Advocacy in mental health an Anotated bibilography of research Essay

Advocacy in mental health an Anotated bibilography of research articles which influence policy change - Essay Example Precisely, this paper will give an account of all the research done on the subject of mental health summarizing the main arguments, points, as well as scope of each source while evaluating them on their merits and making comparisons. This article voices its advocacy in the field of mental health by examining the consequences of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the mental health of the UK armed forces through a cohort study following the increased concerns over the possible psychological effects of continued exposure to combat as well as successive deployments on service men and women. This study establishes that the UK service men and women are more likely to present with symptoms of common mental disorders as well as alcohol misuse than they are with symptoms of probable post-traumatic stress disorders (Fear 1783). More so, this study indicates that the overall incidence of mental disorder in the UK service men and women remained constant between 2003 and 2009, despite the prolonged deployments to Afghanistan as well as Iraq in the same period, thereby underscoring the fact that the mental health of UK army personnel has not changed. These findings are extremely reassuring especially in the context of the anticipated tidal wave of mental health complications as a result of increased deployments and prolonged exposure to combat. The research methodology data utilized in this research is not only objective but also valid since it is obtained and analyzed through empirical research methods and it is appropriate to the topic because it is based on a sample population from the UK cohort study. This research is very helpful to policy in mental health in particular since it informs or shapes argument regarding army deployments and levels of exposure of service men to combat, besides underscoring the significance of regular health surveillance in the UK military personnel. For instance, this

Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 Essay Example for Free

Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 Essay The law allowed an increased cost exemption, which stated that employers that can demonstrate a one percent or more rise in costs due to parity implementation will be allowed to exempt themselves from the law. The Mental Health Parity Act did not include rules for service charges, designations for the number of inpatient hospital days or outpatient visits that must be covered, coverage in connection with Medicare or Medicaid, restrictions on a health insurance plan’s ability to manage care, and coverage for treatment of substance abuse or chemical dependency. I do not think that the Mental Health Parity Act was successful, because there are many people still in this world who don’t have insurance have to pay more than what people with insurance do. Even some people with insurance have to pay a lot out of pocket for services. Even when it was still in act, it only took effect to people with major disabilities. This left most of the population having to pay for many of the services themselves.

The Viewpoint Of Developers Background Of Study Construction Essay

The Viewpoint Of Developers Background Of Study Construction Essay Nowadays, building quality has been one of the important factors to satisfy customers. The priority of the customer is mainly based on quality rather than cost. In todays economy competition, it is getting more fierce and cruel than before. Products with good quality can attact buyers to purchase, therefore the pressure has been formed from customers leads the developers to provide the building product with excellence quality (Connections Magazine 2003). Connie (2001) acknowledges that facilities, exterior and interior design are included in building quality. Due to the inconsistency in construction quality, the naissance of Construction Quality Assessment System or CONQUAS by the Construction Industry Development Board Singapore (now known as the Building and Construction Authority (BCA)), in conjunction with major public agencies and some leading industry professional bodies and organisations, had been designed to measure the construction quality level in construction industry in year 1988 (The National House Buyer Association 2008a). The CONQUAS has been evolved in seventh edition which renamed as CONQUAS 21. Although having the different name, but still, QLASSIC aka Construction Industry Standard (CIS:7) serves the same objectives as CONQUAS 21. Quality Assessment System in Construction or QLASSIC was developed by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia together with various professional bodies, association, universities and government agencies to resolve the inconsistency construction quality. It is designed to standardise the quality standards in construction, to evaluate the performance of the construction, to have a proper standard of assessment system as well as to collect data for statistical analysis to continually improve quality of construction (The National House Buyer Association 2008a). In other words, QLASSIC can be served as a quality yard stick for the construction industry and is able to let outsiders to compare relatively and quantitatively the quality of workmanship between construction projects. Furthermore, some developers can set a CONQUAS score as a target for contractor to achieve (Building and Construction Authority 2008). Once the contractor has reached the targeted score, he will be awarded, but if the contractor is below the base line, he will be penalised. This will encourage the contractor to provide a superior building product. Both CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC are an independent assessment which is conducted by inspectors from BCA Singopore or CIDB Malaysia. Sample of building will be selected randomly and inspected to represent the quality of overall project, means that the inspection will not evaluate and measure every single unit in the project (The National House Buyer Association 2008a). Problem Statement Recently, people are more concerned about quality achieved in building project. So, many people will hesitate whether the property is up to the standard and worth to purchase with the amount of money that they pay (The National House Buyer Association 2008a)? Building project with high quality can ensure future marketability and enhances the clients confidence to the building (Building and Construction Authority 2008). Therefore, developers should deliver the final building product with high quality standard to the purchasers. Quality is always being emphasized in a construction project, the establishment of CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC is an additional assurance for the developers to ensure the quality of the workmanship in the project is infallible. Moreover, the result of the assessment can present impartially the overall quality of the completed project as well as represent the performance of the building by the developer and the contractor. Furthermore, the higher score of the building can give a great sense of confidence to the house buyers to purchase the houses. However, some developers in Malaysia are adopting either CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC to ensure the quality of the product. There is no study being conducted regarding the preference of application of these two assessment methods. Therefore, a study on preference of application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC will be proposed to find out the preference of developers. At the meantime, the researcher also wants to compare the application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and to determine the advantages of applying CONQUAS or QLASSIC. Finally, the researcher also wants to find out the constraints when implementing CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. Project aim and objectives Aim The aim of this research is to study the preference of application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC from the viewpoint of developers Objectives In order to achieve the aim mentioned above, several objectives are created. To compare the application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC; To determine the advantages of applying CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC in construction projects; To examine the problems or constraints when implementing CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC in construction projects; To find out the preference of developers in the application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and the reasons. Key Questions The following key questions are formed in order to achieve the objectives: What are the differences between application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC? What are the advantages of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC? What are the constrains or problems to be faced when implementing CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC? Which type of construction quality assessment system is more preferred among Malaysian developers? Importance and benefits of study This study is to find out the preference of developers on application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. This can gather the opinions from developers in order to determine which construction quality assessment system is more preferred among Malaysian developers. Besides, this study also can increase the level of awareness for the Malaysian developers who do not apply either CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. Other than that, the research also focuses on the advantages and constraints in applying CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. The benefits of this study provide better understanding to the developers about the advantages when applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC and encourage them to apply either system for further improvement in the quality aspects of construction projects. Besides, this study highlights the constraints when implementing CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC so that developers are aware of these issues and able to avoid or mitigate them for effective application of the aforesaid construction quality system in their construction projects. Scope of study To achieve the objectives mentioned, this study will just focus on two construction quality assessment systems, namely, CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. This research does not include other construction quality assessment system such as European Association for Quality Assurance (ENQA), Project Quality Performance in Hong Kong developed by Chan (2001) and Blueprint in United States developed by the Quality Performance Measurement Task Force (QPMTF) of Construction Industry Institute (CII) (Stevens 1996). Additionally, the researcher will conduct an in-depth study on the advantages and constraints of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. The researcher will also cover the preferences of application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC from the viewpoint of developers. Data collection will be done by conducting a structured interview among developers in Malaysia to ascertain the advantages and constraints of applying CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and to find out the preferences of developers in the application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and the reason. Due to time constraint, the structure interview will be conducted on developers, which are registered under Construction Industry Developer Board (CIDB) within Selangor and Kuala Lumpur area only. Thus, the contractors as well as developers from other states will not be considered for this study. Methodology In order to achieve the objectives of this study, there are two methods to be used to collect data, they are respectively the primary data sources and secondary sources. Primary Data Sources The second, third and fourth objectives, which are determining the advantages of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC, problem or constrains when implementing CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC and preference of the developer in application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and the reasons, can be obtained by conducting structured interview. Structure interview will be conducted with developers who adopted both CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC in the previous or current projects. The interview mentioned will be conducted within Selangor and Kuala Lumpur area. Secondary Data Sources Literature review is an essential material for researchers to enhance basic knowledge regarding to the research topic. Journal articles, government articles, newspapers, journals, books, magazines and internal research are used in secondary data sources. The review from those sources would complement the information for the first, second and third objective, which are compare the differences between application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC, advantages and constrains of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. Besides, information can also be obtained from library at TARC, National Library and the resources centre of CIDB. Figure 1. Outline of research proposal Literature Review Quality Philosophy Definition of Quality The word of quality has a wide definition and it is an elusive concept, because different people view it differently (Joel E.Ross 2009). It can be further proven by Kerzners (2009, p.875) study, he indicated that quality cannot be defined accurately, the major reason for quality depends on the view of the customer. Quality is always treated as a complicated term, the explanation is inadequate to help a quality professional fully understand the concept. However, quality experts define quality in a different way as well, which is based on the customers perspective, speciafication-based prespective (Assignment Expert n.d.). However, there is a modern definition derived by Prof.R.K.Gupta (2008) that quality is fitness for intended use. It can be explained as meeting or exceeding customer expectations. It can be further defined as the degree of fulfillment of customer needs and expectations by a supplier or service provider. Undoubtedly, quality is an essential element in a series of activities that has been preceived and value much by end users, not the suppliers. There are seven essentials of measuring quality, they are Functions, Safety, Aesthetics, Reliability, Longevity (product lift and maintenance), Service-delivery (effectiveness of marketing channel) and customer communication (effectiveness of communication channel). Those are the main elements to cover customers satisfaction and developers preception about quality of product (Prof.R.K.Gupta 2008). Davids study (cited in Joel E.Ross 2009) stated that quality can be summarised into five principal approaches, which are transcendentel view of quality, product-based view, user-based view, manufacturing-based view, and value-based view. The explanation of each view is shown as below: Transcendental view of quality cannot be defined, but it can be differentiated by looking product. For instance, advertisement. Product-based view quality is deemed as quantifiable and measurable characteristics. For instance, measure products durability or reliability (e.g. mean time of failure or finish) and design the product to the benchmark. Although this approach has a lot of benefit, but it has restriction as well. In fact, quality is mostly based on individual taste or preference, therefore the benchmark for measuring may be misleading. User-based view products that meet customers preferences are esteemed as highest quality. This may lead to two problems, one is the differences of customers preferences and the other is the difficulty of unifying the different preferences of customers. This approach can identify the products that meet the needs of major customers. Manufacturing-based view products are complied with the requirements, or specification. This concept applies to both services and products. Good quality product is not necessary in the eye of end-user but in the standards or specification set by the organisation. Value-based view quality is defined in terms of costs, prices and other attributes. Therefore, the materialization of customers decision mostly depends on the quality at an acceptable price. Evolution of Quality There is a changing view of quality during the past twenty years, so improvement of quality is occured from time to time. Quality improvement not only focused in product but also services (Harold kerzner 2009, p.875). Additionally, Harold kerzner has introduced a changing view of quality from past to present as shown in table 2.1. Table 2. Changing views of quality Past Present Quality is the responsibility of blue-collar workers and direct labour employees working on the floor Quality is everyones responsibility, including white-collar workers, the indirect labour force, and the overhead staff Quality defects should be hidden from the customer (and possibily management) Defect should be highlighted and brought to the surface for corrective action Quality problems lead to blame, faulty justification, and excuses Quality problems lead to cooperative solutions Corrections-to-quality problems should be accomplished with minimum documentation Documentation is essential for lesson learned so that mistakes are not repeated Increased quality will increase project costs Improved quality saves money and increases business Quality is internally focused Quality is customer focused Quality will not occur without close supervision of people People want to ptoduce quality product Quality occurs during project execution Quality occurs at project initiation and must be planned for within the project (Source: Harold kerzner 2009, p.875). Importance of Quality There is no doubt that quality is extremely important because it will bring benefits. The benefits can be divided into two, they are internal benefits and external benefits. The figure 2.1 below shows the internal benefits and external benefits from good quality. (Source: Abhiman DasMulmi 2009, p.7) Figure 2. Internal benefits and external benefits from good quality Historical Perspectives of Total Quality Management There are four stages of evolution of Total Quality Management, they are Quality Inspection, Quality Control, Quality Assurance and Total Quality Management (TQM) (UTM 2003). Figure 2.2 shows the four stages of Quality Management. Abhiman DasMulmi (2009) recogonised that quality management is also a hirarchical process which is initiated with rough inspection and then developed through quality control, followed by quality assurance under the wider management approach of TQM. Figure 2.3 shows the different characteristics of different stages in TQM. The concept of TQM has been developed since 1950 by various American experts. Among the experts, W Edwards Deming, Joeseph Juran and A.V.Feigenbaum have contributed significantly in developing the concept of TQM. Quality Inspection Abhiman DasMulmi (April 2009) has stated that in order to ensure the basic level of quality to be accomplish, the most suitable use of quality control will be quality inspection. Once the inspector found out the poor quality product which is separated from the acceptable quality product, the product would be scrapped, reworked or sold as lower quality. Therefore, the method of inspection mainly sorts out the conformance and non-conformance of the product, it usually is done by visual inspection or testing (UTM 2003). (Source: Dale 1994) Figure 2. Four stages of quality management Quality Control (QC) Due to industrial advancement, it came to second stage of TQM development. Quality control is a stage above inspection (Abhiman DasMulmi April 2009). The quality was controlled through supervised skills, written specification, measurement and standardisation (Prof. Alessandro Brun 2010-2011). The process of QC involves monitoring and then utilizing statistical techniques to make decision. Quality standard of products and services can be improved and maintained through QC (Abhiman DasMulmi April 2009). Quality Assurance (QA) Quality assurance (QA) is the third stages of quality evolution. It is aim to provide products and services that fulfill customers expectations and needs (UTM 2003). QA can be defined as a process of checking, correcting and controlling is conducted in such a manner that the manufacture/ service providers are aware that all stages of the process are being conducted correctly with the specified standard (Abhiman DasMulmi April 2009). Other activities such as comprehensive quality manuals, use of cost of quality, development of process control and auditing of quality systems are also developed in order to progress from quality control to the quality assurance (UTM 2003). Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management is the last stages of this development, it involves the understanding and implementation of quality management principles and concepts in every aspect of activities. (Prof. Alessandro Brun 2010-2011) The purpose of TQM is to fully utilise these activities to provide customers with best quality products or services at the lowest cost. Additionally, continually improve quality is the main aim of TQM to become a winning strategy to gain customer loyalty (UTM 2003). (Source: Chew 2000) Figure 2. Different characteristics of different stages in TQM 2.2 Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS 21) Introduction In current scenario in Construction Industry, performance of completed product can be measured by implementing either QLASSIC or CONQUAS 21. Both of them are an independent assessment carried out by assessors to inspect, evaluate and measure the quality of workmanship. QLASSIC Quality Assessment System in Construction or QLASSIC is an independent method that developed by CIDB Malaysia to assess and evaluate the construction work which done by workman based on the approved standard (CIDB n.d.). On other hand, QLASSIC also act as a benchmark for contractor to achieve and maintain the quality of construction work (CIDB 2011) According to Ali Faizal (n.d.), QLASSIC is a standard which expected to reduce contentious disputes between relevent parties such as architects, engineers, developers, purchasers, contractor regarding on constitution of acceptable quality and to ensure that the interest of buyers or purchasers is secured. CONQUAS 21 Since year 1989, Construction Quality Assessment System or CONQUAS is introduced in Singapore to serve as a standard assessment system on building project. In year 1998, several features was added into CONQUAS by BCA, therefore, CONQUAS has evolved in a new edition which renamed as CONQUAS 21 (Building and Construction Authority 2008). Comparison Both quality assessment systems served as a same function to assess and evaluate the quality of workmanship of building project based on the approved standard. Besides, both of them are carried out through site inspection by assessors that have no any relationship with that particular project. Marks will be given after the assessment system is completed. Additionally, regardless of QLASSIC and CONQUAS, both of them are act as a benchmark for contractor to achieve and maintain the quality of construction work. Objective CONQUAS 21 was designed with three objectives while the QLASSIC was designed with five objectives. Those objectives was designed and developed for the users to achieve. QLASSIC (CIDB 2006) To standardize the level of quality of the construction industry in Malaysia; To measure the quality of workmanship of building project by implementing standard quality assessment system; To measure quality of workmanship of a building project based on approved standard; To appraise the performance of contractors based on quality of workmanship; and To collect data for statistical analysis CONQUAS 21 (BCA 2008) To have a standard quality assessment system to assess quality of workmanship for construction works To make quality assessment objective by Measuring constructed work against workmanship standard and specification Using a sampling approach to suitably represent the whole project To enable quality assessment to be carried out systematically within timeframe budget Comparison On the whole, most of the objectives between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC are same, just present in different wording. The similarity of the objectives between both quality assessment systems is having a standard quality assessment to evaluate the quality of workmanship and measure construction work against workmanship standard and specification. There are some differences between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. Firstly, one of the objectives of CONQUAS 21 is to enable quality assessment to be carried out systematically within time frame and budget. Secondly, QLASSIC is designed with another two objectives, they are to appraise the performance of contractors based on quality of workmanship and to collect data for statistical analysis. Scope In general, scope has been defined as the area or extent of an activity (Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary 2010). CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC have set out their scope or the covered area of the assessment. Therefore, both of the quality assessment systems set out the standards for various aspects of construction work (BCA 2008). Assessment on the quality of workmanship is carried out based on the various construction elements in the project and marks awarded are then summed up to give a total quality score for the building project (CIDB 2006). QLASSIC (CIDB 2006) Main elements to be covered in Quality Assessment System are as follows: Structural works Architectural works Mechanical Electrical works External works The above mentioned components can be further broken into different items such as internal finishes, external finishes, roof, sanitary work, electrical work and so on. However, the works such as piling, heavy foundation and sub-structure works which are heavily equipment-based and called under separate contracts or sub-contracts are excluded. Undoubtedly, assessment is primarily based on workmanship standard through site inspection and field testing. Therefore, assessment on structural work and ME works is carried out during the construction process, while for completed building project, assessment on architectural, ME fitting and external works is executed to measure the quality of workmanship. Other than site inspection, test on the material and the functional performance of selected services and installation also will be included in the assessment. Those tests can protect the interest of occupants in term of safety, comfort and aesthetic defects which will be surfaced only after some time. CONQUAS 21 (BCA 2008) Main components to be covered in CONQUAS are as follows: Structural works Architectural works Mechanical Electrical works The above mentioned components can be further broken into different item such as internal finishes, external finishes, roof, sanitary work, electrical work and so on. However, the works such as piling, heavy foundation and sub-structure works which are heavily equipment-based, buried or covered and called under separate contracts or sub-contracts are excluded. Undoubtedly, assessment is primarily based on workmanship standard through site inspection and field testing. Therefore, assessment on structural work and ME works is carried out during the construction process, while for completed building project, assessment is only carried out on architectural work to measure the quality of workmanship. Other than site inspection, test on the material and the functional performance of selected services and installation also will be included in the assessment. Those tests can protect the interest of occupants in term of safety, comfort and aesthetic defects which will be surfaced only after some time. Comparison It is obviously shown that there are four components covered in the QLASSIC while three components for the CONQUAS 21. The only difference between them is QLASSIC has an additional component, which is External works. In fact, the external work of CONQUAS 21 is grouped together with structural work. Due to the additional component of QLASSIC, there are slightly differences on the quality assessment. For better understanding, the following table shows the differences of the quality assessment between them. Table 2. Comparison of Components to be Tested Between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21 Components to be tested QLASSIC During Construction process Structural works and Mechanical Electrical works. Completed Building Architectural works, Mechanical Electrical works and External works. Components to be Assessed QLASSIC (CIDB 2006) For the QLASSIC, the assessment is divided into 4 components: Structural works Structural is always deemed as an importance element of whole building because it might incur big amount of failure and repair cost once it failure. Therefore, the assessment of structural work comprises: Site inspection of formwork, steel reinforcement, prefabricated or pre-cast elements, etc during construction. Laboratory testing of compressive strength of concrete and tensile strength of steel reinforcement. Non-destructive testing of the cover and the uniformity of hardened concrete. Architectural works Architectural works are mainly deal with the finishes. The quality and standards of workmanship can be showed obviously through the finishes. Floors, ceiling, window and door and internal wall, fittings and fixtures, external wall, roofs, driveway, apron and porch are works under architectural. Mechanical and Electrical (ME) works The quality of ME works is also important because it might impact the performance of the building once its failure and high cost is involve in rectification works and installation works as well. Electrical works, air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation works (ACMV), fire protection works, sanitary and plumbing works, lifts, escalator and other basic ME fittings are covered under the assessment. External works Lastly, the external works cover the general external works elements in building construction such as the link ways/shelter, drains, road works, car parks, footpaths, turfings, playgrounds, gates and fences, swimming pools, hardscapes and electrical substation. CONQUAS 21 (BCA 2008) For the CONQUAS 21, the assessment is divided into 4 components: Structural works Structural is always deemed as an importance element of whole building because it might incur big amount of failure and repair cost once it failure. Therefore, the assessment of structural work comprises: Site inspection of formwork, steel reinforcement, prefabricated or pre-cast elements, etc during construction. Laboratory testing of compressive strength of concrete and tensile strength of steel reinforcement. Non-destructive testing of the cover and the uniformity of hardened concrete. Architectural works Architectural works are mainly deal with the finishes. The quality and standards of workmanship can be showed obviously through the finishes. The assessment covers the following: Site inspection of floors, internal walls, ceiling, window and door, fittings, roof, external walls of the building. Material functional tests such as window water-tightness, wet area water-tightness and adhesion of internal wall tiles. Installation of waterproofing for internal wet areas also included in the process of assessment. Mechanical and Electrical (ME) works The quality of ME works is also important because it might impact the performance of the building once its failure and high cost is involve in rectification works and installation works as well. Electrical works, air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation works (ACMV), fire protection works, sanitary and plumbing works, lifts, escalator and other basic ME fittings are covered under the assessment. The stages of the assessment include: Site inspection of installed works before they are concealed such as the concealed pipes Site inspection of final installed works such as the Air-Handling units (AHU), cooling tower, fire alarm control panel, etc. Performance tests on selected works such as earthing test, dry riser test and water pressure test, etc. Comparison The components of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC are quite similar. However, there is only one difference, it is CONQUAS 21 does not have external works. In fact, the external works was grouped together with structural works. The following tables are the comparison of sub-components to be assessed between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21: Structural works Table 2. Comparison of Sub-Components to be Assessed between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21 (Structural Works) Sub components to be assessed QLASSIC CONQUAS 21 Part 1: Reinforced Concrete Structures Formwork à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Reinforcement (Cash in-situ and Precast) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Finished Concrete (Cash in-situ and Precast) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Precast Specific Requirements à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Structure Quality à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Non-Destructive Testing à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Part 2: Structural Steel Works Main Member/ Partial Assembled Component à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Metal Decking à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Erection Tolerances à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Corrosion and Fire Protection à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Welding Test Reports à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Part 3: Pre-Stressed Concrete Condition of Tendons Anchorages à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Installation of Sheathing à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Stressing Grouting Process à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Debondling à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ (Source: CIDB 2006 and BCA 2008) Architectural works Table 2. Comparison of Sub-Components to be Assessed between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21 (Architectural Works) Sub-components to be assessed QLASSIC CONQUAS

99 Cent Store Case Study Essay -- essays research papers

99 Cent Only Business Strategy v. The Competition David Gold, founder and CEO says the 99 Cent strategy is â€Å"to create the shortest path possible between the customer and the sale† (Rae-Dupree, 2004). This is important in deep discount retail in order to purchase close-out and other special-situation merchandise at prices substantially below wholesale that sell at prices significantly below regular retail (Symplicity, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over the past two years, the company has suffered a $17.00/share loss on its stock (from $30 to $13.00) mainly due to declining operating margins (Domash, 2004) caused by over-optimism in the Texas market. Competitors were more deeply entrenched than their research had shown, and reduced earnings forecasts combined with declining operating margins were the sell signal for many investors in the company. Also, the need to upgrade their IT infrastructure to support expansion in its California base market was the second company downfall. The following is a summary of the company strategy: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Focus on brand name consumables. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Broad selection of regularly available merchandise. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Attractive and well-maintained stores. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strong supplier relationships. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Focus on larger stores and wider demographic of value-conscious customers. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Welcoming and Flexible ...

Chicory Root Extract Atopic Dermatitis Health And Social Care Essay

Atopic dermatitis is a genetically transmitted, chronic inflammatory tegument disease that is characterized by chronic redness of epidermis1. The disease normally presents during early childhood but may get down or prevail in big life 2. 10 % to 20 % of kids and 1 % to 3 % of grownups are affected by this status. Adult atopic dermatitis is normally a continuance of the childhood status although in 2 % of the entire instances may get down after 20 old ages of age 3. It is the earliest presentation of atopic characteristics in patients who suffer from allergic coryza and/or asthma in ulterior life 4. The atopic dermatitis may undergo remittal at pubescence and so gets exacerbated in big life particularly in response to environmental exposure to thorns 3. The characteristic characteristics of disease are pruritus, scrape, and chronic and/or get worsing eczematous lesions 5. Presently, there is no unequivocal remedy for this status and direction is aimed at relieving the symptoms of the status hence it presents a clinical challenge 6. The direction includes good tegument attention ( such as usage of moisturizers and creams ) , trigger turning away while pharmacological interventions such as usage of anti-inflammatory drugs ( topical corticoids and unwritten antihistamines ) besides contribute to the curative armamentarium 3. The new calcineurin inhibitors are among the new intervention options which limit the badness and frequence of flare-ups 6. Due to an increased hazard of infection, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral drugs are besides portion of the intervention regimen 6. Different intervention options available are shown in the figure 1: hypertext transfer protocol: //onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2006.01153.x/asset/image_n/ALL_1153_f5.gif? v=1 & A ; t=ghv2sj68 & A ; s=0e428ba76d59dc1a7fd694a0dcbd25f4c38e76d4 Beginning: Akdis et Al, 2006 The furnace lining or terrible instances present a challenge in their direction and necessitate alternate therapies like the application of wet dressings in combination with topical corticoids, short-run intervention with systemic corticoids, phototherapy with ultraviolet visible radiation 8, immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive agents ( cyclosporins, pimecrolimus and tacrolimus ) 9, Imuran, interferon- IA? , 3. However, bulk of these therapies have been found to be associated with side-effects like nephritic toxicity, hepato-toxicity 3, skin combustion and thinning etc.9 This has resulted in involvement in the alternate traditional therapies. Cichorium is a medicinally of import works that belongs to the household Asteraceae 10. The tuberous root of this works is made up of a figure of medicinally of import compounds such as inulin, acrimonious sesquiterpene lactones, coumarins ( esculin ) , flavonoids and vitamins 10. Hence, the root infusion of the works has been used as an antihepatotoxic, antiulcerogenic, antiinflammatory, appetiser, digestive, gastric, liver tonic, cholagogue, cardiotonic, depurative, diuretic, emmenagogue, antipyretic, alexeteric and besides as tonic 11. Furthermore, it is besides helpful in headache, heapatomegaly, degenerative arthritis 12, anorexia, indigestion, flatulency, gripes, urarthritis, firing esthesis, icterus, splenomegaly, hyperdipsia, Hansen's disease, , amenorrhea, chronic and biliary febrilities, ophthalmitis, sore throat and emesis, arthralgia, lumbago, asthma and general infirmity 13. Chicory root has been shown to hold anti-inflammatory action by suppression of COX-2 activity 14. Furthermore, the chicory root infusion has been shown to possess antibacterial 10 and clamber protecting belongingss 15. The safety profile chicory root infusion is good 16 and is better tolerated 17. A combination of these belongingss makes it a suited agent to be tested against atopic dermatitis. Although its usage in the intervention of skin allergic conditions has been mentioned in the literature, no surveies could be identified proving the efficaciousness of chicory infusion against atopic dermatitis in grownups or kids. Despite the deficiency of identifiable research into the usage of chicory root infusion in pull offing grownup atopic dermatitis, the grounds available pertaining to its widespread usage and anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial usage suggests that chicory root infusion could be a good direction option by bettering the disease symptoms and associated conditions. In drumhead, a randomised control test on an equal sample size, focused entirely on the consequence of chicory root infusion on the symptoms of atopic dermatitis should be carried out utilizing blinded research workers.Research QuestionDoes the chicory root infusion better the symptoms in patients enduring from grownup atopic dermatitis?Proposed ProbeThe probe aims to find whether the root infusion of chicory works decreases the badness and symptoms of grownup atopic dermatitis. A randomized vehicle-control dual blind test will be performed on 100 patients enduring from atopic dermatitis at the Liverpool infirmary. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria Participants between 20 to 50 old ages of age enduring from or diagnosed with non-exudative atopic dermatitis utilizing the Hanifin and Rajka criteria 18 will be indiscriminately assigned to instance and control groups. Exclusion standards for participants enduring from exudative dermatitis, patients who received UVB phototherapy or photo-chemotherapy in the last 1 month, and patients who received systemic therapies such as steroid or other immunosuppressive drugs in the last 3 months were excluded. Study and vehicle Group Preparations The ethyl ethanoate chicory infusion will be dispensed in an ointment signifier with a standard base pick which contains a mixture of glyceryl mono/distearate and polythene ethanediol stearate, isoparaffin and cyclopentadimethylsiloxane 19. This base will function as vehicle and cream merely with no other actions. The control group will have the base pick merely along with ethyl ethanoate to minimise the consequence of any confounders. Intervention Following blessing from the local moralss commission, informed consent will be taken from all the patients while making the baseline hiting for atopic dermatitis. Subjects will so be indiscriminately allocated into either the intervention group or control group after baseline appraisal and marking. The survey group ( n=50 ) will have ethyl acetate chicory root infusion in ointment signifier whilst the vehicle group ( n=50 ) will have a placebo in ointment signifier with indistinguishable visual aspect and wadding. Treatment will dwell of using a thin bed of unction on the affected country twice daily for a period of eight back-to-back hebdomads. All other signifiers of interventions will be prohibited during the survey period. The marking will be done at 4 hebdomad intervals. Both the clinicians and the patients will be blind to the intervention that they are giving or having as the survey and vehicle unction will be dispensed in indistinguishable wadding. Result Four major parametric quantities of the disease, viz. , extent, strength, waterlessness, and itchiness, will be flatly recorded harmonizing to the eczema country and badness index ( EASI ) 20. The symptoms will besides be estimated by hiting patient reported symptoms utilizing a structured questionnaire with nonsubjective standards. A usage of hiting systems and nonsubjective standards will assist to standardise and compare the results in both groups. The result tonss of the two groups at baseline and at 4 hebdomads interval will be compared utilizing a two-tailed Studentaa‚Â ¬a„?s t-test with the significance degree set at 5 % . All the analysis will be done utilizing SPSS. Restriction Restrictions of the survey include the fact that the participants may endure from flair ups due to surcease of all other types of interventions. However, if at any point it is felt by the wellness attention squad that the intercession is arousing any unwanted effects and patient demands systematic therapy, the test will be terminated early or that patient will be dropped out. This may increase the bead out rates and compromise the cogency of the survey. Ethical Issues Participants will be informed that non-participation or backdown at any phase wonaa‚Â ¬a„?t compromise their medical attention. Informed consent will be taken from the patient and his doctor before get downing the intervention and will be discontinue at any clip if the patient or his physician want to make so.

Definition and Examples of Language Death

Definition and Examples of Language Death Language death is a  linguistic term for the end or extinction of a language. Also called language extinction. Language Extinction Distinctions are commonly drawn between an endangered language (one with few or no children learning the language) and an extinct language (one in which the last native speaker has died).   A Language Dies Every Two Weeks Linguist David Crystal has estimated that one language [is] dying out somewhere in the world, on average, every two weeks (By Hook or by Crook: A Journey in Search of English, 2008). Language Death Every 14 days a language dies. By 2100, more than half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on Earthmany of them not yet recordedmay disappear, taking with them a wealth of knowledge about history, culture, the natural environment, and the human brain. (National Geographic Society, Enduring Voices Project)I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations. (Samuel Johnson, quoted by James Boswell in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 1785)Language death occurs in unstable bilingual or multilingual speech communities as a result of language shift from a regressive minority language to a dominant majority language. (Wolfgang Dressler, Language Death. 1988)Aboriginal Australia holds some of the worlds most endangered languages including Amurdag, which was believed to be extinct until a few years ago when linguists came across speaker Charlie Mangulda living in the Northern Territory.(Holly Bentley, Mind Your Language. The Guardian, Aug. 13, 2010) The Effects of a Dominant Language A language is said to be dead when no one speaks it any more. It may continue to have existence in recorded form, of coursetraditionally in writing, more recently as part of a sound or video archive (and it does in a sense live on in this way)but unless it has fluent speakers one would not talk of it as a living language. . . .The effects of a dominant language vary markedly in different parts of the world, as do attitudes towards it. In Australia, the presence of English has, directly or indirectly, caused great linguistic devastation, with 90% of languages moribund. But English is not the language which is dominant throughout Latin America: if languages are dying there, it is not through any fault of English. Moreover, the presence of a dominant language does not automatically result in a 90% extinction rate. Russian has long been dominant in the countries of the former USSR, but there the total destruction of local languages has been estimated to be only (sic) 50%.(David Crystal, Language Death. Cambridge University Press, 2002) Aesthetic Loss The main loss when a language dies is not cultural but aesthetic. The click sounds in certain African languages are magnificent to hear. In many Amazonian languages, when you say something you have to specify, with a suffix, where you got the information. The Ket language of Siberia is so awesomely irregular as to seem a work of art.But let’s remember that this aesthetic delight is mainly savored by the outside observer, often a professional savorer like myself. Professional linguists or anthropologists are part of a distinct human minority. . . .At the end of the day, language death is, ironically, a symptom of people coming together. Globalization means hitherto isolated peoples migrating and sharing space. For them to do so and still maintain distinct languages across generations happens only amidst unusually tenacious self-isolationsuch as that of the Amishor brutal segregation. (Jews did not speak Yiddish in order to revel in their diversity but because they lived in an a partheid society.)(John McWhorter, The Cosmopolitan Tongue: The Universality of English. World Affairs Journal, Fall 2009) Steps to Preserve a Language [T]he best non-linguists can do, in North-America, towards preserving languages, dialects, vocabularies and the like is, among other possible actions, (French linguist Claude Hagà ¨ge, author of On the Death and Life of Languages, in Q and A: The Death of Languages. The New York Times, Dec. 16, 2009) Participating in associations which, in the US and Canada, work to obtain from local and national governments a recognition of the importance of Indian languages (prosecuted and led to quasi-extinction during the XIXth century) and cultures, such as those of the Algonquian, Athabaskan, Haida, Na-Dene, Nootkan, Penutian, Salishan, Tlingit communities, to name just a few;Participating in funding the creation of schools and the appointment and payment of competent teachers;Participating in the training of linguists and ethnologists belonging to Indian tribes, in order to foster the publication of grammars and dictionaries, which should also be financially helped;Acting in order to introduce the knowledge of Indian cultures as one of the important topics in American and Canadian TV and radio programs. An Endangered Language in Tabasco The language of Ayapaneco has been spoken in the land now known as Mexico for centuries. It has survived the Spanish conquest, seen off wars, revolutions, famines and floods. But now, like so many other indigenous languages, its at risk of extinction.There are just two people left who can speak it fluentlybut they refuse to talk to each other. Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, live 500 metres apart in the village of Ayapa in the tropical lowlands of the southern state of Tabasco. It is not clear whether there is a long-buried argument behind their mutual avoidance, but people who know them say they have never really enjoyed each others company.They dont have a lot in common, says Daniel Suslak, a linguistic anthropologist from Indiana University, who is involved with a project to produce a dictionary of Ayapaneco. Segovia, he says, can be a little prickly and Velazquez, who is more stoic, rarely likes to leave his home.The dictionary is part of a race against time to revi talize the language before it is definitively too late. When I was a boy everybody spoke it, Segovia told the Guardian by phone. Its disappeared little by little, and now I suppose it might die with me. (Jo Tuckman, Language at Risk of Dying OutLast Two Speakers Arent Talking. The Guardian, April 13, 2011) Those linguists racing to save dying languagesurging villagers to raise their children in the small and threatened language rather than the bigger national languageface criticism that they are unintentionally helping keep people impoverished by encouraging them to stay in a small-language ghetto. (Robert Lane Greene, You Are What You Speak. Delacorte, 2011)