Fifth Business1 Essay -- Essays Papers

Fifth Business1 Canadian Heritage Commercial A railroad line is shown in the background as workers slave away at finishing the Canadian Pacific Rail line, which will run through all of Canada. Finally, the last stake is driven into the rail line thus completing it, rendering it useful for many years to come and effecting the lives of many in the present and future. The purpose of this essay is to reveal the importance of Canadian history in the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. Fifth Business was written as a reflection of Robertson Davies’s life but also serves as a viewpoint of Canadian life in the early twentieth century. The novel is written accordingly to sequence of events in Canadian history; this allows Davies to shape the plot of the novel around these historical events. Canadian history plays a large role in the first half of the novel, which launches Dunstan Ramsay into a series of trials that develop his character and personality. Such as the Canadian Pacific Railway had united Canada, the same history would link the characters together, develop the characters, and drive the plot of the novel. The two most important historical events within the novel are The Great Depression and World War I. During The Great Depression, many individuals were had lost their fortunes and property due to the crash in the stock market. Many could not even merely afford to buy anything but necessities such as food. Luckily, Boy Staunton was unaffe...

Standardized Tests Do Not Measure Student Achievement Essay example --

Standardized testing has been around since the mid 1800’s. Even though testing has been around for a long time it is still debated whether or not it should precisely â€Å"score† students. Students have been subjected to standardized tests frequently through their years in school due to laws which have been passed by Congress. Decisions about the evaluation of schools and students are recurrently made by government authority and are often not in the best interest of teachers, students, or their classroom environments. What do students achieve from standardized testing? Achievement means something that somebody has succeeded in doing. â€Å"Achievement is more than just test scores but also includes class participation, students’ course-taking patterns, and teachers’ professional development patterns†(Harris, Harris, Smith). How can a test score show someone’s satisfaction or what they believe success is? The tests aren’t that advanced in today’s technology. The tests do prepare students for more important tests such as the ACT, SAT, ASVAB, ect†¦Testing patterns have also been disputed such as drawing a Christmas tree, or limit a letter choice to a certain number of blanks filled in. This does not help the students or the educators in this essence. It does not test the students’ full potential to what they have learned from their educator, it just simply tests the students’ ability to guess quickly under pressure (Walberg). These tests a re usually briefly timed. Depending on how the student paces his or herself depends on how well he or she can take the test, because the student still needs to think logically. Under these circumstances students rush to finish the test forcing them to think illogically, resulting in a low score ul... ...8 Nov. 2013. Popham, W.James. "Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality." Educational Leadership. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2013. www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why- standardized-tests-don't-measure-educational-quality/ "Standardized Tests." procon.org. N.p., 01 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov 2013. . "Standardized Testing: No Child Left Behind." Lawserver. N.p.. Web. 13 Nov 2013. Walberg, Herbert J. "Standardized Tests Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Standardized Testing. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Stop the War Against Standardized Tests." Defining Ideas: A Hoover Institution Journal (20 May 2011). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.

Microtia

Microtia Introduction Microtia is a congenital deformity in which the pinna is very small and underdeveloped. This abnormality can be unilateral, affecting only one ear, or bilateral, affecting both ears. Unilateral microtia is most common, in which the right ear is affected more frequently than the left ear. A genetic disturbance results in microtia of the pinna. Many cases of microtia are categorized as idiopathic or of an unknown etiology. Occurring in 1 to 5,000-20,000 births, this deformity is more frequently seen in males. Fuller, Pimentel & Peregoy, 2011, 330). Microtia causes varying degrees of hearing loss and major cosmetic problems. Population In a study essay writer canada, â€Å"Melnick and Myranthopoulos reviewed auricular deformities and associated anomalies in a series of 56,000 pregnancies in an ethnically diverse population (Caucasian 46%, African American 46%, Latino 8%), commenting on the incidence of anomalies and the embryogenesis and etiopathology of the varyi ng deformities† (Lin, 2011). They found that microtia occurred in every 3 in 10,000 births.Microtia occurs in 1 per 900 to 1200 Navjo children and 1 in 4000 Japanese births (Fuller, Pimentel & Peregoy, 2011, 330). Time of Onset Microtia is a congenital deformity, meaning that it is present at birth. Receiving genes from both parents during development, microtia results from a defective gene in the early development stage of ear development. Since microtia occurs in utero, there is no easy fix for this abnormality until the child is ready for surgery to recreate the outer ear. Etiology Hereditary factors and vascular accidents in utero are both factors in the etiology of microtia.Familial patterns are reminiscent that microtia is a result of multifactoral inheritance, including maternal rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy. Microtia occurs when there is a problem with the development of the ear when a baby is still an embryo. Occasionally occurring due to an inherite d fault, microtia more often occurs unexpectedly with no family history. Symptoms â€Å"Micro† means small and â€Å"otia† means ea, so therefore, Microtia means having an irregularly small ear. Microtia is a deformity, resulting in a reduced size of the ear.There are a variety of severity levels that occur within the pathology microtia. At times a bump of tissue is present in the location of where an ear would normally be found. In other cases, parts of the ear may be partially formed, just smaller than normal. There are four grades of microtia. Grade I is classified by a slightly small ear and a small but present external ear canal. Grade II has a partial external ear canal producing a conductive hearing loss. Grade III microtia, the most common, results with an absence of the external ear and an absence of the external ear canal and ear drum.Grade IV has a total absence of the ear, referred to as anotia. (Coping, 2010) Hearing Loss With microtia, it would seem that a child would be unable to hear, however, in most cases, there is only a slight reduction of hearing. Microtia causes more of a cosmetic obscurity for many that are faced with this pathology. There is often times only a slight loss of hearing because we hear through both bony conduction, where sound travels through the skin and the bones of the skull and into the inner ear, and air conduction, in which the sound must travel down the ear canal and middle ear to reach the tympanic membrane.Microtia effects air conduction the most, for the ear canal is smaller than normal, making it harder for sounds to travel through to the eardrum. Treatment Options Although the outside of the ear contributes little to hearing, it does have several important cosmetic functions, such as supporting the wearing of eye glasses. Reconstructive surgery is offered to those who are born with microtia to help reconstruct ears. Multiple operations are needed to perform this reconstruction, done usually in thre e to four stages. Artificial ears may also be used. Furthermore, there are surgeries that can be performed to improve hearing.This kind of surgery involves drilling out the ear canal. This is usually a procedure used mainly for bilateral microtia patients. Works Cited Coping with and curing microtia. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. robertrudermd. com/microtia. html Fuller, D. R. , Pimentel, J. T. , & Peregoy, B. M. (2011). Applied antatomy & physiology for speech-language pathology & audiology. (p. 330). Lin, S. J. (2011, July 22). Microtia. Retrieved from http://emedicine. medscape. com/article/1290083-overview Luguetti, D. (2011, November 21). Microtia: Epidemiology and genetics. Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/22106030

Using Grounded Theory Methodology and Rich Picture Diagrams in Analysing Value Creation in Houses of Culture Projects in Sweden

The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Using Grounded Theory Methodology and Rich Picture Diagrams in analysing Value Creation in Houses of Culture Projects in Sweden Laurell Stenlund, K. Kristina. [email  protected] se Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, Sweden Abstract What kind of value does a public building for cultural activities create for clients, construction professionals and users? One approach to understand the complexity of ongoing processes over time is by identifying value-adding activities in building processes.However, value added activities are difficult to analyse especially when related to resources that have an immaterial character, e. g. knowledge, know how and social relations. Based on an indepth case study of stakeholders’ evaluation of a construction project, grounded theory methodology (GTM) and rich picture diagrams (RPD) were used in analysing stakeholder and end-user value. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with actors, public client, project manager, architect, contractor, employee and visitors of the building and during a workshop with representatives for different stakeholder groups.The results from the analysis show that building a house of culture creates stakeholders’ and end-users’ value that can be categorised into human, organisational and social capital. The strength of combining GTM and RPD is demonstrated in its ability to study complex organisational structures and relations between different actors, and specific as shown in this case, when analysing value creation in a construction project with many stakeholders with different interests and value. Keywords: case study, grounded theory method, intellectual capital, rich picture diagramsIntroduction Discussions during the last few years (e. g. Egan 1998; Finch 2000; Spencer and Winch 2002; Saxon 2005) have shown that integrating design and construction potentially delivers better value for money as well as better buildings, particularly when attention is paid to the full costs of a building over its whole lifetime. Research on how buildings deliver better value for money during their lifetime involves complex data analysis of activities and processes. Value-adding activities consist of complex building processes performed over time.A condition for activities to be value-added is that they are supported by resources that are utilised and developed in a positive way (Laurell Stenlund and Horte, 1999). According to the resource-based view, the resources that are difficult to imitate and replace create a competitive advantage to companies (e. g. Penrose, 1959; Grant, 1991; Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). The characteristics of these resources are described as dynamic organisational capabilities (Dosi et al. , 2008). However, value-added activities are more difficult to analyse. Resources that are immaterial, e. g. knowledge, know-how and social relations (e. g.Sveiby, 1997; Edvinsson a nd Malone, 1997) are difficult to 17 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 describe and measure. Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) argue that rich picture diagrams are tools suitable for analysing complex building processes. The purpose with this paper is to describe how grounded theory method (GTM) and rich picture diagrams (RPD) were used in analysing stakeholder and end-user value when developing and constructing houses of culture. Empirical evidence is developed from a single in-depth case study where data was collected by interviews, archives, documents and during a workshop.In the next section GTM and RPD methods are discussed in relation to the case study. The results from the analyses are finally presented and concluded. Theories and General Conclusions from Case Studies A researcher’s choice of methodology is not only a matter of strategy. Researchers argue that their â€Å"Weltanschauung† (ontology, i. e. our view on how the world is constructed) and opinion of how knowledge is developed (epistemology) are behind the planned or unplanned choice of methodology and research methods.Management studies involves people’s decisions and activities and are thus influenced by rules and structures built in society as well as in the specific organisation. The industry and the context of the studied processes are therefore important to consider (Chroneer and Laurell-Stenlund, 2006). The specific structure of construction industry, mainly project oriented organisations must find other solutions and concepts for improving performance and efficiency according to Segerstedt and Olofsson (2010).Inter-firm processes in construction industry could be identified by the supply chains and networks consisting of different supplying construction companies, e. g. architectural offices and contracting firms, engaged in the early phases of the construction project (Brochner and Kadefors, 2010; Segerstedt and Olofsson, 2010). In th e early phases of a construction project, these inter-firm processes may create a creative chaos developing new ideas of buildings and constructions. According to Gray and Hughes (2001), the collaboration between individuals is a part of the wider collaboration between firms in the construction sector.Describing and developing a deeper understanding of these networks also requires new research methods. Case studies are commonly accepted in management studies. Yin (1994) argues that a case study with one or more cases and with different methods for data collection, both quantitative and qualitative, can be theorised and generalised. A single case study makes it possible to capture different angles and perspectives in depth based on an inductive research strategy open for analytical generalisation and implications from a theoretical perspective rather than comparison with other cases (Eisenhardt, 1989).Selection of the Case The case presented in this study is selected by the uniquenes s of the building itself according to its special functional design and conditions of combining different cultural activities in one building involving art professionals with different goals. The House of Culture in Lulea was selected due to the researcher’s access to data as well as to the interest from the public client and the construction professionals. Previous studies (for example Short et al. 007) have discussed how arts clients require additional commitment from construction professionals. Building a house of culture is in this sense an interesting cultural construction project to study. Qualitative Research Based on GTM Qualitative data analyses with GTM are here applied to describe regularities and sequences (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) for certain building projects in a given situation creating common knowledge within a specific area. 18 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010Grounded theory was developed in the 60s by Glaser and Strauss in social medicine (Bryant and Charmaz, 2007). After a couple of years, Glaser and Strauss went in two different directions. Strauss revised the methods where data was interpreted by the researcher (Alvesson and Skoldberg, 2000). Glaser, on the other hand, continued to develop the ‘classic’ grounded theory with analytical methods for qualitative data coding with an inductive approach but also including methods for deduction and abduction, i. e. methods for developing and testing theories (Glaser, 1992).Grounded theory refers to the result of using grounded theory method according to Bryant and Charmaz (2007). The results should be traceable back to the empirical data and the studied phenomena (Sutrisna and Barrett, 2007). In this paper GTM is applied with an inductive approach (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The purpose of using GTM in this study was to investigate what kind of stakeholder value is created when building a house of culture. Stakeholder value is the key vari able in this study with the purpose of visualising stakeholders’ different value in the building process.Data collection and data analysis based GTM Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used in the case study. The total data collection was broad and open based on several methods, i. e. integrative focus groups, participatory observations, archive data, documents, semi-structured interviews and a survey (Yin, 1994, p. 80). According to the Swedish principle of free access to public records all archive data from the construction project was available and could be analysed.The analyses presented in this paper are mainly based on 17 semi-structured interviews with actors with different interest in the construction project, building documents and data from a workshop with internal and external stakeholders (Table 1, Appendix). The interviews were recorded and transcribed. After transcription, the interviews were analysed by coding the respondents’ activities chronologically in building processes. The interviewed respondents were belonging to different stakeholder groups with different roles in the construction sector as well as in society.Internal stakeholders, active in the construction sector may on the one hand act as clients, financiers and users, on the demand side, and on the other hand act as architects, engineers, contractors and materials suppliers, on the supply side, in the specific construction project (Winch, 2002, p. 67). External stakeholders also have a direct interest in the project and can be broken down into private actors (e. g. local residents) and public actors (e. g. local government) (ibid. ). In Table 1 the respondents are presented together with their stakeholder classification and role in the project by their title.Table 1: Data collection the House of Culture Semi-structured interviews, no 17 Internal stakeholder/Public client-Municipality: Municipal commissioner (Cmc080401) Municipal employee (Cme 070905) Project manager (Chp080117) Participants, Workshop 20090331 Client: Municipal commissioner (Cmc) Client/End-user: Municipal Culture Chairman (CEcc) Secondary data Feasibility study A 2002-08-15 19 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Project leader (Cpl080220)Client/End-user: Cultural manager (CEcm) Client/End-user: – Municipal Technical chairman (CEtc) Client: Project manager (Chp) Designer: Architect (DA) Constructor: Manager construction company (Com) Constructor: Project leader in construction company (Cop) Industry: The Swedish Construction Federation, Region North (BI) End-user: Concert Hall manager (Echm) End-user: Art Hall manager (Eam) Feasibility study B May 2003 Internal stakeholder/Municipal and cultural organisations: Cultural manager (CEcm070601,080117,080925) Library manager (Elm081006) Concert Hall manager (Echm081005) Art Hall manager (Eam081015) Planning document 2003-12-22Project directive 2003-10-20 External stakeho lder/Contractor: Manager construction company (Com071004) Project leader in construction company (Cop080930) Brief for architectural competition 2003-12-22 External stakeholder/Designer: Architect (DA081002) End-user: Tourist manager (Etm2) End-user: 2 Peoples Parks and Community Centres (Eppc) End-user: Orchestra member (Epo) External stakeholder/ End-user: 2 citizens (Eci) Commercial organisations : Tourist manager (Etm081022) Business manager (Ebm081023) End-user/Citizens, public and visitors: Orchestra member (Epo070905), Public (Eci, 2090330) Reference Group MeetingsThe public client as well as the construction professionals participated in the process of evaluating the effects of the construction project and the use of the building. They participated in so called reference group meetings and focus group interviews. During the research project four reference group meetings were carried out with two representative from the public client; one initiating the project and one intern al end-user of the building, one representative from the construction company, two representatives from construction industry and one representative from a non-profit cultural organisation together with three academic researchers.During these meetings the first evaluation results were presented and discussed. The relevance of the results was discussed and new questions developed for further investigations. 20 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Focus Group Interviews The empirical data was first coded and summarized and then confirmed and discussed by the practitioners. The focus group interviews were conducted more specific regarding a subject where the participants were asked a question that was answered individual in the group, by each of the respondents and then discussed within the group.The five focus group interviews were performed in accordance with the reference group meetings and one at another time. Workshop A workshop was performed with respondents representing the stakeholders of the construction project as presented in Table 1. The workshop consisted of two parts. The first was to present the results from the descriptive analysis of the construction project to implement the results back to construction industry. The second part was to develop a story line of the construction project based on the stakeholders’ successful factors describing the success of the building.Open coding – First Level From the data analysis based on the interviews, a story of the building process emerged. This story was built by the respondents and confirmed by all respondents when summarized in a case study report (Laurell Stenlund, 2010). Within this story different activities were specifically mentioned by different actors due to their significant influence on the performance of the construction projects as well as on the effects of the final building according to the respondents. These activities were confirmed by archive data and found in the construction projects documentation.There are different views about how categories emerge from the analysis, e. g. let the data ‘talk’ or if the researcher is shaping the categories (Bryant and Charmaz, 2007). In this study, no specific and objective theoretical frameworks were ready to pick. They were instead developed during analysis. Coding was in the first step based on a preliminary theoretical framework consisting of different phases of the building process. The activities were then categorised, based on their empirical characteristic, first in relation to the different stages in the construction project, e. . communication during design between architect and library manager and secondly in themes due to their organisational belonging, i. e. the content of the activity, for example, communication regarding specific functional solutions within the library between the architect and the library manager: strategic briefing during the design phas e. The resulted value-adding activities are presented in Table 2 below. Table 2: Value-adding activities in building houses of culture Activities in the briefing process related to strategic briefing The feasibility study 2002 and 2003 a. he rejection of the first proposal consisting of private and public investors in the construction project b. the development of the second proposal of combining different cultural activities in one building The political decisions 2003 a. political agreement on building a new house for the existing public library, the public art gallery and a new concert hall 21 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 b. political initiatives of starting the construction project The development of the project directives with requirement regarding a. ost b. time c. responsibilities The development of the strategic brief a. overall vision and goals for the building and building performance b. end-users’ functional requirements, ne eds and desires c. qualifying criteria for participating in the architectural competition d. order-winning criteria for the architect The client’s procurement decision a. design-bid-build based on a architectural competition b. architect creating a design team with client c. contractor’s relation to client during construction Open coding – Second LevelThe second analysis was based on a preliminary theoretical framework (Values surrounding the House of Culture, developed from Boyd and Chinyio, 2006:80) where the client’s requirements were coded to different stakeholder groups, and stakeholders’ value were coded in relation to project and product (Laurell Stenlund et al. , 2009). Coding into rich picture diagrams and general themes The third categorisation was an analysis of the value-adding activities performed by actors within the construction project as well as by end-users in the final building.Here the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Ba rrett (2007) were applied when coding the data into the rich picture diagram for further analysis of developed intellectual capital. This analysis is presented in the following section. Intellectual capital in rich picture diagrams Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) found that the use of the multiple case study approach was in agreement with the principles of GTM, i. e. that it relies on multiple sources and constant comparison of empirical data for the purpose of theory building.However, when using multiple case studies and GTM, the cross-case analysis can be found overwhelming and difficult to grasp all at once, according to Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). Therefore the rich picture diagram is suggested by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) as an analytical tool in data analysis and here applied when analysing the development of intellectual capital in construction projects. 22 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Rich picture diagrams Firstly, the value-adding act ivities of the ‘successful’ construction project, were used as a basis to develop a rich picture diagram.The activities were coded in accordance with the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). Secondly, the results from the workshop were included into the rich picture diagram. During the workshop, each stakeholder representative presented their three most important success factors, written on ‘post-it’-notes in four dimensions, namely strategic with external (market) perspective; strategic with internal (vision and financing) perspective; operational with external (customer) perspective and operational with internal (organisational and cost) perspective.For the purpose of the workshop, the four dimensions were related to the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). The notes were then transformed into the same rich picture diagram as the story line of the construction project. Intellectual Capital The intellectual capital m odel consists of identifying financial, human, social, customer and organisational value (Sveiby, 1997). Identifying and visualizing intellectual capital are problematic and discussed for many years. Research with focus on intellectual capital started intensively during the 90s within the field of accounting.The Balanced Scorecard, developed by Kaplan and Norton (1993), The Intangible Assets Monitor, developed by Sveiby (1997) and The Skandia IC model with the world’s first public intellectual capital annual report, as a supplement to the financial report (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997), are examples of management models categorising, measuring and valuing companies’ tangible and intangible resources and assets. Edvinsson and Malone (1997) describe the company’s intangible assets as â€Å"those that have no physical existence but are still of value to the company.Typically, they are long term and cannot accurately be valued until the company is sold. † Measu rement of intellectual capital is thus difficult. According to Mouritsen (2009), it is not possible for an organisation to copy its intangible properties in a number; yet it is necessary because it allows intervention to happen since it develops a wholly new set of dimensions to manage. Measuring size, value and effects of intellectual capital does not yield definitive measures, yet the measures are comforting because they help develop the actions that can be made in the name of intellectual capital (Mouritsen, 2009).Analysing Intellectual Capital in Rich Picture Diagrams In the rich picture diagram value-adding activities in the building process together with stakeholders’ value of the construction project and building in use are pictured in a story line of building a house of culture as presented in Figure 1. In Figure 1, number 1 describes activities creating human capital in the municipality. Here the municipal commissioner played an important, entrepreneurial client role . This is seen as a distinctive feature in the case.Human capital was developed in a creative process of finding a new solution to an old demand, the need of a concert hall, and also driving the political process to a building decision of building a house of culture by combining the library, the hall of arts and the concert hall. The decision was a result of a more than 60-year-long discussion in the municipality, where special interest organisations argued for and against a new concert hall in the city. Human capital is measured in the individual’s knowledge and experiences creating a capability within the organisation (Sveiby, 1997; Laurell Stenlund, 2004).The development of construction industry, with advanced technol- 23 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 ogy put a pressure on actors’ capabilities to adapt to these new technologies. However, construction industry also relays on actors’ capabilities to create new ideas, new technologies and new types of buildings, as shown in this case were the public client was using his competence, based on political experience as well as on his skills from construction industry.Figure 1: The story line of a successful construction project visualising created intellectual capital Number 2 in the figure describes the activities related to the development of the brief for architectural competition, based on the vision of the building together with the transformation of the public client’s requirements into building programmes, e. g. functional and technical specifications. The public client's role during the development of the building programme was important.Different employees in the client's organisation were involved in the development of the feasibility studies taking political decisions and developing the project directives with requirements regarding cost, time and responsibilities. In the brief for architectural competition, the public client formulated the overall vision and goals for the building and the end-users’ functional requirements. People from the artistic organisations were partly involved in this strategic briefing process.The process, in the figure illustrated with dotted arrows, illustrates how the client’s representatives, foremost the project manager together with the architect, worked together with actors responsible for art and library activities. This work should also be seen as a strategic briefing process performed in the project during the design phase. The public client’s procurement decisions regarding the architectural competition made it possible for the architect to create a â€Å"dream-team† of consultants working together with designing the building.The bid-to-build procurement decision engaged a contractor, with the ambition to develop new knowledge within their own construction organisation concerning technical solutions in the building of concert halls. Here the municipali ty created organisational capital in measures of communication, trust and business relations (Sveiby, 1997) between actors in the local construction industry. The organisational capital belonging to the public client has created new construction projects in the community, even during recession, when normally no construction projects should have stated.Finally number 3 in the figure describes how the public client's decisions had an impact on creating social capital in the community. This is closely related to the client’s ambitions to create a building with symbolic value and also to the distinctive feature of having created future beliefs in the city. Social capital is described in terms 24 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 of change in attitudes, but also in terms of economic value regarding new job opportunities, development of organisational and business activities.End-users participating at the workshop expressed their view of the buil ding in use in terms of social value. They valued the multitude of cultural activities in the building as well as the building is easy accessibility, aesthetics, comfort, safe with a central location in the city. The social capital developed by building a house of culture in the community is described by the public client as valuable for the cities development in the future, not only because of its cultural activities, but also because of the buildings architecture and location. DiscussionFrom the results of analysing value-added activities and stakeholders’ value in a story line, the distinctive features for this specific construction project illustrates three key competencies generating human, organisational and social capital; firstly the human capital based on the public clients political and construction knowledge and skills in the pre-phase of the construction project; secondly the organisational capital based on the actors competencies of interacting when developing th e strategic brief involving internal and external stakeholders goals and visions, during the onstruction project; and finally the social capital based on the building’s multifunctional activities, its architectural design and its central location in the city, when building in use. From the results, one could determine certain success factors and key competencies that should be maximized. These success factors and key competencies could in turn be grouped into a number of distinct areas of focus such as financial, human, customer, process, renewal and development. Within each of these areas of focus, one could identify numerous key indicators to measure performance.Previous research studies have shown that companies and organisations have to identify their own relevant key indicators and success factors and relate them to their specific activities and resources when making the tools usable in management decisions (Laurell Stenlund, 2004; Anumba et al. , 2005; Roos et al. , 200 5). Measuring size, value and effects of intellectual capital does not yield definitive measures, yet the measures are comforting because they help develop the actions that can be made in the name of intellectual capital (Mouritsen, 2009).Conclusions Stakeholder value is the key variable in this study with the purpose of visualising stakeholders’ different value in the building process. From the results of the study, intellectual capital developed during the construction project has been visualised in terms of human, organisational and social capital. Houses of culture, public buildings for cultural activities, enable meeting places for citizens as well as they provide places for cultural events and spaces for creativity as well as they contribute to the development of new cultural activities.The outcomes were found useful when implementing the results back to the studied client organisation and the actors in the project team as well as they can be used to better understand t he situation, formulating improvement as well as a platform for future research. The strength of combining GTM and RPD is demonstrated in the ability of the methodology in studying complex organisational structures and relations between different actors, and specific as shown in this case, when analysing value creation in a construction project with many stakeholders with different interests and value. 5 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 References Alvesson, M. and Skoldberg, K. (2000) Reflexive methodology: new vistas for qualitative research, London: Sage. Anumba, C. J. , Egbu, C. and Carrillo, P. (2005) Knowledge Management in Construction, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Boyd, D and Chinyio, E (2006) Understanding the construction client, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Bryant, A. and Charmaz, K. (2007) The SAGE handbook of Grounded Theory, London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Brochner, J. and Kadefors, A. 2010) Varden och vardekedjor inom samha llsbyggande, forstudie. 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(1989) Building t heories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550. Finch, P. (2000) Better public building, a proud legacy for the future, The Better Public Buildings Group.Department for culture, media and sport, London. Glaser, B. G. (1992) Basics of Grounded Theory Research. Sociology Press, Mill Valley, CA. Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Aldine, Chicago. Grant, R. M. (1991) The resource based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114-135. Gray, C. and Hughes, W. (2001) Building Design Management, Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. Hamel, G. and Prahalad C. K. (1994) Competing for the Future. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press. Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D.P. (1993) Putting the Balanced Scorecard on work, Harvard Business Review, (SepOct), 134-147. Laurell-Stenlund, K. 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Alcoholism and Theme Jake Doesn

The Sun Also Rises Quote Literary Element Commentary can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to ) conflict Jake is trying to explain that you can't find happiness by moving to another place. You have to find happiness within yourself wherever you may be in life. â€Å"l mistrust all frank and simple people, especially when their stories hold together† (12) theme Jake doesn't trust the ones who are upfront and real because he is so used to seeing everyone who is fake. â€Å"This is a good place,† he said. There's a lot of liquor,† I agreed. † (19) characterization From having a hard life, Jake has seem to fallen on alcohol to heal the wounds throughout his life. He is always drinking and being drunk during the story. â€Å"No, I don't like Paris. It's expensive and dirty. † (26) setting Here George explains to Frances how she doesn't like Paris for it is too expensive. Since this book Is placed In the sass's. Everywhere at this time was e xpensive because of WWW â€Å"l was a little drunk.Not drunk in any positive sense but Just enough to be careless. † (29) theme Jake refers to being drunk and he mentions It can be positive. The characters In this kook drink like it essential to living and that it is a great thing. â€Å"He looked a great deal as his compatriot must have looked when he saw the promised land†¦. He had that look of eager. Deserving expectation. † (29) characterization Cohn was looking at Brett because he thought she was absolutely stunning and he had hopes of being with her. â€Å"Couldn't we live together, Brett?Could we Just live together? † â€Å"l don't think so. I'd just trooper you with everybody. † (62) conflict Jake and Brett want to be together but Brett can't live with Sake's disability and she says that she would always cheat on Jake if they did live together. Never fall in love? † â€Å"Always,† said the count. â€Å"l am always In love. † (67) The count says he is always in love, this points out the fact that he is a hopeless romantic and it could also mean he Is not happy with himself so he seeks love to compensate. Friends,† said Mike. â€Å"l had a lot of friends. False friends. Then I had creditors, too. Probably had more creditors than anybody in England. † (141 ) theme Mike has lost all his money from having fake friends. HIS friends were only his friends because of his fortune and wealth. â€Å"Don't you know you're not wanted? † (146) Mike says this to Jake and It shows that Mike Is someone who has no filter on what they say. Whatever he thinks, he says. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy.It seemed they were all such nice people. (150) theme lake uses alcohol to mask his telling an like he wants to believe they are. That his trends aren't nice † ‘Oh, Jake,' Brett said, ‘we could have had such a damned good time together. ‘ ‘Yes,' I sa id. ‘Isn't it pretty to think so? ‘ † (251) conflict Brett and Jake wish that the could be together but they know they can't. If it wasn't for lake's impotence, then they could have a great life together.

Jonathan Edwards Essay

Jonathan Edwards uses an effective method called the â€Å"fire and brimstone† approach, which basically used scare tactics to keep people from straying away from the church. Jonathan Edwards was a master at using literary devices, which horrified but intrigued his audience. He (Edwards) wrote in second person to make each individual feel responsible for their own sins, this strategy allowed Edwards to speak to large groups. Edwards also used extended metaphors to help his audience realize the full extent of their sins. An example of this imagery is, â€Å" The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty the course, when once it is let loose.† (Sinners 1). This metaphor shows the extent that Edwards goes to show parishioners of what God is capable of doing to the Human race if they do not seek salvation. Edwards uses bandwagon appeal to keep people from leaving the church. He believed that if he could convince enough people that the church is the only way to receive the â€Å"grace of god† that it would lead to a mass movement; if enough people went that the rest would follow in their footsteps. Edwards tries to persuade people to return to church by stating that those who attend are happy, â€Å"To see so many others feasting, while you are pinning and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit!† (Sinners 1). This method proved to be effective because people returned to the church, they feared for the outcome of their life and sought forgiveness just as their neighbors did. Jonathan Edwards’s beliefs and ideas began to affect people’s everyday lives and restore the church to its former glory. Jonathan Edwards believes that it is man’s duty to serve God in all aspects. He expresses his view that every man has the will to decide what is right from wrong, good from evil and what God would expect from a devout believer in his book Freedom of the Will. This book essentially breaks down what man desires and the choices man can make, he exposes how all these actions are relevant to the after life. Edwards tries to show that earthly matters will not a provide eternal happiness and that a man’s life on Earth is a time to prove his worthiness for judgment day by proclaiming â€Å"†¦but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing† (sinners 1). Jonathan Edwards is known for his vivid depictions of what God’s wrath would be like. This dark imagery gave the public an idea of what their eternal punishment would be like if they did not conform to the holy life of the church. The imagery horrified people because it made people believe that God could damn each and every person to Hell for their sins. An example of the dark imagery is â€Å"The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood†. (Sinners 1). By saying this Edwards strikes fear into the listener. Edwards often uses repetition to emphasize his condemnation on society for their lack of faith in the church. For example â€Å"You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment† (sinners 1). He stresses the word â€Å"nothing† to show that all are helpless and to further belittle each individual. Edwards also repeats the word â€Å" you† to make each person feel responsible for their actions and to single out each individual. Edwards also ensures that each line in his sermons are threatening to create a sense of an ultimatum; conform to the church or burn in Hell for all eternity. â€Å"Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a falling rock† (sinners 1). This quote shows how Edwards creates a sense of hope for the parishioners but when further analyzed it has a very negative and damning connotation. Edwards tries to portray his belief that God only lets you live because it pleasures him. This provides false hope but in reality he is saying that there is no way for anyone to be saved.

Overview of Conflicts of Interest Essay

Confidentiality is also something that some volunteers of the Remedios AIDS Foundation should also learn. Although many officers of this NGO advocate confidentiality, many of its volunteers could still breach this ethical code, thus further isolating prospective clients. It is a well-known fact that the life of the first Filipino AIDS victim was made into a commercial movie, and had attracted thousands of audience – making it seem like a carnival show. This is precisely the kind of stigma that HIV/AIDS victims is afraid of, and something that the Remedios AIDS Foundation – and many other NGOs dealing with this disease — is trying to work out. The Remedios AIDS Foundation is also faced with the dilemma on how to conduct research without exposing the patients to various risks (CIOMS 1993). As an NGO that do social and medical research, it has to ensure that HIV/AIDS patients must also benefit from its studies. It is unethical to expose subjects to the risks of participating in a research study unless the design is sufficiently rigorous that the results will be valid and generalizable (U. S. National Commission for the Protection of the Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research). Another critical ethical consideration that must be dealt with accordingly by the Remedios AIDS Foundation is how to maintain objectivity in front of emotional patients. Culturally speaking, the Filipino people tend to be emphatic of each other’s plights, thus it is not an isolated case to find volunteers who are emotionally affected by the conditions of HIV/AIDS patients. This eventually leads them to quit from their volunteer work and/or to be personally involved in their patients’ cases, which often clouds their critical judgment. Applications The best thing to do here is to implement an intensive and extensive information campaign on AIDS and the advantages of belonging to a core group that can emotionally and physically assist the AIDS victims. Moreover, volunteers of the Remedios AIDS Foundation should also undergo intensive training and education on how to properly deal with HIV/AIDS patients. It must be noted that these patients are already wrapped in insecurity and treating them with slight uncertainty will only decrease their self-confidence. To meet the ethical obligations for research, on the other hand, this NGO must conduct studies whose sample sizes must be adequate. Suitable study endpoints must also be selected. It must also ensure that clinical trials must undergo preliminary laboratory and animal research. It must always take into consideration that research with human participants raises ethical concerns because people accept risks and inconvenience to advance scientific knowledge and to benefit others (Lo 2000). Social researchers of this NGO must also learn how to use language that is not offensive to study participants. Conclusion As one of the NGOs at the forefront of combating HIV/AIDS in the Philippines, the Remedios AIDS Foundation is faced with many ethical dilemmas that it is trying to overcome one by one. Although it is difficult to do in this largely Catholic country where promiscuity is being strongly detested and HIV/AIDS is being associated with promiscuity, it continues to embark on a rigorous warfare against HIV/AIDS in the country. Everything is an uphill battle because social norms and religiosity keep HIV/AIDS patients from coming forward in the open to seek for help. The NGO is looking for ways and means to solve this problem without losing its focus. As the officers and volunteers of the Remedios AIDS Foundation are also mostly Catholics, they also have to be able to move around their religious beliefs in order to stop being discriminatory to HIV/AIDS patients. They also have to ensure that their researchers are well-trained to avoid offending study participants and this can only be done by conducting intensive trainings. Lastly, objectivity should also be encouraged to avoid personal involvement in patients’ predicament. This last ethical issue should be encouraged to avoid conflict of interest on the part of the NGO. In the end, the officers and volunteers of this NGO are cognizant of the fact that unless these ethical concerns are addressed, their fight against HIV/AIDS will never be successful. References: Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS). (1993) International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. Geneva. de Bruyn, T. (1998) HIV/AIDS and Discrimination: A Discussion Paper. Montreal: Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network & Canadian AIDS Society. Lo B. (2000) Overview of Conflicts of Interest. In Resolving Ethical Dilemmas: A Guide for Clinicians. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Reproductive Health Outlook. (1997) HIV/AIDS Key Issues. Retrieved May 30, 2006 from http://www. rho. org/html/hiv_aids_keyissues. html U. S. National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. (1978) The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research. Washington, D. C. : Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare. The Offical Website of the Remedios AIDS Foundation. (1991) http://www.remedios.com.ph/