Brick Support Tower

The team thought that to be able to have a strong structure, the tower must have support on its edges (or corners). Aside from providing support, the pillars would give the tower the necessary height to lift the bricks several inches from the ground. The team came up with only one design, and was not able to conceptualize any other design because of the time constraints. The team built a brick support tower using only five (5) pieces of note cards and some of the tape. Four of the five note cards had their short end sides cut to put slits into them.The slits were made to have a way of interlocking the cards. The note cards were then rolled in their long side to form cylinders. The fifth card was placed in the middle covering the four standing cylinders, with one cylinder standing in each corner of the fifth note card. The team didn’t have any idea as to how many bricks will it be able to support. Because of the short time allotted, the team was not able to utilize the remainin g note cards to build what could have been the next layer of the tower. Conceptual DevelopmentThe design that the team utilized provided sturdy columns, supporting the weight of the fifth note card, and also, the weight of the loading. However, the design proved to be weak in the middle part because no support was provided. Again, due to the time constraints, the group was not able to come up with other designs. The team only used the first thing that came to their mind, and immediately, set out to prepare the note cards for that design. Results and Discussion The team was only able to come up with a one-level structure of a tower.After construction, the team immediately proceeded with testing the strength and stability of their structure. The tower was only able to hold the weight of one brick. The structure turned out to be weak in the middle portion because of no added support. Another cylinder could have supported the middle part, where the center of gravity is located and thus, putting more stress and leading to eventual sagging of the middle note card. Achieving the highest performance index for a tower supporting one or more bricks was the goal of this activity.The performance index can be computed by multiplying the distance from the floor to the bottom of the lowest brick (height in inches) with the number of bricks that was supported. The team’s design’s performance index is __, which was calculated using the height measured multiplied by 1 (only one brick was supported). Given that the tower was only single-layered. The index is relatively high. Recommendations and Closure The structure could have supported more bricks if only more of the note cards were rolled into cylinders and used as base.Though the structure is single-layered, the performance index could still be higher because more bricks will be supported. Another approach would have been building a higher structure from the note cards (about two layers) but the number of bricks it may be able to hold will remain one. The team should have come up with several designs and thought over carefully which among their designs should they use. Of course, the design must be something that is sturdy and yet, easy to do, given the limited time allotment.

Fast Food Nation Paper Essay

Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation is about the fast food industry and all its negative aspects and influences. Schlosser introduces Fast Food Nation with a description of the California orange groves of the past and the fast food influenced urbanization that has replaced the groves. Schlosser concludes through a bold statement, â€Å"The low price of a fast food hamburger does not reflect its real cost ? and should. The profits of the fast food chains have been made possible by losses imposed on the rest of society. † Eric Schlosser is incorrect in his assumption that the price of a hamburger does not reflect its true cost. Its price represents America’s gain from the blessing of fast food. The fast food revolution has aided in the creation of many new technologies. Research sparked by pressure placed on the cattle industry has resulted in new methods of cattle raising. It has been found that grain fed cattle grow at a faster rate than free range cattle. A method of grain feeding has been engineered and perfect, and it has resulted in a larger number of cattle to be raised and an increase in beef consumption. Increased consumption benefits both the fast food chains and the beef suppliers. Fast food has also influenced advertising technology. McDonald’s invented Ronald McDonald in order to attract children; who would bring their parents and grandparents. Many industries have realized the potential in advertisements aimed at children, such as Camel Cigarettes and Marlboro Cigarettes, and beer companies that use slapstick humor to entertain children. The fast food industry employs a large portion of the teenage workforce. Teenagers are often willing to work for minimum wage since they are dependent on their parents. Teenagers do not need benefits; therefore, they are perfect workers to work less than forty hours per week. According to Eric Schlosser the employment of teenagers results in their exploitation and abuse. Abuse and exploitation are prevalent inside industry and outside industry and if anyone searched for abuse in the workplace, he or she would find it in every business and industry. Schlosser writes about the effects of the big business fast food industry on the cattle and poultry industries. He states that the fast food industries’ control over the restaurant market has resulted in the ability to control the prices of meat. By driving down prices, the fast food industry eliminates the farmer rancher and forces poverty on the small farmer. I have had a personal experience that negates Schlosser’s entire argument. Over the course of the last year, my parents and I traveled to Maryland looking for a new home. All throughout the Maryland rural areas, people have small-scale poultry farms. The small scale poultry raising is the result of one of the largest meat packing plants on the east coast being built in Maryland. The only effect fast food has on the small-scale farmer is positive. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is a one sided argument against fast food restaurants. When the benefits of the fast food industry, such as urbanization, which further aids in industrialization; teenage employment; and a large agricultural industry, are ignored, it is easy to see why Schlosser believes the price of a fast food hamburger doesn’t reflect its cost. The low cost, in reality, represents the many benefits fast food has given America.

General George Washington Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

General George Washington - Essay Example However, George Washington also had to face certain criticism regarding some of his military and diplomatic stand in his contemporary society. The limitations of his career are very rare if compared to the great actions and attempts achieved by this great man, who is very aptly and dearly revered as â€Å"Father of Our Country† by Americans. Washington’s career started taking prominence in the year of 1775, when the Continental Congress appointed Washington as commander-in-chief of the American Forces. In the consequent year, he was successful in throwing the British regime out of the Boston city and also captured the city of New York, thereby startling the enemy unit. Thereafter, he crossed the Delaware River in the city of New Jersey and completely bashing the enemy there, he established his expertise as a military commander. Several other incidents subsequently marked the development of his career in the succeeding years and George Washington proved his credibility to become the first President of America. Washington framed two strategies pertaining to the capture of the British Army by the Revolutionary Forces. The two prime combat forces from the British regime at Saratoga and Yorktown were captured by the Revolutionary Forces and this was only possible by the strategies framed by Washington. Washington also displayed his diplomatic expertise by successfully negotiating with the three important camps at the same time. He negotiated with the Congress, the colonial states and the French allies. He had the capacity to hold together an army that was weak and a nation that was fragile. This was not the end. He had to strike a balance between these two loose ends of a nation amidst the threats of complete disintegration and failure. In the year 1783 and by the end of that year, the war ended amicably and rumor spread that Washington has returned to his private life discarding the greed of power or position. At this incident, King

Business Law International Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Law International - Research Paper Example This therefore makes the establishment of wholly owned subsidiary an alternative to consider. The legal risks Definitely Maybe will be exposing itself to if it embarks on export of Chocolates to China Some difference in law exist between China and UK and this is bound to affect important areas of business for Definitely Maybe. These areas include taxation, import procedures, currency dealings, agency distribution arrangements, protection of intellectual property and property rights. It is also important to understand that international laws and regulations in China could change and this could be applied differently from that of UK. This means that the interests if Definitely Maybe may be compromised if such changes are not friendly to foreign enterprises exporting their products or services to China. However, there is a way to overcome this potential threat. One of the best ways is for the business to draft a contraction in collaboration with a chine legal firm to ensure its interest s are taken care of (Exim Guru 1). China is very sensitive when allowing the importation of goods that are directly consumed by its people. The government is also very sensitive to lawsuits involving life threatening issues like production of harmful products. Definitely Maybe is therefore exposing itself to the risk of being sued for any harm that its chocolates could cause on the Chinese people.. If the company happens to conduct business with a customer who is not trustworthy and the customer fails to pay, the government does not intervene in any way. In addition, legal actions for the recovery of such debts is often expensive and even impossible. Because of this risk, Definitely Maybe must acquaint itself with the type of law and dispute-settlement procedure which the company will apply. Dealing with a different legal system increases the risks of a foreign company becoming confused and experiencing potential problems arising out of this. It is also worthy to note that the compa ny fails to enlighten itself on the responsibilities and issues surrounding the appointment of intermediaries such as distributor or agent, it could lead to unpleasant legal risks like legal disputes. Such legal issues are likely to arise if the company fails to follow the right procedure when appointing its intermediaries. The company must therefore obtain a list stating these issues and ensure they are included in its contract agreement, specifying the duties and rights of the parties involved. The best form of corporate entity that is ideal for Ultra-educators in China It is more significant for Ultra-educators to have wholly owned subsidiary in China as compared to operating through other corporate entities like a branch. One of the reason is that this form of corporate entity limits the liability of the parent company in UK in regard to the activities of its subsidiary in China. Unlike having a branch, there is some there is separation of legal corporate identities between the parent company and its subsidiary (Klein and Coffee 265). Because of this, the parent company is insulated and cannot be sued for the financial and legal issues of the subsidiary. If the company was to open a branch in China for purposes of physical presence, the parent company will totally liable to the legal and financial liabilities of its branch. This is because a branch is not recognised by Chinese law as an entity that is legally separate from its parent company. A wholly owned subs

Online Business and E-Commerce Services in Libya as a developing Literature review

Online Business and E-Commerce Services in Libya as a developing country - Literature review Example Before E-Commerce can be adopted on a wide scale, however, there are many obstacles to be overcome. This chapter reviews the literature in terms of issues to be considered when planning the expansion of online business and e-commerce services in a developing country. The introductory section looks at definitions of e-commerce and theories as they apply to developing countries. Section 2.2. is wide-ranging and covers a selection of the large number of empirical studies conducted in different developing countries across the world. After this (Section 2.3) there is a consideration of previous work done on the readiness of society to accept and use e-commerce within developing countries with Arabic language and culture. Finally the literature on e-commerce potential in Libya is reviewed, including any specific challenges facing this particular context. The term â€Å"e-commerce† emerged in the late twentieth century with the increasing use of computers in everyday life. It can be defined very simply as â€Å"goods and services transacted over Internet† (Purohit and Purohit, 2005, p. 8) A more expansive definition is the following: â€Å"the sharing of business information, maintaining business relationships and conducting business transactions through telecommunications networks† (Zwass, 1996 and 2003, p. 8) This definition emphasises the importance of all the links in the chain from supplier to business and to customer. Zwass is keen to point out that it is not simply a matter of customers and businesses being linked through the World Wide Web by means of computers, but in fact it is a phenomenon that requires radically different organisational developments behind the scenes, involving both telecommunications and computers: â€Å"The most important of these are interorganizational information systems, standa rds for exchanging business documents, such as electronic data interchange (EDI), distributed database management systems, and collaboration technology.† (Zwass, 2003, p. 9) All of these dimensions are widely available in the developed world, and research in improving them, increasing innovation and leveraging more efficiency and profits from their use is continuing at a fast pace. Current interest in newer technologies such as digital signatures is growing but their usefulness in developing countries is questionable, since most transactions there depend on longstanding company to company relationships and there is a reluctance to enter into B2b relationships with people who are not familiar. (Humphrey et al, 2003, p. i) The phenomenal success of huge global retailers such as eBay and Amazon have demonstrated the value in creating flexible market places, with standard pricing, auctions and customer participation in both buying and selling as part of the whole business culture. One meta-analysis of articles on the adoption of online shopping cited the dot com bubble and the sudden crisis that occurred there as a reason why the early promise of huge growth in online business did not quite occur in the way that was originally predicted. (Chang et al., 2004) but all the signs are that these teething problems have been dealt with, and E-Commerce is

Inter-annual Climatic Variability in Libya Essay

Inter-annual Climatic Variability in Libya - Essay Example Moreover, as suggested by Moron and Ward, the climate of the Mediterranean arena is exposed to the South Asian Monsoon, the Siberian High Pressure System along with the Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation, which give rise to a recent confirmation about the tele-connection of ENSO to have extended its reach into segments of the Mediterranean in current times (Moron et al, 1998). The chief physical as well as physio-geographical constraints that regulate the spatial dissemination of the climatic conditions over the Mediterranean, especially, the North African countries are the atmospheric circulation, latitude, altitude and, most importantly, the orography. Moreover, the land-sea interactions and surface temperature distribution are other forces which control the spatial dissemination of the climatic variability (Luterbacher and Xoplaki, 2003). ... The North African area is quite a climate-sensitive region which is climatically emphasized by restrained water reserves and acme of heat attributes, which help in creating or giving rise to the existent socio-political strain. Chiefly, high-frequency as well as the low-frequency variability of precipitation plays a critical part in the management of the regional ecosystem and socio-economics. Previous analyses on African climatic variability have concluded that the African continent, chiefly, the northern segment, is meticulously susceptible to the influences of climatic variations for the reason that it has some factors such as extensive poverty, persistent droughts, unbalanced land dissemination, and overdependence on the rain-fed agriculture (Hulme, 1996). Occasional response activities have been believed to be transcending the economic source of many countries. Worsening in terms of trade, improper policies, high populace growth rates, as well as lack of noticeable investment, all encompassed with a highly variable climate have made it hard for various countries of Africa to develop frames of livelihood which would deter pressure on the natural reserve base. Various reports fell short of assigning pertinent significance to these so many constraints in Africa's capability to adjust with the climate variability, and it is still not possible as it gives rise to new chall enges for analyses hereafter. The Mediterranean region, chiefly, the northern African

Housing law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Housing law - Essay Example Tackling both anti-social behavior and the causes of it has become a priority for the Government, Housing Corporation, RSL, and Local Authorities. Communities are demanding more effective ways to deal with this disease. "The Housing Corporation in its publication, "Themes from Inspection - Anti-Social Behavior" (June 2003) states: "Potential perpetrators must understand the consequences of anti-social behavior including the possible loss of their home, and realize that the association will take a tough line on unacceptable conduct". Property developers therefore have developed effective policies and procedures for tackling antisocial behavior in the areas in which it operates and we will work in partnership with residents and relevant agencies to ensure, as far as possible, that residents take responsibility for their actions and behave in a way which does not harass or intimidate others". "Anti-social behavior can have different meaning for different people. ... ose numerous unemployed junkie people begging by cash points, abandoned cars, litter and graffiti, young people using air guns to threaten and intimidate or people using fireworks as weapons", said David Blunkett, Home Secretary, in March 2003. Anti-Social Behavior - Statement of Policy, Cathy Jackson: H:My DocumentsPolicies & ProceduresASBFinal Statement of ASB Policy- Dec 2004.doc) To substantiate the Home Secretary's statement and policy, and to provide clarification to staff and residents, most property developers have brought the following actions under anti-social behavior: Use of threatening or offensive language Offensive drunkenness Using a property or any of the communal areas on a scheme for immoral or Illegal purposes, such as prostitution, or illegal manufacture, sale or use of drugs Excessive domestic noise, whether from radios, televisions, hi-fis, musical instruments, social activity, daytime or late night parties or gatherings The lighting of bonfires in the garden of a property or in any of the communal areas on a scheme The depositing of litter or rubbish either in the garden of a property or in any of the communal areas on a development or estate owned or managed by Accord Failure to control the behavior of pets including taking adequate precautions to prevent the fouling of neighboring areas The playing of ball games sufficiently close to neighboring homes so as to cause a nuisance or damage to Accord's property including boundary fences, trees and shrubs The carrying out of maintenance or repairs to motor vehicles other than those normally used for domestic purposes by the resident or members of their household Using threatening or aggressive behavior towards visitors. Physical Violence Harassment in any form, like due to a person's