Marketing analysis for Construction Forensic Thesis

Marketing analysis for Construction Forensic - Thesis Example Hence, we see that the construction industry has taken over a number of services that were offered by A/E consultants. The contractors have taken over a large share of the service market of A/E consultants and thus, A/E firms need to expand the services offered to retain their market shares. They need to venture into service segments such as providing financial assistance to the clients, assistance with regulations, cost analysis of project life cycle, O&M functions, and renovation services. The situation has changed dramatically for marketing professionals and construction services providers and it is not as simple as it used to be. The shift in the project delivery system and the advances in communication technology requires the architects and the engineers to change themselves from their usual procedures of working. For example, in the past architects relied on their name and recognition whereas consulting engineers relied on 80/20 rule2 , and general contractors used to bid low i n competitive bidding situations3. The A/E consultants can retain their market shares by strengthening their market niche, marketing plans that increase customer retention, and restructuring of the organization to increase flexibility in the human resource and the services offered. If we take a look at the US construction industry, it is a pretty large profitable market and the barriers to entry in the market for foreign firms are low as there have been indications that a number of foreign firms have entered the heavily civil and public works markets in California, Massachusetts, and Florida. Statistically, Construction industry is a huge one. According to the US Census Bureau, the total value of business done in 2007 was $748,4994 (in millions of dollars). Similarly, in the state of Washington, there were a total of 21,701 establishments in 2007 and the dollar value of business done was $27, 916, 1235. Construction Litigation Industry The function that Construction Litigation serve s is dealing with legal disputes that result from construction projects. The disputes could result from disagreements in construction contracts and from injury claims or accidental deaths caused by ignorant behavior. In any case, construction litigation consultants are responsible for dealing with civil lawsuits involving private parties that are governed under separate rule and regulations from those of criminal prosecution6. Several new methods have evolved in the construction industry such as design/build, at-risk construction management, built-operate-transfer methods7. Difference of opinion exists on the claims and litigations under these methods. Proponents of these methods are of the view that these methods tend to bring down the hostility of the relationship between the concerned parties, hence resulting in an overall reduction in claims and litigations whereas advocates of litigation believe that despite the use of alternate methods; these methods just place the associated risks within the construction process. Consequently, there is no significant impact on the claims or litigation. On the contrary, they believe that

Illinois Employers Essay Example for Free

Illinois Employers Essay The Illinois WARN reduces the number of employees required for an employer’s notification, which should be done 60 days advance, in case of layoffs or closing. It reduces from 100 (as set by the federal WARN) to not less than 75 full-time employees who has a combined working time of 4,000 hours or more per week. Also, 33% and at least 25 full-time employees or at least 250 full-time employees are required for mass lay offs which is half the requirement of the federal WARN. Other government officials must also be informed in case of reallocation. Noncompliance with the Act can be brought in the federal court by the concerned employees. COMMENT 1: Indeed, theses laws will have good impact in the community and may also decrease the unemployment rate. However, it will also trigger a fear on the side of the employer. Upon receiving a notice 60 days before the closing or lay off, the employees will surely look for a job. There, they may be times when the employees will leave their job even before the closing period once they find a new job. However, notification in such cases (closing or lay off and reallocation) will surely benefit the community will surely benefit the community as a whole for unemployment is sure to decrease. WARN really secures the employees interest by taking away the fear of being fired all of a sudden. Thus, employees will really feel secure as long WARN is in place since there is a law that protects their interest and work security. They are also more secure because noncompliance to the laws imposed by WARN can be brought to the federal court in which employers can be required to pay for the 60 days of non-notification. ESSAY 2 Almost all members of the community will be affected by the decision especially the smokers or costumers as well as the tobacco growers, manufacturers and the stores. The store has no obligation to not hurt tourism since every business is free to offer what product or services that they want provided that they didn’t violate the law. Neda does not set aside business ethics since even business ethics does not impose compulsory selling of tobacco. It is more like being responsible to the community since they aim to prevent lawsuits and criminal penalties due to unavoidable selling of tobacco to minors. COMMENT 1: Smokers and non-smokers are the ones that are truly affected by the decision to ban tobacco selling within the community. Neda does have the right to sell whatever she see fit thus, business ethics was not violated. Neda also have no responsibility on the tourism industry since what the decision she had made was meant for her own store only and not for the whole community. It just so happen that more and more agreed to her decision. However, there are times that business and personal ethics does not go hand in hand. There are times that in order to protect your personal ethics, you must violated business ethics and vice versa. Personal ethics is not a requirement of business ethics although most of the time, personally ethical are also business ethical. COMMENT 2: The stake holders that are mentioned are indeed the affected people by the decision. However, the most affected remains the consumers of the product, the smokers. They are the most affected because they are the ones that really depend on the use of the product. Regarding Neda’s decision, it is also right to say that both personal and business ethics had been taken for consideration. Another proof that showed that business ethics was also considered is that Neda protected not only the citizens but as well as the workers who are legally punished for selling tobacco on minors. It is also the concern of business ethics to ensure that their employees are doing legal jobs. Also, rather than decrease in tourism, the decision may also serve as a ground to increase tourism because of the good image that the community is able to portray. The tourists do not visit the community to smoke in the first place. It is also natural there are people that will accommodate those smokers who are suffering from the decision. Reference Craft, M. Diljohn, J. (2005). New Illinois WARN Act Imposes Additional Requirements on Illinois Employers. Retrieved July 19, 2008 from http://library.findlaw. com/2005/Mar/10/163974. html Employment and Training Administration United States Department of Labor. (No Date). Workers Guide to Advance Notice of Closing and Layoffs. Retrieved July 19, 2008 from http://www. doleta. gov/layoff/pdf/WorkerWARN2003. pdf. Federwisch, A. (June 2006). Assessing for Ethics. Retrieved July 19, 2008 from http://www. scu. edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/assessing. html. White, Maj Gen Jerry. (1996). Personal Ethics Versus Professional Ethics. Retrieved July 19, 2008 from http://www. airpower. maxwell. af. mil/airchronicles/apj/apj96/sum96/white. html.

The Ins and Outs of Organ Donation

The Ins and Outs of Organ Donation Courtney Williams The â€Å"Ins† and â€Å"Outs† Abstract Organ donation, in simplest terms is the donation of viable tissues or organs from one human being to another. Organ donations are received in two ways, living donors and cadaver donors. Donations such as, bone marrow, blood and blood components help enhance another’s life, while vital organs like the liver and kidney can save another’s life. Organ donation is a unique and controversial situation for each individual and their family involved. The controversy throughout the world related to organ donation has specifically been impacted by all aspects of ethical, legal, organizational and societal views. The two programs in debate are opt-in and opt-out programs. Even though the two programs are completely different in how they work the main goal would be to increase potential donors. Organ donation has been a wide spread controversial issue throughout the world, involving all aspects of ethical, legal, organizational and societal views. Most of the issues surrounding organ donation are consent and ways to increase potential donors to awaiting transplant recipients ratio. Given the lack of organ donors, not just in the UK but across the world, society needs to face up to the fact that, if we want more people to have transplant surgery, organ donation after death has to be discussed more openly (Tantam, 2007). The two programs are concluded to the opt-in and opt-out programs. Even though the two programs are completely different in how they work the main goal would be to increase donors. This type of program hopefully would reduce the number of people on waiting lists and individuals that are dying every day. More and more people die today waiting on an organ transplant. More than 110,000 Americans are on organ-transplant waiting lists, and demand for kidneys, lungs, hearts and other donated organs far exceeds the supply due to rising incidences of obesity, hypertension and diabetes (Mantel, 2011). The population needs to be better educated on all aspects of the transplant programs, hopefully increasing the number of the population willing to donate organs. Any decision a person makes without experience or knowledge causes distress and anxiety. Then when you throw in something as personal and terrifying as death, the decision can become much more difficult. Who should have to make that decision? There are many questions concerning this process that the Powers-That-Be have given simple yes and no answers to. This almost makes the whole thing to surreal. The medical field needs to have programs devoted to educating the population in a friendly an informative way. Most everyone who donates goes to the Secretary of State to get their license to drive. While up at the counter with all the paperwork required for a plate the state employee asked the question, â€Å"Would you like to be an organ donor?† The answer is going to be a simple yes or no without even knowing how the whole process works. Education would have the benefit of more, not less donors. Humans can live for example with one kidney, only part of one lung, part of the pancreas, part of the intestines or part of the liver. The body will compensate for the missing parts making it possible to live a long and healthy life. Any surgical incisions left because of removal will be sutured shut and only a scar will be left behind. The deceased will be able to be viewed at their funeral. The family will not have any expense due to this procedure. All costs incurred will be paid by the recipient or through an insurance policy. As a registered donor you will still receive the same life saving medical care. Those are all the pros connected with saving someone. On the negative side surgery can be dangerous and cause death. Any minor operation carries risk such as; bleeding, infection, blood clots, allergic reactions, or damage to other organs nearby. Organ donation is major surgery therefore can be life-threatening. There is pain and recovery time associated with this procedure. Also there may be scars and any complications that could develop later won’t be covered by insurance. Once a patient has been referred by a doctor they are evaluated through a transplant program as a potential candidate. In order to get a doctor’s referral a person must be at end-stage organ failure. The website organdonor.gov created by the Health Resources Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services list a number of diseases that can lead to end-stage such as; Cardiomyopathy, Cirrhosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Coronary Heart Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes, Hepatitis, Hypertension, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Polycystic Kidney Disease, and Short Gut Syndrome. There is much research to be done at this point. The person should obtain from the Health Resources and Services Administration a pamphlet that gives an overview of the process. This is free of charge for the donor or recipient. Next the person starts looking for a transplant hospital. Things to consider are the location, compatibility with the patient’s insurance company, financial arrangements and the availability of a support group. Once the hospital has been chosen an appointment is made and an evaluation is done by the hospital personnel. This is necessary to see if the patient is a good candidate for a transplant. A successful candidate is then added to the OPTN National Transplant Waiting List. Usually within ten days this person is notified in writing giving the date and time they were put on the list. Now it is time to figure the tremendous cost and how to afford to pay it. A lot of insurance companies cover most if not all the costs that can be occurred during this procedure. All insurance companies vary in what they cover so the candidate must contact their company to determine what they will pay. The website organdonor.gov lists numerous cost occurring procedures such as; laboratory tests, organ procurement, transplant surgeons, and other operating room staff, in-hospital stays, transportation to and from the transplant hospital for surgery and check-ups, rehabilitation, and medications (including immunosuppressives or anti-rejection drugs). According to organdonor.gov the on average cost in 2008 ranged from $259,000.00 for a kidney transplant to $1,200,000.00 for a heart-lung transplant. The median wait depends on what organ is being transplanted. The waiting period can be from the minimum of 100 days up to a year or longer. Waiting for that call can be terrifying and heartbreaking because someone has to die in order for another person to live. Organdonor.gov implicates a chart breakdown for the waiting period of certain organs as follows; a heart 113 days, lung 141 days, liver 361 days, kidneys 1219 days, pancreas 260 days and intestine 159 days. Now that the patient is on the list he or she must keep in touch with the transplant hospital at all times. They make sure the hospital can reach them at all hours. Also all traveling plans have been made including alternate means. Some organs can only live outside the body for 4-6 hours such as the heart and lungs, but kidneys can survive up to 36 hours. In order for an organ to be considered a match the medical field takes into account blood type, the size of the individual, severity of the medical condition and distance between donor and recipient’s hospital. In the case of a heart transplant the person is given a status code designating the severity of damage to the heart. Since a heart can only live outside a body for 4-6 hours a recipient living closest to the donor’s hospital is chosen first. Sometimes there isn’t anyone close and at that point the transplant team searches a greater distance from the donor’s hospital. Also the heart or lung must fit inside the patient’s rib cage so then size match comes into play, and evaluation for prolonged survival following the transplant. Other organs like the liver, kidneys, pancreas and intestines have other considerations that need to be met besides the listed common elements. As stated above most people register as a donor through their state registry at the Department of State or by telling a family member. Unfortunately this is not always the case since accidents do happen. Most of these people are left with a diagnosis of brain death due to other medical issues occurring. Along with problems with diagnoses, medicines technical interests in transplantable organs (hearts) can bias the brain death test, raising serious ethical concerns (Gough, 2012). At this point the hospital does a series of tests to determine if the potential donor has any brain activity. Lack of agreement on determination-of-death criteria has been a roadblock to the development of sound ethical protocols for donation after cardiac death in particular (Grasser, 2007). These people make the best donors because the hospital will keep these folks on life support.. When the patient has been pronounced brain dead a transplant surgeon will then receive a call that they are always prepared f or and immediately depart for that hospital. Time becomes critical since the organ may have only a small window to stay valuable. On a compassionate note the donor’s family is in mourning and you do not want to add to their pain by a long drawn out process. In time they will be happy knowing their loved one gave someone else a chance at a normal life. Every hospital in the country reports to the local Organ Procurement Organization whenever a patient is nearing death or has died. A representative then checks to see if that person has registered as a donor. When the patient is listed in the registry or permission granted the representative goes to the hospital and obtains the patient’s medical and social history. At this point he contacts the OPTN and the hunt is on for a recipient. Donor and recipients are matched through a database based on certain characteristics. This database finds a recipient that matches the common elements listed previously plus distance between the two hospitals. Since one donor may have several useful organs his body may actually help numerous people live. Therefore the database finds all potential recipients that match the donor. Then the surgical team takes off for the donor’s hospital and they remove all and any healthy tissues and organs, using the same sterile and careful method as in a ny surgery. These body parts have to be transported to the recipient’s hospital immediately since they can only survive for a short time. Finally after all these preparations one person dies but helps another live! Money and power have a way of creeping into any good program. Therefore the danger exists that the wealthy and powerful will miraculously appear at the top of the list whether they belong there or not. There is no way the average person would ever know if it is operated fairly. In some of the poorer countries people are already selling a kidney or part of a lung or liver. Medical Science has reached glorious heights but also sometimes dehumanizes because of greed. This type of program has the potential to generate enormous profit. References Gough, J. (2012, March). Henderson, D. Scott. Death and donation: rethinking brain death as a  means for procuring transplantable organs. CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic  Libraries, 49(7), 1299. Retrieved from  http://go.galegroup.com.ez.lakemichigancollege.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA282213612v=2.1u=lom_lakemichit=rp=ITOFsw=wasid=185fc4d91a4760a3621736a6a444e343 Grasser, P. L. (2007, Fall). Donation after cardiac death: major ethical issues. Issues in Law   Medicine, 23(2), 206+. Retrieved from  http://go.galegroup.com.ez.lakemichigancollege.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA173187663v=2.1u=lom_lakemichit=rp=ITOFsw=wasid=a48199e4eeced619b300ac6d3fbc2944 Mantel, B. (2011, April 15). Organ donations. CQ Researcher, 21, 337-360. Retrieved from  http://library.cqpress.com.ez.lakemichigancollege.edu/cqresearcher/ Tantam, K. (2007). Dying to give? Talk about it: should everyone be regarded as a potential  organ donor when they die, unless they have previously opted out? We asked our readers  panel. Nursing Standard, 21(51), 26+. Retrieved from  http://go.galegroup.com.ez.lakemichigancollege.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA168820665v=2.1u=lom_lakemichit=rp=HRCAsw=wasid=1270d24d80928e36655fee62b5fab12c Health Resources Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Retrieved from http://organdonor.gov/about/transplantationprocess.html  

Extraterrestial Influence :: miscellaneous

Extraterrestial Influence All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike and yet it is the most precious thing we have. -Albert Einstein INTRODUCTION There are many things in this world that go unexplained. Not anymore, it was all aliens, everything you can’t figure out like, â€Å"Where does one sock go when I do the laundry?†, and â€Å"How do you get the caramel into the Caramilk bar?† Aliens. Earth has been profoundly impacted by extraterrestrials in its short history. Everything from supplying life-giving chemicals and wiping out the dinosaurs with meteorites to influencing human culture and evolution. The whole world is filled with evidence of extraterrestrials, though it is usually denied and ignored by governments and academics. This essay will provide a brief analysis of extraterrestrial events or evidence thereof the were especially significant. THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Evolutionary theory suggests that life on earth has been developing for millions of years into more and more complex organisms. These organisms evolved from inorganic molecules through the release of UV, heat and electrical energy in the atmosphere of early Earth. This theory was found to be valid by Stan Miller in 1953, who through a series of tests managed to create some hydrocarbons and amino acids out of chemicals that were present on earth 3.5 billion years ago. These hydrocarbons and amino acids are very susceptible to oxidation and would not exist for very long in an oxygen based environment. Though there was very little oxygen in earth’s atmosphere at the time, the large amount of energy present would have easily electrolyzed some water and produced oxygen gas, which is bad for the amino acids. A much more likely place for amino acids and hydrocarbons to develop would be in large dust clouds in space, such as the one that condensed to form our solar system. Evidence fo r this theory comes from the many carbonaceous chondrite meteorites recovered (these same life giving meteors have also led to many mass extinctions in earth’s history). A NASA research group examined one such meteorite in 1970 and found a higher concentration of amino acids and hydrocarbons than are present on earth today (Kvenvolden, K., Lawless, J., Pering, K., Peterson, E., Flores, J., Ponnamperuma, C., Kaplan, I.R., Moore, C., 197). In addition the amino acids had a higher concentration of L enantiomers than R-enantiomers, as is seen on earth (Chyba, 1997). This seems to suggest that the basic chemicals for life were derived extraterrestrially.

Disadvantage of Facebook Essay

Now it’s time to talk about some disadvantages of Facebook. There are some Disadvantages of Facebook beside these many advantages. Some of these disadvantages are : –Â  Facebook is Addicting! Facebook is too much addicting! Facebook is too too addicting! Yes it is indeed addicting which often kills your valuable time. Using Facebook for your need is not bad but when you waste most of your valuable time than it becomes bad. The biggest disadvantages of Facebook is it’s addiction which causes many problems. –Â  Fake profile and ID! Fake profile is one of the biggest disadvantage of Facebook. Now it has become easier to create fake profile. People often uses fake profile to insults or harassing someone. It is more common against girls where people simply makes a fake profile and start harassing them. In my country i have got news that some girls died y suicide when someone abused her by making a fake profile of her. –Â  There are plenty of groups and Fan pages out there which is being created to abuse or violate other religion , personalities , nation etc. This kind of racist disgusting activities decreasing some popularity. Facebook administrator should take necessary steps against all these abusing groups & pages. –Â  Facebook often brings bad effects on students results. Students who are Facebook addicted does a bad result on his or her exams. –Â  Beside students, people who works in offices wastes their time in browsing Facebook. That’s why many offices has decided to block Facebook completely. –Â  False report! Many people lost their precious Facebook ID because of false report. Facebook administrator should be careful on that.

Raccoons essays

Raccoons essays Raccoons breed between January and March, the peak is around Feburary. The male raccoon pairy only to mate, and they don't form long term pair bonds with the female. The females pregnancy only lasts nine weeks, and the young begin to follow their mothers on excursions by early June. Younger female raccoon's breed at a lower rate and have smaller litters than do older adult females.Less than 70% of younger females are bred, with an average litter size of 3.3 young. 95% of adult females are bred, and have an average of 4 young per litter. Breeding by adult females is normally constant from year to year, while breeding by the younger ones can be different. The youngers ones' breeding rates are suppose to reflect the severity of the previous winter and the overall health of the population. The major causes of mortality for raccoons in the Midwest are fur harvest, getting run over by a vehical, and diseases. Starvation is pretty rare. As fur harvest decreases, mortality from other causes will likely increase. The most common disease in raccoons is canine distemper. Although the symptoms for distemper are similar to those of rabies, raccoons are hardly ever diagnosed as having rabies. In the wild, raccoons are found along streams and lakes near wooded areas. You may also find them on inhabit urban, residential, and recreational areas. Raccoons are not particular about den sites and some of them use tree hollows, hollow logs, caves,rock crevices, holes in the ground, and sometimes storm sewers. They don'ot dig their own burrows. Raccoons use rock dens most often during winter, probably because rock dens offer warm, stable temperatures, are secure, and are large enough for communal denning. Believe it or not, I absolutely loved this article. When I was a younger I had a raccoon as a pet. To learn all of this new information is relatively interresting and allows me to understand why Sassy, my raccoon, was the way she was. ...