives us yet another glimpse into an area of failure of PM on Wembley. The site was poorly managed as it was littered with random pieces of steel that had been delivered in the wrong order and a significant quantity of steel was sitting on trailers adjacent to the site or around the perimeter. This had the potential of disrupting flow of activities and even causing accidents (TCC, 2006). 4.0 The Actions and MeasureS that should have been taken The influential Latham (1994) and Egan (1998) reports called for new approaches to construction- one in which client leadership is key and where there is greater collaborative working between firms within the construction supply chain. Egan summarised five key drivers of change namely committed leadership; a focus on the customer; integrated processes and teams; a quality driven agenda; and a commitment to people. Some of the necessary actions and measures that should have been taken is now presented below: 4.1 Key Client Leadership: The new Terminal Five at Heathrow is a widely acclaimed example of current construction best practice. The approach was unique and tailored to the very needs of the project i.e. the client took a level of ownership of project thus creating a clear vision for how it wanted the project delivered and also staying close enough to the project from inception to completion (Brady, 2008). Latham (1994) recommended that the client should be at the core of the construction process because clients [essentially] drive best practice. Egan (1998). The Client in the Wembley Stadium project was the Football Association and thus should have: stayed close enough to the project, monitoring it and to make sure things dont go out of hand; ensured that major changes to the scope of works was frozen at a particular point on the project or avoided altogether. These changes often result in dispute, delays and extra expense; made sure that adequate funding was secured for the project before it even begun and that the estimation of both time and cost were realistically carried out; come out with clear, concise, realistic and unambiguous objectives at the conception of the project involving all necessary stakeholders so that major changes, such as those that were experienced, could be avoided; shared in risk of development/construction rather than cleverly shoving it to contractors. 4.2 The Heathrow Method: Terminal 5 was an audacious development project that involved more than 60 contractors and 16 major projects. British Airways Authority (BAA) adopted a unique approach to the project to make sure it is completed both on time and within budget. It used an innovative form of cost-reimbursable contract the T5 Agreement under which BAA holds all the risks associated with the project rather than transferring the risks to external suppliers and guarantees a level of pro ¬Ã‚ t for suppliers. (Brady, 2008). The Agreement included an incentive payment for contractors that achieved a certain level of performance. It decided to reimburse the costs of delivery and to reward exceptional performance and punish mediocre and poor performance only in terms of pro ¬Ã‚ tability. This created some sort of win-win environment for all parties and motivated the contractors to focus their attention on the needs of the project and collectively solve problems rather than concen trate on their own business risks and interests. These are the fundamental reasons why T5 achieved the laudable success of staying within budget and cost at completion. Cleveland would not have walked out of the job if it was given firm assurance of re-imbursement of cost incurred. The contracts should have been designed with an approach that offered incentives to all, for improvement in cost, time or quality and not in an adversarial environment associated with fixed cost contracts. 4.3 Integrating the Supply chain: Both Latham (1994) and Egan (1998) underscored the importance of using integrated teams to realise project goals. The T5 approach used by BAA combined two main principles: the client always bears the risk; and partners are worth more than suppliers. It provides an appropriate environment for integrated team working [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] to enable suppliers to work effectively and focus on meeting the projects objectives not only in relation to the traditional time, budget, and quality measures but also in relation to safety and environmental targets (Brady, 2008). By doing that you take away negativity, allow space for innovation and create any opportunity for people to perform at levels they havent been allowed to before (Mylius, 2005). 4.4 Involvement of end users: End users often hold vital information as they are usually in a better position to comment on the detailed requirements for a building than senior management who may not even be the occupants of the building when it is completed. After all, the users have first hand experience of what makes a building successful or otherwise (Menches, 2008). By the use of such methods as focus groups, value management workshops and major surveys, the issue of athletics, rugby and football in the same venue could have been resolved even before any detailed design and thus eliminating the extensive delays and cost implications it had on the project (Barrett, P., and Stanley, C., 1999). 4.5 Use of a Project bank: In an attempt to integrate project teams in an atmosphere of trust, collaboration and openness, the National Audit Office (NAO) of the UK suggested the use of a project bank account. To ensure better construction, it said, suppliers [require] greater certainty that they will be paid on time to re-enforce the trust that should exist between all parties for collaborative working to operate effectively. This was endorsed by the Specialist Contractors who indicated that payments for the project delivery team should be protected and secure, which would, in turn, significantly reduce disputes and, more importantly, will encourage closer working relationships between all parties. (Parliamentary Newsletter, Issue 3, Spring/Summer 2006). 4.6 Best Project Management Practice: At the execution level, much of the problems that occurred on the project could have been avoided or its impact attenuated if best project management practice was adopted by all especially Multiplex and Cleveland Bridge. Problems of poor site management practice, poor or incorrect fabrication of steel, design change management and communication could have been arrested with proper planning, organisation and control. 4.7 Careful Monitoring: Projects rarely stay on track in terms of time and cost. the more likely occurrence is that projects will be behind schedule yet over budget at any point in time. Good project management carefully and critically appraises all factors that a likely to push a project off schedule (Office of Government Commerce, 2005). Monitoring progress carefully and instigating timely corrective actions by both WNSL, Multiplex as well as the FA, would have helped identify the likely impact of any problems so that action can be taken to get the project back on track. 5.0 Conclusion Experience is a great asset to professionals practicing in any discipline, whether that experience comes from success or failure and whoever fails to learn from his mistakes is doomed to repeat them. Some of the key lessons on Wembley Stadium is thus now summarised below: Adequate time and effort needs to be invested in the strategic planning phase of every project to come out with clear, realistic, and unambiguous project objectives; Project team must engage effectively with users and other external stakeholders especially at the concept stage of any scheme to save the project from major changes with its attending problems; Construction procurement must move away from competitive tendering and cost as the selection criteria and develop procedures that use performance and team partnering and capability; Contracts must be designed to provide incentive to all for cost and time improvement and also forge a win-win environment between clients and supply chain members; Enough resources have to be made available for the project based on realistic estimates; Clients must assume central roles in projects for they essentially drive best practice; Continual change in project requirements and scope can be very detrimental for the project; Dysfunctional relationships and fragmentation can turn a perfect project scheme into a complete chaos and thus project teams must operate as a cohesive unit, with clear allocation of roles and responsibilities. Finally, it is evident, at least from the Wembley Stadium project that a poor knowledge and a lack awareness of the fundamental project management skills by the client can lead to failure as clients essentially drive best practice. An effective and successful outcome of project management on any project in most cases will only be achieved if both the client and the contractor or project management organisations are effective in the skills of project management. A poor client organisation, in terms of project management, may well drive a good project manager and his team into poor performance. Agreeably, it may not be a panacea due to many circumstances and occurrences that may well be out of its control. However, Project Management stands the chance of producing laudable results if the construction industry stopped treating it casually and unprofessionally but rigorously apply the great worth of knowledge and experience its gathered over the past years, through both its success and failure stories.

Interview With The Vampire :: essays research papers

This novel, “Interview with the Vampire';, by Anne Rice, is by far one of the best book I’ve ever read. It started with a young boy interviewing a vampire, and the vampire related him the whole story of his life, how he became a vampire, his thrilling adventures through the centuries and his complex relationships with both the mortals and the immortals. In my opinion, Anne Rice had done the best of jobs. The writing and the detailed descriptions, the composing of this novel, had brought out every emotion of the characters like the flick of a whip. The rage, the love, the hatred, the sufferings, the darkness, the pain and the terror, were all presented so vividly as if in front of my eyes, as if I were really part of the character. I think Anne Rice had created the most successful characters. Throughout the whole book, you can really look at the conflicts between them. They are, somehow, attached or attracted by each other, both the mortals and the immortals. Their love and hate and struggles go to such degrees, and yet limited by their nature, it was almost impossible to understand it at all. I believe Anne Rice had used those characters to express humanity, the whole plot was some kind of an irony. Something like a metaphor, though she exaggerated everything to make it poignant enough. Not only were the characters a success, the time and place details were incredible. The costumes, ways of manner, history and every background changes as the years passed, and she made the backgrounds so realistic that I could almost feel everything surrounding me. Actually I think Anne Rice had done such a great job that this book should be counted as literature.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried Essay

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is a psychological disorder that involves extreme cases of anxiety. PTSD comes as a result of an individual’s experience of a highly distressing event wherein there was a threat of grievous physical harm and there was experience of intense psychological stress. An individual is diagnosed with PTSD based on the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV & DSM-IV-TR definitions. Diagnosis of PTSD   is given if an individual shows the following symptoms for a period of more than one month. First, the individual’s recurrent experience of the event after the actual occurrence perhaps through dreams, recollections, and experience of anxiety upon display of different items linked with the traumatic event. Second, the individual avoids or does not feel anything when presented with things and people that are emotionally linked to the traumatic event. This may also include feelings of being estranged from other people in the individuals’ surroundings. Third, the individual experiences a heightened sense of arousal thus probably causing sleeplessness, sudden bursts of emotion, hyper vigilance, and the like. And lastly, the individual find himself or herself unable to properly function in certain aspects of his or her life perhaps at work, at home, or in other social environments. The severity of the PTSD, whether acute or chronic, is assessed based on how long the given symptoms persist in the individual. An event which has come to be heavily associated with PTSD is war. A great number of literary pieces have been dedicated to this event and one such work is Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. PTSD in relation to war is clearly seen in the different collections of stories compiled and written by Tim O’Brien in his book. One particular story found in the book that shows PTSD in the case of a war veteran is â€Å"Speaking of Courage†. The main character in this particular story is Norman Bowker. Symptoms of PTSD are clearly seen in his actions. Bowker is unmotivated, experiences confusion and mental chaos, feels estranged and isolated from others in his town and is also unable to obtain work. Social inhibitions that plague this character, which are clear signs of PTSD, are exemplified in his inability to properly order in a drive-thru restaurant. Instead of speaking through the intercom, he honks his horn at the waitress until he gets his order. He then proceeds to eat his food without moving his car and leaves only upon finishing his meal. (Examples of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried; Tim O’Brien’s – The Things They Carried Eating Them Away) Bowker relives and is unable to move past the events of the war. He lives in a constant state of guilt because of his inability to prevent the death of his friend in Vietnam. The conclusion of Bowker’s story is suicide, an event that is not uncommon in cases of posttraumatic stress disorder. In the story â€Å"Stockings†, the main character named Henry Dobbins wrapped his girlfriend’s panty hose around his neck during battle supposedly as a good luck charm. He would also sleep with it against his face. Even after the war, when Dobbins and his girlfriend were no longer a couple, he still continued to sleep with and tie the stockings around his neck. Dobbins explains this act by the referral of the continued presence of the stocking’s magic. This shows an aspect of PTSD stated by the American Psychiatric Association in the DSM-IV & DSM-IV-TR wherein an individual experiencing the disorder experiences reactivity to objects linked with the traumatic event. The Things They Carried was clearly written by O’Brien with a theme in mind. That theme involves the experiences of war veterans after surviving the war. That is to say that the book depicts the effects of the war on the soldiers and the various individuals who were involved. Tim O’Brien particularly focuses on the psychological effects that the events of the war has left. The lives of the soldiers characterized in the stories are clear examples of emotional baggage carried by survivors of the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jim Neilson states in his article The Truth in Things: Personal Trauma as Historical Amnesia in The Things They Carried, the recurring them of the horrors of war. The explicit descriptions of the incidents that the characters experienced in the story were the author’s way of communicating to the audience how such events could lead to anxiety, distress, disorder, and even insanity. Andrew Morgan also acknowledges that in reality, war veterans who experienced the Vietnam War still live with the guilt and fears induced by that experience. They carry these memories with them and are unable to lead the same lives they used to have before joining the war. These are what caused them to eventual experience of PTSD, to eventual insanity, and for some even to suicide.   Posttraumatic stress disorder is indeed a problem that plagues many war veterans today. It is encompassing in its scope and affects all aspects of the lives of those experiencing it. Tim O’Brien paints for us, in The Things They Carried, a clear picture of what PTSD is, what instances can lead to it, and the ugliness that it brings in its wake. Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. â€Å"DSM-IV & DSM-IV-TR: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)† 2000 BehaveNet.com 11 December 2007 â€Å"Examples of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried.† 123HelpMe.com 11 December 2007 . Morgan, Andrew. â€Å"The Things They Carried† Angelfire29 April 2003 11 December 2007 < http://www.angelfire.com/ga4/project1/research%20papers.htm#Christopher%20Luke%20Corno>. Neilson, Jim. â€Å"The Truth in Things: Personal Trauma As Historical Amnesia in The Things They Carried† Fortune City 11 December 2007 . â€Å"Tim O’Brien’s-The Things They Carried Eating Them Away†   Studyworld 11 December 2007

Although it is an issue that I find myself torn on

Although it is an issue that I find myself torn on, if I have to support one position, I would have to say that ultimately I do not agree with capital punishment. There have been instances where I have supported the decision of the death penalty in relation to certain cases. I have learned of some heinous crimes in which I feel capital punishment was justified, or even should have been applied. However, the personal reasons that I am against capital punishment are strong enough to way my decision against it. One of the reasons that cause me to side against capital punishment is the issue of innocent people being put to death. Eric M. Freedman raises the point in his essay that Capital punishment inevitably will be inflicted on the innocent. Prisoners have been released off of death row that were found guilty in court, sentenced to death, and then found innocent. There are a number of executions that have been found to be unjustified after the fact, and Im sure numerous more that have and will go unfound. Capital punishment is the most permanent form of punishment we have. There is no room for error. If a mistake is made, it can never be rectified once someone is put to death. Humans are faulty by nature. Judges, jury panels, detectives, police, and the smartest lawyers are all fallible. When an innocent life is taken this is an irreversible, and unforgivable. A second reason why I am against capital punishment is not backed up in any publication. It is something drawn from my personal morals. People killing people is wrong. It does enrage me when I hear of horrific crimes committed against innocent people. At the moment I hear of it I find myself wishing that the person who committed this crime receives the same if not worse punishment. This I think is a natural human reaction driven by emotion. However, the result of one death that invokes such emotion in pe

Marlow Essays - Joseph Conrad, Congo Free State, Heart Of Darkness

Marlow Essays - Joseph Conrad, Congo Free State, Heart Of Darkness Marlow Marlows Catharsis in Heart of Darkness Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, relies on the historical period of imperialism to illuminate its protagonist, Charlie Marlow, and his struggle with two opposite value systems. Marlow undergoes a catharsis during his trip to the Congo and learns of the effects of imperialism. I will analyze Marlow's change, which is caused by his exposure to the imperialistic nature of the historical period in which he lived. Marlow goes to the Congo River to report on Mr. Kurtz, a valuable officer, to their employer. When he sets sail, he does not know what to expect. When his journey is complete, his experiences have changed him forever. Heart of Darkness is a story of one man's journey through the African Congo and the enlightenment of his soul. Marlow begins his voyage as an ordinary English sailor who is traveling to the African Congo to work. He is an Englishmen through and through. He has never been exposed to any culture similar to the one he will enco unter in Africa, and he has no idea about the drastically different culture that exists there. Throughout the book, Conrad, via Marlow's observations, reveals to the reader the naive mentality of Europeans. Marlow also shares this naivet in the beginning of his voyage. However, after his first few moments in the Congo, he realizes the ignorance he and all his comrades possess. We first recognize the general naivet of the Europeans when Marlow's aunt sees him for the last time before he embarks on his journey. She assumes that the voyage is a mission of weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways [. . .] (line 16). In reality, however, the Europeans are there in the name of imperialism and their sole objective is to earn a substantial profit by collecting all the ivory in Africa. The reader can also see the Europeans obliviousness of reality when Marlow is recounting his adventure aboard the Nellie. He addresses his comrades: When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the realitythe reality I tell you-fades. The inner truth is hidden luckily, luckily. But I felt it all the same; I felt often its mysterious stillness watching over me at my monkey tricks, just as it watches you fellows performing on your respective tight ropes for-what is it? half a crown a tumble . . . . (36) While he is in the Congo, although he has to concentrate on the petty everyday things like overseeing the repair of his boat, he is still aware of what is going on around him and of the horrible reality he is in. On the other hand, his friends on the boat simply do not recognize this reality. It is their ignorance and innocence which provokes them to tell Marlow to try to be civil (36). Not only are they oblivious to the reality that Marlow sees, but their naivet is so great that they can not even comprehend such a thing (Johnson 356). Quite surprisingly, this mentality does not pertain exclusively to the Englishmen in Europe. At one poi nt during Marlow's voyage down the Congo, he wakes to find his boat in an enormous patch of fog. At that very instant, a very loud cry is let out (41). After Marlow looks around and makes sure everything is all right, he observes the contrasts of the whites and the blacks expressions: It was very curious to see the contrast of expression of the white men and of the black fellows of our crew, who were as much strangers to that part of the river as we, though their homes were only eight hundred miles away. The whites, of course greatly discomposed, had besides a curious look of being painfully shocked by such an outrageous row. The others had an alert, naturally interested expression; but their faces were essentially quiet[. . .]. (41-42) One can see the simple-mindedness of the Europeans, even though they were exposed to reality. An innocent mentality is engraved in their minds so deeply that even the environment of the Congo can not sway their belief that people simply do not do the

An investigation of growth via effective leadreship and management The Essay

An investigation of growth via effective leadreship and management The strategies that need to be employed.A case study of Ogo Oluwa Traders - Essay Example Whereas Plachy (2005) contends that leadership is the ability to define and accomplish an organisation’s aim by examining the needs, evaluating resources and setting goals and objectives consistent with the aim and resources, planning, directing and evaluating actions designed to reach the goals and objectives. Whilst McWhinney believes that the definition of leadership should be limited to the style (approach) and skill that are used by a person or group to guide an effort. Johnson and Scholes (1993) argue that leadership is ‘the process of influencing an organisation (or group within an organisation) in its efforts towards achieving an aim or goal. They argue that a leader is not someone who is at the top position but rather someone who can influence. The definition given by Johnson and Scholes is contradicting to some extent in that how can one be influential without being at the top position or lead role? On the contrary, Dubin (1951) argues that, leadership is the exercise of authority and making of decisions. Concurringly, Hemphill (1954) voice his view that ‘Leadership is the initiation of acts that result in a consistent pattern of group interaction directed toward the solution of mutual problems’ From the arguments raised, one can deduce that a leader can or cannot be seen physically in an organisation but has the power to manipulate or persuade organisational policies. If such is the case then a leader has the final ‘say’ or decision in matters affecting an organisation and therefore responsible for the organisation. Moreover, it can be deduced that leadership is a relationship between a leader and his followers. Analogously, management is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to coordinate and to control (Fayol 1916). In comparison, Koontz and O’Donnell (1984) define management as an operational process initially best

Consumer Behavior Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Consumer Behavior Paper - Essay Example On other hand, study of consumer behavior focuses on the motivation of the consumers to making various decisions strategies among different products differing in levels of significance and interest (Hawkins, Best & Coney, 2004). Study of consumer behaviors enables the customers to improve on their marketing campaigns and strategies in a way that is effective in reaching the consumers. The paper will focus on defining the term consumer behaviors and discussing the way 4Ps, product, price, promotion, and place, affect purchasing decision. Consumer behaviors can be defined as the study of individual groups, organization and the procedures used in selection, using and disposing products, services, familiarity and ideas that can satisfy their needs and influence of procedures to consumers and society (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2007). Moreover, study of consumer behavior makes a substantial contribution to in application of techniques by marketers in the process of marketing their commodities. Re lationship between consumer behavior and the subject of marketing relates to consumer behavior application in marketing strategies in order to enhance the marketing campaigns. ... In this case, this gives the significance of creating a good impression to the initial customers, since they take the role of influencing the other customers. The marketing mix, which includes the product, price, place and promotion, has a substantial impact on the decision making of a customer (Bearden, Ingram & LaForge, 2004). Price Price as one of the element relates to amount of money that a customer has to part with in order to acquire a certain good or service in the market, in fact, the price attached to commodities entails the returns to the firm due to their effort and the cost incurred in manufacturing and marketing activities. On the other hand, the consumers’ decisions are influenced by the pricing strategies of these firms since the cost of the products is passed to the consumer through these prices. In this case, despite the pricing objective of the firms, which are derived from organizational goals, the consumer makes the decision based on his or her income. The refore, a consumer focuses on maximizing their utility on the commodities purchased; thus, there is a certain price, which they are willing to pay for particular commodities based on their income. Moreover, the consumer has to make a choice among different alternative in order to identify the products that suites their purchasing power despite the quality of the product. Promotion Promotion is applied by marketers as a component of the marketing mix with a purpose of creating awareness, persuading and reminding customer in a certain market about products in order to influence their feelings, convictions and behaviors. In this case, promotion offers consumer