Construction Techniques for Bridges

Construction Techniques for Bridges Structure of report An extensive part of this report was dedicated to the literature review. Though actually the most interesting part is the one which concerns to the results of the vulnerability of bridge of the case study, it is not admissible to neglect all the general considerations based on an extensively research in technical text, through which was possible to determine the specific structure, the method and the phases of construction, the type of analysis to be carried out and in which way the results have to be read. Indeed close attention is needed in interpreting the results due to limitations of the specific case under consideration and at the same time because of the need to generalize the specific results for use on a larger scale of projects. In the literature review section of the report a general study about bridges has been developed. This has been done investigating the history, the evolution, as well as the technologies and trends of bridge design, with particular attention to recent developments in California. Construction techniques have also been analyzed in more details referring to many important projects, based on international literature, scientific journals and technical books. Then the earthquake section was covered. In the section about Codes of practice an overview of the most important aspects has been made and few tables of interested have been attached to justify the choices made in the case study. Type of Analysis of previous papers The second part, elaborated with the support of the software SAP2000 BRIDGE Modeler, follows the development of the project of a common bridge in California according to the local and currents codes of practice. Literature review An extensive literature review was conducted to understand which is the state of the research and the interest of the codes in assured performance behavior of the bridges during phases of construction. Bridges Among all the engineering sciences, bridge engineering is one of the most complex because involves in itself a lot of disciplines, from technical to aesthetic, from environmental to social, from economic to political aspects. Without any doubt the technical and the economic factors are those that strongly influence engineers choices in designing a bridge, but they do not cover all the design process. Using Troitsky words Planning and designing bridges is part art and part compromise (Chen, Lian Duan, 1999). For understanding recent trends in bridge design and construction it is of high importance to consider the development that bridge engineering has undergone during centuries. History illustrates that social and economical changes in a nation have been reflected on bridge engineering development. At different historical moments, various types of bridges have been built for many purposes with the new technologies at each time. From the 19th century, due to the big industrial growth, bridges have been built essentially as part of the transportation system. During the 20th century, bridge engineering has been characterized by big changes in the structural solutions and methods of constructions because of the diffusion of the reinforced concrete. The designers had finally a large possibility of choices between materials, methods of constructions and technologies of analysis. This led to the actual scenario where multiple type of bridges are in operation highlighting the wide creativity of bridge engineers. Designing a bridge, the main important parameters to take in account in choosing the best solution are: location, span, material, type of foundation, scheme of the bridge, type of superstructure, type of supports, method of construction. Regarding materials, nowdays timber is used only for temporary bridges, then for ordinary bridges the choice is between reinforced concrete and steel. Depending on the span of the structure one material is to be preferred to the other. For spans between 65ft and 330ft reinforced concrete gives the best compromise, for spans greater than 330 ft steel is recommended. The span influences also the system of the bridge: for small and medium spans a beam bridge is commonly used, for spans longer than 160 ft an arch system could be adviced and a suspended bridge can be the solution for very long span bridges. These are only indication, and every single case has to be evalued considering limitations due to location, codes, cost and typical bridge of the area . It is a good rule of practice to consider typical projects recent designed in the area in which there is the purpose of insert a new bridge structure, if the medium-span is the one of interest. (Chen, Lian Duan, 1999). Structural Types This paragraph intends to provide a list of the several commonly used types of bridges, highlighting the differences for geometry, analysis, economy. This list is not to be intended complete, as other type of bridges may be design, in which case, specific deep studies have to be done in order to analyse the particular solution. According to Raina it is possible to categorize bridges in six different types of superstructure regarding the material which is made of. Materials commonly used for building the superstructure of permanent bridges are: Reinforced Concrete Prestressed Concrete Masonry Steel Mix of steel and reinforced concrete or mix of reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete Special superstructures with cables For each material there are possibilities of different kinds of sections. 1. Reinforced Concrete Superstructures can be simple span or continuous span; balanced cantilever, arch or frame, tipically utilized for short span bridges. Some parts may be precast. Solid Slab Used for spans between 5 and 14 meters Slab and girder (T-beam bridges) Used for spans between 14 and 25 meters Hollow box girder Used for spans between 25 and 70 meters Characterized by a high torsional resistance, is suitable for curved paths. 2. Prestressed Concrete Superstructures can be simple, balanced or free cantilever, or continuous span. It is possible to have segmental cast in situ or precast solutions. Prestressed Concrete superstructures cover medium spans. Hollow slab Used for spans between 10 and 25 meters Slab and girder (Girder bridges) Hollow box girder 3. Masonry superstructures have been associated with arch bridges in the past centuries. This type of bridges is not of relevant importance for this study, which is relative to new bridges under construction. 4. Steel Superstructure typically consists in a steel truss deck and covers long spans. 5. Composite superstructures can have the following deck types: Longitudinal plate girder and transverse beam girder with concrete slab Longitudinal and transverse beam girder with concrete slab Longitudinal box girder with concrete slab The deck arrangement can be simple span or continuous span, or arch and covers medium and long spans. 5. Special superstructure Cable stayed bridges Suspended bridges These structures are of relatively new conception and in last century have been used for long span solutions. (V.K.Raina, 1994). New trends According to Caltrans informations, in California the majority of bridges have been built with the cast-in-place (CIP) technique (See also fig.x?). This method of construction provides a good compromise between bridge cost and seismic performance of the structure. Commonly CIP system requires big effort in design and preparation at the site; often needs framework to support and long time for casting and finishing. An ever-increasing requests of new way of transportation has been registered due to the rapid growth of population and the high economic standards, added to the aging of infrastructures and the introduction of new seismic design criteria. The transportation planners are searching for new solutions that can accelerate highway and bridge construction in alternative to the traditional ones. Caltrans engineers are looking at precasting to try to achieve the Accelerating Bridge Construction (ABC); they are developing research and studies to understand the effectiveness of precas t solutions in reducing construction time on site and delays in the decongestion of traffic. In the beginning, Caltrans was concerned about the behavior of the precast structures in high seismic zones, because there was not a long tradition in the earthquake prone areas. Precasting has been usually considered having too many points of connection which are weaknesses for seismic performance capabilities. The University of California-San Diego conducted tests on the seismic behavior of precast segmental bridge and the results showed that this kind of method gives desirable performances also for high seismic zones. (Aspire, Spring 2007) In the last 3 years few projects have been completed successfully in California with prefabricated elements, and even if they costed 30% more than it they were built with traditional CIP method, the reduced time-on-site guarantees a overall gain. Economic analysis and Quantity trends In the figure above is graphically shown the trend of the Bridge Construction Cost Index in California over the last 45 years. It is evident how the index cost has been increasing over the decades, although sometimes decrements have been registered. This is possibly due to periods of regressions in the economy of the State or due to improvements in various technical aspects of construction and consequently in the adoption of new, cheaper and better designed solutions. It is very difficult to forecast the cost of bridge engineering works, as they are related to a lot of uncertainty parameters like economic situation, inflation, local environment. By the way an effort in this sense has been done to have some costs of Seismic Codes WHICH SEISMIC CODE AASHTO Standards Specifications give provisions of minimum requirements for conventional bridges with span not exceeding 300ft. There are some general indications about cable-stayed bridges, suspended bridges, arch bridges but these are not fully covered. The fundamental principles on which the Standards are based on are the following points: Structural performance should be ensured without significant damage (elastic range) under small and moderate earthquakes Design has to be carried out applying realistic ground motion accelerations Large earthquake should not cause collapse The Codes are valid for all United States and the seismic risk varies a lot through the Country. Reading the acceleration contours on the hazard map (fig.20?) the acceleration coefficient A, relative to the place of interest, is determined dividing by 100 the value read; the map is based on a return period of 475 years for events with 10% probability of exceedence in 50 years. Four Seismic Performance Categories (SPC) from A to D (AASHTO SDC) or from 1 to 4 (AASHTO LRFD) are defined (fig.20?) on the base of the Acceleration Coefficient (A) and two Importance Classification (IC) parameters categorize every bridge as Essential (I) or Critical (II) regarding its importance (fig. 22?). To take into account the soil conditions a Site Coefficient (S) has to be used in the design process for all type of foundation for approximates the effect of the soil modification on the structural behavior (fig.22?). S coefficient varies from 1 to 2 for soils from rock to soft clays or silts. For those c ases in which is not possible to determine the characterization of the site, a soil Type II with S=1.2 should be assigned. With this specifications the elastic seismic response coefficient Csm has to be calculate for the Tm period of vibration of the structure that corresponds to the mth mode. Csm is defined by the Code (3.10.6.1 AASHTO LRFD) as a function of A, S and Tm. Seismic design forces for substructure and connections have to be determined dividing the elastic forces by the appropriate Response Modification Factor given for each Importance Category of bridge. To consider the variability of the directions in which the earthquake may occur, two combinations of orthogonal seismic forces have to be apply to the superstructure of the bridge with the proportion of 100% and 30% in each direction. The Code (AASHTO LRFD) defines a vertical support as a column if the ratio of the clear high to the maximum dimension of the cross section is not less than 2.5. If the ratio is less than 2 .5, the requirements for piers have to be satisfied. A pier can be analysed as a pier in its strong direction and as a column in the weak one. Analysis Method The objective of seismic design is to define forces which structures are subject to, calculate elastic and inelastic deformations, study the ductile behavior of the structure and verify the ability of the single elements to resist. Different methods of analysis were found in the literature review with different assumptions and for different scopes. Briefly it will be given a list of the methods covered by the codes. Analytical Methods ESA Equivalent Static Analysis EDA Elastic Dynamic Analysis ISA Inelastic Static Analysis Structural System Global Analysis Stand-Alone Local Analysis Transverse Stand-Alone Analysis Longitudinal Stand-Alone analysis Simplified Analysis ESA Equivalent Static Analysis can be used to estimate the displacement demands of those structure with uniform stiffness, responding by the predominant mode of vibration, where dynamic analysis would not give significantly different results. (Cetinkaya, Nakamura,Takahashi,2005) EDA Elastic Dynamic Analysis can be used to estimate the displacement demands of those structures where ESA does not give a good response of the dynamic behavior. The effect of applying design spectral acceleration likely results in stresses exceeding the linear range. This is due to the contribution of the soil, yielding in the structural elements, expansion of the joints. According to recent Caltrans specifications (Caltrans SDC (v.1.5)) an Ordinary Bridge can be analyzed either with Equivalent Static Method or Linear Elastic Dynamic Method for estimating the displacement demands. For establish the displacement capacity of the elements a nonlinear analysis is required to take into account the ductility of the structure. Pushover analysis Case study The case study has been chosen after evaluating the trends in bridge construction in California in the last ten years. The trend shows that the majority of bridges designed in recent past are of medium span, built with the cast in place technique. A very high percentage of these are prestressed box girder built by segments with the balanced cantilever erection method. Since the interest of this study is aimed at predicting the likely behavior of the bridges that will be probably built in the next future in California, the choice was made in that direction. Precast!!!!!NEW TRENDS The main objective of this study is to study the vulnerability of the bridge under the seismic load if the earthquake is going to occur during the construction phases. Before doing this, however, is fundamental to be sure that the bridge (case of study), after work completion and during life time under live loads, will respond satisfying all safety criteria required by the current local codes. We are talking about small earthquakes if the performance behavior of the structure has to stay in the elastic range, because this is a principle that governs the bridge design according to the codes of practice. Structural System The solution adopted consists in a prestressed cast on site concrete box girder constructed with the segmental balanced cantilever method, with a mixed system of prestressing cables in post-tension. Stages of Construction One of the most significant aspect of the bridge under consideration, that affects the all the design phases, is the definition of the bridge behavior during construction in the sequential progression of structural configurations. Therefore, issues relating to structural analysis during construction and those due to the actions in the final phase, have been examined in depth. Modeling The modeling has been conducted The capacity demand of vertical supports is a complex function of a lot of variables including: Ground motion characteristic Required design level Period of vibration of the structure Material behavior Elastic damping coefficient Soil condition and foundation type The geology of the ground and the morphology of the site play a key role in the design stage and govern the choices to be made in terms of foundations, maximum span length and construction type. A subsurface investigation in the vicinity of piles and abutments is necessary to identify a suitable foundation type. The economic aspect is also affected because, depending on the geological situation, in case of high risk of liquefaction or slope stability the cost of foundations can vary greatly and reach very high costs in proportion to the total cost of the structure. In the case study taken into consideration, there was no possibility to determine the required type of the foundations due to the lack in knowledge of the geology of the soil. The feasible foundation options that could be proposed are many and, depending on the particular one chosen, they could significantly change the behaviour of the structure under seismic load. It was therefore preferred to leave the type of foundations as undefined and study the behaviour of the superstructure (piers and abutments) by assigning a good degree of restraint at the base of the substructure. Basically in the analysis model the base of the substructure has been fully restrained neglecting the possibility of deformation. This decision is based on the assumption that a fully fixed restraint (as the one simulated/assigned in the analysis model) will never occur in reality, regardless the type of foundation chosen; this means that the reactions at the base obtained from the model will be higher than the ones expected in reality, guarantying a conservative approach of the study. On the other hand the scope of this study is not the full design of the bridge, but the variation of the seismic vulnerability during the construction process, hence the previous assumptions, constant during the study of all construction stages, do not affect the final results. This means that making sure that the limitations deriving from these assumptions are taken into consideration, it has been possible to interpret the results appropriately as described in the following paragraphs. Analysis procedure The project of the bridge should be feasible in the near future at the location indicated and therefore the completed structure has to be able to withstand to all the loads defined by the codes, including seismic loads. Therefore, the first phase of this study involved the design of the bridge sections by analyzing bending, shear and torsion in superstructure and substructure. Usually, while conducting a push-over analysis, the structure is pushed till collapse is reached. This means that the structure would be allowed to pass the linear state and undergo to the non-linear one with the progressive formation of plastic hinges. Plastic hinges are a exemplification of cracking and initial damages in the structure. Wherever they occur, is not admissible to have cracks in the structure during construction of the bridge. For this reason the capacity of the piers to resist to seismic loads during construction has been evaluated through linear pushover analysis. Therefore the structure behavior has always been considered linear and when plastic hinges started occurring, which means that the structure was dissipating energy while cracking, the pushover has been stopped because the piers were considered damaged. Since the structure was reproduced with a 3-dimensional model, two different pushover analysis were carried on: one in the longitudinal direction and one in the transverse direction. The two chosen directions correspond to the first and the second mode of vibration of the bridge. Longitudinal pushover analysis was performed applying a slowly increasing seismic load on the superstructure of the bridge in the same direction of the span, and transverse pushover analysis similarly in the perpendicular direction. Summary and Conclusion The discussion in this study was carried out looking at a single bridge and making some simplifications (assumptions of fixity supports, two orthogonal directions of seismic forces, no admissible damage, linear behavior) to limit the number of variables that could affect the analysis. The previous push-over results refer to different models for the different construction phases of the same bridge. It would be hazardous coming to the conclusion that these results are representative of all bridge behaviors. Surely this study can be considered a good starting point for further investigation to be carried out on bridges with different characteristics for compare and group them in classes with analogue behavior to reach a generals conclusions about seismic vulnerability during construction.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP Auditors? Independence Issues & Violations :: essays research papers fc

SEC Concerned with Changes in the Public Accounting Profession The SEC and the former Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. were extremely concerned that the public accounting firms were violating the auditors independence rules addressed through the Securities Exchange Acts. Auditing firms now had dual citizenship in public companies: (1) they issued opinions on audited financial statements and (2) they participated in various consulting engagements for those same companies. Levitt's solution was to split auditing and consulting. The former Chairman was concerned that the public would lose confidence in the financial markets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ and the whole system would be jeopardized. Public Accounting Revenues vs. Consulting Revenues by 1999 By 1976, audit fees accounted for approximately 70% of total revenue earned by any accounting firm in general. According to the Public Accounting Report, an Atlanta newsletter, the auditing and assurance services revenues dropped to 30% and tax services business accounted for 19% of the total revenues earned in 1999. Mathematically speaking, this means management consulting services accounted for approximately 51% of the total revenue being earned in 1999 by public accounting firms. Fact: According to The Business Journal's Book of Lists, PwC had $75 million in South Florida billings in 1998 to place third among accounting firms. SEC Auditors’ Independence Rule The independence rules require that auditors refrain from investing in companies that they audit, to ensure objective, truthful reporting and opinion. The rule applies to all auditors, their relatives, spouses, dependents, non-dependents, and, in some cases, associates must disclose all holdings. On the September 25, 2002 issue of BusinessWeekOnline.com, the Accounting Wars Powerful auditor-consultants are the target of Arthur Levitt’s crusade articles defined â€Å"Independence to mean, CPAs cannot audit their own or their partners' work†¦.†¦..clear and honest information is dependent on the CPAs independence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦an auditor must not have any financial stake in the health, or even survival, of a client company.† There are those in the profession that believe this rule is archaic and does not hold any value in today’s financial world. Barry Melancon, President and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants stated, â€Å"The SEC has a right to expect the profession to adhere to the rules; however, the profession has a right to expect the regulatory environment to remain modern.† Fact: In 1933, when Congress first required public financial reports, lawmakers debated whether audit fees would taint auditors' independence. PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP is a public accounting firm formed through a merger between Coopers & Lybrand LLP and Price Waterhouse LLP, which was consummated on or about July 1, 1998.

Electronic medical records systems

INTRODUCTIONScientific and social changes of the 21st century have brought a radical change in the Health care delivery system with excellent technological innovations. One such innovation is the Electronic Medical Record System. An electronic medical record (EMR) is a medical record in digital format.The health care sector is accountable today with an alarming rise in medical litigations.This legal accountability of the health care system has given rise to a number of documents that have to be recorded ,preserved and made available to the patients on demand.The documentation includes, 1.Diagnosis and Treatment Report which very Health Care delivery center today provides to the patient on the details of the diagnosis of the disease with follow up instructions, the Medicine information and the allergy reactions that could follow; dietary restrictions, dos and don’ts, restrictions and exercises prescribed. They take an acknowledgement either from the patient or an authorized per son after receiving the report.This documentation serves a key purpose in medical practice.2.The Health Record which is the proper documentation of records of all treatments and medications, as well as a record of a patient’s reactions and behavior. The health record is the written and legal evidence of treatment. This reflects only facts and not the judgment of the doctor. Careful and accurate documentation is vital for patient welfare and that of the doctor.Documentation includes, medication administered, treatments done with date & time, factual, objective and complete data, with no blank spaces left in charting, on flow sheets or on check lists, calls made to health care team, client’s response, signature of the nurse in every entry and consent for treatment. A private hospital inMilan, Italy, has been asked to handover for police verification of the medical records of at least twenty one cases who had heart valve surgery, following complaints that the surgeon repl aced heart valves even in patients who did not need them replaced.3. Informed Consent, which is a document, recorded before any terminally ill person receives his chemotherapy or an invasive procedure. The patient or his/her health attorney should give a well-documented informed consent before such procedures.Informed consent means that tests, treatments and medications have been explained to the person, as well as outcomes, possible complications and alternative procedures. Any medical hospital can be pushed into a center of a litigation storm after allegations without informed consent.4.Medical Billing and Insurance, which are part of the health care system in USA.Electronic medical record keeping facilitates access of patient data by physicians at any given location ,accurate   claims processing by insurance companies , building automated checks for drug and allergy interactions,clinical notes and laboratory reports.The term electronic medical record can be expanded to include systems which keep track of other relevant medical information.THE TECHNOLOGYFive levels of an Electronic HealthCare Record (EHCR) keeping can be classified as follows;1.The Automated Medical Record ,which is a paper-based record with some computer-generated documents. 2.The Computerized Medical Record (CMR), which makes the documents of level 1 electronically available. 3.The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) which restructures and optimizes the documents of the previous levels ensuring inter-operability of all documentation systems.4.The Electronic Patient Record (EPR) which is a patient-centered record with information from multiple institutions.5.The Electronic Health Record (EHR) adds general health-related information to the EPR that is not necessarily related to a disease. The development of standards for EMR interoperability is vital because of the fact that without interoperable EMRs, practicing physicians, pharmacies and health care institutions cannot share patient informat ion, which is necessary for timely patient-centered care.There are many standards relating to specific operation of   EMRs in the USA and across the globe. These include â€Å"ASTM International continuity of care record † in which patient health summary is based upon XML; â€Å"ANS1 X12†,which is a set of protocols used for transmitting any data including billing information; â€Å"CEN†,which is the European Standard for EMR; â€Å"DICOM†,A popular standard in radiology record keeping and â€Å"HL7† which is commonly used in clinical document architecture applications.There are many software programs specially developed for electronic record keeping. This includes ‘Doctors partner’, an advanced Electronic Medical Records (EMR) System with Integrated Appointment Scheduling Billing, Prescription Writer, Transcription Module, Document Management and Workflow Management built to meet HIPAA standards. ‘Practice Partner Patient Reco rds’ is an award winning electronic medical records (EMR) system, allowing practices to store and retrieve patient charts electronically. There are innumerable such branded medical record softwares available today (Ringold et.al.,2000)The American Medical Association and 13 other medical groups representing 500,000 physicians have signaled their intention to go electronic with the AMA formed Physicians’ â€Å"Electronic Health Record Coalition† to recommend affordable, standards-based technology to their constituents. President Bush has also promoted a nationwide computerized medical records system in a recent visit to a children's hospital at Vanderbilt University.THE COSTThe National Academy of Sciences report states that the health care industry spent between $10 and $15 billion on information technology in 1996. RED medic Inc., a California based firm have introduced a cheap online medical record service with an annual membership of about $35.The company Web site will collect, store and access everything ever wanted by health-care professionals to know about a patient’s medications, allergies, immunizations, conditions, doctors, emergency contacts and insurance providers. The system will store and transmit more complex information such as advance directives, EKGs and other essential medical documents and diagnostic imaging techniques. This health information service is capable of delivering information to any doctor or hospital, anytime, within the United States.RISK ASSESSMENTAlthough the issue of the privacy of patient records has received due attention in the last two years with arguments that Electronic medical records presents new threats to the privacy of patient-identifiable medical records, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 paved ways to protect the privacy of medical records Thus, any violation on these lines will be violation of the basic law.Under data protection legislation and the law i n USA, the responsibilty for patient records in any form including films and tracings from diagnostic imaging procedures such as x-ray, CT, PET, MRI, ultrasound, etc.   lies always on the creator and custodian of the record, who is usually a health care practice or facility and   the patient owns the information within the record and has a right to view the originals, and to obtain copies under law. Thus, electronic medical record system is a technologically viable cost effective system that has to be utilized by the health care sector governed by legal and ethical principles.CONCLUSIONEMRs can serve a great purpose by making the patient data available to any authorized physician   or   patient anywhere and anytime towards more transparent health care   when monitored effectively.REFERENCEHallvard Là ¦rum, MD, Tom H. Karlsen, MD, and Arild Faxvaag, MD, PhD. â€Å"Effects of scanning and eliminating paper based medical records on hospital physician’s clinical workà ‚  Ã‚   practice†.. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 10: 588-595. 2003.Medical Board of California: Medical Records – Frequently Asked Questions.Ringold, JP Santell, and PJ Schneider. â€Å"ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in acute care   settings: dispensing and administration–1999†. American Journal of Health-System   Pharmacy 57 (19): 1759-75. 2000.US Code of Federal Regulations, â€Å"of Individually Identifiable Health Information†   Title 45, Volume 1,October 1, 2005.

Patrice Lumumba’s Struggle Against Belgian Imperialism Essay

Patrice Lumumba’s Struggle Against Belgian Imperialism It is hard to believe that in 2002 there is still imperialism being practiced in the world, but the fact of the matter is, it is. Imperialism is the policy of extending a nation’s territory or power by establishing dominance over other nations. A modern example of imperialism is the Congo. At the 1885 Berlin Conference, where the European powers carved up most of Africa among themselves, they sanctioned the claim of Belgian King Leopold II to sole authority over the Congo, a land mass 75 times the area of Belgium. The Congo was virtually his private property. He wiped out some 10 million people, around half the population, in his determination to extract every†¦show more content†¦However, Lumumba’s intentions became clear from his Independence Day speech. He said, We have known sarcasm and insults, endured blows morning, noon and night because we were niggers... We have seen our lands despoiled under the terms of what was supposedly the law of the lad but which only recognised the right of the strongest. We have seen that this law was quite different for a white than for a black: accommodating for the former, cruel and inhuman for the latter. It is evident from this excerpt that Lumumba’s Congo would not be one where the Belgians could remain in complete control. The imperialist powers, led by Washington together with Brussels, undertook a series of operations designed to undermine the new Lumumba-led government. Less than two weeks after Congos independence, the former Belgian rulers succeeded in organizing a secessionist movement in the province of Katanga, where U.S. and European companies had vast mineral holdings. On July 11, 1960, Moise Tshombe, a wealthy businessman and leader of the UCOL party who bitterly opposed Lumumba, declared Katangas separation from the Congo. UCOL originally stood for the Union for Colonization but then was later changed to the Union for the Collaboration of the Middle Classes in Katanga due to the feverish anti-colonial spirit in the Congo. Brussels sent 10,000 troops to Katanga toShow MoreRelatedNotes18856 Words   |  76 PagesIndividuals like l Dr. David Livingstone were able to combine missionary activities with extensive scientific research and geographic investigations. To this day, Africa remains a favorite destination for missionaries. The third reason was based on imperialism, the desire by European patriots to contribute to their country’s grandeur by laying claim to other countries in distant lands. Imperial Germany’s Karl Peters’ adventures M04_KHAF1713_04_SE_C04.indd 101 1/18/12 10:30 AM  102 C ha

Biology Suffix Definition -otomy, -tomy

The suffix -otomy, or -tomy, refers to the act of cutting or making an incision, as in a medical operation or procedure. This word part is derived from the Greek -tomia, which means to cut. Examples Anatomy (ana-tomy): the study of the physical structure of living organisms. Anatomical dissection is a primary component of this type of biological study. Anatomy involves the study of macro-structures (heart, brain, kidneys, etc.) and microstructures (cells, organelles, etc.). Autotomy (aut-otomy): the act of removing an appendage from the body in order to escape when trapped. This defense mechanism is exhibited in animals such as lizards, geckos, and crabs. These animals can use regeneration to recover the lost appendage. Craniotomy (crani-otomy): surgical cutting of the skull, typically done to provide access to the brain when surgery is needed. A craniotomy may require a small or large cut depending on the type of surgery needed. A small cut in the skull is referred to as a burr hole and is used to insert a shunt or remove small brain tissue samples. A large craniotomy is called a skull base craniotomy and is needed when removing large tumors or after an injury that causes a skull fracture. Episiotomy (episi-otomy): surgical cut made into the area between the vagina and anus to prevent tearing during the child birthing process. This procedure is no longer routinely performed due to associated risks of infection, extra blood loss, and possible increase in the size of the cut during delivery. Gastrotomy (gastr-otomy): surgical incision made into the stomach for the purpose of feeding an individual who is incapable of taking in food through normal processes. Hysterotomy (hyster-otomy): surgical incision made into the uterus. This procedure is done in a Cesarean section to remove a baby from the womb. A hysterotomy is also performed in order to operate on a fetus in the womb. Phlebotomy (phleb-otomy): incision or puncture made into a vein in order to draw blood. A phlebotomist is a health care worker who draws blood. Laparotomy (lapar-otomy): incision made into the abdominal wall for the purpose of examining abdominal organs or diagnosing an abdominal problem. Organs examined during this procedure may include the kidneys, liver, spleen, pancreas, appendix, stomach, intestines, and female reproductive organs. Lobotomy (lob-otomy): incision made into a lobe of a gland or organ. Lobotomy also refers to an incision made into a lobe of the brain to sever nerve tracts. Rhizotomy (rhiz-otomy): surgical severing of a cranial nerve root or spinal nerve root in order to relieve back pain or decrease muscle spasms. Tenotomy (ten-otmy): incision made into the tendon in order to correct a muscle deformity.  This procedure helps to lengthen a defective muscle and is commonly used to correct a club foot. Tracheotomy (trache-otomy): incision made into the trachea (windpipe) for the purpose of inserting a tube to allow air to flow the lungs. This is done to bypass an obstruction in the trachea, such as swelling or a foreign object.

Escapism in Childrens Literature - 887 Words

Children’s literature can take many forms, from far-fetching science fiction to spell binding who-done-it mysteries. One of the most popular ideas presented in these various forms is that of escapism. The characters in these stories explore quite complex social issues in ways that are less confrontational then realism. One might consider why escape is such a central theme; as a child there are numerous benefits to fantasy, it allows readers to experiment with different views of the world and takes hypothetical situations and invites them to make connections between this fictive scenario and their own reality. John Stephens an English professor at Macquarie University has said â€Å" Fantasy writing operates through metaphor- so that the unfamiliar is used to stand in for, or comment upon, the familiar.† The use of metaphor in Fantasy makes it more â€Å"open† to different readings and meanings. Take J.M. Barrie’s fantasy novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as an example. Barrie uses his story to transport Alice to an unknown world full of backwards words and talking animals. This allows Alice to escape the boredom of picture less books and adult conversations that were beginning to consume her. Similar in theory is Neil Gaiman’s style of writing. Gaiman has produced a number of Victorian-influenced fantasy novels for children, including Coraline. Coraline, like Alice centers on a young girl entering another world. Escape can be seem in many books for children but one story inShow MoreRelatedFantasy Is Reality Essay1149 Words   |  5 Pagesover the years since it has been published in the 1930s. According to Steven Jones, the use of fantasy in fairy tales is quot;the most salient...stylistic feature.quot; In most other stories which fall into the genre of fairy tales or fantasy literature, one can never overemphasize the importance of fantasy in them. 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International Strategies & Management Plan of BMW

Question: Describe about the International Strategic Management of BMW? Answer: Introduction The strategic management is considered as the process of planning in order to develop strategy either in the context of domestic circle or international circle. Therefore, strategic management is helpful for the industries all around the globe to gain higher benefit from the international as well as from domestic market. The current study will be focusing on the key dilemma that has been faced by the company. The company has been focused on BMW. Therefore, the issues will be explained considering internal analysis of BMW and different strategy will be mentioned to have a deep understanding. Key Dilemma Faced by BMW High Cost Structure: It is evident that cost structure of BMW is relatively higher in comparison to other bigger car manufacturing company. The company is involved in producing quality and costly cars which is impossible for the middle income group people to buy the cars. Apart from that, company involve high cost in recruiting high skilled workforce (Avery and Bergsteiner, 2011). Therefore, it is one of the weakness of the company control their cost. Differentiation: According to Bailey and Ruyter (2012), differentiation signifies that the marketing mix is extensively different from and effective than what is accessible from the rivals. On the other hand, the product differentiation is treated as the core element of the company to gain healthy and higher market share and remain ahead of the major competitors. It is known that there are large numbers of options for the buyers of vehicle to buy from all over the globe that has the same functional characteristics which is involved in the costly cars. Therefore, BMW is forced due to such issue to manufacture and develop unique products so that they can cope up with the preference, taste and fickle requirements of the car lovers (Chen, 2013). Thus, the differentiation increases the budget of the company so that they do not lose their market share to other competitors available in the car industry. Innovation: The commitment towards the variety of product and innovation has lead to bigger challenges in the organisations. Therefore, the complexity of functions that are provided in the premium luxurious cars of BMW has multiplied the manufacturing cost of the company. On the other hand, Fang (n.d.) mentioned that product development is treated as the highly financially taxing in relation to BMW. The cost of developing or manufacturing a fresh model or port is relatively high, time overwhelming and holds key risks. Therefore, the company is facing with steep procedure of innovating prototypes and also receiving high risk level testing phase. Thus, the innovating the product is a serious issue which is faced by the company in order to maintain their market cap. Competition: The high level of competition from the competitors can make strategic planning of the company not to provide full support. As per Harbour (2012), the automobile industry is growing slowly which increase the intense competition among the big car manufacturing company. Therefore, it has affected the strategy of the BMW. The major competition that is faced by BMW is Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors. Thus, in order to lead the market, BMW is forced to have merger and partners. BMW acquired Rover and further the company merged with Rolls Royce to become leader of the market in relation to luxury cars. Substitute Products: Jung et al. (2012) discussed that the threat of substitute product on the automobile market is related with the products, resources or materials that may have severe affect on the demand of the product both nationally and internationally. Apart from that, Kim (2014) mentioned that substitute product can take away the sales percent of the company and market share. Therefore, BMW is targeting premium consumers and not on the average customers. The premium buyers are targeted as for them quality matters that provide high comfort. On the other hand, Kgler and Kragl (2012) pointed that there are other car manufacturers that targets premium customers such as Mercedes, Porsche and Audi. Therefore, these are the possible substitute for the cars offered by BMW. Global Warming: Loch et al. (2001) proposed that global warming has become great concern all over the world. Therefore, the governments, non government enterprises and activists of environment are forcing the major manufacturing industries to go green and sustainable. Therefore, it has impacted the BMW to develop the car in expected way. The stable of BMW comprises BMW brand along with super luxury Rolls Royce and compact Mini. As per the sources, BMW has expected to sale over 2.1 billion vehicles a year by 2015 has faced with stern regulation to follow (Madhani, 2012). Therefore, it made the company to include extra costs in innovation for environmentally friend fuels or engines and also making investment into the alternative energy sources to run the cars. Internal Analysis: Resource Based View BMW functions in thirteen different nations with 24 manufacturing facilities. It is also known that most manufacturing site is possessed by BMW. However, Madhani (2012) mentioned that BMW group is not able to gain the similar economies of scale of the rivals due to holding three various premium brands. Moreover, it was mentioned that momentous investment in research and development is tough for the company to recover. Apart from that, Andersn (2010) pointed that research and development helps the company in gaining competitive advantage. Due to that, BMW is able to foresee and react quickly to the changes occur in the market. The strategic alliances with Alfa Romeo and Fiat were effective for the company to generate advantage from the cost savings and gain economies of scale. On the other hand, Colbert (2004) pointed that Resource based View can be effective in understanding and analysing the internal situation of the company. Therefore, the model will help in knowing the competitive advantage of BMW. Hasnelly and Sari (2012), explained that RBV consider resources as the major factors which helps in superior performance of firm. It is evident that key resource of the company that is BMW is technical design knowledge which is effectively converted into new products to meet the demand and expectation of customers. Moreover, in order to understand the competitive advantage of BMW, RBV model will be explained: Tangible assets: These are the related with physical things such as buildings, machinery, land, capital and equipments. Therefore, till 2013, BMW holds around 9456 million of intangible assets which gradually increases every year (Bmwgroup.com, 2015). Henard and McFadyen (2012) opined that physical resources can be easily purchased in the market; therefore, they bestow minimum advantage to the firm in the long term as the competitors can be able to obtain the similar assets at some point of time. Therefore, it can be understood that acquiring high or costly physical resources may not ensure high competitive advantage to BMW. Intangible Assets: Hunt and Davis (2012) described that these assets are whole thing except any physical presence and company still owns these assets. Some of the assets that relates to intangible are trademarks, intellectual property, brand reputation, etc. Therefore, in the case of BMW, the company has immense technical design knowledge which helps in manufacturing and developing high and superior quality luxury cars for the premium customers. The technical knowledge of the employees of BMW helps the company to gain competitive advantage and lead the market. On the other hand, the BMW possesses high brand reputation and highly branded product considered by all customers group. Therefore, the company organise all their effort to maintain their brand reputation and by providing timely service to the customers on demand (Insead.edu, 2015). Thus, it is known that intangible resources are the key source for the company to gain sustainable competitive advantage over the arch competitors. Apart from that, (Jugdev and Mathur, 2013) mentioned that heterogeneous and immobile has to be considered too: Heterogeneous: According to this assumption, capability, skill and other resources that company holds has to be different from the other company in order to receive competitive benefit. Jung et al. (2012) argued that if the organisations follow or possess similar amount of resources then it can be tough for them to exercise different strategies to gain advantage over each other. Therefore, BMW tries to focus on different resources and strategies that can help them to remain ahead and gain competitive edge. It is evident from the report of Automotive News; BMW brand has outcaste Mercedes and Audi globally in terms of sales. Therefore, as a result brand value of BMW rose to 6% in November 2014 to 158953 cars (Kim, 2014). Moreover, there is high demand in China and European markets for BMW cars. On the other hand, BMW has effectively focused on their electronic and communication technology to develop competitive benefits via e-marketing. Moreover, the company only manufactures car for o nly selected premium customers. The competition between Audi and BMW is an effective example as both the companies operate in similar industry and bare similar external forces. However, using different resources apart them and BMW is quite successful over the Audi in terms of profits and sells. BMW has high brand reputation and due to that Audi follow different strategy. Immobile: According to Kgler and Kragl (2012), the assumptions that RBV holds explains that resources do not shift from firm to firm and are not mobile. Therefore, such immobility does not allow company to use the resources and similar strategies followed in other company. In the case of BMW too, the company may not implement the same strategies that might be followed in Mercedes or Audi. Thus, the intangible resources of BMW such as technical design knowledge of employees cannot be copied by others. Figure 1: RBV Model The VRIO framework can be effective in examining the resources of the company whether it is efficient in providing competitive advantage or not. Valuable: The resources of BMW are valuable which helps in raising the value provided to the buyers. Therefore, BMW focus on differentiation so that cost of production can be controlled and helps in gaining competitive edge. The company try to provide unique product so that high security and comfort can be given to car lovers. Rarity: As per Yang, Ho and Chang (2010), the resources that are acquired by few industries are regarded as rare. The expert knowledge of the staff is rare which may not be easily possessed in everyone. Therefore, BMW has bunch of expert technical expert that helps the company in designing and manufacturing the cars that best suits the demand of the premium target market. Thus, it can help in receiving higher rivalry benefit. Imitate: Masondo (2003) discussed that the resources that are costly can be expensive for the other firm to substitute or imitate for their benefit. Therefore, BMW used the technology for their benefit. Thus, in that case company has started BMW applications such as BMW Connected, BMW Magazine, BMW Mobile Configurator and The Ultimate Drive which can be costly for other car manufacturing companies such as Maruti Suzuki, TATA Motors, etc. Organise: The firms may not be able to receive sustain competitive gain if the resources are not aligned or organised in the company. BMW effectively try to organize their available resources and human resources to remain the leader in terms of luxury cars and attain sustained competitive benefit. Market Based View of Strategy Internationality Moreno, Pinheiro and Joia (2012) propounded that market based view of strategy is involved in structuring the policies and strategy of the company relying on the nature and trends of the firms environment considering both internationally and domestically. Therefore, it helps the company in choosing the market combination for their specific products in order to remain ahead in the market and attain competitive gain. Thus, in order to understand the MBV of BMW, Porters generic Strategy Strategies will be employed. Cost Leadership: The cost leadership strategy focuses on the attainment of the sustainable leadership where the industry sets out to be the least cost provider of services and products in order to gain high market share. The industries apply such strategy to attract the customers and encircle large customers for long term benefit (Morrissey and Phillips, 2007). In the case of BMW, the company has never focused on cost leadership approach as they majorly target premium automobile segment and premium customers which can be known from there three brands that are Rolls Royce, Mini and BMW. On the other hand, it has been found that in 2010, the costs of research and development and labour cost touched 3 billion in US and Germany. Differentiation: Otubanjo (n.d.) discussed that the organisations adopt differentiation strategy by focusing on the uniqueness of the product or pricing the product so that buyers can get attracted towards the product and remain loyal to company. On the other hand, in case of BMW, the company focuses on developing sustainable competitive gain by focusing on technology, customer focus, innovation and their brands by developing premium cars majorly for the luxury market around the globe. Trapped in between: The industries that follow differentiation, cost leadership and focus and fails to attain goal fall into middle and does not gain competitive advantage. For instance, acquisition of Rover by BMW in 1994 and they tried to apply differentiation strategy with focus strategy both in mass market and premium market and due to that leadership style and organisational culture in Germany and UK collided. Moreover, it led to loss of 3.2 billion (Ou, Varriale and Tsui, 2012). Therefore, the company decided to focus on differentiation focus strategy for their Rolls Royce, BMW and Mini brands for the future. This helped in penetrating to premium market in large, mid-size and small segments. Focus: The focus strategy is implemented by the organisations by targeting a group in order to serve them with their product and services. Moreover, organisations target the customers only those that best suits their product and ensure effective earnings and sales. Therefore, BMW finds an option in the niche small automobile market for their Mini brand. On the other hand, as the cars of BMW are too costly, therefore the company only focus on high income group people as they can bear the cost and own a car which may be not possible for the middle income group people. Thus, target premium customers of China, India, US and other nation. Globalisation and Localisation Strategy of BMW Rui and Si (2010) opined that BMW has employed different marketing mix to increase the sale of their cars to various socioeconomic groups and aggressively emphasizes on the premium groups. On the other hand, the company has initiated the objective of segregating the premium market via optimizing fit among the buying behaviour of the customers and the marketing mix in order to increase the sale in that part. Apart from that, the company considers the customers that look for higher standard quality, performance and luxury. Therefore, BMW takes in account such requirement of customers into their automobiles so that large benefit can be received from international market and increasing market share and gaining competitive advantage. Moreover, it is know that BMW offers trendsetting and attractive products that range from 3 to 7 series which significantly focuses on the wealthy consumers. Thus, it helps BMW in making mark in global market and become leader of luxury car. Apart from that, Zhu (2012) mentioned that global marketing strategy of BMW represents leadership via innovation. Therefore, the company has shifted their position to sheer driving delight from the eventual driving machine. It represents that company now seriously considers the emotional factors of the customers. Further, Yang, Ho and Chang (2010) pointed that BMW has adopted centralised and unified brand strategy for their Asian and American market. The company also followed mass customisation as a worldwide strategy. For instance, product diversification of product lines of BMW can be understood as: 6 series $20000-$50000 5 series $40000-$50000 3 series $60000-$70000 On the other hand, BMW to incorporate their localised strategy, they engage local people to acts as distributors. They visit to different locations and demonstrate the features of BMWs cars to the customers. Moreover, company provide training to 25,000 local employees to provide best service to the customers (Tzifakis, 2012). The company focuses on advertising to attract the local premium customers at large. Planned and Emergent Corporate strategy The planned strategy is considered as prior planning before completing falling into operations. Therefore, the company, BMW plan all their resource requirements, human resource requirements, strategic goals and other requirements so that set goal can be achieved within the stipulated time frame (Rui and Si, 2010). Therefore, the company broadly mention their vision, goals and intentions to be achieved. On the other hand, emergent corporate strategy arises when there are consistencies in the actions (koreatimes, 2015). Moreover, if find sudden error in the operation and action then it will be an emergency situation where the organisation will have to implement strategy otherwise it may affect the operational process. Therefore, BMW is effectively involved in studying the changes that may occur in the market so that they can be ready to accept such changes and significantly meet the demand of the customers (Ou, Varriale and Tsui, 2012). Responsiveness and Synergy Responsiveness is concerned with effectively reacting to the market, customers or to other factors. BMW is highly responsive towards their customers in providing details about the cars. On the other hand, if the company finds that spending power of the customers has increased then the company in gradually increases the price of cars (Nerys, 2009). For instance, the spending power of people of China has increased and due to that BMW has also increased their price in China by 5%. Apart from that, if changes occur in the market, then BMW make adjustments in their operation so that they do not suffer huge losses (Kgler and Kragl, 2012). Further, in context to synergy, the cooperation between BMW and Rover to gain higher benefit and provide better luxury car to customers. On the other hand, PGE has partnered with BMW in order to test the performance of EVs in demand response programs. Therefore, it helps both the firm to work cooperatively and serve the customers (Greentechmedia.com, 2015). Conclusions The strategic management is effectively involved in structuring and implementing the objectives or initiatives adopted by the top management of the company. 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