Case consruction studies for civil engineering Essay

Case consruction studies for civil engineering - Essay Example Twenty-four others were injured, including 11 first responders eight remained hospitalized, officials said. (FOXNEWS Monday, March 17, 2008). This was just another heart wrecking and most unwelcome accident that happened in the construction industry. In an era of highly advanced science and technology as of now, we expect that deaths caused due to accidents at work sites, should be the least ever but survey reports and statistics show an increase directly proportional to the advancement in science and technology applied in the construction and civil engineering sector worldwide. Statistics from the UK Health and Safety Executive show that on average one or two people are killed every week as a result of construction work. Occupational ill-health, which can accumulate over time, accounts for further loss of life. What is health and safety In simple terms, health and safety is about identifying risks and eliminating or controlling them to prevent accidents and occupational ill-health. Even though it's inevitable that no job is free from any occupational hazards, measures can adopted to minimize the risks by eliminating or controlling the factors that give rise to unnecessary ones. What are the risks Statistics show that people falling from heights and objects falling from heights and strik... onal health problems arise from chemical hazards, such as liquid, dusts, gasses and fumes, or physical hazards such as cold, heat, noise, vibration, ionizing radiation, compressed air, lasers and manual handling. Why are good health and safety processes important Accidents and ill-health have both a human cost and a financial cost. Lost time and materials, higher insurance premiums, compensation claims and possibly legal costs are the most obvious potential impacts. There are also indirect costs in terms of potential damage to reputation which can make it harder for a company to attract business or new employees or for a project to obtain funding. Good health and safety processes demonstrate respect for people whether they are employees, clients or local communities hosting a construction project. Long-term health effects are usually slower to be realized but the costs and long-term implications can be far more significant than accidents and should not be underestimated. Construction has one of the highest rates of accidents and incidences of ill-health of all employment sectors. High risk activities, poor training and inadequate safeguards all contribute. It need not be this way. There are measures that can be taken to minimize the risks. Constructing a health and safety policy and program: This is a simple but effective strategic framework: 1. POLICY 2. ORGANISING 3. PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION 4. MEASURING PERFORMANCE 5. REVIEWING PERFORMANCE Policy Every organization needs to draw up a statement of policy on how it will manage health and safety, including how responsibilities will be allocated. The policy should take into account the nature of the construction activities involved and the size of the organization. Organizing An adequately resourced and

Report about the museum printing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Report about the museum printing - Essay Example This painting exhibits exception for its realism and sensitive handling of the subjects. The painting is remarkable because it conveys the message of the low class occupied by the rural Africans. The workers are represented by as graceful and majestic figures (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 89). The message of feeling sympathy and respect for the peasants is vividly exhibited in this painting. The art is a sculpture designed and constructed by the Tamil sculptors of the Chola dynasty. The sculptor measures 76.20 by 57.15 by 17.78 cm. The designers completed the sculpture to reflect the Siva as the lord of yoga. The sculpture represents the Indian civilization. The physical appearance resonates with the message of the sculptors that Siva is Supreme Being that represents the source of the cosmic dance. In addition, the sculpture’s representation of the source of dance is evident on the upper right hand of Siva, which holds a drum (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 97). The drum represents a primeval sound at the creation of the earth. The artwork is a painting, which is among the first paintings to be acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of art. The painting measures 102.07 by 106.83 cm. This painting is best known and it has been often reproduced in the American painting industry. The painting was designed and constructed by George Bellows in 1913. The painting conveys a message of hard work of the homemakers among the low class urbanites (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 114). The blend of various colours ranging from red to orange conveys all aspects of life and integration in early city life. In conclusion, the artworks discussed in this essay successfully convey the intended message to the audience. The Cotton Pickers painting conveys the message of rural African American lifestyle, the Shiva as the Lord of Dance conveys the message of supremacy and source of dance

Social Networking In Businesses

Social Networking In Businesses Gaining the trust and friendships of your customers is crucial in the business world today. But how do you get your new or growing businesss name out there and trusted by your customers? Social Networking may be able to help with that. These organizations can help you develop the trust that ultimately creates influence among your customers(Safko 21). There are however some people who dont know what social networking for businesses is, social networking occurs when a group of like-minded people interact online to share interests or concerns, collaborate, give and seek advice, and offer one another assistance or support(Lindsell-Roberts 4). From photo sharing to just keeping up with contacts, social networking is starting to show up in businesses everywhere. Is it really helping, or are these large and small businesses just jumping on the bandwagon? There is a vast amount of different companies and organizations that connect billions of people every day such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Fast Pitch!, and Twitter. All of these organizations offer almost the same service but they all vary in many ways. These aforementioned forms of social media/networks arent the only kinds that are usual in businesses. There are a million ways a professional can get their business into a social network, and known to the social media. Some of the major well known social networks are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Fast Pitch!. First I am going to talk about these well known and commonly used services and how they help and some of the ways you can use them. Every day millions of people log into Facebook to connect with millions of other people, all these people talk to each other, if you have one hundred connections on Facebook, and each of those connections has one hundred connections, youll be two links away from ten thousand connections. If each of those ten thousand connections has 100 connections, youll be three links away from one million connections (Lindsell-Roberts 1). Users over the age of 30 are starting to use Facebook, many of these users speak their political beliefs and speak freely to other users with the same beliefs. That being said, these users are highly valuable when using a Facebook profile for your business because these people can all see what the other person has to share on their profile. They can offer advertisement of your business through just word of mouth to over millions of people in a single day. Businesses can also utilize Facebook to advertise, for example, with the election going on for the next presi dent the candidates are advertising their campaign in posts and blogs to win over votes of the users they attract with these advertisements. You can also use Facebook to target consumers specific to a certain geographic location. Another social network businesses can utilize is called Fast Pitch!. This company is more specific to the business realm and offer more particular tools for professionals in businesses, Fast Pitch! makes it easier for the professionals to network using a profile displaying what they do, what they sell, and what makes their company unique (Safko 451-452). Fast Pitch! gives companies the ability to share ideas and collaborate through virtual trade shows. They do this by using live video chats or two way video calls using Skype or Voip. Fast Pitch! also gives you the ability to publish content such as press releases, news, videos, and podcasts. Fast Pitch! also has a system that automatically targets the audience the user is trying to reach ensuring that their posts are viewed by the target audience (Safko 52). Along with that feature there is tool that allows the user to gauge the success of their business using statistics of their business. Fast Pitch! is mainly for professionals in b usinesses as a marketing technique. Fast Pitch! can also be for those seeking employment. Fast Pitch! doesnt keep inactive profiles around, they delete the profiles that arent being used so there is only active profiles making searches and collaboration and just the entire network run a lot smoother. LinkedIn is another online network that businesses can utilize to gain the trust of consumers and other businesses to expand growth. This network uses a technique called degrees, connections are rated in degrees, meaning direct connections are first degree connections, users listed as connections on that users profile are second degree connections and so forth (Safko 458). There are also features on LinkedIn where users can ask questions and get answers from other users and businesses. In addition to answering those questions they can also offer resolutions and recommendations. On one account a linked in user made a profit of one hundred thousand dollars annually while spending only seven thousand annually searching through LinkedIn. Another popular form of social media is blogging, and this includes micro-blogging. Blogging is all about what you feel like you want to say. It can be from voicing your opinion to support your beliefs all the way to updating information. Blogs are read by millions of people each day and are shared with just about everybody they know depending on how relevant they think that blog is to how they feel and if it is something they feel should be shared with their community. Micro-blogging is almost the same as blogging but it is shortened to fewer than 200 characters. Micro-blogs are popular due to the fact that they are short and to the point, giving readers a full understanding in a small easy to read text. Twitter is a popular micro-blog. Twitter gives users the ability to follow other users they feel have the same connection in beliefs or just have the same general liking of certain subjects. With twitter users are able to share their current activity or state of mind with friends an d strangers (Safko 538). Twitter is majorly helpful to businesses and has been given the title word of mouth engine by Chris Winfield. Twitter is capable of updating users about the people they are following through the website, RSS feeds, mobile texts messages, or email. Twitter can also work with other social networking cites, updating users through Facebook. Twitter gives businesses a way to receive feedback about their products or services through a market with no fees. Twitter is for everyone, including entrepreneurs to fortune 500 companies. Twitter is a huge network with simple commands that keep everyone using it connected in some sort of way. When a user sees a post, he or she can share that post by reposting it on their own profile, allowing every one of their followers to see it and repost it themselves. One key example of use of twitter is when NASA found water ice on mars with the Phoenix Mars Lander; they used twitter to share the news of this new found discovery. Another account of the use of twitter in business was in February of 2010. A man by the name of Chris Hughes launched his own canvas bag company called Artifact Bag Co: In 2010, after a year of quietly following Michael Williams style bog, A Continuous Lean, Hughes spotted a tweet about of set of chairs that the blogger thought looked cool but were overpriced. Turns out, Hughes had won those exact chairs on eBay, and he commented on the post. Then he crossed his fingers, hoping Williams would take a few seconds to click through to the Artifacts website. Within an hour, Williams pivotal tweet came: This waxed canvas lunch bag is nice-looking (with a link to the item). Soon the fashion press came calling, and after the tote was featured in A Continuous Leans holiday buying guide, Hughes found himself with a more than 400-unit backlog that took six months to whittle down, even with the help of contract workers (Wang 54) This is just another small example of how quickly one tweet can help expand your business exponentially. Chris Hughes states that social media can be easily abused and only properly works if you use thought capital. Though capital includes presenting the product or services to the public in an appealing manner. This is basically how you would present the product in an online storefront, or E-commerce. Other non-traditional services one may look at for the growth of their business through social media include Ning, and online gaming. Ning is another social network but it differs from your typical idea of social network that already has a large network pre-established that you join, Ning gives the user the opportunity to design their own network on the internet and allows other users to join your private social network. Users can make their own profile for different networks, allowing a user to have a profile on more than one network all linked together. Ning allows the user to customize their own network to their specific needs, As the Ning web site puts it, the Ning platform is the software equivalent of Home Depot. Unlike other services that offer a one-size-fits all offering, your social network on Ning runs on a programmable platform (Safko 464). This ultimately gives the user full control of their personal social network. So as far as how Ning can be used, it all depends on ho w you want to implement it into your business. Anyone can use Ning and create their own social networks, such as musicians, to give fans updates and tour dates and post contests. Online gaming is a very unique and original way to reach consumers and advertise your product or services. Some may not see the potential of advertising through online gaming: Many people tend to view online video games as an activity with no business value- a waste of time in which only teenagers participate. However when you have fifty thousand to eight million people in the same place with the same interests in a trusted network, a business opportunity exists(Safko 321) If you take a look at new video games that are coming out, they advertise their new products in this particular field because their main consumers are already using their platform, or consol. Video game developers are not the only ones who can and do advertise in an online gaming environment, Barack Obama had his campaign for presidency advertised on Xbox Live, a popular online gaming network. He bought his advertising to be placed in a popular game called Burnout Paradise. With social networking your business depends on the people that you dont have a relationship established yet, meaning that the people you know the least are the people that are helping your business grow by sharing what they know about to other people they know and expanding your business growth. Yes these relationships with people you know the least can be established by the consumers and the strong relationships you have with other people, but these people already have an established connection with your business and therefore are not contributing to growth of social capital. Scott Goodson, author of Uprising states that the old way of marketing- Pitching a product to the largest possible audience through mass media- is dying. He argues that the best way to reach people is to look for topics and causes around which they are already gathering and align ones brand with those topics(Stanford Social Innovation Review 15). The way I feel about Goodsons idea is, yes it helps, but you hav e to use social media to gather this information of topics and ideas that consumers look at. Secondly in order for a business to get these topics and ideas of a new brand know to the general public, they must make their new product well known and have an honest established connection between the product/services and the consumer. This day in age, social may be the fastest way to establish a connection with those consumers that you know the least through the consumers you already have an established connection with. Social networking can exponentially help any business, large or small. Word of mouth through any sort of followers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or any online blog will get your business known to millions of people in different geographical locations. Online social networking is not the only way to get your business in a social network though; traditional conferences and trade shows are still just as effective. Trade shows and conferences arent the only place you can advertise your business through word of mouth. Other places may include restaurants, a get together like a cocktail party, you can pretty much get your business into a social network through word of mouth just about anywhere you are likely to meet people. All it takes is just a little friendly talking, then those people start talking to other people whom talk to other people they know which can drastically increase business and revenue. Not only can social networking get your business name out to those customers that normally would be hard to reach out to, but it can also help someone seeking employment in businesses or help a business find applicants. Some years ago, but including today, job hunters would pour through the classified ads in the newspapers, especially on Sunday mornings, hoping to catch a glimpse of something for which they might remotely qualify (Lindsell-Roberts 43). In todays society the task of seeking employment is not as daunting, you can just do a Google search for something in your field of expertise and you will find a never ending list of businesses seeking applicants and new hires. These businesses use social networks to list openings and positions available to reach out to those who wouldnt normally have known about their business otherwise. Social networking may not be for every business as far as marketing though, many times social networking may not show any signs of helping your business. These tactics dont replace the traditional face to face kind of business, although reaching out to new customers is always good, and a lot of the time social networks are the best way to reach those outside of your geographic location. But how do those people know what kind of business you offer? This tactic involves a lot of dedication to your website or online profile including update, events, sales, offers, and customer service. With social networking your business depends on the people that you dont have a relationship established with yet, meaning that the people you know the least are the people that are helping your business grow by sharing what they know about your business, to other people they know, expanding your business growth. The relationship you have with already established consumers doesnt really help expand your social capital, these connections dont really take your business name further out to those you havent reached yet. Scott Goodson, author of Uprising states that the old way of marketing- Pitching a product to the largest possible audience through mass media- is dying. He argues that the best way to reach people is to look for topics and causes around which they are already gathering and align ones brand with those topics(Manzo 15). The way I feel about Goodsons idea is, yes it helps, but you have to use social media to gather this information of topics and ideas that consumers look at . Secondly in order for a business to get these topics and ideas of a new brand know to the general public, they must make their new product well known and have an honest established connection between the product/services and the consumer. This day in age, social may be the fastest way to establish a connection with those consumers that you know the least through the consumers you already have an established connection with. I believe social networking in businesses has already been in use, but online social networking has majorly played a key role in expanding current businesses and helping small beginner businesses start out. The social media plays a big role in consumers opinions in todays society. Most consumers read reviews that other consumers post in all of these social networks and base their opinion of these businesses off of the majority of what other consumers say about that business. That being said social networks have absolutely helped the growth and take off of many businesses. At the same time it also depends on what kind of business operation you run. Customer support is a key necessity in businesses using social networks. If you dont maintain a good rapport with your consumers then your business can build a bad reputation over a social network which can cause terrible business. For those businesses with good a rapport then this technique would be a good investment to help increase reven ue. So in conclusion social networks have helped businesses grow and establish connections between consumers and other businesses.

Who is Responsible for Military Robots’ Lethal Actions? Essay

I) Introduction Robotic technology has enabled the US military to use autonomous robots (or unmanned systems, UMS) in modern warfare. In the war with Iraq, the US military sent 12000 ground robots at the end of 2008 (P. W. Singer). One of the most popular robots used in Iraq is the iRobot Packbot, an unmanned ground vehicle, which is capable of detecting and destroying improvised explosive devices. Exploiting robots in warfare can save lives of many human soldiers. Moreover, robots are faster, have longer endurance, high precision and immunity to chemical and biological weapons (Ronald Arkin).In the National Defense Act of 2001 the U.S. Congress, obviously impressed by the potential of robots saving lives on the battlefield, established the requirement for one-third of the ground vehicles and one-third of the deep-strike aircraft in the military to be robotic within the decade. Consequently, in the â€Å"Fiscal Year 2009-2034 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap† of the office of the secretary of defense showed the four categories that will be focused on are reconnaissance and surveillance, target identification and designation, counter-mine and explosive ordnance disposal, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear detection (Stew Magnuson). As for now, most of the robot soldiers in the field are not fully autonomy. They are controlled by human soldier operators. However, the pressure of wars and the superior advantage of robots which can make decisions on their own will shift the interest in developing autonomous robots. In battle field, the time to decide whether or not to take action is too short that it would be impractical that a robot must send a signal to an operator and wait for the permission to fire (Ronald Arkin)... ...gner, A.R., and Duncan, B., â€Å"Responsibility and Lethality for Unmanned Systems: Ethical Pre-Mission Responsibility Advisement†. GVU Technical Report GIT-GVU-09-01, GVU Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. Asaro, P. M., â€Å"Robots and Responsibility from a Legal Perspective†. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Roma, Italy. April 2007. Magnuson, S., â€Å" Robo Ethics†. National Defense (Volume 94, Issue 672, Nov 2009), 28-29. Singer, P. W., â€Å"Military Robots and the Laws of War†. New Atlantic: A Journal of Technology & Society (Volume 23, Winter 2009), 25-45. Sparrow, R., â€Å"Building a Better WarBot: Ethical Issues in the Design of Unmanned Systems for Military Applications†. Science and Engineering Ethics (Volume 15, Number 2 / June, 2009), 169-187. Sparrow, R., â€Å"Killer Robots†. Journal of Applied Philosophy , Vol. 24, No. 1, 2006.

Up in Arms: Nuclear Weapons and North Korea

Nuclear weapons are not merely explosive devices that release an enormous amount of energy through the fusion or fission of atomic nuclei, but the issue of producing and researching it involves a more complex threat. Originally developed for use in World War II (1939-45), these nuclear weapons are among modern warfare's most lethal and destructive weapons. These could decimate cities in seconds and the destruction would advance throughout many years as people affected by it will suffer various diseases. Thus, the issue of nuclear weapons indeed encompass strategic, political and cultural dimensions as these are instruments that pose a global threat. Around the world, there exists a growing clamor that it is not enough merely to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world. People call for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Members of the peace movement have long opposed nuclear weapons on the moral grounds that they have the potential to destroy mankind. For that obvious reason, nuclear arms should not be manufactured, tested or used, and those remaining should be destroyed. Surprisingly, calls for the complete abolition of nuclear arms have come from different quarters, even from a group of former high-ranking military officers. Just recently, North Korea had been embroiled in this controversy when it insisted that they would never dismantle its nuclear program, while the United States maintained a â€Å"hostile† policy toward the country this year. If we look into its history, nuclear weapons and Korea have been entwined for more than 50 years. During the Korean War (1950-1953), the United States threatened several times to use nuclear weapons. This is the reason why the U.S. military forces remained in South Korea (the Republic of Korea). The United States began deploying several types of nuclear weapons to the South in January 1958, a time of extensive worldwide U.S. nuclear deployments. Initially, four different kinds of nuclear weapons were introduced with U.S. Army forces in South Korea: the Honest John surface-to-surface missile, the massive 280-millimeter gun, the 8-inch artillery shell, and atomic demolition munitions (ADMs) (Mack, 1994). However, North Korea is widely believed to have produced and separated enough plutonium for a small number of nuclear warheads. Most or all of the plutonium came from the 5-MWe reactor at Yongbyon, which went critical on August 14, 1985, and became operational the following January. The U.S. intelligence community believes that during a 70-day shutdown in 1989, North Korea secretly removed fuel from the reactor and separated the plutonium. Estimates vary as to how much plutonium was obtained. The State Department believes about 6-8 kilograms; the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency say 8-9 kilograms, an estimate consistent with the careful analysis of the Institute for Science and International Security. South Korean, Japanese, and Russian analysts have made much higher estimates, ranging up to 24 kilograms (Albright and Higgins, 2002). What is incredible with this issue is that North Korea never admitted it possessed nuclear weapons, but it appears likely that it does. NBC Nightly News reported in 1993 that reprocessed plutonium had already been converted from a liquid form to metal, and several U.S. officials concluded that Pyongyang had made it into a bomb. In November 2002, the CIA went further than its previous estimates, stating, â€Å"The United States has been concerned about North Korea's desire for nuclear weapons and has assessed since the early 1990s that the North has one or possibly two weapons using plutonium it produced prior to 1992† (Norris, Kristensen and Handler, March/April 2003). By August 2005, the issue of nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula continued to dominate the political landscape. Talks between North Korea and the United States had met with little success, with no narrowing of the gap between those two countries on North Korea’s peaceful use of nuclear energy. The United States continued to insist that all of North Korea’s nuclear facilities had to be dismantled while North Koreans insisted that they had the right to conduct peaceful nuclear activities.   Indeed, North Korean chief delegate Kim Kye-gwan rhetorically asked, â€Å"We are not a defeated nation in war, and we have committed no crime, so why should we not be able to conduct peaceful nuclear activities?† (BBC News, 5 August 2006). With this, several countries warned North Korea that launching a missile would yield undesirable results.   Notably, Japanese Prime Minister  Junichiro Koizumi advised North Korea against test-firing the missile saying, â€Å"Japan has been urging North Korea to stop the attempt to launch a missile. We are making efforts to urge North Korea to act rationally and with self-restraint†.   He went on to warn, â€Å"If it does not listen to us and fires a missile, we have to consult with the United States and take stern measures â€Å". Moreover, the United States Department of State reacted to the launch of the North Korea’s missile Taepodon-2 as a â€Å"provocative† and attention-seeking act.   White House press secretary, Tony Snow, said that President George W. Bush was consulting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the matter.   Secretary Rice called on North Korea to return to the multilateral discussion table (Associated Press, 19 June 2006). For its part, North Korea confirmed that it had test-fired a series of missiles and that further missile tests would be launched.   North Korean officials also warned that they would react strongly to punitive pressures from the international community. Furthermore, North Korea defiantly defended its right to launch the missiles, saying that it was a matter of national sovereignty.   That said, geopolitical analysts observed that North Korea’s latest moves may have been made for strategic reasons rather than simply as an act of national sovereignty. With the seemingly stubborn stance of North Korea, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1718 on October 14, 2006. The resolution called for the inspections on cargo going to and from North Korea to search for weapons, a ban on the sale or transfer of materials related to North Korea’s unconventional weapons program, and a freeze on the transfer of funds connected with North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs (The Economist 21 October 2006).   Absent from Resolution 1718 was the Chapter Seven [of the United Nations charter] provision, which would enforce the sanctions via military force . Even though the resolution was approved by the United Nations Security Council and welcomed by the international community, total agreement on the matter of North Korea remained distant (Arms Control Today Magazine, November 2006). With these turn of events, we could clearly point out how nuclear weapons became a strategic instrument of North Korea to defy the will of the international community. North Korea is flexing its military capabilities by showing off its nuclear weapons. This underscored the need for the nations to begin disarming as soon as possible. North Korea may have felt an ominous threat that they decided they must acquire nuclear weapons in order to â€Å"catch up† to and achieve equal status with a military giant like the United States. However, their intentions were not well-received by their neighbours because North Korea became a â€Å"threat† itself when it decided to push with their nuclear missile tests. Moreover, the international community is frowning upon the real intentions of these â€Å"tests†, whether North Korea is just out to protect itself or is it a tactical plan to scare off their neighbours by virtually stating â€Å"Don’t mess up with us, or else†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thus, these strategic moves by North Korea effectively served to further isolate the country and confirm its pariah status within the international community. As we all know, the effect of nuclear weapons is not limited to political and social relations. According to Frey (2003), it is undeniable that nuclear weapons cause destruction in a number of different ways. They create temperatures upon explosion that are, at least initially, millions of degrees hot. Some of their first effects are heat effects, and materials are often incinerated on contact. The heat from the blast also causes rapid expansion of air, resulting in very high winds that can blow over buildings and other structures. A weapon blast also releases high levels of radiation, such as neutrons, x-rays, and gamma rays. Humans and other animals close to the centre of the blast suffer illness and death from radiation exposure. The set of symptoms associated with such exposure is known as radiation sickness. Many individuals who survive radiation sickness eventually develop cancer and their offspring frequently suffer genetic damage. Finally, a weapon’s blast releases huge amounts of radioactive materials. Some of these materials settle out of the atmosphere almost immediately, creating widespread contamination. Others remain in the atmosphere for weeks or months, resulting in long-term radioactive fallout. In the final analysis, the impending danger of the nuclear testing that North Korea is undertaking could be an ominous phenomenon for all of us. As the scenarios above have explained, nuclear weapons encompass strategic, political and cultural dimensions of whether these harmful military arsenals need to be maintained. Experts have already cited that the continued production of nuclear weapons must be halted soon or civilization itself will be imperilled. On the contrary, some military experts disagree, arguing that the existence of sophisticated nuclear weapons is a deterrent to nuclear war, even urging that nations should be ready to use nuclear weapons first, if necessary. In studying the complex issue of nuclear weapons, people should take a closer look at the extent of the nuclear danger facing the world today and debate the best methods for enhancing nuclear security. A â€Å"win-win† solution should be drafted so that the greater good of humanity comes in first, before any strategic or political agenda of any organization or nation. Works Cited Albright, David and Higgins, Holly. North Korea: It’s Taking Too Long: Inspections in North Korea Are Tied to the Reactor Deal, Which Is Far Behind Schedule, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January/February 2002. Arms Control Today Magazine. US Security Council resolution 1718 on North Korea.36.9  (Nov 2006):  30(2) Associated Press. North Korea Warned of Possible Retaliation, June 19, 2006. Accessed online 14 December 2006 at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-06/19/content_620814.htm BBC News. North Korea Talks ‘Near to Deadlock', August 5, 2006 . Accessed online 14 December 2006 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4748671.stm Frey, R. J. Nuclear Weapons. M. In Bortman, P. Brimblecombe and MA. Cunningham (eds.), Environmental Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Kura, Alexandra. Rogue Countries: Background and Current Issues. Huntington, NY: Nova Science, 2001. Mack, Andrew. Nuclear Endgame on the Korean Peninsula. Canberra, Australia: Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1994. Norris, Robert S., Kristensen, Hans M.   and Handler, Joshua. North Korea's nuclear program, 2003. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 59.2 (March/April 2003): 74-77. Accessed online 14 December 2006 at http://www.thebulletin.org/article_nn.php?art_ofn=ma03norris The Economist. Going Critical, Defying the World; Nuclear-Weapons Proliferation. 381.8500: (Oct 21, 2006): 79.

Business in China

Would US companies be better suited trying to â€Å"go it alone† in China or to partner with a company that will provide tangible assets and other services for the US-based MNC? What stumbling blocks might exist when partnering with a company in China? After reading the article I believe that a US company will partner up with a company that will provide them with tangible assets and other services. As the fastest-growing major economy in the world, China continues to offer global companies attractive investment and business opportunities.However, doing business in China also means navigating the complexities that arise from China’s unique historical, political, and cultural contexts (Burkitt, 2012). Establishing a company in China can be a trying and tedious task requiring elaborate approval and registration procedures. Despite the challenges, leading US companies are succeeding in China by developing collaborative relationships with Chinese stakeholders and demonstrati ng the agility to continuously adapt their strategies to the country’s dynamic environment. Applying for approvals from various authorities is common in China.Navigating China's complex business and regulatory environment to submit the applications to the right channels is an extremely tedious process that the enlightened businessman would rather leave to a partner in China. These companies are positioning themselves for long-term success by embracing the Chinese proverb qiu tong cun yi, which means â€Å"seeking similarities while respecting differences. † In doing so, they are co-opting China’s long-term interest in stability and prosperity into their business strategies, China investment regulations and compliance issues (Chu, nd).China is doing business more and more the American way, but non-Chinese executives still must work hard at building trust in relationships with their Chinese business partners. Chinese business strategy has changed a lot, and they a dopt western practices (Chau, 2012). Cultural misunderstandings and stereotypes are one of the main causes of business failures, when doing business overseas. You should be able to share your vision and enthusiasm, with a good partner, who can bring expertise in the areas in which you are inexperienced.Having a partner from China with a good reputation and should be someone who understands the legal and financial responsibilities endemic to sharing a business, most importantly, it should be someone who has a good relationship base business culture of China; it might be advantageous to learn about some basics of the Chinese language, culture, history, and geography (Csanad, nd). If done so, your Chinese potential business partners will take you much more seriously, and you will have more chance of being able to get the business with whom you get along and also to keep up with frequent regulatory changes can prove daunting for businesses.There are some barriers in doing business in Ch ina, because we must learn the cultural and religious differences. One con is that most Chinese business activities and deals are made through face to face interactions. To successfully launch a business in China you will need to travel to china and meet with your partners and employers unlike in the US they will do meetings on the phone and via webcam.A pro, which can still be part of barriers, is that having a Chinese company as a partner they can help you with land and buildings, because they know the country and where the best place would be the con to that is that you have to rely on someone else, to do the leg work with you. Another barrier is that the US likes to work direct and have upfront communication while the Chinese are the opposite; they are indirect and try to avoid accountability for making business decisions, the US always like to take accountability and deal with things head on.A barrier that must be overcome is that American’s tend to be overly friendly, p atting each other on the back and saying good job, whereas in China that is not done, patting someone in the back can be construed as aggressive and insulting. I have to say that the barriers can be overcome, but it will take time, it’s just a matter of getting use to the cultural differences. This will take time, but it can be achieved. Business in China Would US companies be better suited trying to â€Å"go it alone† in China or to partner with a company that will provide tangible assets and other services for the US-based MNC? What stumbling blocks might exist when partnering with a company in China? After reading the article I believe that a US company will partner up with a company that will provide them with tangible assets and other services. As the fastest-growing major economy in the world, China continues to offer global companies attractive investment and business opportunities.However, doing business in China also means navigating the complexities that arise from China’s unique historical, political, and cultural contexts (Burkitt, 2012). Establishing a company in China can be a trying and tedious task requiring elaborate approval and registration procedures. Despite the challenges, leading US companies are succeeding in China by developing collaborative relationships with Chinese stakeholders and demonstrati ng the agility to continuously adapt their strategies to the country’s dynamic environment. Applying for approvals from various authorities is common in China.Navigating China's complex business and regulatory environment to submit the applications to the right channels is an extremely tedious process that the enlightened businessman would rather leave to a partner in China. These companies are positioning themselves for long-term success by embracing the Chinese proverb qiu tong cun yi, which means â€Å"seeking similarities while respecting differences. † In doing so, they are co-opting China’s long-term interest in stability and prosperity into their business strategies, China investment regulations and compliance issues (Chu, nd).China is doing business more and more the American way, but non-Chinese executives still must work hard at building trust in relationships with their Chinese business partners. Chinese business strategy has changed a lot, and they a dopt western practices (Chau, 2012). Cultural misunderstandings and stereotypes are one of the main causes of business failures, when doing business overseas. You should be able to share your vision and enthusiasm, with a good partner, who can bring expertise in the areas in which you are inexperienced.Having a partner from China with a good reputation and should be someone who understands the legal and financial responsibilities endemic to sharing a business, most importantly, it should be someone who has a good relationship base business culture of China; it might be advantageous to learn about some basics of the Chinese language, culture, history, and geography (Csanad, nd). If done so, your Chinese potential business partners will take you much more seriously, and you will have more chance of being able to get the business with whom you get along and also to keep up with frequent regulatory changes can prove daunting for businesses.There are some barriers in doing business in Ch ina, because we must learn the cultural and religious differences. One con is that most Chinese business activities and deals are made through face to face interactions. To successfully launch a business in China you will need to travel to china and meet with your partners and employers unlike in the US they will do meetings on the phone and via webcam.A pro, which can still be part of barriers, is that having a Chinese company as a partner they can help you with land and buildings, because they know the country and where the best place would be the con to that is that you have to rely on someone else, to do the leg work with you. Another barrier is that the US likes to work direct and have upfront communication while the Chinese are the opposite; they are indirect and try to avoid accountability for making business decisions, the US always like to take accountability and deal with things head on.A barrier that must be overcome is that American’s tend to be overly friendly, p atting each other on the back and saying good job, whereas in China that is not done, patting someone in the back can be construed as aggressive and insulting. I have to say that the barriers can be overcome, but it will take time, it’s just a matter of getting use to the cultural differences. This will take time, but it can be achieved.

Definition and Examples of Common Case in English

Definition and Examples of Common Case in English In English grammar, common case is the ordinary base form of a noun- such as a cat, moon, house. Nouns in English have only one case inflection: the possessive (or genitive). The case of nouns other than the possessive is regarded as the common case. (In English, the forms of the subjective [or nominative] case and the objective [or accusative] case are identical.) See Examples and Observations below. Also, see: CaseInflectionNotes on Nouns Examples and Observations The one thing that doesnt abide by majority rule is a persons conscience.(Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960)A mans character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.(Mark Twain)Peoples backyards are much more interesting than their front gardens, and houses that back on to railways are public benefactors.(John Betjeman)Common Case and Possessive CaseNouns such as man inflect not only for number but also for the distinction between genitive case and common case. The uninflected form man is in the common case. By contrast, in the mans hat, mans is said to be in the genitive (or possessive) case. The term case is a traditional term in the description of classical languages, where it is a topic of much greater complexity than it is in English. For instance, in Latin, there are as many as six different case distinctions for nouns. English nouns have very little variability of this kind; we must guard against attributing to English nouns as many ca ses as there are for Latin ones.(David J. Young, Introducing English Grammar. Hutchinson Education, 1984) The Vanished Case[A]ll nouns are said to be in the common case- the grammarians way of pronouncing them caseless. His common means that the one form serves every possible use- subject, object of verb, indirect object, object of preposition, predicate complement, appositive, vocative, and even interjection. The grammarian is in effect asserting that case, except as it survives vestigially in a few pronouns, has disappeared from English. . . .Common case describes nothing and analyzes nothing. But grammar is essentially analytic; it names things not for the fun of having a nomenclature but so as to understand the relations of working parts. One can analyze an English sentence without using the word case; what matters is to know that a given word is subject or object, and of what it is the one or the other.(Wilson Follett, Modern American Usage, revised by Erik Wensberg. Hill and Wang, 1998)