Critical Reflection of Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Critical Reflection of Learning - Essay Example Secondly in this area, instructors have been shown as the real professionals and experts who administer the skills to learners as a way of passing knowledge from one generation to another. It is in this group that professionalism and integrity should be stressed so as to ensure that right and correct curriculum and procedure is followed. The government of the day is a unique figure in the propagation of knowledge in the country. They formulate policies that will improve the delivery of knowledge in academic excellence. They depend on learning centers and organizations so as to produce sufficient and qualified personnel which will carry on the nation in the coming generations. It is with this great interest and dependence of learning process that this paper shall outline the benefits of critical reflection so as to improve learning and enhance efficiency for both learners and instructors. Learning depends on a systemic guide that elaborates the academic procedure and curriculum which instructors lead learners through it, and assessment and evaluation is done to show if learning has taken place or not. Good performance in assessment and evaluation through examinations is seen as positive, while failure is shown to suggest that learning has not taken place. This critically does not reflect the true identity of learning process. This is because examiners may wish to examine learners in a specific topic or module which may not be friendly with the learner hence the poor performance of the student. This therefore, suggests that the student may have failed in this area but well equipped in other topics which may not have been examined. This illustration makes an argument that examination may not be the best tool to reflection of the learning process since it does not indicate all the possible avenues of education. On the hand, those who may have performed well in the exam may have had a good time with the topic examined hence their performance. Environment is a great contributor in the performance of a student that may enable one to perform well or poor. In cases where tension is identified, learners may be affected in their performance. Parents and instructors who threaten their children put pressure to perform on them hence passing or failing dos not reflect learning and acquisition of knowledge. This indicates that pupils may pass the exam because of the family, and friends pressure, and not as a result that they have achieved the goal of learning. This proves that stakeholders should come together and come up with ways to evaluate and assess learners in the learning process so as to send out qualified professionals that can be depended on to improve economies of the world and offer management expertise in global organizations. Academic performance has been set as a mark in the employment subject which has seen people with good certificates enter the job world. However, it has been argued that some of these people are considered incompetent e ven though they possess certificates with wonderful grades. This raises alarm on the merits of learning since in several high learning institutions, it is the choice and decision of the respective lectures that make or break a professional from the class environment. Proper machinery and

The Acquisition of Tense by Arabic Learners of English Language Thesis Proposal

The Acquisition of Tense by Arabic Learners of English Language - Thesis Proposal Example This proposal was motivated by an interest in the subject as well as the knowledge that the results of the study are potentially productive and could provide necessary knowledge in the area of linguistic science. This subject is a problem of significance for the students it affects and the knowledge to be gained from this study stands to benefit more than the population of peoples with Arabic as a first language. It is my hope that the findings of this study will also be used to assist other L2 students, and perhaps enrich their relationship with a second language. Among the problems faced by English students with Arabic as their first language is the acquisition of tenses. The morphemes of the English language differ greatly from those of Arabic, and the irregularities of tenses must be memorized, making the acquisition of tenses one of the most difficult parts of the learning process. As stated by Johanne Paradis, this situation â€Å"†¦is a vulnerable domain for English lang uage learners across acquisition contexts†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Since one of two allomorphs pertaining to the past tense is possible, either [td] or [t or d], the English past tense exhibits a quasi-regularity. These combined attributes create difficulties for the would-be English learner. To appreciate the hardship of the L2 student, data will be collected from thirty students at three consecutive levels of ability. Two approaches will be taken while analyzing the data in an attempt to prove two hypotheses.... Since one of two allomorphs pertaining to the past tense is possible, either [td] or [t or d], the English past tense exhibits a quasi-regularity (McClelland). These combined attributes create difficulties for the would-be English learner. To appreciate the hardship of the L2 student, data will be collected from thirty students at three consecutive levels of ability. Two approaches will be taken while analyzing the data in an attempt to prove two hypotheses. Problem Statement: Learning difficulties arising for L2 students can affect certain aspects of their lives. In the case of foreign students, attempts to integrate into a new country can be inhibited by linguistic difficulties. "knowing a language involves mastering an intricate system full of surprising regularities and idiosyncrasies." (Sag and Wasow, 2001) For people attempting to learn English as a second language, it can be embarrassing and often debilitating to incorrectly express tenses. In the workplace, people with English as a second language are often misjudged as unintelligent. Added to the difficulties most adults have with the correct acquisition of phonological sounds, (Escudero, 2005) the learning of English for Arabic speakers is quite a challenge. The confusion of past tenses was one of the major errors in tenses reported in a study of Arab learners of English at the University of Sudan (Kambal, 1980). Therefore, a study concerning the acquisition of English tenses by Arabic students can assist students with similar problems by determining the most effective solution. Hypotheses: There are two hypotheses which will be used to attempt an explanation of the difficulties that

Helicopter Experiment Essay Example for Free

Helicopter Experiment Essay Prediction: As the mass on the helicopter’s copters increases, the speed taken for the rotors to spin down faster, this is because there will be more downward pull from gravity, as the terminal velocity for a paper helicopter is low. Variables: Independent variable will be the mass that we change throughout the experiment. The dependant variable will be the time that we measure for the helicopter to reach the floor. Finally the controlled variables include, the helicopter itself. As well as the height from which the helicopter is released. Apparatus: Paper, Scotch tape, Scissors, Ruler Method: Create a helicopters rotors using take and paper use the diagram to help you Apparatus: 2 meter rulers, one stop watch, one balance, 3 paper clips, pencil. Method: 1) Using both the meter rulers and a pencil make a mark on the wall. 2) Weigh the helicopter then record its weight 3) Hold the paper helicopter parallel to the mark on the wall 4) At the same time release the helicopter and start the stopwatch 5) Stop the stop watch when the helicopter touches the ground 6) Weigh the first paper clip and record its weight 7) Attach the paper clip to helicopter and repeat the experiment 8) Weigh the second paper clip and record its weight 9) Attach the paper clip to helicopter and repeat the experiment 10) Weigh the final paper clip and record its weight 11) Attach the paper clip to helicopter and repeat the experiment Conclusion and Evaluation: In this experiment my prediction was right, therefore proving that the helicopter may reach its terminal velocity faster with higher mass meaning that the speed is greater therefore it allows the helicopter to reach the  ground faster if there is more mass. There are two major flaws in this experiment, the first being the height from which the helicopter is dropped, as it is held away from the mark of 2m therefore it would have inaccuracies of around 10cm this causes the experiment results to vary. Another flaw being the human reaction time, which is pretty slow and inconsistent, this therefore allows us to stop the stopwatches at the wrong time making the experiment inaccurate. If more time was available, a string could have been hung from the ceiling as a mark of height therefore allowing us to accurately drop the helicopter from the same height, rather than dropping it from an *estimated* 2m. The solution for the wrong human reaction time could be easily solved by the use of light gates. The liht gates could be placed on the floor, and when the helicopter lands, the light will be disrupted therefore allowing the sensor to accurately measure the time taken for the helicopter to reach the ground. The graph is showing us that the speed and mass of a helicopter are directly proportional as when mass increases so does speed. However the graph had not been a perfect straight line, this could have been caused by the two inaccuracies pointed out from the experiment

Construction of Pekeliling Flats, Kuala Lumpur

Construction of Pekeliling Flats, Kuala Lumpur Introduction to Case Study Pekeliling Flats is situated on the Lebuhraya Mahameru-bound Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. The flats are also known as Tunku Abdul Rahman public flats. Pekeliling flats are one of Kuala Lumpurs earliest public housing projects and were built in 1967. There were 11 residential blocks comprising 2,969 units. For the construction of the first pilot project, the Government held a negotiation with a joint venture company Citra/Boon Cheah which intended to use the French Tracoba System of construction. But the negotiation was unsuccessful and the project was subsequently opened to public tender. The tender was eventually awarded to Gammon/Larsen Nielsen using the Danish System of large panel industrialised prefabricated system. The construction was then launched in 1968. The scheme at Jalan Pekeliling comprises 4 blocks of 4-storey flats and shops, 7 blocks of 17-storey flats, totaling 3009 units and was completed within 27 month, including the time taken in the construction of the RM 2.5 million casting yard for the prefabricated elements at 10 ½ miles Jalan Damansara. The whole construction of the flat is constructed using the prefabrication of concrete box method which is similar to the British Truscon System whereby a standard through-shaped concrete boxes, which incorporate facade walls made from lightweight materials, ceilings consisting of plaster boarding stapled and as well as internal fittings. Assembling Method The boxes are made by precasting the walls panels with ribs downwards and smoothing down the concrete as it has semi-set. Once the walls have hardened, they are then removed from the moulds by means of an overhead gantry and placed into a jig. Foundations pads are cast and on top of these precast concrete beams, inverted T cross section are then laid. The boxes are now unloaded directly from the lorry and are placed in position upon these inverted T beams. Once the boxes, which form one course from facade to faà §ade have been bolted together along the wall. After the boxes are connected together at the structural floor level of two connector plates, which are bolted with bolts to threaded inserts on either side of the joint. Once the boxes, which form one course from facade to faà §ade have been bolted together along the wall, where again the cast-in sockets which joined by steel plates and bolts, there only thin vertical joints visible. The vertical channels between the adjoining ribs of the end-to-end boxes make rigid cross-walls of remarkable sound insulation. Horizontal reinforcement rods are lowered and concrete is cast-in, resulting in the formation of a party wall. Evaluation and Comparison Cost Industrialised prefabricated construction of the Pekeliling project was more expensive than the conventional system. Its cost was 8.1% higher than a conventional housing project completed around that time. There are many advantages you can get if you are using precast construction method instead of using in-situ construction method. One of the advantages is the cost implication. Using precast construction method can save money or reduce the cost of construction because: Time Mass production as well as off-site production shortens project timeline, gives earlier return on investment, allowing earlier occupancy and keep in schedule. It is estimated that a precast structure takes up to 20% less time to construct than a similar cast in situ structure. For example, the walls of a building can be manufactured while on-site foundations are being built. If the time is over the schedule or due date, the company needs to pay the damages. Durability Provides long service for high use applications and does not require regular maintenance; save cost in long term. Waste Minimization Fewer materials are required because precise mixture proportions and tighter tolerances are achievable. Less concrete waste is created due to tight control of quantities of constituent materials. Waste materials are more readily recycled because concrete production is in one location. Sand and acids for finishing surfaces are reused. Steel forms and other materials are reused. Reduced requirements for formwork, access scaffolding and less reliance on wet trades. The reduced requirement for site supervision by the main contractor also saves money. Compared to cast in-situ concrete, the following percentages of savings can be expected: 75 per cent in terms of formwork and scaffolding and 90% for wet concrete. Recyclable precast concrete structures in urban areas can be recycled into fill and road base material at the end of their useful life. Fewer trucks and less time are required for construction because concrete is made offsite; particularly beneficial in urban areas where minimal traffic disruption is critical. When fewer trucks are required means lesser the cost needed to rent vehicles. The reduction in site labour which partly offsets a shortage of skilled site workers. Priced in the $55 $65 range per linear foot of wall, precast systems are competitive with other foundation walls, particularly when costs are examined as an assembly that includes footings and sub-slab drainage. Precast walls can be installed quickly in any weather. Because the concrete is cured in the factory, precast foundations can be backfilled as soon as the slab is placed and first floor bracing is in place, enhancing jobsite safety and site accessibility. Door and window openings, steel beam pockets, and brick ledges must be cast into the panels, so orders must be customized. The wall sub-base must be compacted and leveled, similar to precision required of footings. In making cost comparisons between alternative systems, it is imperative that total like for like costs are considered. There are substantial savings to be made using precast construction which are not evident when a direct elemental cost comparison is made with alternative construction methods. To get an accurate like for like cost, whole building costs must be estimated. To accurately assess whole building cost, each of the advantages of precast must be accurately costed. Savings through factors such as earlier completion dates, inbuilt fireproofing, reduced formwork, scaffolding, reduced wet trades and increased budget control can be significant. Also, fast-track procurement and construction may minimise capital costs by reducing financing costs and securing earlier rental income. The precast frame package typically includes columns, beams, floors, wall panels, stairs, landings, balconies etc., all of which have an inbuilt minimum one-hour fire protection. Specialist precast frame producers will assist design teams in evaluating the scope for standardised precast components for a particular project. Budget costings and erection programmes can be prepared by the precaster on receipt of outline drawings and a list of performance criteria. For contractors and specifiers, there is a big difference between price and cost. While price is but one element of cost, it is the initial, most visible and the easier of the two to understand. Focusing on price is not a preferred strategy in any business, especially where high-quality, reliable manufactured goods are concerned. Instead, for precast concrete products, the focus should be on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). How is TCO calculated? The Total Cost of Ownership is equal to the sum of the four cost components: quality, service, delivery and price. In terms of cost elements, a distinct advantage of precast concrete over cast-in-place (CIP) is speed of delivery and ease of installation, or service. Both contribute directly to lower Total Cost of Ownership. Precast concrete, especially when produced in certified plants, boasts the additional benefit of higher quality. Controlled batch proportions placed under uniform conditions consistently creates a better product than can be cast in place. For illustration purposes, we will use an ordinary precast underground structure. On the construction site, scheduling is an important, unpredictable and expensive risk. Nature stacks the cost odds against CIP concrete. It is a much quicker and less risky choice to have the precast delivered and installed the same day rather than excavate, form, pour and strip the CIP concrete, cure, damp proof and backfill. Given the cost matrix in Example 1, it could save six days in construction scheduling. For illustration purposes, consider a typical below-grade structure. For the inside dimensions of a 4-by-8-by-4-foot structure of either precast (6 inches thick) or CIP (8 inches thick), assume these facts: CIP requires three separate days to pour the base, walls and top. Curing and stripping adds one day to each step, requiring six days to cast on site. Damp proofing adds one day to the CIP process, totaling seven working days of open-hole time. Allowing an average $350 per cubic yard for small jobs (ready mix, rebar, mastic, labor and equipment), the 4 cubic yards of CIP required prices out at $1,400. Precast takes only one day to deliver and install, including backfill of the pre-damp proofed unit. The precast alternative to produce and truck to the job site prices out at $2,000. Installing the precast requires a four-hour minimum charge of $400 for a 20-ton crane. Hardware costs for fittings, embedded items, etc., are identical for precast and CIP. The TCO of precast is fixed at $2,400. However, the TCO of CIP is just beginning at $1,400. That raises the question among doubters as to why a contractor would spend more for precast. But many savvy contractors and specifiers recognize that their costs are actually less with precast. The six days of additional scheduling are required by the mechanics of pouring and curing concrete on site. The work could be done off site in a quality controlled precast plant while other work on site progresses. Even if a contractor has a concrete crew doing multiple projects on site, the efficiency gained by substituting as much precast as possible cannot be ignored. A contractor saves money for every minute he or she is ahead of schedule. If a $1 million contract yields a 10 percent profit margin and can be completed in 10 months that equates to $10,000 per month, or $333 per day in profit. Saving six days means an additional profit of 6 x $333 or $2,000. Furthermore, that savings is compounded by the elimination of general conditions costs of about $500 per day for the burden of supervision, insurance, fixed and variable job site costs, etc. And these are just actual costs. Add to this the avoidance of liquidated damages, and the cost advantage of precast concrete becomes the overwhelming choice. The cost advantages are summarized in Example 2. Speed The project took 27 months to complete, inclusive of the time taken in setting up the precasting factories. The construction period was comparable to the fastest conventional construction. Thus industrialised building has the following advantages in terms of time saving. Saving of time and materials involved in the erection of scaffoldings Shorter construction time as a result of well planned and co-ordinated sequence of construction Not affected by weather condition as building components are manufactured in the factory, and there is no on-site concreting. Labour Requirement Industrialised prefabricated system enable labour saving of 30%-40% mainly of skilled labour such as brick layers, plasterers and carpenters. In Malaysia, skilled labour in the building industry is scarce so it is expensive. The introduction of industrialised building system can obviously improve the situation. As we all know, labour can divided into three types. There are unskilled labour, semi-skilled labour and skill labour. Labour productivity is defined as the manhours required to complete the structural element of one unit house. A total of 499 data points were obtained from seven residential projects constructed between January 2003 and April 2004. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicated that the labour productivity was significantly different between four structural building systems for example. The mean labour productivity for conventional building system was 4.20 manhours followed by cast in-situ table form manhours, cast in-situ half tunnel form 1.88 manhours and precast concrete system 1.33 manhours. Furthermore, the analysis of crew size indicated that the mean crew size for conventional building system of 24 workers was significantly different from the IBS of 22 workers. However, the crew size within the IBS was found to be insignificant. The cycle time measured in days per hou se was found to be significantly different between structural building systems with the conventional building system of 4.9 days, cast in-situ table form of 3.9 days, cast in-situ half tunnel form of 2.9 days and precast concrete system of 2.3 days. The labour productivity obtained from this study could be used as a preliminary guideline for client or consultant to identify the most appropriate building system for carrying out a construction project and determining the labour requirement in the construction industry. Further, the comparison of crew size indicated that the conventional building system of 22 workers was significantly different from the IBS of 18 workers. Similarly, the cycle time of 17 days per house for conventional building system was found to be significantly different from the IBS of four days. As a conclusion, using conventional method require more labour to be done on site compare to the pre cast construction or Industrialised Buildiing System (IBS). When using precast, the requirement of labour will reduce because there is less work to be done site. The number of labour also will small compare to the in- situ construction method. Quality The finished appearance of the building was of a much higher quality than that achieved in conventionally built low cost housing units. In particular, the finish of interior walls was much better to that achieved using cement-sand hollow blocks. There were serious environmental problems and some stresses were caused as a direct result of the detailing of the system. These problems can be overcome by changes in the detailing. Productivity There are many essential elements in construction industry. One of them is construction labour productivity. Its principal applications include construction planning, scheduling, cost estimating, accounting and cost control. As a matter of fact, international labour factors and also suggested ways in which they could subsequently be applied to determine comparative international construction cost and labour requirement are generated by labour productivity rates. The study on labour productivity for construction industry has been conducted by many researchers. However, the majority of them put their concentration on labour intensive conventional in-situ construction system. Only a fat lot of attention is devoted to perplexing question such as productivity measurement for industrialised building systems (IBS) in despite of the proliferation of the systems in Malaysia. The precast construction system can be termed as industrialised building systems (IBS) also. During the Eighth Malaysia Plan (2001-2005) whereby 600,000 to 800,000 houses are expected to be built, the need for huge demand for housing industry results in the development of these IBSs. The conventional in-situ construction system which is currently being used by the construction industry is incapable to cope with the demand in a stipulated period. The method is labour intensive. Since this method requires a lot of manpower, so it relies heavily on foreign workers. Thus, productivity research attention shall be swerved toward IBS which utilizes the philosophy of assembly activity. For productivity improvement in building industry from craft activity to assembly activity, there is a tremendous potential as depicted in Table 1. Objectives Large number of studies focused on labour productivity for single operation such reinforcement bar productivity, productivity of concrete and formwork productivity, whereas, only small effort is devoted towards the combined labour productivity for combination of all the single operation that form the structural element of one unit house. Therefore, this conducted study introduces a standardised data collection methodology for measuring and comparing the conventional and industrialised building systems in aspects of labour productivity and cycle time. Description of Data The data for this study were acquired from seven on-going residential projects constructed between January 2003 and April 2004. A sum of 499 data points were observed during that period. The data of projects gross floor area per unit house vary in size in interval between 60m ² to 84m ². Turnkey contractors were in charged in four projects while the remaining projects were built by a general contractor. In table 2, the project characteristics are presented. (Refer to the Appendix for data) Carpenter, barbender, concretor and crane operator were in charged in installation and erection of these structural elements. Therefore, the labour productivity of one unit house is calculated as below. Labour productivity for structural element of one unit houses = Crew Size carpentry, barbender, concretor and crane operator x work timeBuilding gross floor area (m2) = Total manhoursBuilding gross floor area (m2) All data were collected via a standardised data collection form as shown in Table 3. Every day, data collectors were designated to on-going construction sites and 30 minutes were spent per site for observation and record of the crew size, work time and location of work place. Daily observation is recommended because all workers were paid daily. Since workers absenteeism might occur during the construction period and weekly or monthly data variability are too large to enable reliable analyses, weekly or monthly observation is not favorable. Daily observation can also show high degree of variability due to various disturbance project related factors but not as much as other observation. Observation on every hour is also not suggested because it is very expensive and spends a lot of time. Some confidential information was obtained through direct interview with the project managers. Workers daily wage is one of the confidential information. Besides that, regular interviews to identify an d understand any peculiarities delay and interruption to the projects were essential to carried out. Rationale for Combining Data Points The size of the data points has a great effect on the appropriateness, accuracy and reliability of statistical analysis. When a single independent variable is used, small sample with 20 data points is ideal. And yet, a large sample of 1000 data points or more will cause the statistical analysis sensitive and unreliable. Moreover, peculiarities in observations or unusual conditions will bring some inexact data points that cause a baneful effect on the analysis. The rationale for combining the data points from different projects into four structural building systems are as follows: All projects are residential projects. They consist of repetitive structural designs. No special formwork system is needed because they do not have any peculiarities architectural features. Workers in charged in all operations are semi-skilled and skilled workers. The manual dexterity is about the same. The effects of weather and temperature are minimized since all projects are located within 30 km distance. Result and Discussion The data analysis and results focus on two specific subjects as described below: Labour productivity comparison between structural building systems using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Cycle time comparison between structural building systems using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Comparison of Labour Productivity between Structural Building Systems This section evaluates the labour productivity comparison between structural building systems. Table 4 presents the descriptive statistic for labour productivity comparison between projects while Table 5 presents the labour productivity comparison between building systems using the average data from the seven projects. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results of labour productivity between the four building systems was found to be statistically significant different [ANOVA output, F(3,498) = 319.526, P-value = 0.000] as shown in Table 6. The precast concrete system was the most productive building system with labour productivity of 1.33 manhours/m ² followed by cast in-situ half tunnel (1.88 manhours/m ²), cast in-situ table form (2.70 manhours/m ²) and conventional building system (4.20 manhours/m ²). Taking the conventional building system as the benchmark of 100%, the cast in-situ table form system achieved a construction speed of 135% followed by the cast in-situ half tunnel form system of 155% and precast concrete system of 168%. The result was in tandem with the number of trades for each building system. For example, the conventional building system consisted of four major operations, namely the erection of scaffolding and formwork, installation of reinforcement bars, casting of concrete and dismantling of scaffolding and formwork; hence, it was highly labour intensive. However, only a few construction operations are needed for industrialized building system. For instance, the precast concrete system was pre-assembly in factory, hence reducing on-site labour input. Besides that, no scaffolding is required for cast in-situ tunnel form system to support the slab. Cycle Time Comparison between Structural Building Systems This section examines the cycle time measured in days required to complete the structural element of one unit house. Table 7 shows the cycle time for each project while Table 8 shows the average cycle time for four structural building systems. In Table 9, analysis of variance (ANOVA) results indicated that there was significant different between the four building systems in term of cycle time per house, [F(3,498)=161.416, P-value = 0.000]. The mean cycle times were 4.9 days for conventional building system, 3.9 days for cast in-situ table form, 2.9 days for cast in-situ half tunnel form and 2.3 days for precast concrete system. In term of percentage, the conventional building system required 26% more cycle time than cast in-situ table form system, 41% of cast in-situ half tunnel form system, and 53% of precast concrete system. Summmary This study has introduced the standardised data collection methodology for measuring and comparing the building structural element of conventional and industrialised building system. Researchers are enabled to combine data points from various projects to produce a larger database if they adopt this methodology. The rational for combining the data point is that the majority of residential projects has a simple structural layout plan and do not have any peculiarities architectural features. A total of 499 labour productivity data points were obtained from seven on-going residential projects. The results and discussion evolves on comparison between structural building systems in terms of labour productivity and cycle time per structural element of one house. In aspect of labour productivity comparison, the precast concrete system was the most productive building system with labour productivity of 1.33 manhours/m ² compare to the conventional building system with labour productivity of 4.20 manhours/m ². Besides that, assuming the conventional building system as the benchmark of 100%, precast concrete system achieved a construction speed of 168%. For instance, when the first house constructed using conventional building system is just done, whereas the first house constructed using precast concrete system was done and the second house is constructed about 68% completed. The comparison of cycle time per house indicated that the two building systems were significantly different. The mean cycle times were 4.9 days for conventional building system and 2.3 days for precast concrete system. In term of percentage, the conventional building system required 53% more cycle time than precast concrete system. Finally, the precast concrete system is preferable compare with conventional building system because the building works can be done faster since it requires less time to construct completely. Wastage In the field of structural concrete construction, two basic concepts are generally applied in practice which is precast concrete construction and conventional cast in-situ construction. Wastage can be defined as goods that are damaged, out of date, reduced, or generally unsaleable, which are destined to be thrown away and which are written off as a loss. Construction waste can be divided into three principal categories namely material, labour, and machinery waste. However, material wastage is given more concern because most of the raw materials used in construction industry come from non-renewable resources. The construction industry is a major generator of waste material. Traditionally, construction waste is defined as any material, apart from earth materials, which need to be transported elsewhere from the construction site or used within the construction site itself for the purpose of land filling, incineration, recycling, reusing or composting, other than the intended specific pu rpose of the project due to material damage, excess, non-use, or non-compliance with the specifications or being a by-product of the construction process. Material construction waste can be classify as natural waste (unavoidable waste allowed for in the tender), indirect waste (material used for purposes other than that for which it was ordered), and direct waste (material which is encountered for). It is generally known that there is a relatively large portion of the materials being wasted because of poor material control on building sites. The problem of material wastage is not an isolated issue on construction sites. It is also an environmental concern. When construction waste is viewed from an environmental perspective a different type of categorization must be considered. The environmental criteria include the consideration of solid waste. This is divided into four categories: hazardous waste production, non-hazardous waste production, inert waste production, and radioactive waste production. The construction industry consumes a significant amount of building materials and produces large quantities of building waste. Construction and demolition (C D) material is a mixture of inert and non-inert materials arising from construction, excavation, renovation, demolition and roadwork. The composition of construction waste is divided into two major categories: inert materials (soft and hard inert materials) and non-inert waste. The soft inert materials (such as soil, earth and slurry) can be reused as fill materials in reclamation and earth filling works. The hard materials (such as rocks and broken concrete) can be reused in reclamation works and/or recycled for construction work as granular materials, drainage bedding layers and concrete application. The non-inert waste (such as metal, timber and packaging waste) can be recycled or disposed of in landfills. Further, it was shown that there is a noticeable difference in the generation of material waste between pre-cast and in situ.In general, any reduction in on-site concreting leads to waste reduction. Precasting and prefabrication therefore offers significant opportunities for the reduction of waste. In comparison, the wastage in utilizing precast concrete construction method has smaller amount than conventional cast in-situ construction method.The main reason behind this may be due to the negligible wastes arisen during transportation and installation at the site. The pre-cast concrete elements transported to the site were stored unit wise by manufacturers themselves to avoid damage to the elements. Hence the waste arising during transportation had been minimized and identified as zero. Since pre-cast elements were supplied according to the required length, waste arising during installation of elements was at a minimum level and waste occurring due to over ordering of materials was also eliminated. Further, the pre-cast elements were produced at factories under proper supervision using steel moulds which can be formed of different sizes. Therefore, the wastage of materials during manufacturing also reduced to a considerable amount. On the other hand, there have larger amount of wastage due to conventional in-situ construction than precast concrete construction. This large quantity of wastage for conventional in-situ construction was identified due to the lack of supervision, inaccurate mixing methods, inappropriate type of equipment used, poor storage of materials and poor quality workmanship and this led to higher waste of materials in the following ways: excess cement being used to accelerate the curing process excess concrete being used due to the breaking of form work higher waste in transit and handling of metal and sand and excess concrete being used in uneven surfaces The objective of an in-situ method is to eliminate and reduce the traditional site-based trades like traditional timber formwork, brickwork, plastering and to reduce labour content. Conventional cast in situ construction method utilise lightweight prefabricated formwork made of steel, fibre glass or aluminum in order to replace the existing conventional timber formwork. The method is suitable for large numbers of housing units that require repetitive utilisation of formwork. The formwork can be reused as many times as possible with minimal wastage. There is a noticeable difference between the waste of pre-cast construction and in situ construction. However, because of the significant differences in other material wastes, it can be said that there is a significant reduction of material wastages of pre-cast concrete compared to the material wastages of conventional in-situ concrete. Therefore it can be concluded that there is a significant waste reduction when pre-cast concrete is used. Conclusion From the studies that have been done, it can be concluded that the precast method is better than the conventional Cast-In-Situ method in terms of cost, speed, labour, quality, wastage and productivity.

Homelessness Essays -- Homeless families, social reform, outreach

Homelessness is a serious problem in our society. Every night in our nation thousands of people are on the streets. This type of behavior is considered deviant because it does not reflect the norms and values of our society. In many cases the homeless people in our country are treated as total outcasts. Many of these people have severe mental disorders. Some are victims of an economy that has failed them. One may ask how such harsh situations exist in such an advanced society. With all the money and programs created to help people it seems ridiculous that this behavior exists. In a society where people have so much how is it possible that there are still people that have so little. The homeless are humans, no different than anyone else. They have rights and privileges just as any other citizen. As fellow humans we are obligated to help those in need. The homeless are in need. They are not only in need of money, but they are also in need of our attention and our support. Homelessness is something that we as a society need to address and eliminate completely. In the past few years the number of homeless people has increased tremendously gaining the attention of the public eye. While there is debate over how many homeless people are in the United States, few disagree that the numbers are overwhelmingly high and they are growing. In the past the homeless population mainly consisted of white men who were alcoholics. Now the homeless consists of many different types of people ranging in ethical background. They have also become a younger group of people and have a variety of different reasons for their homelessness (Farr, 1986). Homeless people have no bed to keep warm in if they get a fever or if the weather is cold. They do no... ...ington: University Press of Kentucky. Works Consulted Children's Defense Fund. (1998). The state of America's children: A report from the Children's Defense Fund. Boston: Beacon Press. Fitchen, J. (1981). Poverty in rural America: A case study. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Gans, H. J. (1995). The war against the poor: The underclass and antipoverty policy. New York: BasicBooks. Garrett, P. (1996). Poor kids in a rich nation: Eating the seed corn. In Pathways from poverty educational network. University Park, PA: Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. (ED 406 080) Katz, M. B. (1990). The undeserving poor: From the war on poverty to the war on welfare. New York: Pantheon Books. Kryder-Coe, J. H., Salamon, L. M., & Molnar, J. M. (Eds.). (1991). Homeless children and youth: A new American dilemma. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Coral Divers Resort Case Study Essay -- A Case Analysis

Problem: Coral Divers Resort is a safe and knowledgeable scuba diving resort with a beach front location. Over the past three years revenues have declined and Greywell suffered a $5, 174 in losses in 1994. Coral Divers Resort needs to do something before business gets worse and Jonathan Greywell and his resort go out of business. The first option that Greywell has would be to move Coral Divers Resort to New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The island has a large population, and Nassau the capital has the most developed tourist attractions in the Bahamas. One of the strengths of moving to New Providence would be the large tourist population that gathers there. The island also offers underwater movie sets from popular Bond movies which remain popular dive attractions today. There are also natural underwater dive spots which are ideal for tourists looking for reef or drop off dives. The weaknesses of moving to New Providence Island would be the high costs of land and operations. Greywell might not be able to sell his resort for what it is worth, and the high property costs on Providence would be very high. Two thirds of the Bahamas population lives on this island which wouldn’t improve bookings. Moving to Providence Island would just move Coral Resorts and its problems to a new location. The second option for Greywell would be to incorporate more adventurous dives into his business. Shark, wreck, wall, and reef diving all offer more adventurous and exciting dives th... Coral Divers Resort Case Study Essay -- A Case Analysis Problem: Coral Divers Resort is a safe and knowledgeable scuba diving resort with a beach front location. Over the past three years revenues have declined and Greywell suffered a $5, 174 in losses in 1994. Coral Divers Resort needs to do something before business gets worse and Jonathan Greywell and his resort go out of business. The first option that Greywell has would be to move Coral Divers Resort to New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The island has a large population, and Nassau the capital has the most developed tourist attractions in the Bahamas. One of the strengths of moving to New Providence would be the large tourist population that gathers there. The island also offers underwater movie sets from popular Bond movies which remain popular dive attractions today. There are also natural underwater dive spots which are ideal for tourists looking for reef or drop off dives. The weaknesses of moving to New Providence Island would be the high costs of land and operations. Greywell might not be able to sell his resort for what it is worth, and the high property costs on Providence would be very high. Two thirds of the Bahamas population lives on this island which wouldn’t improve bookings. Moving to Providence Island would just move Coral Resorts and its problems to a new location. The second option for Greywell would be to incorporate more adventurous dives into his business. Shark, wreck, wall, and reef diving all offer more adventurous and exciting dives th...

Development Stages: Adolescence

Development refers to growth, adaptation and change that occur over the course of a lifetime (Papalia, et. al, 2007). The human being is never static, from conception to death, physical and psychological change is constantly taking place in all of us. The process of development has been thought of in terms of stages that each of us must go through. These stages are characterized by certain behavioral or developmental characteristics that each of us goes through at different rates and even at different ages.Among the stages of development, no other aspect of the life cycle has commanded as much attention as adolescence. Adolescence can easily be described as the best of times and the worst of times. This stage is affected by the structure of the society in which the individual is raised. Hence, different cultures may have different conceptions of adolescence. Many cultures have rites of passage when the child enters adolescence or adulthood.While in Western cultures, it is a gradual t ransition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence is marked by changes in the physical, emotional, social and cognitive aspects of the individual. The rapid physical changes occur at the onset of puberty; during adolescence the bodily changes often occur at a slower rate. In this stage, due to increased activity of the gonads at puberty, sex glands develop rapidly and become functional, the sex organs mature and the major secondary sex characteristics are more defined.The skeleton stops growing, hence the adolescent reaches his/her mature height in this stage and the various parts of the body gradually come into proportion (Steinberg, 2002). The physical changes that adolescents experience causes their preoccupation with their physical appearance and of what may be considered as â€Å"normal† Developmental Stages Page #2 development. Few adolescents are content with their bodies, and this discontent can lead to lowered self-esteems and insecurity. Moreover, adolescence disco vers their sexuality in this stage and tends to act on it.Adolescents also experience heightened emotional tensions, which may result from the hormonal and physical changes they are going through, it can also be brought about by the social pressures they must face and of which they have not been prepared. Adolescents experience emotional instability from time to time, which results from their adjustments to changes in their lives. Like when they are angered by the thought that they are being treated like a child or treated unfairly. However, they express their anger by sulking, refusing to speak our loudly criticizing those who angered them.While adolescent emotions are often intense, uncontrolled and seemingly irrational, it improves with age (Geselle, et. al, 1956). Adolescent’s emotions also impact the way they relate with other people and how they view their social sphere. Adolescent’s thought patterns are generally egocentric. Elkind (1967) proposed that adolescen ts assume that everyone else in the world views the world as they do. Adolescent egocentrism has two facets, the personal fable and the imaginary audience. The personal fable is a romanticized self-generated story of one’s personal destiny.Like when the adolescent believes that shoplifting is bad and there is a possibility of being caught by the police, but feels that it will not happen to him/her. The imaginary audience refers to the adolescent’s belief that other people are scrutinizing him/her because he/she is the most important concern of other people. The concept of the imaginary audience may help explain why students are not comfortable in giving reports or presentations in class, as they believe that they are under scrutiny when they do so.This feeling is very real for the adolescent and may impair his/her Developmental Stages Page #3 learning in the classroom. Teachers can help by being sensitive to this issue and thus provide encouragement and positive feedba ck on improvements made by students, or to assign presentations in groups of two, where the team presents it to the class to diffuse the feeling of being scrutinized. According to Piaget (1972) by the time a person reaches adolescence, he/she begins the final phase of intellectual development, which is called formal operation.This stage is characterized by the ability to solve abstract problems. The formal operational thinker is not bound by content and available experience, rather he/she can hypothesize and deal with the â€Å"what ifs†. The adolescent therefore is able to think of concepts and ideas well beyond his/her knowledge and experience, to look for answers in a systematic way and to use logical reasoning. Considering the cognitive stage of adolescents, teachers can challenge students to think beyond the common and simple responses to questions put to them.The teacher can also encourage students to make use of their cognitive skills by analyzing, predicting, justifyi ng, and defending their ideas in class. The teacher however, has to recognize that student’s conception of their ideas and abstract thoughts are products of their social and cultural backgrounds, thus students may give different explanations to a particular question or hypothesis. Like when students are asked to analyze the reasons why societies celebrate events, the teacher must allow for other cultural celebrations and not limit it to American celebrations. References Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism and Adolescence Child Development, 38, 1025-1034 Gesell, A., Ilg, F., & Ames, L. (1956). Youth: The years from ten to sixteen. New York Harper  and Row Papalia, D., Olds, S., & Feldman, R. (2007). Human Development, 10th ed.   McGraw Hill Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development 15:  1-12. Steinberg, L. (2002). Adolescence 6th ed. McGraw Hill