Financial Management - WHSmith PLC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial Management - WHSmith PLC - Essay Example However, WHSmith Retail sales fell by 1% to 1,453m from last year's 1,463m, driven mainly by a 2% loss in its High Street Retail business. This loss in high street retail was only mildly offset by the excellent performance in travel retail characterized by an 11% increase in profits to 21m from 19m in the previous year, and a 3% increase in sales. Reasons for the overall profit loss of the group were attributed to a significant decrease in sales due to unsuccessful marketing and promotions and the continued sale of products with decreasing demand; and an unsuccessful investment in technology, which contributed to the company's increased costs. Another aspect of the retail business is WHSmith Online. Launched in 2000, the retail website, www.whsmith.co.uk, has not been utilized by the company to its potential and is not integrated with the rest of the retail business. It experienced a loss of 2m in profit, similar to the previous year and sales of 7m. In order to turn the company around and increase retail sales, the company will focus on developing a multi-channel retail strategy, taking advantage of WHSmith Online's full potential to increase online sales, as well as sales in high street and travel stores. Shank and Govindarajan (1991) defines strategic cost management as "the process through which a sophisticated understanding of an organization's cost structure is developed and used in the search for sustainable competitive advantage." They argue that blending the three themes of value chain analysis, cost driver analysis, and competitive advantage analysis represents the most powerful way to determine which strategic direction will be most beneficial for an organization (Shank and Govindarajan, 1992). By applying Shank and Govindarajan's framework, one can understand why implementing a multi-channel strategy will benefit WHSmith's retail business in the long run. WHSmith Value Chain Analysis A value chain is "linked set of value-creating activities" (Shank and Govindarajan, 1992). Based on WHSmith's value chain, one can see that a multi-channel retail strategy is most profitable for the company. First, by analyzing WHSmith's internal value chain, one can infer that WHSmith Online has developed as a separated business division that is not integrated into the WHSmith Retail since its launch in 2000. WHSmith Online does not support any of the value chain activities of the group and its potential was not fully explored. Thus, it remains to be a traditional retail business. In the purchasing stage, products are purchased from its distributors based on the demand forecasted by the company. These products are then shipped to warehouses, which deliver them to the respective high street retail stores in the distribution and merchandising stages. High street retail stores then arrange these products, utilizing the available spaces and conduct marketing activities as directed by the central office in the store operations and marketing stages. At this stage, the point of sale is situated at cash registers in each store and mails received by the company from its loyal customers. Figure 2. WHSmith Internal Value Chain Analysis Based on the existing internal value chain and the performance during the previous year, the following improvements need to be employed (WHSmith, 2004): Purchasing: Discontinue purchase

Concocting Barium Sulfate Essay Example for Free

Concocting Barium Sulfate Essay Introduction Barium Sulfate is a white substance, liquid or solid, with the chemical formula being BaSO4. Barium sulfate is a radiopaque agent, which is used in order to help x-rays be more visible due to the contrast between the barium sulfate and the x-rayed parts of the body. This substance is dangerous, but due to its poor solubility ingestion will not result in the bodys absorption of the toxicity of it. Some of the dangers of ingesting Barium Sulfate however are: bloating, constipation, cramping, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, stomach/lower abdominal pain, tightness in chest, troubled breathing, or wheezing. Barium Sulfate also reacts violently with Aluminum powders. Prolonged exposure to Barium Sulfate dust can result in baritosis, which is a form of benign pneumoconiosis. Barium Sulfate is insoluble in most substances, except for concentrated sulfuric acid. Research Question An ample research question for this particular lab would be How can one create five grams of Barium Sulfate? This task explores the use of knowledge of different chemicals regarding their solubilities, concentrations and characteristics and the use of this knowledge in order to make a pre-determined five grams of Barium Sulfate. I intended to approach this problem by using my knowledge of chemicals stated above to come up with a simple, practical way of concocting five grams of Barium Sulfate. Hypothesis If Barium Nitrate and Sulfuric Acid are mixed together appropriately, then we will be able to make five grams of Barium Sulfate, along with the other product. This hypothesis is clearly justifiable. If you mix 5.6 grams of Barium Nitrate with 2.1 grams of Sulfuric Acid, through the reaction types we can see that this is double replacement and should form HNO3 + BaSO4, and through some dilution calculations we can see that theoretically five grams of Barium Sulfate should be made. Variables Independent The amounts of Barium Nitrate and Sulfuric acid. These variables are independent because they will change depending on what substances are use to make the Barium Nitrate and of what concentration. Dependent The amounts of Barium Sulfate and Nitric Acid produced. These variables are dependent because they depend on the independent variables, or the Barium Nitrate and Sulfuric Acid. Control The different materials used during the experiment are the materials used and the substances used to make the Barium Nitrate. These are controls because they do not change throughout the experiment. Procedure Materials 2 700mL beakers 50mL graduated cylinder 100mL graduated cylinder Stirring rod Digital Scale Coffee Filters Hot plate Vacuum Flask 12.5 M H2SO4 Ba(NO3)2 Funnel Steps 1. The true first step of this lab was to figure out how to make Barium Sulfate. In our case, we figured we would mix Barium Nitrate and Sulfuric Acid to do the trick. After subsequent calculations, we figured out that we would need 2.1g of Sulfuric Acid and 5.6g of Barium Nitrate. 2. First we placed 5.6 g of Ba(NO3)2 solid powder into the 700mL beaker 3. We then proceeded to make it into a liquid by adding approximately 100mL of water, and to better dissolve these two substances we put the solution onto a hot plate and stirred until it was sufficiently dissolved 4. Then we put 2.1g or 4mL of 12.5M H2SO4 into the 50mL graduated cylinder 5. Then we diluted the 12.5M H2SO4 to 5M by adding in 6mL of water, in order to achieve 10mL of 5M H2SO4 6. We then poured the dissolved water and Ba(NO3)2 along with the 10mL of 5M H2SO4 together in the other 700mL beaker 7. We then observed the reaction and recorded these observations. The solution was HNO3 and BaSO4, with the BaSO4 a white precipitate in the liquid HNO3. 8. To isolate the BaSO4, it needs to be filtered. We weighed the coffee filter with the digital scale, which came out to 0.5g and then placed the filter on the inside of the funnel. 9. Place the funnel over the vacuum flask so that the HNO3 will go through the funnel into the vacuum flask and the remaining substance will isolated BaSO4 after the substance from the 700mL beaker is poured into the funnel very slowly 10. Remove the coffee filter, and throw everything else out. Then let the BaSO4 on the coffee filter dry overnight 11. Then we weighed the coffee filter with the dry BaSO4, which was 4.7g, and then subtracted the weight of the coffee filter to get the true weight of our BaSO4, which was 4.2 grams. Data Raw Data Amounts of Reactants and Amount of BaSO4 Substance Amount (+/- 0.5g) H2SO4 10ml Ba(NO3)2 5.6g in 100mL of water BaSO4 4.2 grams Calculations Amount to Use of Each Substance 5g of BaSO4 x (1mol BaSO4/ 233.43g of BaSO4) 0.02142 mols BaSO4 0.02142 mols BaSO4 x (1mol H2SO4/ 1mol BaSO4) 0.02142 mols H2SO4 0.02142 mols BaSO4 x (1mol Ba(NO3)2/ 1mol BaSO4) 0.02142 mols Ba(NO3)2 0.02142 mols H2SO4 x (98.078g H2SO4/ 1mol H2SO4) 2.101g H2SO4 0.02142 mols Ba(NO3)2 x (261.336g Ba(NO3)2/1mol Ba(NO3)2 5.597g Ba(NO3)2 Dilution o M1 V1=M2V2 (12.5M H2SO4)(Xml H2SO4) = (5M H2SO4)(10mL H2SO4) X = 4mL H2SO4 6mL of water needed for 4mL H2SO4 Percent Yield (4.2g BaSO4/5g BaSO4) x 100 = 84% Percent Error [(4.2g BaSO4 5g BaSO4)/ 5g BaS04] x 100 = 16% Diagrams All of our equipment laid out The vacuum flask pulling the Nitric Acid out of the Barium Sulfate The finished, dried, Barium Sulfate on the coffee filter Weighing the Barium Sulfate on the coffee filter Conclusion Principally, the lab was a success. We were able to come up with a perfectly good method of creating Barium Sulfate. Technically, however the lab was slightly off. Instead of coming up with the ideal five grams of Barium Sulfate, we fell 8/10ths of a gram short, which came out to a sixteen percent error. This inaccuracy suggests that something in our lab went awry. When pumping the nitric acid out of the barium sulfate, we overflowed the filter on the vacuum flask, seeing as how we didnt take into account how thick the substance actually was. This mishap was most likely the largest contributor to our inaccuracy. Also, human error is always a factor. Inevitably, somewhere down the line we took a reading wrong or something of that nature, further skewing our results. This lab brought up a few questions for further investigation. After finishing the lab, the question occurred to me, if we had used an alternate method to make five grams of Barium Sulfate, could we have been more accurate, less accurate, or would our results have remained the same? To make a better lab, there are a couple things that could be done. First would be to take better care to observe the substances we work with much more carefully. By doing this, there is less likely of a chance of having something happen such as overflowing the funnel. Also, one could record observations better. This would make the analysis of the lab much easier, with less guesswork to do.

The Orthodox Approach To Development Politics Essay

The Orthodox Approach To Development Politics Essay Poverty does not have one clear definition. It is a complicated, multi-faceted concept. For this essay the term poverty will be used to mean a lack of access to basic resources including food, clean water, sanitation, education and capital. The term absolute poverty signifies a population that is living below $1 (U.S) a day; therefore over 1.2 billion people on Earth are living in absolute poverty. Relative poverty is poverty within a country. Although New Zealand has a high human development, there are still people within the country who are relatively poor, compared with richer people in the country. These relatively poor people are not living in absolute poverty but can be considered poor and are therefore living in relative poverty. The orthodox approach to development sees poverty as a situation suffered by people who do not have the money to buy food and satisfy other basic material needs. The alternative view of development sees poverty as a situation suffered by people who are not able to meet their material and non-material needs through their own effort. This alternative places much more emphasis on community and non-material needs, like self-reliance and a sense of community. There are many causes and effects of poverty. The most obvious effect of poverty is hunger, however hunger can also be a cause of poverty. This is because hunger deprives those living in absolute poverty of the skill and strength to carry out productive work. The latest estimates suggest that about eight hundred and forty million people were undernourished between 1998 and 2000. Millions of people, including over six million children under the age of five, die each year as a result of hunger. One in seven children born in countries where hunger, and therefore poverty, is most common will die before reaching the age of five. Hunger affects mental and physical growth, causing undernourished smaller and slighter body frames, which in turn earn less in jobs involving physical labour, contributing to the overall poverty of a country and community. Voicelessness/powerlessness is a cause and effect of poverty because people living in absolute poverty often have no political power and are subjected to exploitation by the state. They lack protection, and report widespread corruption within state education and health care systems. Poor people in many countries speak of being kept waiting endlessly while the rich of the country go to the head of the queue. Situations like these create more problems for those already in absolute poverty, and continue to divide the rich from the poor without providing any help. The problem with a lack of voice and power as a cause of poverty is that it enforces a lack of voice and power as an effect of poverty, creating a continuous cycle that deliberately separates the poor of a country from the rich. The last major cause and effect of poverty that is covered in this essay is vulnerability. Natural disasters, economic crises, and conflict leave the poor very vulnerable, with nobody to help and a lack of resources to use to help themselves. This idea is best expressed through the story of a poor villager from Benin, in the World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty. Three years ago was a very bad year. The flood washed away all our crops, and there was a lot of hunger around here, to the point that many people actually died of hunger. They must have been at least a dozen, mostly children and old people. Nobody could help them. Their relatives in the village had no food either; nobody had enough food for his own children, let alone the food for the children of his brother or cousin. And few had a richer relative somewhere else who could help. This is a perfect example of the vulnerability that is both a cause and effect of poverty. The relatively poor can become absolutel y poor through disasters, both economic and natural, and conflict, which causes more vulnerability that affects their ability to escape poverty. Poverty and conflict are often closely linked. In many developing countries there are huge contrasts in access to power and control of resources, leading to a sense of voicelessness/powerlessness within the poor of the country. This unfair distribution of wealth, power and often land creates conflict, as those with the advantage battle the disadvantaged in order to maintain their advantages. In El Salvador, during the 1980s, Oxfam worked to alleviate poverty and suffering intensified by years of armed conflict. The roots of this conflict lay in the unequal distribution of power, wealth and resources. Poverty causes, and is effected by, many different other global issues. A set of international development goals were created by the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank, to address inequities in income, education, access to health care and the inequalities between men and women. In 2000 these goals were updated and the United Nations Millennium Declaration committed all countries to doing everything possible to eradicate poverty, promote human dignity and equality, and achieve peace, environmental sustainability, and democracy. At this time approximately 1.2 billion people were living on less than $1 (U.S) a day, with an additional 1.6 billion living on less that $2 (U.S) a day. The goal to reduce poverty was seen as an essential part of the way forward. It is crucial to understand why this is seen as a fundamental step and to do this one should look into some of the arguments aga inst helping the poor that philosophers and political theorists pose. The basic lifeboat ethics argument against helping the poor, argued by Garrett Hardin, states that the world is like a lifeboat. In a lifeboat there is a limit to how many people can be carried, and there is no fair way to choose from among those who need to come aboard. Therefore the only fair alternative is to let everyone who needs to come aboard drown. What Hardin is getting at is that we, the developed world, can not save every person, and therefore how can we fairly choose those that we do save and those that we do not. He argues that it would be much fairer to let everyone in absolute poverty die. Other arguments against helping the poor include Friedrich von Hayeks Game of Catalaxy. Hayeks theory stems from a liberal laissez-faire view of the global economy. He believed that the global market should characterized by a spontaneous order that happens when individuals pursue their own ends within a framework set by law and tradition. Hayek goes on to argue that his Game of Catalaxy is a game of skill and all players within the global market are different and therefore not all can win. The winners, he believed, won because they took certain chances and therefore deserved to win, while the losers deserved to lose. Therefore, according to Hayek, countries that have problems with absolute poverty have played the Game of Catalaxy and lost, and deserve to lose. Theoretically these countries will continue to play the game and if they take certain chances they may eventually win. This theory may work but meanwhile the problem of absolute poverty is affecting the rest of the world and therefore we cannot ignore it, or let the Game of Catalaxy sort it out. As Ambassador Jams head Marker, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, says, We are all now in the same lifeboat. The continued health of the North [developed, rich countries] depends on the survival and sustainable development of the South [less developed, poorer countries]. Beyond this argument is a belief that food is a basic human right. If hunger is a cause and effect of poverty and food is a basic human right, then theoretically every country should be doing everything within their power to reduce poverty and create a well-nourished world. This argument is reflected in the Millennium Development Goals. The United Nations believes that food is a basic human right. On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration is the only human rights declaration with universal in its name, and most countries have agreed on it. It can therefore be argued as a legitimate international agreement on the rights of all human beings. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services. Therefore, since the declaration is argued to be a legitimate international agreement on the rights of humans, it can be argued that food, along with other basic necessities, are basic human rights. The orthodox approach to development is the view held by many international regimes like the World Bank and United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The basic concepts behind it are the ideas that the free-market system can create unlimited economic growth, that the Western liberal model and knowledge are superior to anything else, and the belief that the process of free-markets would benefit everyone. Theoretically economies would slowly take-off because of the free-market and from there on the wealth would work its way down to the people actually living in absolute poverty. To do this there would be a production of surplus, with individuals selling their lab our for money, as opposed to producing to meet their family and community needs. This orthodox method is known as the top-down liberal method and relies on external expert knowledge, technology, an expansion of privatization, and large capital investments. As already stated, the orthodox approach is based almost entirely on a monetary and material concept of poverty. In 2000: A Better World For All, the World Bank, United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) state that it is possible to cut poverty rates in half by 2015 if countries follow policies that both reduce social and gender inequalities and, most importantly, create income-earning opportunities for the poor. This is the key for, and a perfect example of, the orthodox approach to development. The UNDP Human Development Report 2003 states that there are six basic policies that should be implemented in order to help the countries reduce poverty. Firstly countries should invest early and ambitiously in basic education and health while fostering gender equality. These are preconditions to sustained economic growth. Second, countries should increase the productivity of small farmers in unfavorable environments [environments where hunger and famine are a problem]. Thirdly countries should improve basic infrastructu resto reduce the costs of doing business and overcome geographic barriers. The last three policies involve developing an industrial development policy, working on promoting democracy, and ensuring environmental sustainability. The World Bank concurs with these ideas, as does the World Trade Organization who state that poor people within a country generally gain from trade liberalization. The orthodox approach to development, portrayed by international regimes including the World Trade Organization, World Bank and United Nations involves liberalizing trade and creating empowerment in order to create faster economic growth, which in turn helps to alleviate poverty. This approach is both valid and sound, and has been proven to work in some countries, although not as quickly as the international regimes would like. As this approach is the dominant view, it is seen as more likely to work. However a number of development theorists have discovered problems within this dominant view. The idea that the free market can end hunger, if governments just get out of the way, is seen by some theorists as a myth. These theorists believe that the free-market-is-good/ government-is-bad view is far too simplistic and can never help address poverty and hunger. The top-down approach is seen as unlikely to work in most situations due to corrupt governments who will not let the wealth trickle down to those actually living in poverty. The theory of comparative advantage holds that nations should produce and export those goods and services in which they hold a comparative advantage and import those items that other nations could produce at a lower cost. The problem with this theory, which is also promoted by the World Bank, UN and IMF as a method for alleviating and reducing poverty, is that it falls apart when applied to the real world. Many countries living in absolute poverty can produce large amounts of coffee at a low cost to themselves, however since there are many producing, the price of coffee on the global market is forced downwards and these countries are producing more coffee for less money. These are just two examples of the kind of problems that make the orthodox method for development less viable. The alternative approach to development is argued by many NGOs like World Vision and the World Development Movement. The core concepts of this approach are the ideas that humans should learn to be self-reliant, that nature, cultural diversity and community-controlled commons (water, air, land, and forest) should be valued, and that democratic participation will help to reduce poverty. This approach relies on participation at the community level, working with local knowledge and technology to create a bottom-up approach to community development. It is a grassroots approach, focusing on helping individuals and communities become self-reliant. This approach is often argued by dependency theorists who believe that the structure of the global political economy essentially enslaves the less developed countries by making them dependent on the capitalist, liberal nations. The alternative approach to development is therefore seen by dependency theorists as one of the only ways to develop less developed countries. Much of the anti-globalist campaign is directed at organizations like the World Bank and IMF because their policies encourage less developed countries to become dependent on foreign aid and investment which continues the poverty and hunger within the less developed countries. Although the alternative approach to development also seems sound and viable, it lacks monetary value and places too much emphasis on the power of communities to change governments. Neither approach is perfect in its methods for the alleviation and reduction of poverty. I believe it is a combination of the orthodox and alternative approaches that really has the ability to help reduce poverty in todays world. The orthodox approach focuses too narrowly on money and capital, while the alternative approach believe too heavily in the power of communities to affect change at a national level. I therefore believe that international regimes, like the World Bank and United Nations, should attempt to affect changes at the state level, working to create democratic governments. Non-Governmental Organizations should continue to work at the grass roots level, affecting changes for the individuals and communities while helping them to become self-reliant. This approach is not without problems and cannot be called easy, but I believe it deals with both the individuals and the state at the levels needed and could help to halve the number of people living in poverty by 2015. Ther e are no perfect answers for development. Poverty is a complex issue. The key is that we do not ignore those living in poverty but help, in whatever way we believe is best. We are obliged to try our hardest to make circumstances better for them. http://www.vuwcu.orconhosting.net.nz/warp/poverty.htm

Blessing in Disguise :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adolescence is a period in life where one makes mistakes and learns from them. However, most mistakes have consequences and repercussions. At the age of 17, my parents decided to move the entire family back to our homeland, Dominican Republic, after discovering that my sister and I had been â€Å"borrowing† their car while they slept and driving it without driver licenses. After the initial shock and resentment wore off, I realized that moving to Dominican Republic was the best thing that ever happened for three major reasons: I grew closer to my one and only sister, my grades improved, and I became more independent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin, I grew closer to my one and only sister for a few reasons. For instance, we attended the same school in Dominican Republic as opposed to when we were in Miami. Secondly, since we were both experiencing the same emotions, we were able to comfort each other. Third, having a mutual goal of moving back to Miami on our own made us more than sisters, it made us partners in crime. To this day, our relationship keeps going strong and we are closer than ever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition, my grades improved. Before we left Miami, I had just barely passed 11th grade, and was looking at a rough senior year. Since the private high school my parents enrolled me in had a different format than my old school, my chances of graduating on time increased. Also, there was less distraction, and I was actually turning my work in by its due date. Last, I became much more interested in college and my future. This was a huge change from the girl whose last thought was a college education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, I became more independent. I realized that in order to make it on my own, I needed to grow up. With the help of my parents, I learned to cook and clean. One can only eat junk food for so long before you start missing a real, homemade meal. Next, I got a job and started budgeting for my upcoming move. I also made living arrangements for both my sister and I in Miami, as well as, research what type of employment was available for high school graduates.

Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences Essays -- Engineer

Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences A world without engineering would be a world without cities, highways, cars, or industry. Engineers play a very important role in our society. They are involved in virtually all fields of industry in one way or another, and create the products and solve the problems that make it possible for everyone to enjoy the day-to-day conveniences Americans take for granted. In America, approximately 2 million people are engineers (College of Engineering, 1998). There are various fields of engineering: aerospace, agricultural, ceramic, chemical, computer, construction, electrical, industrial, mechanical, metallurgical, and civil. Civil engineers are probably the most important field of engineering to the public. Encyclopedia Americana(Okay, we are in college now--no more using the encyclopedia or the dictionary as openings or definitions. Find stronger sources.) (1998) enlightens ones' knowledge of civil engineers: Civil engineering is one of the most diverse branches of engineering. The civil engineer plans, designs, constructs and maintains a large variety of structures and facilities for public, commercial, and industrial use. These structures include residential, office, and factory buildings; highways, railroads, airports, tunnels, bridges, harbors, channels, and pipelinesÉ as well as sewage and waste disposal systems that add to our convenience and safeguard our health. (p. 762) Civil engineering has been a part of our history since the beginning of civilization. The pyramids of Egypt and the ruins of ancient Rome and Greece are classic examples of early civil engineering. Civil M.D. Morris (1974) suggested that "Civil Engineers are creators; Innovators for the commonwealth... ... The civil engineering handbook. New York: CRC Press. College of Engineering. (1998). Civil engineering. ISU college of engineering online: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/about/info/civil.html]. Available ISU online: Directory: The atlantic monthly online: Home page: Departments. Engineering. Tell me about the college of engineering. What do engineers do? Civil engineering. Engineering Career Services. (1998). Engineering career services: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/ecs/employers/Spring201998%20Salary.html]. Available engineering career services online: Directory: Engineering career services: Home page. Services to students. Full-time employment. bachelors. Spring 1998. Morris, M. D. (1974). Civil engineers and the world around us. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. Petroski, Henry. (1997). Remaking the world. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences Essays -- Engineer Clarification of Payscales and Regional Differences A world without engineering would be a world without cities, highways, cars, or industry. Engineers play a very important role in our society. They are involved in virtually all fields of industry in one way or another, and create the products and solve the problems that make it possible for everyone to enjoy the day-to-day conveniences Americans take for granted. In America, approximately 2 million people are engineers (College of Engineering, 1998). There are various fields of engineering: aerospace, agricultural, ceramic, chemical, computer, construction, electrical, industrial, mechanical, metallurgical, and civil. Civil engineers are probably the most important field of engineering to the public. Encyclopedia Americana(Okay, we are in college now--no more using the encyclopedia or the dictionary as openings or definitions. Find stronger sources.) (1998) enlightens ones' knowledge of civil engineers: Civil engineering is one of the most diverse branches of engineering. The civil engineer plans, designs, constructs and maintains a large variety of structures and facilities for public, commercial, and industrial use. These structures include residential, office, and factory buildings; highways, railroads, airports, tunnels, bridges, harbors, channels, and pipelinesÉ as well as sewage and waste disposal systems that add to our convenience and safeguard our health. (p. 762) Civil engineering has been a part of our history since the beginning of civilization. The pyramids of Egypt and the ruins of ancient Rome and Greece are classic examples of early civil engineering. Civil M.D. Morris (1974) suggested that "Civil Engineers are creators; Innovators for the commonwealth... ... The civil engineering handbook. New York: CRC Press. College of Engineering. (1998). Civil engineering. ISU college of engineering online: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/about/info/civil.html]. Available ISU online: Directory: The atlantic monthly online: Home page: Departments. Engineering. Tell me about the college of engineering. What do engineers do? Civil engineering. Engineering Career Services. (1998). Engineering career services: [http://www.eng.iastate.edu/ecs/employers/Spring201998%20Salary.html]. Available engineering career services online: Directory: Engineering career services: Home page. Services to students. Full-time employment. bachelors. Spring 1998. Morris, M. D. (1974). Civil engineers and the world around us. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. Petroski, Henry. (1997). Remaking the world. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

Capital punishment is an act of executing, killing, or putting one to death for committing hideous crimes. In the state of Georgia, crimes such as treason, murder, and aircraft high jacking, can cause conviction of the death penalty. Race, wrongful convictions, and the costs of executions are some of the controversial issues surrounding capital punishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Race plays an important role when determining the death penalty. In a study conducted by the General Accounting Office found that 82% of the population who murdered Caucasians is more likely to be convicted than those who murdered African Americans. Since 1976 there have been several interracial murders in the United States. The number of white defendants vs. black victims has represented 12 executions in the U.S. since 1976. However, there have been 192 executions of black defendants vs. white victims in the United States, which is more than quadrupled in number. The current U.S. death row population by race includes 1,457 (42%) African Americans, 353 (10%) Hispanics, 1, 580 (45.5%) Caucasians and 81 (2.3%) accounts for other races.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the General Accounting office, the United States can not prevent accidental executions of innocent people. This is primarily due to wrongful identification of defendants in many cases. Crimes are often solved with the most convenient suspect rather right or wrong, which also leads to wrongful death of innocent people. Additionally, many convicts are blamed merely because they â€Å"fit† the description of the intended suspect, which leads to erroneous convictions. Within the last century, recent studies show that more than four-hundred innocent people have been convicted of crimes caused by others. Twenty-three of the four-hundred blameless people were put to death. The death penalty has been reinstated and there have been 96 men and women found innocent minutes before their execution. This is an unjustifiable mistake that can not be corrected due to irreplaceable circumstances with life. Once life has ended, it will never be replaced.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It costs taxpayers twice as much to execute an inmate than to incarcerate him/her for life. The study mentioned above states the death penalty costs 48% more than the costs of a court trial in which the prosecutors seek life imprisonment for the defendant.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These are outrageous figures that utilize taxpayer’s dollars uselessly. The same study shows that each case ranges from 1-1.25 million dollars than the average murder case without parole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people insist that the death penalty be utilized as a preventive measure against crime.

Importance of Securing Items

It would be nice if we were able to wake up, get dressed, and lay out any additional clothes, or uniforms we may need later on in the day. Then go to eat breakfast at a local favorite restaurant; getting in and out of your vehicle quickly without care or worry. It would be nice to chat and trade info with your friends and family, or enquire help with someone different on-line. To be able to come back home after a long day of work, and leave the outside world to itself, would be great! However, the reality of it all is that doing so in this world, is not only dangerous, but also potentially deadly. For us to be able to function in today’s society requires security. And this security is needed in almost every aspect of life; no matter how large or small it may be. Yes, everyone can agree that a vehicle needs to be secured. Without security, criminals are able to climb in, start it up, and drive off. You have just lost your primary form of transportation. That leads to delays in work, or even losing a job. Then trying to get a job would be difficult without a vehicle, making life more and more trying. In today’s news, as well as ads, we are informed of the importance of security when it comes to one’s home. Criminals and burglars, target locations with no or very little security. Large valuable items are easily obtained through this. Even one’s life is in potential danger without home security. One of the most important things that need security, whether you are single or a family, is as simple as a desk or wall locker. Almost everything we do each day can be found in one. We tend to put car keys, and house keys in a desk or locker. We also tend to keep important paper or receipts from wherever we went or did through the day. Or we may have small items like jewelry, and cash stored away. Without security measures in place, these items would be directly obtainable to anyone. Not only from those that want to take things from you. Not only from those that would take and use your things against you, like your bank info, your social security number; to name a few. But also those near to you that you love. A Child can enter an unsecured cabinet and get hands on poisonous cleaning supplies, or medications; or even a handgun that may have been meant for protection. It would nearly, if not be the worst to ever happen to lose a child, or other family member, because a locker or desk was unsecured. So it is very important to be ever vigilant in ensuring that your things, especially your wall locker is secured at all times. Start practicing today, and every day. Then you can have one of those days that will be nice to wake up to safe, and sound.