Value Management Strategy Evaluation

Value Management Strategy Evaluation During the value management module students have been introduced to different skills, tools, techniques and principles needed to conduct a systematic VM strategy. Students were asked to work in groups to suggest proper tools and techniques to undertake and design a full VM strategy for the Old Cross Community fitness Center project case study. Therefore, the main purpose of the essay is to critically evaluate and assess group three teams value management strategy. The discussion and evaluation of the VM strategy proposed by the group team will be supported by various literatures and researches. The essay starts with introduction to the value management concept and background and follows with brief description of the project brief and its key stakeholders. It then discusses the value opportunity point where the VM study can take place in the project. The full VM process including tools, techniques, duration, attendees and output in each phase of VM study will be will explored and discussed in detail. 2. Value management definition and background: The following paragraphs introduce the concept of the value and the value management. 2.1 The concept of value: In the context of value management, the value can be expressed as the relationship between satisfaction of need and the resources used to realize this satisfaction (EN 1325-1). SAVE INTERNATIONAL (2007) define value as a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged. Value can be viewed in different ways by different parties in different situations. Grater value can be achieved if the fewer amount of resources are used which resulted in higher satisfaction. 2.2 Value management: Value Management is a style of management which is used to motivate people and develop skills and innovation to increase overall performance of the organization. it is about enhancing value not cutting cost (OGC,2007). Value Management is a method for maximizing value for money which is the best combination of whole life cost and quality to meet the clients requirements and objectives. According to Dallas (2006), the application of VM approaches on average accomplish cost savings opportunities of 5-45%, with improvements in overall performance. Connaughton and Green (1996) highlighted that using value management will help the client to achieve value for money for their projects by making sure that: (i) project main objectives evidently discussed in details, (ii) the need for the project is clearly verified, (iii) the design is obtained from the decided framework of the project main objectives and goals. Other benefits of value management include a better understanding of the business needs, improved team working, increased innovation in design, and the reduction of unnecessary cost (OGC, 2007). (VM history in US UK- more outside references-) 3. Old Cross Community fitness Center project 3.1 Project summary and brief The Chief Executive of Newtown Council highlighted that the old cross district had been classified by a recent medical report as one of the least healthy area within England. To overcome this problem, a working party was formed consisting of members from three authorities namely the local area health, Leisure and Recreation, and Social Work and they decided to build fitness center which fit the whole community. The main project mission is to improve the health and fitness of the Old Cross district by providing adequate leisure facilities. The proposed fitness center comprise of summing pool, sport hall, general purpose hall, indoor tennis center, dance studio, health suit, staff accommodation and car park. The total cost of the project is estimated to be  £14.3 million, and the available for capital spend which is been granted from the awarding bodies is  £ 9.1million. It is clear that the project encounters some serious funding problems. The money required for the project is mor e than what is available. Therefore, a systematic value management study will be implemented in order to keep the project back on track. This will help the clients to achieve value for money for their project (OGC, 2007). 3.2 The project main stakeholders Stakeholders are those individuals and groups who are involved or have interest in its activities and outcomes. Before staring any project, it is important to clearly identify the client and the stakeholders requirement (Dallas, 2006). It is essential that the stakeholder represented by senior individuals who have the authority and can make decision on their behalf and who will contribute in aggressively in the workshop (Connaughton and Green, 1996). Male et al. (2007) outlined that Value management as a management style focuses on value system evolution and resolution within projects and this can be done by bringing the right team of stakeholders together at the right time. The group agreed that identifying the key stakeholders is very crucial issues for the success of the project. According to Baguley (2005), bringing the key stakeholders together in workshops will make best use of their contribution, increase the benefits of group dynamics and makes sure the most cost efficient use is made of members time. The key stakeholders identified by the group are the funding bodies, client representatives including the Chief Executive, Director of leisure and Recreation, Director of Housing and the technical team. However, the group didnt suggest any classification for the mentioned stakeholders. They all can be considers as a primary stakeholders since they have the authority and the power to influence the projects. According to Moodely (2002), the primary stakeholders on any project are those parties that have direct influence, or influenced by, the project. In other hand, examples of some secondary stakeholders which havent been mentioned by the group may include the local communities, and the local football and tennis club users. Although these parties may not involve directly in the project, they can still exercise a great deal of influence (Moodely, 2002). 4. Value management intervention points. The benchmarking research study done by Male, et al. (1998b) has identified six value opportunity points throughout the project life cycle were value management studies can be useful. These value opportunities can be taken at single or multiple intervention points throughout the project cycle. The six value management opportunity points are strategic briefing study, project briefing study, Chartte, concept design workshop, detail design workshop, and operations workshop (Kelly, Male and Graham, 2004). Figure 1 shows the six value management opportunity points. There was a large debate between groups members in determining value management intervention points. The group agreed that the client think that they are in the stage between design and construction in the project life cycle. This supported by the Director of leisure and Recreation statement when he mentioned in the interview that they should be one the site getting the project build. Also, the group agreed that the current project brief and concept design is not clear and the client should be taken back to the strategic brief stage to bring them forward. Therefore, the group believed that the project is in the stage between pre-concept and concept design. This indicates that there is a value management gap between where the clients think they are in the project life cycle and where the group thinks they are. To overcome this gap, the group decided to conduct value management study at point (C) the Charette to allow review the strategic brief and improve the concept design. In this particular project and according to the benchmarking research, the appropriate intervention points could be either at point (3) or point (C). According to Male et al. (1998b), the purpose of the concept design workshop is to review the initial plans, specification and cost plan. It is clear that this type of study-at point 3- concentrate mainly in technical aspects of the project without discussing the strategic and project brief. The interview with project Architect highlighted the problem of the lack of the clear project brief. Also, the Chief Executive of Newtown Council mentioned that there is shortage of money to fund the project. With these issues in mind, undertaking the VM study at point (3) is not a proper choice where in other hand; point (C) offers some valid solutions since it allows reviewing the strategic brief which will result in a clear project brief, better concept design and full understanding with client value system. In the Charette workshop all of the phase of strategic brief and project brief are combined into one workshop. Kelly et al. (2004) noted that the Charette study is usually the first study on the project and it is commonly undertaking after the client has taken the decision to build, completed project brief and selected the design team. According to the case study, no such value study had been done before for this project. Therefore, the group made the right decision to undertake the VM study at the point C, the Charette. 5. Value management process: Value Management may be described as a structured, analytical process for developing innovative, holistic solutions to complex problems (TAM 2004). It makes use of a controlled decision-making process to make sure that the complete scope of the value management study is covered in the greatest likely sequence (Venkataraman and Pinto, 2008). Norton and McElligott (1995); Dallas (2006) highlighted that the systematic procedure adapted during a value management study, include three phases which are the pre-study, workshop, and post-study activates. The group agreed to use the generic value management process which was adopted by Male et al. (1998a). The group chose this approach for many reasons. This process and framework is understood by most of the professionals and the client in the construction industry especially in the UK. Also, the authors of this process have adopted it after revision of over than 200 studies conducted with clients, design teams and contractors under range of different procurement route. Consequently, the process uses structured, team-oriented to evaluate and generate solution to the problems. The main components of the generic value management process and the workshop are shown in Figure (2). The generic value management processes consist of three phases which include the orientation and diagnosis phase followed by the work shop and implementation phases. The group proposed that whole VM study will take eight weeks (see section 5.4 ). 5.1 Orientation and Diagnosis phase The Orientation and Diagnosis phase starts by gathering the most important information which allows the value management team to determine the main strategic objectives of the project by identifying the stakeholders objectives and needs to deliver the project in most effective way Also, in this phase the value management teams prepare them self for the study by preparing and understanding the related information, such as project specifications, cost data, and project constraints (Shen and Liu, 2003). The information that is collected, evaluated, and consolidated in this stage, forms the foundation for all following analysis (TAM 2004). The agenda for the workshop and the attendance will be determinate at this phase (Younker, 2003). Male and Kelly (2004) describes this phase as very crucial. It is the only opportunity for the value manger to fully understand all aspects of the projects such as the key stakeholders, the participants, and the value problem. For addition, Orientation meetings allow every one involved in the project to fully understand the issues, barriers and constraints which the project faces as well as allowing those how have to give decision to give and receive information (Kelly and Male, 1993). The desired outcome of this stage is an obvious understanding of the clients needs which have to be addressed, and what the strategic priorities are (SAVE INTERNATIONAL 2007). The group discussed this phase in details and decided that more information is needed to prepare for the VM study. This information includes project documents, organization structure, client requirements, conduction more interviews. According to Norton and McElligott (1995), the most concern at this stage that all parties which related to the study are well coordinated and there is sufficient information for reviewing during the study. Also, the group agreed that this process will highlight some important issues such as value management challenges and problems as well as identifying of where the project is in its life cycle. It is clear that the group did not assign time to each individual activity in this phase. Also the group didnt mention the name of main stakeholders who should be interviewed and the reason for their choices. In the following paragraphs critical analysis will be conducted to the four main activities of the orientation and diagnosis phases which are the interview, site tour, document analysis and duration. 5.1.1 Gathering information and document analysis: The group underlined that more information is need in this phase before conducting the VM study. This will help the value manger and VM team to have better understanding about issues around the project (Ellis et al., 2005). Shen and Chung (2000) noted that lack of information is the most often encountered difficulty in VM studies. According to Norton and McElligott (1995) typical information such as the project brief, drawings and specifications should be gathered from the design team and the client. Some other extra documents stated by Male et al. (1998a) include clients business case issues and previous reports including VM workshop reports. It essential that value manger should make good relations with the source of information to ensure their support in various stages of volume management study. Once this information is gathered, it can be circulated to value management team to review them before conducting the next stage of the study. 5.1.2 The interview Male et al. (1998a) highlighted that by conduction interviews with main stakeholder, the facilitator or the value manger will be able to take general idea about the strategic and technical issues which surrounded the project. Understating these issues will help the facilitator to identify the mismatches and as well as selecting of appropriate tools and techniques to be used during the workshop. Building commitment to the VM study is other benefit of conducting interviews with key stakeholders and top management (Woller, 2005). It is very important that interviewees must be sure what all what they say and their discussions stay confidential (Male and Kelly, 2004). Male et al. (1998a) recommended the facilitator to use the check list techniques when conducting interview with key stakeholders. The checklist addresses some key issues surrounding the project. This may include issues around project environment community, organization, project duration, people skills, and stakeholder analysis and project constraints. The group emphasised that more interviews should be conducted. This is due to two reasons: unclear brief and different stakeholders interests and agenda. The group did mention the people that should be interviewed by the facilitator. Apart from the people already interview in the case study, some of the key stakeholders should be interviewed to understand their needs and requirements. These key stakeholders may include representative of: (i) NHS Drug and Addiction Committee, (ii) Local Area Health authority, (iii) Local Football clubs, (iv) Fitness Specialist, (v) Police Community Constable. After conduction these interviews, the value manger will be able to understand the value system of the client and well be more prepared for the work shop phase. 5.1.3 Site visit The group did consider that site visit is important for the VM study. However, in this project, the site visit seems to be very important. According to Norton and McElligott (1995) , site visits at earlier stage of the study can help the value management team to understand some aspects of the project such access, topography and site density more easily, hence it help them in understanding the physical context of the project. If the site visit can not be done for any reason, the site photographs should be provided. 5.1.4 Other techniques More helpful techniques such as questionnaire could be conducted in this phase. However, in this project, the time is very critical issue. There is a possibility that the awarding bodies could withdrawal the money for the project if the construction got late. Therefore, the value manger could stick to previous techniques in order to save time. 5.1.5 Who should attend the workshop The group decided that eleven members should attend the work shop. These participants include representatives of the key funding bodies, a member of Newtown Council- the Chief Executive, architect, cost consultant, and mechanical and electrical engineer. Multidisciplinary composition of can be considered as one of the most important prerequisite for the VM team structure (Kelly and Male 1993; DellIsola, 1997) The team number looks acceptable since Male et al. (1998a) stated that the number of participants is generally between five to fifteen. If the number is more than that, it is advisable to divide the team to smaller sub team. For addition, the quality and the structure of the VM team and are very important for the success of the value management study a (Baguley, 2005). One of the key reasons why the group has chosen these people is that these people can have great impact of the success of the project. According to Shen and Liu (2003), team members should include all applicable disciplines and key stakeholders in order to cover the project issues under the study. Therefore, Representatives from each funding bodies play important role in funding the project and thus their attendance are very curial. The power of the chief executive to take decisions will influence the effectiveness of the workshop. With reference to Woller (2005), top management support is one of element of success of the VA study. For addition, architect, cost consultant, mechanical and electrical engineer have valuable technical background of the project which is not available to other team members. They can help in sparking new useful proposals by using their experience and knowledge in reviewing the brief, the concept design, specifications and other aspects of the project. Some of the stakeholders were excluded from the work shop attendance. The reason for this is that the value management team becomes relatively difficult to control (Norton and McElligott , 1995). For example, inviting Dr Jamie Macdonald to participate in the workshop event will have limited benefit. However, he can be interviewed in the pre- study phase. In other hand, Keith Bonnet should be invited to participate in the workshop since. He supported the project by managing a funding package and by introducing new ideas. Thus, he will helpful in the brainstorming session and creativity phase during the actual workshop. According to Shen and Liu (2003), it is better to have VM members who are open-minded and who have a positive attitude toward new ideas with strong desire to be innovative. 5.1.6 Total duration of the Orientation and Diagnosis phases The total duration of these phase decided by the group range from 15 days to 20 days and with two weeks separating this phase from the workshop phase. Bolton (2005) highlighted that a period of two weeks should separate the pre-work shop requirement and the actual workshop. The group did mention the duration for each activity such as information gathering, document analysis, interviews and other activates. This phage could be divided in two sub stages: information gathering stage and evaluation stage. The first stage will take 10-15 days and will include the interview with the key stakeholder, document analysis and the site visit. The next stage is the evaluation stage which will take from 5 to 10 days. The facilitator will identify and confirm the workshop attendees and prepare the full agenda for the actual workshop phase in this phase (Cook, 2005). 5.2 Workshop phases The workshop phase is considered as the most important phase in the value management process. This phase should be properly planned and executed otherwise it will be expensive and time consuming. It emphasises the need to accomplish a time commitment from the VM team for the full workshop process. The Workshop process benefit from the chance to discover the over lapping areas of knowledge between the various disciplines (TAM 2004), as shown in the Figure 3. To enhance the success of the workshop, an isolated environment should be provided for the participants (Male et al. 1998a). The workshop can be hold in off-sit meeting room, and if not be possible a conference room at hotel can suitable solution (Norton and McElligott, 1995). Throughout this phase the agenda which was already prepared in the orientation and diagnosis phases would be discussed in details by the VM team. The group discussed these agenda and proposed two days workshop which will be conducted in a hotel. According to Hunter and Kelly (2007), in UK, it is normal to have one day workshop. Lenzer (2001) highlighted that there is an increasing pressure to conduct a workshop with shorter duration. Therefore, the two days proposed by the group seems to be reasonable. In other hand, However, it would be better if the group give accurate time for each single activity during constructing the agenda for the workshop. The agenda proposed by the team, he role of the facilitator, and the workshop process will be discussed in the next sections. Table (1) shows the duration of activities for the two days workshop proposed by the group. Day one from: 9.00am 12 pm Activities Introduction on roles and responsibilities Issue Analysis T/C/Q Client value matrix Project driver Strategic timeline LUNCH 1 pm to 4 pm Strategic function Needs and wants VM and VE separated two teams for brainstorm: Team1: Functional space analysis and User flow analysis and Team2: Element component function Close and dinner Day two From: 9 am -12 am Information review 2ndand 3rdsort LUNCH 1 pm to 5 pm Review development plan Prepare action plan Report sing off Table1: two days workshop activities proposed by the group. 5.2.1 Workshop facilitator According to Kaufman (2000), the main role of facilitator is to educate the team on the guiding principles, tools, techniques and methods of value management before and throughout the process of facilitating the project team. The facilitator involved before the project starts to determine the disciplines required on the team and the team size. For addition, skilled and experience facilitator is important for the successful of the workshop. The facilitator should have some skills which include setting the workshop agenda, mangling the workshop process, and producing the VM report (Baguley, 2005). The group decided that one facilitator would be used for the value management study. However, it will be more beneficial for the client if dual facilitators are used to. According to Dallas (2006), two facilitators are recommended option since they can help each other during the study and they can work for longer days, thus the clients can be sure that they will get value for money. Nunamaker et al. (1997), highlighted that many things can go wrong with teamwork, therefore, the group decision-making process may suffer from many difficulties and become unproductive. Thus, with dual facilitators this problem can be eliminated. The climate of the VM study and the workshop will not be collaborative. Many funding bodies and other stakeholder have different agenda and interests. With this issue in mind, the gap in funding the project is strong reason to assume adversarial climate of the workshop. More money is needed to cover this gap. This make the VM study much difficult since and a major surgery is needed to keep the project in truck. For those reasons, it is very important that a representative from each funding bodies attend the workshop phase. Consequently, two facilitators are needed to mange the VM study especially when the workshop becomes more intense due to large attendees especially during discussion of the function analysis which is the core of the workshop (Dallas, 2006). 5.2.2 The workshop agenda and process As stated before, the group decides that the total duration of the workshop is two days which are shown in details in table (1). According to Male et al. (1998a), the Charette type workshop may take from two to three days to fill the mind of the team with knowledge and then go through the process to generate solutions. Therefore, with two days schedule, some activities should be given more time and some techniques should be introduced or canceled. Table (2) and Table (3) show in details the authors proposed schedule for the first and second day of the workshop. The group divided the workshop process into four main stages. The first day of the workshop will include the first two phases which are information and creativity (back to basic) stages. The other two phases which are evaluation and development and action planning stages will be included in the second day. This framework is used by many researchers (Clancy and Dennis, 2004 ; Kelly et al., 2004). However, the techniques and tools adopted by the group during the above phases should be changed or re-shifted to allow sufficient time for some activities. For example, in the first day, it would be better to discus the project drivers as a part of issue analysis then starting TCQ analysis since the project drivers technique precedes TCQ analysis (Male et al. 1998a) Also, it would be better to extend the time for the first day up to 18:00 to give sufficient time to discus and construct the strategic function diagram and associated actives. In the second day, the group proposed to take the full mooring period to evaluate the new proposals and ideas. It would be better if the VM team starting developing the ideas after the tea break. First day of the workshop as proposed by the author At the first day of the workshop, the facilitator begins with introducing the agenda to the VM team. This will be followed by discussing issues analysis, identifying the client value system, then closing with applying function analysis. Below is the schedule for the first day of the workshop proposed by the author followed by discussion of the main agenda. 5.2.2.1 The information gathering stage. The group suggested to use some of the following activities in this stage during the mooring session .However, the author has re-shifted some major activities. Presentations and team building. Being the initial stage of the workshop, participants of the workshop introduce themselves and their knowledge and responsibilities to the VM team. According to Norton and McElligott (1995), it is good idea if the representatives of the client give brief introduction to the main objective of the VM study and show their commitment to the whole process The facilitator then will introduce the agenda and the main principles for all members of the VM study to bring them to the same level of knowledge of the key project issues (Baguley, 2005). Issues analysis and priorities. At this activity the facilitator will ask the VM members about all the issues which have great impact on the project. These issues will then ranked and prioritize by the VM team according to their degree of impact. According to Kelly et al. (2004) issues that can be addressed in this stage are those issues related to: funding, politics, project location, project parameters and constrains, community, time, and environment impact. (iii) Client value system. The group emphasised that client value system should be clearly identified and understood by VM members. The clients should give clear view about their value system. The clients value system consists of a number of interrelating parts which are derived from the client strategic management process. It is important that the representatives of the client speak at this activity where other members keep silent and listen (Kelley, et al., 2004) Time/Cost/ Quality analysis By forcing the client to consider the three issues of time, cost and quality in the VM study, project priorities can be established. This simple visual technique can lead to many different opinions. Once the triangle of Time/Cost/Quality constructed, procurement strategies and option can be reviewed (Male et al., 1998a). At this stage and before going for lunch, all critical issued and critical success factors should have been identified. Also client value system should be clearly determined and agreed with client representatives and VM members are conscious of its implication and consequences (Male and Kelly, 2004). 5.2.2.2 Back to basic stage (creativity and generating ideas) Function analysis is the methodical process of identifying functions and their related costs, and based on established criteria for the product or service, the need of those functions are evaluated. It can be considered as the core process of the VM study (Spaulding, 2005). When applying function analysis, the value management team will ask the question of why it is that the item exists rather than what it is than being reviewed (Norton and McElligott, 1995; Connaughton and Green 1996). As group mentioned, three techniques of function analysis will be applied. The first one is Function Analysis System Technique (FAST) which will be used directly after the lunch. For the other two techniques the VM team will be divided into two separate teams. The first team will apply the space analysis and second team will apply the element component analysis. FAST (Function Analysis System Technique) The group decided to establish the project FAST diagram since it is the core of the VM process. The duration of this activity is one hour. FAST is defined as a system which display functions in a rational sequence, prioritise them and test the dependency (Kaufman, 2003), Constructing the project FAST diagram begins with randomly brainstorming functions to generates ideas. This then followed by prioritizing the important functions. Once the dependency between function are established, project FAST diagram can be constructed (Male et al., 2004). Consensus is the main out put of the multi-disciplined team involved in a FAST exercise. To perform the next activates, the VM team will be divided into two teams. The first facilitator will be responsible for the functional space analysis activity. The attendees in this workshop include the key funding bodies and the Chief Executive. The second team will perform the element component analysis and will be facilitated by the second facilitator. The attendees of this activity include beside the facilitator the architect, cost consultant, and mechanical and electrical engineer The functional space analysis In this stage the VM team investigate that all space within the project or the building should performs a function, otherwise the space will be a waste of money and has no value. It essential

Service Learning :: Teaching Education

Service Learning How did a departmental faculty generated 12,000 hours of student community service in one semester? The following is a qualitative analysis of conversations with faculty members in a department that recently instituted a service learning requirement for all student majors. The campus is a large urban comprehensive university with a multi-ethnic student body. Approximately fifteen faculty members were interviewed for this study. While most of those interviewed included service learning components in their courses, interviews with faculty members who resisted or refused to incorporate service learning were conducted as well in order to understand varying faculty attitudes towards service learning. BACKGROUND Following participation in an Engaged Department Institute sponsored by Campus Compact, a service-learning requirement was instituted for all majors in the department studied beginning Fall 2002. All faculty were encouraged to incorporate service-learning in their courses. A training session on service-learning was the centerpiece of a departmental retreat in January 2002. In order to develop closer relationships with community agencies, the department hosted a faculty-partnership luncheon the following fall semester. Potential community partners were invited to meet with faculty in an effort to forge new relationships with the University. In order to institutionalize service-learning, all recruitment advertisements specifically mention service-learning and all new hires are expected to include service-learning components in their courses. As a consequence of these efforts, this department has gone from teaching only a few courses with service-learning components to offering tw enty five different classes (thirteen courses) by Fall 2002. A number of facilitators helped this department achieve these accomplishments. Mini-grants available on campus funded the faculty-partnership luncheon. In addition, four faculty members were awarded mini-grants to develop service-learning components in their courses. Departmental leadership has been a very strong advocate for service-learning. Recognition from discipline enhanced the image of this department on campus when the discipline newsletter highlighted the advances in service-learning in the department. The Office of Community Service-learning was helpful in training and assisting faculty interested in developing service-learning components in their courses. The campus generally recognizes service-learning and provides awards for those involved in service-learning. Two such campus awards have been given to members of the department studied. Challenges have been encountered while implementing this requirement. For example, many faculty members do not live in the area and have no knowledge of the local community and its resources and thus have had difficulty developing community partnerships.

Ministers Black Veil Essays: Masks and Intimacy -- Ministers Black V

The Minister's Black Veil - Masks and Intimacy  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The Minister's Black Veil begins with a young pastor, Mr. Hooper, arriving at church with an ugly black veil covering his face. The people are all dismayed, and wonder why he is wearing a black veil. They are further dismayed and confused, when he refuses to take it off--ever. There is only one person who is not horrified by his black veil--his wife-to-be, Elizabeth. She comes to him and says, "there is nothing terrible in this piece of crape, except that it hides a face which I am always glad to look upon. Come, good sir, let the sun shine from behind the cloud. First lay aside your black veil: then tell me why you put it on." (Heath 2143) Mr. Hooper smiles and replies, "There is an hour to come when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crape till then." (Heath 2143) Elizabeth, again, entreats him to remove the veil, but he replies, "this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends. No mortal eye will see it withdrawn. This dismal shade must separate me from the world: even you, Elizabeth, can never come behind it!" Elizabeth asks him what shall the people think of his veil? Won't it start a scandal? Mr. Hooper then replies, "If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough, and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?" (Heath 2143) Elizabeth begins to feel terror at the sight of the veil. She turns to leave the room, and Mr. Hooper cries, "Have patience with me, Elizabeth! Do not desert me, though this veil must be between us here on e... ... understanding, and healing. Mr. Hooper's veil ostracized him from the mercy, understanding and love, from his congregation. BIBLIOGRAPHY Kaul, A. N., (Ed.). (1966). "HAWTHORNE: A Collection of Critical Essays." Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Levin, Harry., (Ed.). (1961) "The Scarlet Letter and Other Tales of the Puritans." Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Morris, Lloyd., "THE REBELLIOUS PURITAN: Portrait of Mr. Hawthorne." Port Washington: Kennikat Press. "The Heath Anthology of American Literature" (2nd ed.). Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company. Van Doren, Mark., (Ed.). (1951). "The Best of Hawthorne." New York: The Ronald Press Company. Waggoner, Hyatt H., "HAWTHORNE: A Critical Study." Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. "World History and Cultures: In Christian Perspective." Pensacola: A Beka Book.   

Listening

Importance of ListeningAccording to Zarefsky, listening is important for three reasons: (1) Accuracy; (2) Feedback; and (3) Assessment.First is accuracy. I can still remember back in my 6th grade this one test given to us by our English teacher. Looking back from today, it was actually more of a listening test than a reading test. Before we begin, our teacher told us to read first the instructions before proceeding. Then she gave out this two pager test about following instructions like this:Write your name in capital letters on the upper right hand corner of the paper and underline your family name.List the top ten movies you like. Draw three stars of varying sizes and encircle the biggest star.  You get the picture. There were about 50 of these instructions! So, I hurriedly answer as much as I can since we were told that it we will be under time pressure. After just five minutes, the teacher announced that it was already time to pass the paper and I wasn’t even half-way! I protested that there was not enough time. She asked me if I was listening when she asked us to read the instructions. I said, â€Å"Of course.† To which, she replied, â€Å"Then, you should have read in the instructions that you are only asked to do item no. 1.†Second reason is to be able to give feedback. I remember one of the fights I had with my then girlfriend Donna. (Not her real name.) She was saying something and but I was too engrossed with in solving this differential equation which was an assignment due next day for Math. Of course, that got her really mad. â€Å"Are you listening?† she angrily asked. â€Å"Of course, dear,† I said. â€Å"Then, tell me what you think?† Confident that I could get away with this, I made a remark on the phrase about assignments. â€Å"Yeah, I know. It must be tough for you.These teachers are driving us nuts,† I consoled her, thinking that I can get away with it. That, of course, made her really mad. She was not talking about assignments. It was actually a sarcastic remark, â€Å"Sorry, I think I’m getting in the way of your assignments.† And so she unleashed the conclusion of the matter, â€Å"I guess I really do get in the way of your assignments. Maybe it’s now time for us to move on.† Then, she walked out on me. That one, I did get clearly, because I was listening intently: She wanted to break up with me.And that brings me to my last point: Assessment. I was able to interpret and evaluate the message. Because I was listening well that time, I understood that she didn’t mean we were ready to discuss another topic or we were supposed to go somewhere. Based on what she said and her reaction, I knew she was really mad and moving on means breaking up.Personal Listening HabitsI was able to hear Steve Murell 2007 last year (July 19, 2007) speak on Leading With the Next Generation for 25 minutes. He got his text from 1 Samuel 17:38-40 and while he was expounding on the passage, and to get the most out of his talk, I employed note-taking – a technique which, according to Nwokoreze (1990) is the stage where I would reach the maximum level of understanding. (His talk is also available as pod cast in the Every Nation World Conference (2007) website.) He introduced his talk by first saying that Saul had always been used as an example of a bad leadership but if we will examine his life, it was not all bad. If ever he did only one thing great, this is it. And that introduction really hooked me in.I his teaching, he claimed that there are principles we can actually learn from this two men of God and that is in the area of leadership. We know that Saul was a lot older than David and he is a warrior. During his time, he was able to defeat his enemy using his sword and armor. So, wanting victory for David, he suggested that he should wear it, too. The problem is David was not used to it. So, he reasoned with Saul and asked Saul t o allow him just his sling and stones. And to that, Saul agreed.If you would ask me up to now what can we learn from that, I can still tell you without even referring to my notes but I can tell you that the notes really helped me really listen and digest the message. If I had not done so, I would have forgotten it all by now as studies show that this process begins almost right way. (Scott 2002) Besides, taking good notes has been found to aid individuals in remembering what they hear. (Cuesta College Academic Support 2003)Note-taking helped me in two ways: First, it helped me to focus on the focus points of the message. In as much as I was very interested in the topic, there were times that my mind would wander away or be caught up by a particular illustration. For instance, when Steve tell that David and Saul’s story is also a picture of the church, I got lost momentarily because I got caught up in analyzing what it means. I was still figuring out all the parallelism when I heard him say, â€Å"the point is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As if on cue, I reached out to my pen and paper and write the point.I also jot down what he said that caught me so that I could later refer back to it and meditate or savor it if necessary. There were also times when I become too reflective which is quite distracting in a way. I asked myself (because Steve asked us to evaluate ourselves), â€Å"Am I giving opportunity to those who are under to me rise up in leadership or am I too insecure a leader to let them have the spot light?† Then, he would ask another question but I was still in the middle of my reflection. So, what I did was to pause, write down what I was thinking, and jot down his next question or point and knowing why I was there – to learn how to be a better leader – helped me be effective in my note taking as suggested by Fajardo (1996) and was proven by me.Since Steve spoke for just about 25 minutes, I didn’t have a great deal of difficulty li stening to him. I’m used to attending classes where teachers would lecture for more than an hour so his teaching was actually a refreshing break. But, I must admit, though, that too long speeches or lectures literally give me a headache. Just before writing this paper, I came from a whole day academic forum where I had to listen to different speakers lecturing for at least one and a half hours each. I tell you, it was difficult, especially when they say something that is beyond my vocabulary or knowledge. I actually had a headache afterwards. Perhaps, this was due to the fact that I was already very sleepy during the middle of the third session but I still pushed myself to listen.Margaret Sanger’s SpeechMargaret, on her speech, addressed the morality of birth control as she said on her opening statements, â€Å"The one issue upon which there seems to be most uncertainty and disagreement exists is the moral side of the subject of Birth Control. He next statement reveal ed her audience: â€Å"It seemed only natural for us to call together scientists, educators, members of the medical profession and the theologians of all denominations to ask their opinion upon this uncertain and important phase of the controversy.†Sanger seemed to suggest that birth control is a moral imperative. In fact, she said that her belief is that â€Å"the discussion of the moral issue [of birth control] was one which did not solely belong to theologians and to scientists, but belonged to the people.†Ã‚   Therefore, if this is not confined only to specific groups of people but to all people, then it, indeed, is a moral imperative. To drive home her point, she even explained what moral means. According to her, this would have implications of different actions which rely on the mind and the brain and that brain development is very much linked to morality.To those who are saying that birth control is unethical, immoral, or violation of God’s law, she start ed first with a discussion on morality. According to her, it would be immoral if we are irresponsible and reckless and irresponsible in our actions. We would have the â€Å"finest kind of morality† on the other hand if we are able to think ahead about the actions we plan to take. Then, she went into the discussion of how the progress of women we opposed for the fear the they would be immoral if they were granted freedom. Then, she appealed to the church to have more confidence in them.Then, she discussed the foundations of birth control which she also accepts. She said that the only problem with this in how methods to uphold these principles were carried out. So, she suggested information dissemination which should be done directly by those in the medical field. In this may, â€Å"motherhood may be the function of dignity and choice, rather than one of ignorance a chance,† claimed the speaker.Finally, she went back again on the concept of planning ahead so that populat ion control would begin at conception instead of resorting to the killing of infants, abandoning children, and abortion which is less civilized and gives life a lower value. Then, she concluded by encouraging people that the masses are becoming wiser and have been giving enough thought for their conduct. It more people would exhibit this, she claimed that there would be less immorality.ReferencesCuesta College Academic Support. (2003). Listening and Note-taking. Retrieved February 7, 2008 from http://www.cuesta.edu/student/servs_classes/ssc/index.htmlFajardo, C. (1996). Note-taking: a useful device, Forum, 34(2), 22.Nwokoreze, U. (1990). Note-taking. English Teaching Forum, 33(2), 39-40Scott, J. (2002) The 13 Keys to Effective Listening and Note-taking. Retrieved February 7, 2008 from http://www.csun.edu/~hcpas003/Listening.html

What’s the Buzz on Smart Grids

Case Study: What’s the buzz on Smart Grids 1) How do smart grids differ from the current electricity infrastructure in the United States? The main difference where the smart grids differ from the current electricity infrastructure in the United Sates is that there is no information currently available as to how much energy/electricity is being used and where it is being used. In simple words it can be said that currently there is no exchange of information between the provider and the consumer.The smart grids will be able to provide all information regarding the usage pattern of electricity consumption by the customer which would help in the effective usage of electricity. The grids will then be able to know as to when the consumption is at peak and when it is not being used much. Also with this technology the consumer will be able to monitor their energy consumption which would encourage them to save. 2) What Management, Organization and Technology issues should be considered when developing a smart grid?There may be a lot of issues the smart grid might have to face: a) Management Issues: It is very important that proper planning must be done before the implementation of smart grids. All aspects should be planed and discussed over and over again with the managers at each level. It is a huge project which involves a lot of investment and a failure at the planning stage which is the beginning would be a disaster. It is also very important to make correct decisions at the right time. If correct decision are not made it could mess up the project. ) Organization Issues: Before the implementation of the project it must be made sure that everything is being done legally and taking into consideration all government policies. People within the organisation play an important role. The roles of each individual should be defined and proper flow of information is required in all levels. c) Technology Issues: According to me this is the most issues that the project r elies on. On the whole it is a technology project and the investment cost is immense. It is very important that all Hardware, Software, Network and communication requirements are in place. ) What challenge to development of smart grids do you think is most likely to hamper their development? According to me the challenge the smart grids will face is the acceptance by the customers. Not all customers will want to accept this change. It is usually the case that people are reluctant towards change. Also, if the customers find out that they are going to pay for this change and technology most of them would say no.It is very important to decide how the project is going to cover such a huge cost. It should be stress that the project has a long term potential and would help the customers in the long run. ) What other areas of our infrastructure could benefit from the smart technologies? Describe one example not listed in the case. The areas of infrastructure that could benefit from this sm art technology are not one. But, an example could be construction and mining industries. Efficient way of using electricity should be used in these industries which would greatly reduce their cost on a project. 5) Would you like your home and community to be part of a smart grid? Why or Why not? Explain. I would certainly want my home to be a part of the smart grid because it will help save energy and cost over the long run.If I was able to monitor the usage of electricity and know how much each electrical item at my home consumes electricity I would use it more efficiently and safe a lot of cost. I would be more motivated to use energy efficient items. Also the case talks about the electrical items can be turned on/off from anywhere. Let me discuss this example to demonstrate the efficiency. I go to work in the morning at 9 AM which is when I turn of the air conditioner at my place, I would be working at my office till 5 PM before leaving my office I would turn on the air condition er at home so that by the time I reach home my home is nice and cool.This is a simple example how we could save on the electricity cost. Also with these grids the providers would know how the usage patterns are and decide on what rate should be charged from each customer. The only concern that I would have is that the cost of the actual setup of the grid. If that price is not immediately transferred to me I would be happy to accept this change. It should be well distributed and nominal so that the consumers do not feel the pinch.

International Management Essay

Relationships developed by New-Zealand and Australia to other countries, differ from the rest of the Asian countries. Other Asian countries like Indonesia prefer to build long term relationships that will make more profit for a long time rather then have quick short term money. Another difference is that, most of the Asian countries feel as if the westerns don’t really care about their culture and beliefs, which is somewhat true. We only tend to care about what revolving around America. And this really affects how they look at us. 2- There are so many reasons as to why Indonesian archipelago is unique in Asia. There are 17,000 islands all together in Indonesia. Each island has its own unique features that differ it from another. Some of the island are very rich , meaning, they produce iol, gas etc. While some islands are very dry and dormant. Climate is also different between these islands. Some islands experience heavy rainfall while other islands are experiencing drought. 3- There are many characteristics that the Indonesian workplaces are referred to here. I think that the article is only concentrating on the minimum wage jobs, the type of jobs that do not really need education to do. The article also emphasizes on how businesses have failed and are still failing up to now in Indonesia. The business opportunities that were written in the article are the type of jobs that needs an outsourcing employee, which are of course cheaper. Further on, Indonesian workplaces also experience problems when it comes to foreign management vs locals. 4- The Republic of Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, has 203 million people living on over one thousand permanently settled islands. I personally think that for a place which has a large population number to be socially stratified like Indonesia isn’t very rare. Simply because people are the same. Some tend to be more intelligent than other some more ambitious. Others are just lazy but others also work hard. Those who possess good character will move to a place that has people with the same characteristics as theirs. They will settle there and produce offspring with the same characteristics as theirs. Those who posses bad characteristics, i. e drug addicts, dumb etc will move to lower stratification. Hence, I think this is why Indonesia seems to socially stratified. 5- Many countries have realized that Indonesia is a good country to do business in and /or being a business partner. Businesses around the world also enjoy the vast markets of goods in Indonesia. There are a lot of business opportunities in Indonesia, For example; agribusiness, automotive industries, construction and infrastructure and many more. One has to keep in mind that even though New Zealand and Australia are in the same Asian sphere with Indonesia, they have very different cultures and the way they do business. Therefore, New Zealanders and Australians have to explore the culture difference and learn how indonesians do things in order for them to be business partners.

Tin and Nitric Acid

Jarrett Sears Dr. Hummel Chem 121 2/7/13 A Chemical Reaction between Tin and Nitric Acid Introduction: Finding the products made from the components of tin metal and nitric acid is the ultimate objective of this lab; the formula of the products will be found in the CRC handbook thereafter. Procedure: First, obtain a clean crucible, and heat it under a Bunsen burner until it is as hot as possible, about 15 minutes within a fume hood unit. The Bunsen burner will be used under the fume hood for the entire duration of the lab. Place a crucible on a wire gauge, and wait for the crucible and its lid to cool off completely.After cooling, obtain the weight of the crucible and lid by placing it on a petri dish to be placed on an electric balance (petri dish mass must be obtained prior) without using any hands; there will not be any touching of the fingers or hands to or on the crucible and subtract the mass of the petri dish to obtain the mass of crucible. (Mass is noted at 61. 805g with cruc ible and petri dish, crucibles mass: 25. 253g) tin is weighed between 0. 9000g and 1. 0g (for this expirement, . 98g is weighed) and added to the crucible, which is placed back onto the non. ignited Bunsen burner.While the crucible is being held by the Bunsen burner stand, 10M Nitric acid is dropped into the crucible with the tin unitil there is no longer any kind of reaction from it. This takes nearly 100 drops. It will bubble and fumes will arise. When nothing further occurs after ten minutes, the Bunsen burner is lit with the tin and nitric acid inside. Heat for about 15 minutes, let the crucible with the now contained tin oxide, cool on the wire gauze again and measure its mass. Repeat the heating process without adding anything to the crucible for an additional 15 minutes.After finding the mass of the tin oxide, by subtracting the initial weight of the crucible from the weight of the crucible with the tin oxide, we can compare the two measurements. Data: Grams Petri dish36. 552 With Crucible61. 805 Crucible alone with lid25. 253 Tin0. 98 After first run63. 043 Tin oxide:1. 238 Drops of nitric acid:100 Measured Oxygen:0. 258 2nd run of oxygen0. 253 Mass percentage of Tin: Oxygen79. 2%:20. 8% Moles of tin0. 0083 Moles of oxygen0. 01612 Discussion: After the nitric acid is applied to the tin filled crucible, the reaction has already began, after only a few drops, fumes start venting out of the crucible.There is . 98g of tin in the crucible; the nitric acid applied (100 drops: it is not necessary to weigh this for the ultimate objective of finding tin to oxygen ratio) may weigh 3 grams (hypothetically). There would be a net mass of 3. 98 grams, but due to the fumes of the reaction, some of this net mass is lost already before the burner is even turned on. This proves true even further once the burner is lit; brown fumes will be emitted from the crucible that we find later to be nitrogen dioxide in the CRC handbook. After heating and cooling, the crucible is n ow 1. 238g heavier than the empy crucible.After equating the mass of the now tin oxide, 1. 238g, we now find the tin to oxygen ratio. There is . 98 g of tin and . 258g of oxygen in this product, dividing this by their respective quantity of AMU found via the periodic table will give us the number of moles, 0. 0083 moles of tin in 0. 98 grams, or 8. 3 X10(3rd). There are 0. 01612 moles of oxygen in 0. 258 g of oxygen or 1. 612X10(3rd) this is the mass combined to the tin. When we divide these moles by the smaller figure, we then learn the empirical formula; this is our 1:2 ratios are found. Oxygen consists of 20. percent of the final mass, while tin is the remaining 79. 2%. Nitrogen is found by process of elimination, four different oxides of nitrogen are looked up in the CRC handbook: HNO3, NO, N2O, and NO2. NO2 is the only gas that is brown amongst this group. Sources of error would entail heating the crucible for duration of time too short for the reaction to finish, resulting in a heavier compound, and jeopardizing the legitimacy of the entire experiment. It could potentially leave the demonstration with nothing to be learned if there is not a 1:2 ratio after finding the inaccurate molar masses.Conclusion: This is to understand how reactions occur, and sometimes need more than to just be mixed together, heat is needed. Also, the ratio of mass does not infer ratio of atoms, far from it. The 1:2 tin oxide ratio results when one molecule of tin (Sn) combines with 2 nitric acid molecules (2HNO3), and the hydrogen is released as NO2 (byproduct) this is the fume referred to prior, where the value of mass is lost and the remains are the product of tin oxide: SnNO2. The mass of the tin far outweighs that of oxygen by nearly 60%, yet consists of only two thirds of the molecular ratio. Sn +2HNO3 > SnO2+2NO2+H2