Admissibility of FMRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or FMRI, is a technique for measuring brain activity. It works by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity – when a brain area is more active it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand blood flow increases to the active area.FMRI can be used to produce activation maps showing which parts of the brain are involved in a particular mental process (FMRIB Center).This is how it works: oxygen is delivered to neurons by haemoglobin in capillary red blood cells. When neuronal activity increases there is an increased demand for oxygen and the local response is an increase in blood flow to regions of increased neural activity.Haemoglobin is diamagnetic when oxygenated but paramagnetic when deoxygenated. This difference in magnetic properties leads to small differences in the MR signal of blood depending on the degree of oxygenation.Since blood oxygenation varies according to the le vels of neural activity these differences can be used to detect brain activity. This form of MRI is known as blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) imaging (id).It is claimed that through this process, FMRI can be used as a lie detector test. The question now arises that should the FMRI be used as a lie detector test, will the results be admissible in evidence in our courts of law in light of the Daubert ruling? This paper will try to answer this question by testing FMRI against the four questions set up by the Supreme Court in the said decision.Is FMRI a testable technique?The Supreme Court, in discussing how evidence should pass this test, the judge must ascertain whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid and of whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue.A key question to be answered in determining whether a theory or technique is scientific knowledge that will assist the trier of fact will be w hether it can be(and has been) tested (92-102). The main concern of the Supreme Court here is the reliability of the technique and reduction of falsifiability.FMRI is one of the most recently developed forms of neuroimaging but the idea underpinning the technique – inferring brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow – is not new (FMRIB Center). The technique, however, is relatively new.FMRI still has not gained acceptance as a reliable method of lie detection to replace the polygraph. Recent studies only indicate that FMRI may be more reliable than the polygraph but FMRI is yet to attain its full potential.Dr. Faro, in studying FMRI admits that because the polygraph test, while improved over the last 10 to 15 years, is not as accurate as it needs to be, a better method for detecting deception clearly needs to be developed (Orenstein 30).He add that he is convinced that FMRI used with or without polygraph will someday be the new gold standard (id). The scientist s remain hopeful the FMRI will someday be the standard. But as of today, its acceptability as a lie detection test is still on a thin balance. In short, FMRI has not yet been fully tested so as to be acceptable as a lie detection method.Despite this, it is noteworthy that FMRI lie detection centers have already been set up in the United States. They are No Lie MRI, Incorporated and Cephos Corporation. This shows that FMRI is gaining ground as a stand alone test for lie detection and not just merely as a supplement to the polygraph.Has FMRI been peer reviewed?  The concern of the Supreme Court in including this test is to make sure that the theory or technique has been subjected to scrutiny by the science community because it is only then that the substantive flaws of the methodology can be revealed.Without effort, FMRI will pass this test. FMRI has been subjected to tests and retests by a lot of scientists to verify its efficiency and effectiveness. In fact the University of Oxfor d established its own FMRIB Center to study it as a field of discipline.As mentioned earlier, Dr. Faro already tested whether it can replace the polygraph or not. And lastly, there are also plenty of studies on FMRI being conducted as of this moment because it has inspired general interest in the science community. The abstracts of these studies can be viewed in the internet.Does FMRI have a known error rate or standard controlling it operation?The error rate of FMRI has not yet been established because as mentioned earlier, it is a recent development in nueroimaging and still has not been tested thoroughly. However, Dr. Faro says that subjects would have to lie perfectly for them to beat the FMRI (Orenstein, id).He says that FMRI would be much harder to beat than polygraph because it measures a primary cognitive response that begins within the deep structures of the brain.Lying involves coordinating complex activations in many different parts of the brain that relate to awareness, understanding, inhibition, and emotion.One way of arguing the admissibility of the FMRI according to this test is to argue how polygraphs are admissible in courts. According to the American Polygraph Association, polygraph results are admissible in some federal circuits and states (Orenstein, id).And this is so even though the polygraph is only 85% to 90% accurate when the subjects are being deceptive and only 70% to 75% accurate when subjects are being truthful. If polygraphs are admissible in court, then FMRI should also be admissible considering that the latter is more accurate than the former.However, there is a great cloud over the admissibility of the FMRI when the procedure of conducting it is considered. Subjects participating in a fMRI experiment are asked to lie still and are usually restrained with soft pads to prevent small motions from disturbing measurements.It is possible to correct for some amount of head movement with post-processing of the data, but large transient motion can render these attempts futile. Generally motion in excess of 3 millimeters will result in unusable data.Thus, a very accurate data is hard to obtain from FMRI. A movement of only 3 millimeters will already render the data useless. Considering that the shortest time needed to conduct an FMRI is 15 minutes, it is easy to conclude that an FMRI is hardly accurate.Of course, this can be addressed by utilizing mechanisms to reduce movements. And the FMRI centers should have already addressed this problem. But standing as it is, this fact casts doubt on the admissibility of FMRI because of the possible large inaccurcies of the data gathered during testing.There is also a concern on the reliability of the FMRI with regard to complex lies. Complex lies are half truths and sometimes rhetorical answers to the standard questions asked during an FMRI session. They are answers which have shades of truth or just an answer with a misperception about a question. This area of FMRI still ha s not been studied thoroughly making it less reliable as a method of lie detection.Is the underlying science generally accepted?Yes, the underlying science behind FMRI is generally accepted. As mentioned earlier, the idea underpinning the technique (FMRI) – inferring brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow – is not new. The study of FMRI draws from physics, psychology, neuroanatomy, statistics and electrophysiology, all of which are generally accepted fields of discipline. Thus, under this test, FMRI is admissible in evidence.ConclusionIn conclusion, FMRI is not admissible in evidence when tested against the Daubert standards. First of all, it still has not been thoroughly tested as a science. The method of conducting has not yet been perfected by the testing centers. These two factors accounts for somewhat doubtful results and may seem not convincing before the eyes of the courts.In fact, criticisms as to the accuracy of the data gathered during FMRI have al ways been the the biggest factors in sustaining its non-acceptability. Issues raised such as there are non-neural influences in the change of magnetic fields in the blood vessels have been raised and these have not been specifically addressed by the current studies on FMRI.It has also been raised that FMRI only measures the secondary physiological correlates of neural activity, it is not a direct measure. This means it is not a truly quantitative measure of mental activity – when comparing the FMRI response between individuals it is impossible to say whether the differences are neural or physiological in origin (FMRIB Center).These are the scientific arguments against the FMRI. Of course, there are also ethical arguments against its use but they will not be discussed in this paper for being irrelevant.One argument which, to the mind of this reader, will really cause the courts to strike down FMRI evidence as inadmissible is the constitutional argument that it violates the rig ht to privacy. During an FMRI session, collateral information about the subject may be obtained but which he would have wanted to keep secret. This is a violation of the right to privacy.  Of course, it is already established that such a mechanical method of subjecting one's self to physical examination is not violative of the right against self-incrimination. However, this is not the case I am pointing out. What if some information not related to the trial or to the case has been obtained during the FMRI session?True that it will not be offered in evidence but the damage of violating the right to privacy has already been incurred. What will the subject do then? If the FMRI violates the constitutional right to privacy, then anything obtained during such sessions, though irrelevant and immaterial to the case, should be kept confidential and inadmissible in evidence in all courts and tribunals.Secondly, the FMRI should be inadmissible in evidence because its error rate still has not been determined to a certain definitive degree. It matters not if polygraph evidence is admissible in many federal and state courts. As of the moment, the Supreme Court still has no definitive ruling as to its admissibility (Orenstein).Moreover, the accuracy of the data obtained during FMRI sessions is still in doubt when the procedure is considered. The fact that a 3-millimeter movement will render the data untruthful is enough for the courts to cast a doubtful eye on FMRI evidence. As to the matter of complex lies, this provides the subjects a way to beat the FMRI.They even do not have to lie. They can just answer half-truths or even use rhetorical answers and they could already beat the FMRI.All these point to rejection of FMRI evidence considering the attitude of the courts toward the Daubert principle. In fact, litigants say that courts are more strict than what the Supreme Court suggested in the Daubert case (Hileman 2003).However, as a statement of hope for FMRI, today is no t the timely moment to test its admissibility in our courts of law. It should be given more time to develop into a better-founded discipline and its loopholes tied end-to-end. Then perhaps someday, our society will find it a very reliable method in lie detection and the results be admissible in evidence in our courts of law. Works CitedIntroduction to FMRI. FMRIB Center, University of Oxford. December 4, 2007. http://www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/education/fmri/introduction-to-fmri/introduction/Orenstein, Beth. Guilty? Investigating FMRI's Future as a Lie Detector. May 16, 2005. Radiology Today. Vol 6 No. 10 p. 30.Supreme Court of the United State. Daubert vs Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. June 28, 1993. retrieved December 4, 2007. http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/92-102.ZO.htmlWeiller C et al (2006). â€Å"Clinical potential of brain mapping using MRI†. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 23 (6): 840–850Scott A. Huettel, Allen W. Song, Gregory McCarthy, Functional Ma gnetic Resonance Imaging, Sinauer Associates, 2004.Hileman, Bette. Daubert Rules Challenge Courts. July 7, 2003. Our Stolen Future. Retrieved December 4, 2007. http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/press/2003/2003-0707-CEN-daubert.htmSilberman, Steve. Don't Even Think About Lying. Wired Magazine. Retrieved December 4, 2007. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/lying_pr.html

Delhi Gang Rape Essay

On 16 December 2012 a female physiotherapy intern[2] was beaten and gang raped in Delhi. She died from her injuries thirteen days later while undergoing emergency treatment in Singapore for brain and gastrointestinal damage. After watching a film in South Delhi in the early evening, she and a male companion had boarded a bus, which was being driven as an unauthorized â€Å"joyride†, thinking it was a public bus.[3] The only other passengers on the bus were five men who were friends of the driver.[3] All six, including the driver, were charged in connection with the assaults and have been arrested. After the attack, she was taken to Safdarjang Hospital, received multiple surgeries, and was placed on mechanical ventilation. On 26 December, she was moved to Singapore for further treatment, where she died on 29 December. The incident has generated international coverage and was condemned by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, who called on the Government of India and the Government of Delhi â€Å"to do everything in their power to take up radical reforms, ensure justice and reach out with robust public services to make women’s lives more safe and secure†.[4] Public protests took place in Delhi, where thousands of protesters clashed with security forces. Similar protests took place in major cities throughout the country. Incident The victims, a 23-year old woman and her male friend, were on their way home after watching the film Life of Pi in Saket in South Delhi.[5][6] They boarded a chartered bus at Munirka for Dwarka that was being driven by joyriders at about 9:30 pm. The minor among the accused had called for passengers telling them that it was going towards their destination.[3][7] The woman’s friend became suspicious when the bus deviated from its normal route and its doors were shut. When he objected, the group of six men already on board taunted the couple, asking what they were doing alone at such a late hour.[8] When the male victim tried to intervene, he was beaten, gagged and knocked unconscious with an iron rod. The men dragged the woman to the rear of the bus, beating her with the rod and raping her while the bus driver continued to drive. Medical reports later suggested that the woman suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals due to the assault, and doctors say that the damage indicates that a blunt object (suspected to be the iron rod) may have been used for penetration.[6] That rod was later described by police as being a rusted, L-shaped implement of the type used as a wheel jack handle.[9] According to the International Business Times, a police spokesman said that the youngest attacker â€Å"sexually abused his victim twice and ripped out her intestines with his bare hands.†[10] According to police reports the woman attempted to fight off her assailants, biting three of the attackers and leaving bite marks on the accused men.[11] After the beatings and rape ended, the attackers threw both the victims from the moving bus. Then the accused allegedly tried to drive the bus over the woman but she was pulled aside by her male friend. One of the perpetrators later cleaned the vehicle. Police impounded it the next day.[11][12] The victims were found by a passerby on the road, partially clothed and unconscious, around 11 pm. The passerby phoned the Delhi Police, who took the couple to a hospital, where the female victim was given emergency treatment and placed on mechanical ventilation.[13] She was found with only 5% of her intestines left inside of her. A doctor at the hospital later said that the â€Å"rod was inserted into her and it was pulled out with so much force that the act brought out her intestines also. That is probably the only thing that explains such severe damage to her intestines.† Victims The female victim was born and raised in Delhi while her parents were from a small village in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. Her father, who sold his agricultural land to educate her, works for a private company as a loader in Delhi.[15] Complying with Indian law, the real name of the victim was initially not released to the media, so pseudonyms were used for her by various media houses instead, including Jagruti(â€Å"awareness†), Amanat (â€Å"treasure†), Nirbhaya (â€Å"fearless one†), and Damini (â€Å"lightning†, after the 1993 Hindi film Damini),[16][17][18] although some media commentators have questioned the judgement of using pseudonyms for her.[17][19] The male victim is 28 years old, from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, and lives in Ber Sarai, New Delhi.[20] Delhi police registered a criminal case against the editor of a Delhi based tabloid for disclosing the female victim’s identity, as such disclosure is an offence under section 228(A) of Indian Penal Code.[21] Shashi Tharoor, union minister, suggested that if the parents had no objection, her identity could be made public, with a view to showing respect for her courageous response by naming future laws after her, but Tharoor’s remark created controversy.[22] Later, her father and brother said that â€Å"if her name is made public for this purpose, they have no objection to it† as well as â€Å"if the government names the revised anti-rape law after her, they have no objection and it would be an honor to her†. Treatment and death On 19 December 2012, the woman’s damaged intestines were resected due to risk of gangrene, and she received intravenous nutrition and medication.[24] On 21 December 2012, the government appointed a committee of physicians to ensure she received the best medical care.[25] By 25 December 2012, she remained intubated, on life support and in critical condition. Doctors stated that the internal bleeding had been controlled to an extent, but her increased bilirubin level (suggesting hepatic dysfunction or hemolysis) was a â€Å"serious cause of concern†.[26] At a cabinet meeting chaired by Manmohan Singh on 26 December, the decision was made to fly her to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for further care. Mount Elizabeth is a multi-organ transplant speciality hospital.[27][28] The decision to move the patient while she was still in critical condition has been criticised for being purely political. Doctors have questioned the need to transfer an ICU patient for organ transplants that were not scheduled for weeks or even months later.[29][30] Government sources indicate that the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was personally behind the decision.[31] Hours earlier, Union Minister P. Chidambaram had stated that the woman was not in a condition to move.[32] Some reports suggest that the decision to shift was taken when it was already clear that she would not survive the next 48 hours.[33] During the six-hour flight by air-ambulance to Singapore, at 30,000 feet (9,100 m), the woman suddenly went into a near collapse. Her blood pressure dipped alarmingly, and doctors on the flight had to create an arterial line to stabilize her. That the doctors were able to perform this procedure in-flight was considered a medical feat.[34] However, the victim never regained consciousness in Singapore.[35] On 28 December 2012, at 11 am (IST), her condition was â€Å"extremely critical† and the Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital said that the woman suffered brain damage, pneumonia, abdominal infection, and that she was â€Å"fighting for her life.†[36] Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she died of a cerebral edema at 4:45 am on 29 December, Singapore Standard Time (2:15 am, 29 December, IST; 8:45 pm, 28 December, UTC).[37] Her body was cremated on 30 December 2012 at Delhi under high police security. The government denied access to the media and the public. The â€Å"fortification† of Delhi was criticised by many, including the main opposition party of India. Alleged perpetrators Police found and arrested some of the suspects within 24 hours.[39] From highway CCTV recordings, a description of the bus, a white privately operated charter bus with a name written on it, and details of the windows, blinds, and seats could be seen. Going to the bus stand where the victims boarded it, other operators identified it as being contracted by a south Delhi private school. They then traced it and found its driver, Ram Singh. Police obtained sketches of the assailants with the help of the male victim, and used a cell phone stolen from the pair to find one of them.[39] Six men have been arrested in connection with the incident: Ram Singh, the bus driver, and his brother, Mukesh Singh, were both arrested in Rajasthan; Vinay Sharma, an assistant gym instructor, was arrested in Delhi,[40] as was Pawan Gupta, a fruit seller; Mohammad Afroz (aka Raju),[41] a 17 years and 8 month old minor[42] and native of Uttar Pradesh was arrested by the police at Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi; Akshay Thakur, a man who had gone from Bihar to Delhi seeking work, was arrested in Aurangabad in Bihar.[40][43] The group had been eating and drinking together and â€Å"having a party† earlier that day.[3] Mohammad Afroz (aka Raju) had only met the others that day.[42] Although the charter bus which Ram Singh drove on weekdays was not permitted to pick up public passengers[12] or even to operate in Delhi because of its tinted windows,[44] they decided to take it out â€Å"to have some fun†.[3] With Mukesh Singh driving, they first picked up a carpenter who was charged Rs. 10 for a ticket and then robbed of Rs. 8,000 and ejected in South Delhi.[44] They then turned back and a half hour later, picked up the couple who were charged Rs. 10 each. Ram Singh was presented before the Metropolitan Magistrate on 18 December 2012.[45] Mukesh Singh, who was placed in Tihar Jail after his arrest, was assaulted by other inmates and was kept in solitary confinement for his own protection.[46] Ram and Mukesh Singh are from Ravidas camp, a slum in South Delhi.[47] Ram Singh suffers from a substantial disability in his right arm, sustained after a bus accident for which he had sought compensation.[48] He refused to participate in an identification process.[44] Shortly after the attacks, Gupta said he accepted his guilt and should be hanged.[49][50]

The Themes of Robert Frosts Poetry

The main themes of Robert frosts poetry are: Nature and mans interaction with it. Also real people and real struggle; the deeper meanings of everyday life. For this essay I will discuss ‘mending wall', ‘the road not taken', ‘out, out-‘ and ‘provide, provide’. Mending wall is about a stone wall separating the speaker's property from his neighbour’s. In spring, the two meet to walk the wall and make any necessary repairs. The speaker sees no reason for the wall to be kept as there are no livestock to contain. This wall building act seems to have ancient roots. It involves spells to stop the elves or whoever from breaking the wall. The neighbor appears a stone-age savage while hoisting and re-building the wall. This poem deals with nature and peoples interactions with it. By keeping the wall in good condition they are keeping their land and also their relationship healthy. The road not taken, in this the speaker stands in the woods, considering a fork in the road. Both ways are equally worn and overlaid with untrodden leaves. The speaker chooses one telling himself he’ll choose the other another day . et he knows it is unlikely that he will have the opportuninty. This fork in the road which shows two paths symbolises free will and fate; we are free to choose, but we do not really know what we are choosing between. This is a real decision real people make in everyday life. In outout frosts decpicts the abrupt death of a young boy whose hand was cut off during an accident with a buzz saw. The boys begs his sister not to allow the docto r to amputate his hand but inwardly realises he has lost too much blood. The boy dies under anesthesia and everyone goes abck to work. Frost seems to be sayong there was no real need for the boys death and the adults are to bkame in thos situation. Hpwever frost knows death is a part of life. This poem nderlines the inevitability of death and the futitily of life. Provide provide is a reminder that life can be harsh and unforgiving. Frost wrote this poem in hos early sixties and was probably feeling like life was catching up on him. He was beginning to feel his age. Frosts talks about the facts of getting oler, for example beauty fades and we should enjoy our fifteen minutes of fame because they won’t last . he also offers some advice; make sure you die early so people remember you as young, but if you aren’t lucky enough to die young make a lot of money so you can live and die in comfort. When the time comes to die make sure you surround your self with friends you either made or bought, don’t die alone. The last two lines are also the title reminding us to provide for our old age because no one else will. This poem features heavily on regret. Frost regrets that he spent too much time living in the present and didn’t put anything aside for hos later years, he seems quite bitter about this. This poem is also about mortality and the face that old, and subsequently death, happens to everyone. Robert frost deals with life issues in his poetry. He writes openly about his opinions on life and death. These topics affect us all and therefore we can relate to them.

Regional Innovation Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Regional Innovation Policy - Essay Example Any regional initiative must evolve from a partnership of business, governments, non-profits and education/training institutions. In the Cleveland area, a partnership in North-eastern Ohio undertook a project to identify industry "clusters" within the region that were competitive in the global economy. The project, the Northeast Ohio Regional Economic Development Strategies Initiative, is a partnership of the Akron Regional Development Board or ARDB, Cleveland Tomorrow (a committee of the CEO's of the region's largest companies), and the Greater Cleveland Growth Association or GCGA (the Chamber of Commerce for the City of Cleveland). NOREDSI's goal was to promote industrial clusters in the region, so as to become more globally competitive. This initiative sought to generate a bottom-up, private sector program in which interrelated private firms within an identifiable "cluster" could work together to identify and resolve common needs and concerns. This research identified six industry clusters (metalworking, plastic products and chemicals, motor vehicles and equipment, insurance, biomedical products, and instruments & controls) that were relatively competitive or had competitive advantages in the region. In a series of cluster forums with these industries, private sector participants identified six main issues as barriers to retaining regional competitive advantages. They were: workforce/education; technology/R&D; entrepreneurship; regulatory/tax policies; quality of life; and, infrastructure. Unfortunately for the Cleveland area, the need for human capital development appears to be especially great if its major industries are not to wither. If a region is attempting to be globally competitive, a well-trained workforce is essential to increasing the levels of productivity. One of the public sector's most vital economic development initiatives, first, is to reach consensus with regional industries on the skill sets needed by firms and, then, to adopt policies ensuring that students can attain them in all districts throughout the region. Another very important area is constituted by the services that state and local governments provide to businesses directly. These include promoting entrepreneurial skills and technological upgrading, providing an advanced physical infrastructure, and helping businesses through tax and regulatory relief. Finally, state governments should develop and encourage taxing policies, which benefit regions. The most commonly used example of tax policy designed to enhance the economic development benefits to a region is Minnesota's shared tax base. Put simply, economic benefits (e.g., taxes) generated by a firm's location in a city in the region accrue to all cities in the region. The regional level may be important for firms attempting to achieve global competitiveness. The question arises as to what strategies local communities can commence, and what policies local or state governments can initiate, in order to raise the innovativeness and competitiveness of regional firms. Regional innovation policy and its relationship with the regio

Analysis of Alternative Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Alternative Tourism - Essay Example These tourists want to gain more profound experiences in the countries of their destinations. In such a way, tourists are able to get acquainted with the authentic experiences of source cultures and be involved in the culturally-marked activities of the local communities. Very often alternative tourism is criticized for a major focus of tourism developers on financial gains and not cultural interchange between the tourists and the local communities (Shilling 2007; Tappe, 2011). Further on the paper is focused on alternative tourism, mass tourism, and sustainable tourism. Mass tourism, alternative tourism, and sustainable tourism There is a need to create sustainable places for tourism and it requires the cooperation of tourism developers and community developers. Alternative tourism is more specific than mass tourism due to an abundance of cultural traditions and customs, which are available for tourists. In the mass tourism the visitors are looking for the sun, the sea and sand. The refore, they do not have culturally-specific needs and they need only to have rest. The key concepts of mass tourism are focused on the reduction of direct participation and communication with the locals. Tourism developers are interested in the promotion of interaction between tourists and locals, which is absent in mass tourism. For this purpose place development is required and it should be noted that money expenditures should be invested in this aspect of tourism. Alternative visitors, as a rule, prefer spending their money in local districts and not in the greater region. In order to correlate the needs of alternative visitors and the interests of the local communities, it should be mentioned that careful planning is in need (Crabbe, 2010). Tourism developers of alternative tourism usually consist of families, friends, and representatives of the communities, who are caring about the environment. The concept of alternative tourism is usually used by tourism developers or governm ental representatives. Ordinary tourists would hardly use this term. Natural environments or marine protected areas are of great importance for alternative tourists. Cultural interchange, participation in local traditions and customs are very important for visitors, especially when they come to underdeveloped regions. Pros and cons of alternative tourism, Unfortunately, alternative tourism can be intimidating for natural wildlife, disturb water quality, threaten communities, and disrupt local culture. Therefore, the major challenge of tourism is that it can destroy the resources, on the basis of which it is created. Consequently, both tourism developers and local communities should keep in mind their mutual coexistence and mutual help in the name of alternative tourism promotion and development. Tours of special interest belong to the sphere of alternative tourism. There is an evident shift in the field of tourism from Fordism to the more specific scale of modes of production and co nsumption. Nevertheless, very often alternative tourism prevails over mass tourism. In case tourism is in the hands of the indigenous population, it can lead to their marginalization. â€Å"Sustainable tourism† may be often considered by tourism developers as â€Å"hijacked by many to give moral rectitude and ‘green’ credentials to tourist activities†.  Ã‚  

Professional Values Ethics and Law for Child Nursing Essay

Professional Values Ethics and Law for Child Nursing - Essay Example The paper seeks to evaluate the dangers and benefits of ethical theories in relation to the case study. The professional ethical theories include Deontology, Rights, Utilitarianism, Casuist, Virtue, Teleology and Care Ethics. The research further seeks to outline the effects of nursing principles towards professional accountability and responsibility. The principles include Justice, Paternalism, Least Harm and Fidelity. In addition, the research seeks to investigate how the Law affects health care practice through code of conduct relevant to the case study. The case study involve a dying baby who had undergone an unsuccessful heart operation and was placed at the heart lung machine where her parents had pleaded with the liaison nurse to allow them be with their baby in the OR, before she died. According to the rules of the Operating System no visitation was allowed in the area only the authorized practitioners. The nurse went ahead to enforce the hospital’s regulations where she highlighted that the parents could only view the baby after she had died and her chest stitched back up. The baby died the same day without the parent’s presence where they returned the next morning to view the body. The nurse was disturbed from the experience and from the sorrowful mood of the parent’s, where she decided to visit the hospital’s Director of ethics for consultation on the issue. According to Humber (2013), the medical nurse had the intuition of predicting the outcome of the baby’s condition and the consequence of her action. The theory stipulates that Angela had the choice of making an ethical decision that yielded the greatest beneficial outcome. A dying child greatly affects the parent’s emotions. The nurse practitioner had the ethical duty to empathize with the parent’s who would never had the chance to see their child alive again. Among the benefit of the theory is

Humanities 425 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Humanities 425 - Essay Example Lennox, but still she is able to handle it by busying herself with her passion, that is for agriculture. In the fifth chapter, we notice the change in Mary's disposition as she wanders the moor (page 58). Mary has always known of her connection with nature. She amuses herself by tending to her gardens in India. But back in India, she was kept hidden and deprived of the outdoors. In Misselthwaite Manor however, she was left to roam as she pleased. Both the climate and the landscape presented a determining influence upon her health and well-being. Revelation: Finally knowing the truth that has always been told. Nature gives warnings before natural calamities occur. She also provides cure for diseases of both man and animal. But then, nature can reveal herself only when man is ready to heed her. Chapter eight tells of a gust of wind that brought about Mary's discovery of the door to the secret garden (page 95). It is in that garden that the real improvement in Mary starts to appear. She has changed for the better. She even selflessly shared to Dickon her secret. Renaissance: Starting Anew from an Epiphany. Nature is a part of us and we are a part of nature. Human life cannot be sustained, let alone achieve well-being, apart from the resources of nature. For this, nature must be man's object of moral concern. Colin Craven used to be very frail and ill-tempered. ... Renaissance: Starting Anew from an Epiphany. Nature is a part of us and we are a part of nature. Human life cannot be sustained, let alone achieve well-being, apart from the resources of nature. For this, nature must be man's object of moral concern. Colin Craven used to be very frail and ill-tempered. But when he was shown the garden, he felt very determined to live (page 267). He feels that the garden was especially made for him. He even decided to spend everyday there to aid in his recovery. The human race is made up of differing ideals. Righteous to some may be utterly unacceptable to others. Let us look at the least appropriate relationship man can have with nature. Superiority Complex: A Misconception The Patriarch and a Tiger, a 13th century painting , shows a rather dominating man leaning on a sleeping tiger. Man is not the master of all creation. He is just an overseer. He is allowed to take only what he needs. He is tasked to take care and not to exploit. The greedy beings of the human race use man's superiority in intellect as a lousy excuse to consume nature's resources in order to feed their lust for money and power. This misconception is yet again stated in the book Utopia by Thomas More, "a living according to Nature, and think that we are made by God for that end (Traveling,pg. 48)". To appoint oneself such power over nature is such a disgraceful and even arrogant act. Absolute Knowledge: A Fool's Belief The book Utopia by Thomas More has this certain passage, "They knewastronomy, and were perfectly acquainted with the motions of theheavenly bodies, and have many instruments, well contrived and divided, by which they very accurately compute the course and positions of the sun, moon, and stars (Traveling,pg. 46)". When man starts to think

Invitro Fertilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Invitro Fertilization - Essay Example There is no other life experience matching the birth of a baby in importance and significance. It is usually a devastating experience when couples wishing to start a family realize that they have to contend with fertility problems. For many such couples, in vitro fertilization has been a preferred solution as it gives them hopes of having their own child (Anderson, Haimovici, Ginsburg, Schust &Wayne, 2007). The first in vitro procedure that was successful was carried out in 1977 and thousands of happy and healthy children have been born each year since then. Infertility is a couples’ inability to have a kid or become pregnant with regardless of the cause after the duration of one year of having unprotected sex using no birth control methods. Infertility affects about six million people in the United States of America which accumulates to about ten percent of men and women of reproductive age. New and advanced technologies that help women become pregnant are in vitro fertilization (IVF), gamete intrafallopian transfer, zygote intrafallopian transfer, subzonal sperm injection, partial zona dissection, embryo cryopreservation and intracytoplasmic sperm injection among others. Assisted reproductive technology is generally accepted treatment for infertile women suffering from endometriosis. Presence of an ovarian endometrial cyst works towards the reduction of the quality of oocytes. The surgical resection of endometrioma reduces the ovarian reserve for ovarian stimulation by exogenous gonadotropins. In vitro fertilization is a process whereby the ova is removed from a woman’s body, fertilized in the laboratory with her partner’s sperm and returned to her uterus with hopes of fostering pregnancy. Some practitioners use in vitro fertility combined with pre implantation genetic diagnosis as a treatment for recurring

Blog Post Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blog Post - Assignment Example Armando Aguilar, the head of the fraternal order of police in Miami, described graphically and in detail the incident. The suspect, according to him, growled when the police ordered him to stop attacking the other man. When the suspect tried to attack the police, he was shot four times before he finally went down. What is more shocking is that there were four similar cases beforehand, which all took place in Miami. The above case is, without a doubt, a perfect example of sensationalism in the media. Truth and objectivity, which are highly cherished values in journalism and mass media andcommunication, are absent in this case. Basically, the issue of truth and objectivity relates to the purpose and significance of the news. The news about a man eating the face of another man is of course significant. But what is the purpose of CNN for presenting this news in a graphical and outrageous manner? There is one obvious answer: to sensationalize and drew the attention of the public, or, worse, to sell. In sensationalized news, truth and objectivity are halfheartedly espoused. Of course, CNN is known for its reliable and credible news reporting, but the network apparently failed to disclose the truth about this so-called zombie attack in an objective manner. With all of the odd incidents happening all over the world, people start to speculate if something strange or unexplained was causing these events . Because of news like this, gossips start to surface about an imminent cannibalism outbreak. Apparently, there is no imminent cannibalism outbreak. And there are no inexplicable ‘something’ goading normal people to eat human flesh. The CNN report about one isolated incident in Miami is an example of how sensationalized news can incite panic; it also reveals the triviality of contemporary news media. The truth is there are a lot of mentally ill or deranged people all over the world. Cannibalism,

Define Literary Realism and apply the definition to Fools by Joan Term Paper

Define Literary Realism and apply the definition to Fools by Joan Silber. Refer to Huck Finn by Mark Twain as comparison - Term Paper Example Realism is applied by literary critics in two diverse ways: (1) to identify a movement in the writing of novels during the nineteenth century that included Honore de Balzac in France, George Eliot in England, and Willian L. Dean in America, and (2) to designate a recurrent mode, in various eras and literary forms, or representing human life and experience in literature† (Abrams 258). Thus it is evident that realism exposes the reality in human life and the words of Abrams confirms it when he says, â€Å"realism is said to represent life as it really is.† Another significant thing regarding realism is its â€Å"artistic or literary portrayal of life in a faithful, accurate manner, unclouded by false ideals, literary conventions, or misplaced aesthetic glorification and beautification of the world† (Wheeler). In realism, the writers do not leave space for fantasy or adventure as in the case of romantic fiction, but they depict life in a matter-of-fact or straightforward way, dissuading the wide possibilities of imaginative coloring. While reading through a realistic fiction, it said that the common readers are taken to a realistic social world in which the characters resemble to them and the actions narrated have close association with their life situations. This makes the readers infer the characters as simply existing and there is probability for their actions to take place. When analyzing Joan Silber’s ‘Fools’— collections of short stories, on the grounds of American literary realism, one can see t hat her stories fulfill most of the propositions of realism. The characters in ‘Fools’ are life-like, and therefore the readers do not consider them as separate entities smacked with some supernatural powers. The proposed study aims to establish the fact that Joan Silber’s ‘Fools’ is an example of inherent realism through the depictions of ordinary characters, settings, themes and accents. A comparison of ‘Fools’ with Mark Twain’s,

American Government Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Government - Coursework Example The problem becomes the Federal Law of racial profiling. It is illegal to racial profile. The illegal immigrants that Arizona are targeting come from south of the border. The illegal immigrants are Hispanic looking. In order for the police to do their jobs they would have to racial profile under the state law, or ignoring the state law. The Federal law should rule on this subject. Since the Civil War Federal law has overrode state law. If we do not have a unified code of law than each state might as well be a country by itself. Secondly, racial profiling is wrong. If Arizona profiles Hispanics, the south would be able to profile blacks. Finally Federal law should prevail because every state, including Arizona, had representation when the Civil Rights Movement and racial profiling laws were passed. Majority rules in the United States. Federal law should rule over state law due to history and representation. Since the Civil War, Federal law has superseded state law. Every state sends representation to Congress, thus laws created are made by all states. In order to have a whole country, states must work together. Federal law should take precedent over state law in this case. If states want to have singular law, succession is another

Convince Catherine Essay Example for Free

Convince Catherine Essay Rodolfo started singing for Catherine, but Eddie intercepted him when he says â€Å"Hey kid – hey, wait a minute –â€Å"showing that he’s surprised and also suggests that Eddie thinks it is not masculine for a guy to be singing. Eddie also says to Marco â€Å"They got guys all over the place, Marco. I mean.† A masculine guy to Eddie is a guy who protects loved ones and a man that works and keeps a family together. This says that Eddie thinks the normal masculine guys in the area will not approve or like the fact that a guy enjoys singing. Catherine also takes pleasure from the singing of Rodolfo which gets Eddie jealous making him increasingly agitated. When Eddie notices the heels that she is wearing he orders her to take them off, because they appear to him as though they would attract other men. She felt embarrassed and anger maybe displaying that she feels embarrassed, because Rodolfo was witness to Eddie’s orders. It also shows the protective and possessive side that Eddie has for Catherine. Jealousy is what makes Eddie so protective over Catherine and he goes to extreme measures whether it means betraying his loved ones to stop the relationship between her and Rodolfo. Firstly Eddie tries to convince Catherine that she should not get too close with Rodolfo. By the stage directions Miller uses we see an evil side to Eddie as his eyes glare at Catherine and he tries to fake a smile. â€Å"Why don’t you talk to him, Eddie? He blesses you, and you don’t talk to him hardly†, Eddies eyes are described as enveloping and replies to Catherine â€Å"I bless you and you don’t talk to me† which shows he is trying to make her feel guilty about her spontaneous interests in Rodolfo. He also tells Catherine that Rodolfo don’t respect her and that he doesn’t bless him, trying to persuade Catherine to stay away from him. When this does not change Catherine’s interests in Rodolfo, Eddie feels like he has been defeated and takes his p roblems to Alfieri. This is where Eddie’s downfall begun. Eddie was losing control of his emotions, making him become crazy. He approached Alfieri to report Rodolfo and stated that he was only after Catherine to get papers. Alfieri described Eddie’s eyes to be like tunnels showing that he was already feeling defeated and described his jealousy as a passion that was controlling his body. â€Å"Eddie, I’m a lawyer. I can only deal in what’s provable. You understand that, don’t you? Can you prove that?† asked by Alfieri. Eddie replied â€Å"I know what’s in his mind, Mr Alfieri!† The italics show desperation as well as the exclamation mark showing that he is gradually losing his temper. Eddie also describes Rodolfo to Alfieri saying that â€Å"you could kiss him he was so sweet.† Eddie had revealed to Alfieri that he thought Rodolfo was homosexual using it as an excuse to convince Alfieri that he wants papers. You are kept reminded by Eddie’s death throughout the play by the use of foreshadowing and help from Alfieri narrating Eddie’s actions and the play. Alfieri said â€Å"I knew where he was heading for, I knew where he was going to end.† This reminds an audience of the opening scene where we knew from the start, Eddie’s ending. Also Alfieri includes a metaphor to warn Eddie of what he will face if his jealous ways get the better of him. â€Å"A river will drown you† spoken by Alfieri indicating that it will become too much for him to handle and he won’t be able to face the consequences he faces of breaking the law. Eddie has an impenetrable wall of denial and during the play if someone tried to shatter it, he would fill with fury. Anger is shown multiple times with the use of punctuation such as exclamation marks. When Alfieri says to him, â€Å"She can’t marry you can she?† Eddie infuriately responds, â€Å"I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about!† Also when Beatrice screams at him, â€Å"You want somethin’ else, Eddie, and you can never have her!† These words got Eddie so angry they could have been the words that lead to his death. This was probably Eddie’s biggest problem. He just couldn’t face the truths that made him lie resulting in his crashing downfall. I think the way Arthur Miller presents the character Eddie Carbone allows the audience to understand the message far easier. Eddie shows what can happen if you allow yourself to be too known. Really there are desires and secrets that are best to be kept to you in order for the protection of others that is. And this is explained in the ending when Alfieri said, â€Å"most of the time we settle for half and I like it better.† This means that you should compromise and allow justice, be fair and don’t be greedy. Also I think that the play teaches you about the psychology of relationships and that you shouldn’t betray your friends which Eddie did and look where he ended up. But there is a side to me that does feel sympathy for Eddie as it can become quite hard to release a daughter figure into the open world, especially when it comes as sudden as it did.

FedEx, its business environment and who they are

FedEx, its business environment and who they are Introduction FedEx, originally known as FDX Corporation is a logistics services company who pioneered the modern air/ground express industry in 1971. The founder of FedEx is Frederick W. Smith and it is based in the United Stated with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. The name FedEx is a short form  of the name of the companys original air division,  Federal Express, which was used from year 1973 until year 2000. (Wikipedia, 2010)   Under the respected FedEx brand name, FedEx is offering integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively. There are FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Trade Networks, FedEx Supply Chain and FedEx Services. With more than 290,000 employees, FedEx currently serves more than 200 countries which include in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and North America. (About FedEx, 2010) FedExs mission is to produce the superior financial returns for shareholders by providing high value-added supply chain, transportation, business and related information services through focused operating companies. Then FedEx has made a promise that customer requirements will be met in the maximum quality manner appropriate to each market segment served. Besides, FedEx will attempt to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners and suppliers. (About FedEx: Mission Statement, 2010) FedEx and its business environment Technological environment Technology plays a very important role in delivery of the FedEx service. FedEx is setting the efficiency industry standard and customer service by using technology advanced and FedEx was do extremely well in anticipating and projecting demands of an environment that would depend and thrive on information. FedEx was the first to integrate wireless technology more than two decade ago and continues to develop and lead the industries in developing innovative wireless solutions. Hence, FedEx has developed an information systems network that enables customers and support personal to have wireless access anytime and anywhere. Then, FedEx implemented e-business application to improve the level of customer satisfaction as well as their overall transactions with the clients. The e-business system included a web or call centre service where the company can easily be informed of the status of the packages delivered. (About FedEx: FedEx Attributes Success to People-first Philosophy, 2010) Competitive environment There are two main competitors for FedEx which are DHL and UPS. UPS or United Parcel Service Inc. is the worlds largest  package delivery  company which headquartered in  Sandy Springs, Georgia,  United States. UPS delivers more than 15 million packages  a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. UPS is well known for its  brown  trucks, internally known as package cars and UPS also operates its own airline based in Louisville, Kentucky where its World port air hub is also located. (Wikipedia: United Parcel Service, 2010) DHL Express  is a  division  of  Deutsche Post DHL  providing international  express mail  services which originally founded in 1969 and expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s. DHL expanded its services to countries that could not be served by any other delivery service, including the Eastern Bloc, Vietnam and the Peoples Republic of China. (Wikipedia: DHL Express, 2010) Cultural environment FedEx is more emphasized on a people-first philosophy, where respect for all people is a fundamental value and everyday business practice within the company. FedEx Corporation strives to create an environment where people can contribute and grow, and where the values of diversity are woven through the organization. Chapter 4: The Analysis of Customer Touch Points Types of customer touch points There are 3 types of customer touch points which are pre-purchase stage, purchase stage and post purchase stage. There are different ways and strategy that a company uses to set up these touch point with the customer in order to build a relationship. FedEx is also one of the companies that practice this customer touch point strategy. First customer touch point will be the pre-purchase stage which consists of 3 customer touch point method. The first one will be manageable communication tools such as advertising, public relations, point of sales materials, sponsorship and etc. FedEx have established many customer touch point in this area by using integrated marketing communication tools to build up relationship with the customer. Example: FedEx uses advertising tool to introduce the company and promote it product which is the delivery service that they provide are the best to the customer; Public relations tool is also in use where by FedEx held some press conferences or road shows to explain and demonstrate how well is their delivery service to the public customer; FedEx also having some sponsorship to quite a few major events around the world like Olympics, World cup and so on. Second are the non-manageable communication tools such as word of mouth, search engine, news cover and etc. Since these are non-manageable communication tools, FedEx cant control these tools but the only to create positive image is by producing good quality delivery service to the customer and satisfy them so that the customer will help spread some good word of mouth or even have a chance to get on some news cover page. Third are the company representatives such as salesperson, email, and recipient. If a customer wants to deliver a package by using FedEx service, they will need to encounter their salesperson, counter recipient or email to FedEx. Next , the second customer touch point will be the purchase stage which means that the customer making the purchase while come in contact with the company itself. Customer can purchase FedEx service by their e-commerce site, outlet store and confirm their purchasing order through fax or email that is very convenient for the customers. FedEx sells delivery services, so the main touch point from FedEx to the customer are the companys delivery truck, driver, delivery note and their employee. Customer can purchase the delivery service through FedEx website or directly through FedEx outlet and each parcel is attach with a location device that the customer can log on to FedEx tracking internet service to check whether the customer parcel is delivered successfully. The last customer touch point will be the post purchase stage where the company provides some after sales service to customer to ensure that the trading process is a satisfying experience for the customer. FedEx provides fine after sales service to the customer by providing complaint forms and calls to ensure that the customer that receives their delivery package will be in good shape and to improve on their service quality to ensure every delivery is up to the customer expectation. FedEx will also ensure the package will be delivered on time to the customer and the package will be in one good piece. If the package is damaged, lost or didnt received on time, customer can file a complaint to FedEx and FedEx will attain to the complaints. Track the experience along the touch points The objective is to track the experience at various customer touch points to develop an understanding of the customer thoughts and learn how the customer experience can be enriched. From above we know that there are 3 stages and each stage provides various touch points. The company need to track down the customer experience in each touch points to find out what information that the customer needs and what actual experience that they desire. The company can track the customer experience through the customer decision making process which consists of 5 stages: Need recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternative, purchase and post purchase. These 5 stages are categorized under the 3 type of customer touch point to help in tracking the customer experience. The first three: need recognition, information search and evaluation of alternative are fall under the Pre-purchase stage, while the other two falls under their respective stage. First, how FedEx gain need recognition from the customer? The answer is by advertising through the mass media like television, radio, internet and etc. By doing all these, customer will soon aware of FedEx and its delivery service. Next, after the customer needs recognition start, they will try to search for information about FedEx delivery services through word of mouth, internet search engine, counter recipient and etc. After the information search is done, customers will start evaluating FedEx delivery service and compare it against FedEx competitors such as UPS and DHL. The fourth stage will be the purchase stage where the customer purchases FedEx delivery service through internet, phone, retail outlet and etc. The package will be delivered after the confirmation of purchase based on how the customer chooses to be delivered. Once the package is delivered to the customer, post purchase stage starts. Customer will either feel satisfy or file up complaint to FedEx while FedEx need t o provide after sales service to ensure the satisfaction of the customer. Service Failure Reliability is very critical in service to every company but in all service contexts, service failure is inevitable because mistake or errors will always occur, nothing is perfect, what the company can do is to minimize the service failure. Especially for FedEx, a service company that sells mainly on their delivery service to the customer must up hold their service quality even though FedEx also will face service failure problems. Service failure occurs when the company service performance that falls below a customers expectations in such a way that leads and result into customer dissatisfaction. FedEx also occur service failure which create dissatisfaction to the customers. One of the cases is FedEx and its child company FedEx Ground having system differentiation, means that these two are two separate companies where FedEx cant manage or solve the problems or issues that occurs in the child company FedEx Ground. There are customers that facing some service problem with FedEx Ground because of their parcel wasnt delivered on time and somehow the parcel was found missing, the customers call up FedEx and ask for a solution but the FedEx staff just giving empty promises because FedEx cant interfere in FedEx Ground businesses although they are parent and child company relationship. When there is service failure, the company needs to think of a way, a strategy to response to it, to solve the problem, this is where service recovery happens. Service recovery refers to the actions that are taken by a firm in response to a service failure. FedEx provides money back guarantee service to the customer whenever there is a service failure occur, by doing this, FedEx hope to ensure customer will not feel dissatisfy with FedEx and continue using their service without spreading bad word of mouth that will result in negative image. FedEx also will attend to a customer complaint immediately to help the customer to solve his problem as soon as possible to maintain the customer satisfaction. Dissatisfied Consumer Behavior According to the Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study 2006 by the Verde Group found out that 48% of the respondents reported that they will avoid a store because of someone elses negative experience, and for those who encountered problems, 33% said that they would definitely not or probably not return to the same company for their product and service. This shows that word of mouth can create a huge impact and influence on the company negative image; this can be referring as the exponential power of storytelling, as people tell the story of their bad experience with the company, the negativity is established and will grow eventually. There are some customers that encountered bad services with FedEx and this resulted in some serious issues. These dissatisfied customer wrote a post on their blogs or forums to express their feeling by telling the story that how they are treated by FedEx delivery services and they are also felt angry towards the attitude of FedEx customer service that do esnt treat them as important customer, so in the end they decided to change to purchasing FedEx competitor services like UPS or DHL. Service Guarantees What is guarantee? From Websters Dictionary, guarantee equals to an assurance of the fulfillment of a condition make by one individual to another individual. In the business context, a guarantee is a pledge or assurance that a product or service offered by a firm will perform as promised and, if not, then some form of reparation will be undertaken by the firm to the customers. Example: for tangible products, a guarantee is often done in the form of warranty. FedEx always stress out that their delivery service will be on time and they are confident and sure about this statement, but incident do happens, thats why FedEx offers service guarantee too to gain the customer confidence and belief in their delivery service. FedEx offers money back guarantee service to the customer if the package that they delivered didnt arrived to the destination within the promised time, customer can either request for a refund or transfer the money for the delivery service charges but under some terms and conditions. Chapter 9: The Hybrid Interface There are two types of hybrid interface which are people-led hybrid interface and machine-led hybrid interface. People-led hybrid interface People-led hybrid interface defined as an interface where interaction between human being and machine occurs in which people operate in the foreground and are supported by the machine (Rayport,2005). The interaction between human being with a machine can enhance the effectiveness or increase and productivity in the daily operation. The peoples who operates in the foreground and are supported by the machine needs to have the knowledge to manage and evaluate the state of the machine. For example, the people led interface incur when the FedEx driver driving the courier van to deliver goods and services to their ultimate customers. Hence, the interaction between the FedEx driver and the customers caused the FedEx driver to accomplish the task of delivering goods and services on time with enabling by the machine FedEx provide and deliver on time services to their customer in order to maintain the long term profitable relationship and develop the customer loyalty towards its company. Hence, FedEx has developed the innovation of the technology to support their daily operation. FedEx set up COSMO (Customer Operations Service Master On-line System) to monitor each stage of their delivery cycle. COSMO is a computerized packaged tracking system that allows the FedEx employees to key in the information needed by several ways (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). For example, FedEx customer service representatives key in the necessary information into COSMO by computer terminals to reach their customers, this mean that FedEx has apply the people-led hybrid interface where the customer service representative (human being) is enable by the COSMO (machine) to reach the customers. Besides, FedEx always giving supports and encourage their employees in order to allow them to be more innovative in the working environment and more confident in decision making process by providing quality results. FedEx is providing their employees to use the high technology hand-held tracker and the digitally assistant dispatch system (DADS). The hand-held tracker is used to records the information throughout the day and allow the couriers to scan the bar code on every waybill at each stage of delivery process. It helps to retain and transmit the information of the package such types of service required, destination and routing instruction as well as provide guidance to the couriers by a series of performance measurement. While, DADS is a small digitally assisted dispatch computer system that found in all couriers van to enable the couriers to administer their time and routes with high efficiency (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). For example, when the couriers return to the van, the information acquire is then downloaded from the hand-held trackers to the DADS in order to update the package location in the COSMO system. By using this type of people-led hybrid interface, it provides the customers a convenient ways to find out the time and location of their package. Hence, FedEx able to maintain positive control over its shipments and enhance their customer satisfaction by constant tracking with the interaction of the human and machine. Furthermore, FedEx develop its innovation technology by setting up the Command and Control system in their operation. Command and Control is the satellite to ground-level operation system which based at the Memphis SuperHub (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). FedEx used this system to act as a weather management tool and to check the traffic information in order to enable the FedEx Company deliver the package in any weather condition with the fastest and safest manner. For example, FedEx connect to over 750 customer service workstations, over 500 aircraft and traffic hubs around the world to ensure the coordination of inbound and outbound aircraft and thousands of delivery vehicles are in smooth condition and enable their employees to deliver the package on time to their customer to achieve customer satisfaction. Each types of hybrid interface used by FedEx Company have the benefits that improve the companys daily operation. People-led interface helps the front line employees of the FedEx to increase their work productivity and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. For example, with the high technology hand-held tracker, it helps the couriers to records and retains the information by scanning the bar code of the waybill in every stage of delivery process. Thus, it helps to increase the productivity and the efficiency of the work of front line employees. Besides, the people led machine interface helps FedEx to maintain their positive control over every single step of it shipment process to deliver the goods and services to the customers. It is because, when the couriers return to the van, the information is downloaded from its hand- held tracker to the DADS and immediately updated the package location in the COSMO system. Hence, it enables their customers to check their shipment status, delivery time and etc to provide 100% customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the interaction between human and machine interface enables FedEx to deliver goods and services to their customers with the fastest and safest route in any weather with the implementation of Command and Control system. FedEx using the NASA weather data and artificial intelligent to help the company selects the fastest, safest and most cost- effective way to deliver goods and services to the ultimate customer. The command and control system help FedEx to increase per capita output of their frontline employees and thus increase the quality of their interaction with customers. Machine-led hybrid interface Many business organizations have deployed the use of machine-led interface in their daily operation nowadays. Machine-led hybrid interface is defined as the interaction between the machine and human, where machines operate in the foreground and are supported by people (Rayport, 2005). It requires an output to ensure that the machine will always keep the user up to date in the progression of commands or execute commands in physical space. FedEx has set up 45 call centers in global to handle over 500,000 telephone calls from their customers around the world per day. FedExs call centre is a machine led hybrid interfaces that enable the machine (telephone) to be supported by the people (call centre representatives). It used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone and is operate by the company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. By setting up the call center, it allow the customers who prefer more personal touch than using high technology device and customers who need more in depth explanation and information about the shipping process to call and speak with the call centre representative regarding their problems. FedEx has developed its operation through online by creating their own company website and embedding the FedExs live chat into their official website. Through the companys web page, FedEx can connect with their customers and get their involvement into the chat room to engage the positive relationship between the company and their customers. When the customers need any further assistance or have any enquiries regarding their shipment status, they can use the Chat with FedEx function by fill in their personal details to start the chat session. Thus, the FedExs employees will reply the customer through this interactive chat medium immediately. Hence, with the interaction between FedExs live chat (machine) with the supported of the employees (human being), it helps the FedEx to improve their business operation to be more efficient and easily to get into the involvement with their customers internal process as well as enhance the customers relationship. The machine-led hybrid interface brings some benefits to FedEx such as cost saving and higher productivity. FedEx website allows the customers to track their shipment information or the status of the package based on the package number without calling to the service centre. Thus it helps FedExs service centre to operate more efficient and able to handle more than 100,000 tracking enquiries daily. Furthermore, the capability of the FedExs live chat was successfully helps the FedEx to saving up the investment cost of setting up more call centre. The machine-led hybrid interface leverage the human talents by distributing their personalities or the emotional intelligent in scalable way. Human being is excelling in conveying empathy and handling the exception; hence with the support of the frontline machine, it helps to increase the employees productivity by channeling their work more efficiently. For example, when the customers call to the service centre, the system will deliver the customer to the service provider via phone line. After that, the customer service representative will answer the call and handling the problem or enquiries from the customers and try to satisfy their needs and wants in a polite manner. Chapter 10: Delivering the Integrated Customer Experience Integration within Implementation Domains There are three types implementation domains: brand experience, interface and innovations. The brand experience it can help the organization build reputation and get awareness in connections with customers. It included company or brand name, logo, advertisement, and web design.( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005) -Brand Experience FedEx shows a global brand the fastest route to worldwide. In year 2009, FedEx has been honored as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States. FedEx also has been ranked in Fortunes magazine as Global Most Admired Companies . -Logo FedEx has its own Corporation logos; each of it has its own version of the wordmark used for identification and branding. The FedEx name is incorporated as a simple distinct text-only typographic treatment to create a clear, visually memorable identity. For FedEx logo, the Fed is in purple and the Ex is in a grey for the overall corporation use. While, for the original FedEx logo had the Ex in orange. The FedEx wordmark is actually a notable hidden right-pointing arrow between the E and the X, which to emphasize the arrow shape. The concept of an arrow is to be promoted as a symbol for the speed and precision positioning, both FedEx communicative attributes. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Website has become a dominant technology. FedEx has its home page shipping resources source for everyone, so that customer could find out the information that the delivery services offer in their own region. FedEx website has created a quality website with full useful guidance and tools. In addition, a successful website should be able to lead the customers to take action. Such as, FedEx also allow the users to download FedEx Welcome Kit, so that it could help them optimize their shipping and manage account efficiently. -Interface Interface refers to the dynamic exchange of information in service that occurs between the company and the customers. Interactions with sales people face-to face, phone call, online chatting. ( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005) FedEx main focus is on customer service, so they will always have interaction with customers. If customer encounter any problems and make complaints they can even get to the customer support centre, faces-to- face interactions with FedEx staffs. The front office will handle the customer procurement and complaints. While, if customer have feedback or comments, they could email FedEx by select the appropriate service in order for a customer support representative to assist customers inquiry. -Innovations Innovations are a change in the product or services for adding something new that added features and benefits. The changes must increase product value, customer value, or producer value. The information about the package is just as important as the package itself. (Fred Smith, 1978). Today, FedEx provides customers access to real time information which has enabled new supply chain models and efficiencies. FedEx focus and improve built upon innovation and it continues to be an integral part of the FedEx culture and business strategy. The FedEx Innovation labs is an information technology project designed to create an atmosphere of collaborative thinking around critical technologies such as advanced optics for scanning, robotics, pervasive computing, biometrics, video object recognition etc.  The Labs house a research and development team tasked with looking at future technologies that have a 3-5 years production roadmap.   Integration across Implementation Domains Integration across implementation domains is more complex. It requires training program and expertise to create trustworthiness for customers. The Jobs at FedEx requires higher level of knowledge, experience, capabilities, and educated. FedEx need employs people with literature degrees, though FedEx might also need people holding with higher qualifications with MBAs. In addition, FedEx couriers receive roughly 50 hours of training per year. In order to maintain high quality service levels, training to be conducted by training professionals who understand the technicalities of the express transportation business. The courses from supply chain planning and logistics management to training on specific software programs, quality management and marketing sales. Linkages between the interface innovation To create linkages between the interface and innovation, the company must provide experiential encounters that are referred as dynamic, interactive, and innovative. ( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005). FedEx created corporate sponsorship and events. Beginning in 2007, FedEx became the title sponsor of the FedEx Cup, a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. FedEx is spent an estimated $44 million a year to sponsor the FedEx Cup, a full season of PGA Tour events culminating with a four-tournament playoff series to determine the top mens golfer, also Golf Digest reports. FedEx is trying to reach executives and other corporate decision makers. The PGA Tour has all the professional golfers from worldwide and its events are broadcast worldwide, and its appealed to FedEx. It is because FedEx is a global company; they needed to communicate to customers on global stage. FedEx is recognized by executives and consumers, by sponsoring such huge amount of cost and long run event it make sense bec ause it provides wide and extended exposure. So, this communications can provide new personalized experiential encounters between FedEx and the customers. Integrated marketing Integrated marketing is the process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value. In FedEx, within the marketing department activities are centered on customer segments. Each segment is staffed by a cross-functional team composed of manager, marketer, analyst, agency account executive, and may be a representative from the agency-managed fulfillment house. These cross-functional teams meet as frequently as necessary. E-mail has greatly facilitated this integration. All marketing vendors are connected to FedEx and to each other through the FedEx corporate e-mail system. The marketing communication can provide information to prospective customers. It can let the customers know about the service options available, cost, specific features, functions, and service benefits. FedEx has own customer information services department. It offering a customer service toll-free telephone line for customer questions. It is operated by an automated operator then will prompt the user to a live agent for uses of tracking, claims, scheduling pick-ups, locations, ordering supplies, setting up FedEx accounts, billing etc. However, the customers can get information in FedEx website which is http://www.fedex.com/my/ .One of the roles of marketing communication is persuade target customers that service offers best solution to meet their needs and build relationship with them. The company added on a facility on the official website for consumers to be able to track their packages from the Internet. Marketing at FedEx has two IT work teams supporting its efforts. The teams a re physically located within the marketing building and report to both the IT and marketing organizations. FedEx  marketing mix  strategy  affected the  retention rate  prevailing within the industry.   Marketing communication can also help maintain relationships with existing customers. It requires comprehensive, up-to-date customer database and ability to make use of this in a personalized way. FedEx marketing database contains a complete picture of all the companys customers worldwide, and their FedEx transactions. So, they can turn customer data into customer knowledge, to satisfy the customers needs. e) Marketing communications mix -Personal communications FedEx become a well known company through word of mouth. What really has established a good repute for FedEx is the consistence in providing good quality services  to its consumers. So, the customers will spread the positive words of FedEx to others. FedEx provides excellent  customer care  in this  service-based industry, this enhance an emotional connection between FedEx and its customers. -Advertising Advertising  is a form of  communication  intended to  persuade  an audience to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services. FedEx has the TV commercial video ads. The advertising campaign launched to reflect on the new feature provided by FedEx also identified the expanded international capability of the company, appealing to a  global audience  to try FedEx services.  One of the best known ad campaigns is We Live to Deliver. This creates a huge impact for the company. One of the package deliveries giants biggest web campaigns, which running on You

Planning Issues In The Construction Industry Construction Essay

Planning Issues In The Construction Industry Construction Essay Construction is an everlasting activity across the globe. Its profitability like of any other business fluctuates according to the law of demand and supply. In most countries, construction activity constitutes 6-9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and constitutes more than half of the fixed capital formation as infrastructure and public utilities capital works required for economic development. Construction activity contributes to the economic development of a country. The GDP per capita and the investment in the construction per capita generally follow a straight line relationship, that is construction activity increases with the increase in per capita income. Construction projects are intricate and time-consuming tasks. For the total success of any particular project a wide chain of specialized services is necessary for the timely completion of the project. During the construction process, itself even a project of small or medium proportions requires many attributes, materials a nd involves many different types of operations. The assembly process must follow a natural order of events that, in total combination, constitutes a complicated pattern of individual time requirements and restrictive sequential relationships among the many segments of the structure (Project Quality Management in Construction, K. Lambrou, G.J. Besseris and C. Alafodimos, MSc in Quality Management, TEI of Piraeus and University of Aisley).Mismanagement of resources has become a prevalent problem in many construction firms. This mismanagement of resources contributes to numerous construction firms ineffectiveness and frequent failures each year. Hence, it is necessary to take appropriate steps and follow the process to improvise the output of construction industry by using proper planning methods and techniques. This can be done through adoption of modern and improvised planning techniques in construction industry such as CPM, PERT, Supply Chain Management etc, which will be discussed in detail in main dissertation work. In the literature review of planning issues in construction industry, different aspects of social-cultural-economic importance of planning and modern planning techniques has been highlighted. This dissertation focuses on analyzing the major hindrances caused by the positive and negative issues in planning and execution phase of the project. 2. Background Planning is a key ingredient in the successful completion of any construction project. It provides the road map for the project to follow and the milestones by which its progress is measured. To understand the loopholes in the planning process it is necessary to dismantle the planning objectives, so that all the aspects regarding the project could be thoroughly capitalized. Four planning objectives which characterize the whole of the planning process are execution of work, coordination of all the activities, control over the materials and manpower and forecasting. Safety is a major concern to every successful construction project because of humanitarian concern for the workers and the cost ramifications of a poor safety record. Major construction firms had proposed the usage of network planning techniques, mainly because of owners demand. The relationship between project planning and construction safety is sometimes subtle, and the impact it has on the project is not as readily apparent as the importance of planning and safety as separate entities. A comprehensive planning and scheduling specification system can aid in the planning of job sequence, financial needs, workforce needs, material needs, and equipment needs. It also can aid the scheduling of actual activity start or completion and provide feedback to control the schedule, cost, and use of resources. A critical step in the execution of any construction project is the selection of planning and scheduling specification clauses to be included in the construction contract. Numerous project characteristics should be taken into account when determining which planning and scheduling clauses to be included. Project is a mission, undertaken to create a unique facility, product or services within the specified scope, quality, time and costs. With the emerging global opportunities, projects cross geographical boundaries, corporate channels, traditional systems and cultural diversities. The knowledge areas needed to manage such projects comprise project management techniques, general management practices and technology-related subjects. The project management techniques of planning, scheduling and controlling are the tools and devices that bind the subjects knowledge areas. These techniques can be applied to all types of projects. This research focuses on the application of all these techniques in the construction industry. It is widely recognized that effective planning can play a major role in the success of projects. Whether project success is based on the traditional measure of time, cost and quality or newer measures of critical success factors (Westerveld, 2003), effective planning can also contribute to the prevention of accidents and ill health of site personnel (Duff and Suraji, 2000; HSE, 2003). These objectives become increasingly difficult to achieve, however, in construction projects. Construction sites can be extremely busy places where the working environment is ever changing. Unfortunately, in addition to this, the construction industry tends to be under resourced and under planned in relation to other industries (Egan, 1998), which can lead to a crisis management approach to production risk, a feature of construction culture which can impact heavily on health and safety. Despite this, activities requiring intensive planning as those required in a temporary rail possession, almost invari ably run smoothly. There is little chance of an unsafe incident, due to the heightened risk awareness resulting from the meticulous planning. 3. Aims and Objectives To study various minute details affecting the process of planning. The objective of this research is to assess the modern methods of planning and scheduling a construction contracts which can be applied in todays construction industry and to also discuss the issues involved in the application of those tools. To compare and analyze a planning strategy which has a solution for various issues in the planning process. 4. Research Methodology The research methodology is the approach through which the researcher collects the data useful for the chosen topic and then the analysis is done on the basis of that. In my dissertation, I will be using qualitative research as means to study planning and scheduling in construction contracts. 5. Scope and Limitations of Dissertation The limitations of the dissertation are: This research targets only construction industry, hence the results cannot be implied on the others sectors. This analysis will be done for Indian and UK industry. However, the study done on India and UK is not necessary applicable for other nations as well as because of cultural differences. Planning techniques for different countries is different which adds to more misery. The unavailability of proper planning and management techniques, which could possibly solve the issues of planning even when proper resources are not available. Construction Industry has flourished domestically as well as globally over the years. Economic development of any particular country also largely depends upon the construction projects. Major factors that affect the overall result of any project would be size, complexity, quality, productivity, completion time and cost. These factors would be achieved only when proper planning is done, which forms the base of construction management. A project plan is always formulated during the planning phase. Planning in its broader perspective, involves advance thinking as to what is to be done, what are the activities, how it is to be done, when it is to be done, where it is to be done, what is needed to do it, who is to do it and to ensure that it done. A project plan would be adversely affected if cost overruns and delays take place. The effect of past construction experience, on the quality of management in general and on planning effectiveness in particular, is addressed only rarely in const ruction-management research; the few studies doing so explicitly are in agreement with the findings of the present study. NEDO (Faster 1983) reports the contractors inexperience in similar projects as a major source of difficulty in construction [Faster building for industry (1983). NEDO-Building EDC, National Economic Development Office, London, England.]. All the perseverance put into the invention of new techniques did not gave the satisfying results in the construction planning sector (Choudhury 1981, Mason 1984, Morton 1983). Sometimes people fail to recognize the difference between planning and scheduling. Progress in the usage of new computer techniques has resulted in the misconception of standardization of project scheduling. Projects have been a part of our society for quite a long era. Indication of total efficiency would be seen by completing project on time, but construction process is subjected to too many fluctuations and unforeseeable factors which results from many sources (Sadi. A. Assaf, Sadiq Al-Hejji, (2005)). Construction organization lives in the ever-changing and their effectiveness depends on their ability to adapt to new demands and opportunities. This industry needs to adjust itself to the changes occurring in its working environment in order to become effective. Construction projects are intricate and time-consuming tasks. The total development of a project normally consists of several phases requiring a diverse range of specialized services. In progressing form initial planning to project completion, the typical project passes through successive distinct stages that demand inputs from such disparate groups as financial organizations, government agencies, engineers, architects, lawyers, surety companies, contractors, and building trade-persons. Most challenging part of these modern techniques is implementing these methods to achieve a particular goal or task. Construction Industry faces a lot of problems because of the working patterns and inefficient planning techniques to reach to complete a particular function. Following the modern planning techniques reduces the dilapidation of resources and economically strengthens the company. A constant focus should be given on the improvisation techniques which include mutually collaborating one or more techniques which would lead to a profitable project and reduce the loss due poor performance and cost overruns. The constructions industry in India and UK has realized the importance of the proper usage of modern planning techniques which has improvised the margins of profits and truncate the overall project cost. In India planning is an open process (Planning in India RICHARD S. ECKAUS MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ).If design completion is not done at proper time it would prove to be costly, as it would lead to construction delays. In India a prevalent method to planning is not sufficient as there are many situations which includes Limitation or inexpertness of human beings in there respective fields (Human Errors). Influence of external factors beyond human control (E.g. Natural Hazards: this could have an adverse effect on the planning process). The external components interact with the construction firm from outside of the organizations environment. Such external components are material suppliers, financial institutions, and surety companies, end users of products, owners, and architects. The project is also influenced by external causes due to scarce availability of resources in the market (Techniques and Technology). The project covers important framework of an integral system; therefore considerable economic or technical consequence could result from faulty usage. (An approach to planning and control of advanced projects Giorgio Caroni, Roland0 Matteelli and Alfred0 Berti) In order to have a competitive edge over other construction companies, perfectly planning techniques should be used. Main Body CASE STUDY: Even though India is one of the developing countries the approach towards planning is comparatively more advanced as compared to other developing countries. (Planning in India, RICHARD S. ECKAUS, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY). In India, for small scale project ranging between 1million £-10million £ specific planning techniques cannot be implemented, as a lot of unavoidable problems usually arise due to many reasons. Comprehensive survey of the location of the project clearly marks the project area and its boundaries. Soil investigation is to be done to ascertain the soil strength so as to decide the type and other specific details of the foundation. Depending upon the soil investigation reports, finalize the type of foundation i.e., pile foundation or open foundation up to hard strata strength. Necessary approvals, clearances, no objection for all the concerned government departments, local or self governing authorities should be obtained before starting the project. To ascertain whether any public utility service lines like Water pipe lines, sewage pipe lines, electrical cables or over head lines, telephone line or any other Public/Private items or assets are crossing /passing through the designated project area. Specific measures must be taken to relocate the service lines or public assets before starting the project. Drawings incorporating all the specific details, dimensions and other specifications must be accurate and must be got approved from all the relevant authorities before starting the work If any of the above fundamental issues are neglected at the planning stage, you are steadily heading for a project period over run and project cost overrun. TYPICAL CASE STUDIES FROM INDIA BUILDING PROJECT OF CBI(CENTRAL BEAURAU OF INVESTIGATION) BUILDING 1) Name of Work : Construction of Administrative Building including all infrastructure Amenities for C.I.D Pune. at Pune 2) Client : Maharashtra State Police Housing Welfare Corporation. Limited, Mumbai 3) Tender Work Order No : PHC/TB/CID PUNE/1152/2005 Dated 15.07.2005 from General Manager 4) Contractor : M/s. Deepa Engineers, 42, Welfare Chambers, 1st Floor, Sector-17, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400 705 5) Architect : M/s. Arc-Aids. Pune 6) P.M.C : M/s PP Ventures, Pune 7) Tendered Amount : 5, 43, 04,161/- 8) Date of Starting : 02.09.2005 9) Stipulated period of completion : 31.05.2007 10) Area as per tender : 5483.57 Sq.Mtr 11) Area as per actual construction : 7217.19 Sq.Mtr. Including Common Facility. 12) Common Facility Area : 109Sq.Mtr 1) Septic Tank = 36 Sq.Mtr 2) Meter Room = 19 Sq.Mtr 3) Pump House = 54 Sq. Mtr 13 Area Constructed : 7108.19 Sq.Mtr (7217.19-109 = 7108.19 Sq.Mtr) 14) Actual date of completion/ : 31.03.2009 Taking over 10.07.2009 15) Difference in Area : 1669.62 Sq.Mtr. 16) R.A. Bill No. 21st (pending) : 30,70,629.00 17) Final Bill yet pending : 26,01,169.00 18) Security Deposit : 13,57,604.00 19) Retention money deducted From 20th R.A. Bill : 1,38,747.00 20) Retention money deducted From 21th R.A. Bill : 1,52,052.00 21) Extra Items Amount : 1,83,210.00 22) Inauguration Expenditure : 3,10,000.00 23) Bank Guarantee En cashed : 13,57,604.00 Total Claims overdue : 91,71,015.00 + Difference in Constructed Area amount Conclusion Departmental interaction between various service agencies of the state, like the police housing Department and PUNE Municipal Corporation must have been initiated at the planning stage of the tender itself. Though the project is commissioned successfully on 10th July-2009 and the C.B.I has occupied the Administrative Building, with all the proposed amenities the Contractor has suffered huge financial losses. Presently the case is under arbitration Justification for the delay of work 1) M/s. Arc-Aids, (Architect) M/s. PP Ventures, Pune (PMC) were new to the department lack of coordination between them with Police Housing and the contractor resulting in bad delay in furnishing the requisite drawings and other relevant details for the timely execution of the work. 2) Delay due to the shifting of approx One Meter Diameter Water pipe line of Pune municipal corporation which was not shown in the layout drawing of the tender, passing through the site feeding water supply to Pune City Delay 10 Months. The work was coordinated by Deepa Engineers and executed by Pune Municipal Corporation without any financial obligations to PHC. Drawings must incorporate all the details accurately, after carrying out proper survey of the project area. 3) Non releasing of the payments in time by holding of Running Bills payment by imposing heavy penalty as given below, which was against the terms conditions of the Tender, since the delay was caused by reasons beyond the responsibility control of the contractor Sr.No. Particulars No. of days Amount to be recovered from Bill in Rs. 1 Rs. 1000/-per day w.e.f. 1/6/07 to 15.01/08 229 2,29,000/- 2 Rs. 5000/-per day w.e.f. 16/01/08 to 15/02/08 31 1,55,000/- 3 Rs. 10000/-per day w.e.f. 16/02/08 to 12/05/08 87 8,70,000/- 4 Rs. 15000/-per day w.e.f. 13/5/08 to 30/06/08 49 7,35,000/- 5 Rs. 65000/-per day w.e.f. 1/7/08 to 10/07/09 375 2,43,75,000/- Total 771 2,63,64,000/- This holding of payment was waived and released by Hon. S.S. Virk after joining as M.D. of Police Housing Corporation and assured that the penalty will be waived and the difference in area constructed will be consider after completing the work. Accordingly the work is restarted and completed on 31.03.2009 and handed over on 10.07.2009. Month wise requirement of funds if predicted during the plannings stage itself, the payment schedule flow of money will not be hampered. B) Name of Project: 1) Construction of three storeyed of 300 seated Post Graduate Hostel including internal Water supply, Sanitary installation, Drainage wok and internal electrification work for Vishweshwarayya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India Name of Contractor : M/s. DEEPA ENGINEERS, 42, WELFARE CHAMBERS, 1ST FLOOR, SECTOR-17, VASHI, NAVI MUMBAI Estimated Cost : 5,33,56,856/- Tendered Amount : 9,34,63,099.00 Time allowed : 16 Months including monsoon Period Commencement Date : 12.07.2007 Stipulated date of completion : 11.11.2008 Security Deposit : 46,73,155.00 (Bank Guarantee) Project Management : Central Public Works Department, Superintending Engineer, Central Circle, Nagpur. Architects : do B) Name of Project: Construction of Additional storey (100 seated) over proposed 300 seated Post Graduate Hostel at Vishweshwarayya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. Name of Contractor : M/s. DEEPA ENGINEERS, 42, WELFARE CHAMBERS, 1ST FLOOR, SECTOR-17, VASHI, NAVI MUMBAI Estimated Cost : 1,78,70,130.00 Tendered Amount : 2,36,39,902.00 Commencement Date : 28.11.2008 Stipulated date of completion : 27.05.2009 Security Deposit : 11,82,000.00 (Bank Guarantee) Time allowed : 6 Months Project Management : Central Public Works Department, Superintending Engineer, Central Circle, Nagpur. Architects : do Actual date of Completion : 31.03.2010 Parameter adopted for mix design for RCC works Ready Mix Concrete Nominal maximum size of aggregate : 20 mm angular as per C.P.W.D. description Degree of quality control : Good Type of Exposure : Moderate Maximum water cement Ratio : 0.50 Cement Content : 410/Kg/cum of concrete Type of Cement used : OPC 43 grade Conforming to IS: 8112 Sand : Coarse sand as per CPWD Specification Approved Admixtures conforming to I.S. 9103 permitted Fly wash shall not be used in R.C.C The Contractor shall submit the Mix Design Report from Approved Laboratory and get it approved from the Engineer-in-Charge Causes for the delay in completion of the project. Inaccurate Soil Investigation Report. The Original depth of Excavation, for Foundation fixed as 5ft(1.52 m) as per tender. At the time of actual execution the depth upto loft which resulted in huge quantity variation in excavation, quantity of steel and other items necessitating further approvals from all competent authorities. This project cost overrun and period overrun could have been avoided if proper soil investigation was carried out before tendering A Major defect in planning was the decision to have an additional floor with 100 seats after the completion of the hostel building up to 3rd floor by the contractor. The right decision to have a Four storied 400 seated Hostel building initially would have saved the Project period by at least 4 months Also there could have been a saving of the total Project cost by at least 03 % TABLE OF MILESTONE (S) CASE B(1) S. No. Financial Progress Time allowed (from date of start) Amount to be withheld in case of non achievement of milestone 1 All P.C.C. and brick works up to plinth level 120 days In the event of not achieving the necessary progress as assessed 1% of the tendered value of work will be withheld for failure of each milestones 2 Complete R.C.C structure up to terrace level 240 days 3 All brick work , flooring, internal plaster, fixing of door frames and windows etc along with all related items 355 days 4 Water proofing to terrace slab, external plaster and painting, fixing of all electrical and water supply, sanitary fitting etc. complete along with handing over of building including external service connections complete. 16 months TABLE OF MILESTONE (S) CASE B(2) S. No. Physical Progress Time allowed (from date of start) Amount to be withheld in case of non achievement of milestone 1 All R.C.C. Columns 30 days In the event of not achieving the necessary progress as assessed 1% of the tendered value of work will be withheld for failure of each milestones 2 Complete R.C.C and brick work up to terrace level 90 days 3 All brick work , flooring, internal plaster, fixing of door frames and windows etc along with all related items 150 days 4 External plaster and painting, fixing of all water supply, sanitary fitting etc. complete along with handing over of building including external service connections complete. 6 months Results from the Case Study: IN GENERAL VIEWS Table 1 List of causes of delay which may affect the overall planning is categorized below (Causes of delay in large construction projects, Sadi A. Assaf *, Sadiq Al-Hejji) No. of. Causes of delay affecting the planning process Group 1 The Original contract duration is very short Project 2 Disputes between various parts Project 3 Inadequate definition of substantial completion Project 4 Ineffective delay penalties Project 5 Type of construction contract (Lump sum contract, construction only,) Project 6 Type of project bidding and award ( lowest bidder) Project 7 Delay in payments by the owner Owner 8 Delay to furnish the site to the contractor by the owner Owner 9 Revision orders by the owner during construction phase Owner 10 Late in changing and approving the design documents by the owner Owner 11 Delay in approval of drawings and the sample materials Owner 12 Improper communication by owner and other parties Owner 13 Unwillingness to make proper decisions Owner 14 Disagreements occurring between joint-ownership of the project Owner 15 Absence of incentives for contractor for finishing the work ahead of schedule Owner 16 Discontinuation of work by owner Owner 17 Financial problems faced by contractor Contractor 18 Problems in sub-contractors schedule in execution work Contractor 19 Alterations during construction due to some minor errors Contractor 20 Affray between contractor and other parties Contractor 21 Inappropriate site management by the contractor Contractor 22 Inappropriate communication by contractor with other parties Contractor 23 Poor planning of project by the contractor Contractor 24 Improper construction techniques implemented by contractor Contractor 25 Postponement in sub-contractors work Contractor 26 Inadequate standard of work by contractor Contractor 27 Periodic changes of sub-contractors Contractor 28 Poor qualification of technical staff Contractor 29 Mobilization problems at site Contractor 30 Postponement in inspection and testing by consultant Consultant 31 Delays in the approval of major changes in the scope of work by consultant Consultant 32 Inflexibility shown by the consultant Consultant 33 Improper coordination between consultant and other parties Consultant 34 Slow to review and approve the documents by the consultant Consultant 35 Issues between the consultant and the design engineer Consultant 36 Inadequate experience of consultant Consultant 37 Mistakes in the design documents Design 38 Delay in delivering the design documents Design 39 Imperfect details in drawings Design 40 Complications in understanding of the project design Design 41 Incomplete data collection survey before design Design 42 Confusion in owners requirements by design engineer Design 43 Insufficient design-team experience Design 44 Low amount of usage of advanced engineering design software Design 45 Shortage of construction materials in market Materials 46 Alterations in the type of materials and specifications during the construction Materials 47 Immobilization of material Materials 48 Damage of sorted material while they are needed urgently Materials 49 Delay in manufacturing special building materials Materials 50 Late procurement of materials Materials 51 Late in selection of finishing materials due to availability of many types in market Materials 52 Equipment breakdowns Equipment 53 Shortage of equipment Equipment 54 Low level of equipment-operators skill Equipment Equipment 55 Lack of high-technology mechanical equipment Equipment 56 Shortage of labours Labours 57 Unqualified workforces Labours No. Causes of delay Group Labours 58 Nationality of labours Labours 59 Low productivity level of labours Labours 60 Personal conflicts among labours Labours 61 Effects of subsurface conditions (e.g., soil, high water table, etc.) External 62 Delay in obtaining permits from municipality External 63 Hot weather effect on construction activities External 64 Rain effect on construction activities External 65 Unavailability of utilities in site (such as, water, electricity, telephone, etc.) External 66 Effect of social and cultural factors External 67 Traffic control and restriction at job site External 68 Accident during construction External 69 Differing site (ground) conditions External 70 Changes in government regulations and laws External 71 Holding up the work from the important utilities i.e., water, electricity etc External 72 Final inspection has been delayed by a third party External Literature Review: Definitions and Concepts of Planning and Planning issues Planning can be defined as any one of the following: 1. A decision-making process. 2. A process of anticipatory decision-making to decide what and/or how to perform actions due at some point in the future. 3. A process of integrating interdependent decisions into a system of decisions. 4. A hierarchical process evolving from general guidelines to objectives, to the elaboration of means and constraints that lead to a detailed course of action. 5. A process that includes part or all of a chain of activities comprising information search and analysis, development and design of alternatives, analysis and evaluation of alternatives and choice making. 6. The systematic employment of procedures (standardized and formal to varying degrees). 7. Documented presentation, in the form of plans. (Is construction project planning really doing its job? A critical examination of focus, role and process, A. Laufera; R. L. Tucker, Department of Construction Management, Technion IIT, Haifa, Israel b Construction Industry, Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA) Social-Cultural-Economic Importance of Planning(POSTIVE AND NEGATIVE) Cultural Aspects: (International Measurement of the Economic and Social Importance of Culture, Prepared by John C. Gordon and Helen Beilby-Orrin) . The Australian statistical office