Vancouver Second Narrows Bridge Collapse Assignment

Vancouver Second Narrows Bridge Collapse - Assignment Example Several parties, both individuals and the government were impacted due to the occurrence of the collapse. The disaster cost the Canadian government a total of $16 million. The collapsed occurred at the time when construction work was in progress; as a result, 19 lives were lost including a diver who volunteered to retrieve bodies from the water. In 1958 at around 3:40 p.m. a loud sound reverberated across Vancouver and brought tragedy and non-forgettable memories that still haunt the thoughts of those that witnessed the incident. The massive bridge in Second Narrows in the Burrard Inlet which was under construction for two years, unexpectedly collapsed and tons of debris fell into the waterway. Dozens of laborers way swept away resulting in the tragic death of iron workers, painters, an operating engineer, two engineers and a driver who had embarked on a rescue operation. The bridge was constructed by the Dominion Bridge firm on the Burrad inlet. Its highest point was one seventy five feet above the water. It was later revealed that one of the steel plans in the structures had bucked making the whole structure to collapse. The workers were earning an average of $3.85 an hour equivalent to $25 in today’s currency. The six lane girder truss bridge was to link North Vancouver and the city of Vancouver. The key cantileve r structure about 620 meters long had a 335m cantilever span and two 467 feet anchor spans (Eric, 2011). The bridge also had four steel trusses measuring 285 feet and nine concrete made spans. The construction of the bridge had started in 1956 and was expected to be complete by1958 at a budgeted fee of about $16 million. The parts that fell were the newly built northern anchor spans and a truss span directly adjacent to it. The collapse occurred when the workers were just moving more steel to the pendent end. The bent that was

The Role of Journalism, Mass Media and Communication in Politics Term Paper

The Role of Journalism, Mass Media and Communication in Politics - Term Paper Example The politicians have mostly used and utilized digital tools legally and illegally with the aim to chase political goals as hacktivists. Hacktivists are the online activity of the special kind that does not generally obey the order. This is to mean that in the digital world, they portray civil disobedience. This idea of hacktivism can be applied by the politicians to the view of digital activists. Online civil disobedience is also encapsulated on this. For various political reasons, activists may behave disobedient in the digital world. These online activists exercise their basic right to freedom of expression and assembly. Politicians can raise various issued or inform the public on certain issues that are happening in the ruling government that may be heating the public. Issues like corruption in the government may be raised by the politicians without being identified through the internet so that the public might provide their opinion. The unique feature of anonymous is the fact that it does not poses a political opinion that is uniform with the apparent omission of the idea of the internets absolute freedom. For an instant, no payment is to be allowed in the opinion provided, no censorship and filtration. There is decentralization of communication over abroad supply of the channels of communication, this includes, mailing list, image boards, and the channels of IRC. Since there is the distribution of information and the people participating are having an opinion that is diverse, there can not be a spokesman or a leader. In short, both the non-digital and the digital protest can at the same time come from anonymous (Slobbe & Verberkt, 2012). The anonymous statement should always be questioned because there are higher possibilities that the statement might not be true. The main method of anonymous entails a target specification and the use of the DDoS method for taking it down while asking for more participants on the internet.     

Comparing and Contrast of the Leadership Styles Research Paper

Comparing and Contrast of the Leadership Styles - Research Paper Example Participative leaders are those who believe in democracy, â€Å"This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness; rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect.† (Leadership Styles) Leaders who delegate authority always take a risk but it endears them to their employees because employees want to be a part of the decision making process. This has pros and cons but works out well because employees put in extra when they realize that they are wanted and an important part of the organization. â€Å"Jon Howell in an interview with Sun-News (January 29, 2001: 7) states "A leaders' behavior must match the situation, and the news of his or her followers." And his summary is very appropriate here: Leader effectiveness is determined by what people do, not by some inherent personal characteristic... I'm not saying personal characteristics don't help; they certainly do. But leaders have to adapt their behavioral styles to fit the situations in which they find themselves" (p. 7).   Howell says the good news is most people can learn leader behaviors and learn to recognize situations in which certain behaviors are most important.   Howell and Costley (2001) argue for the match of leader behavior, leader traits and characteristics, follower characteristics, and the situation at hand.   And there are seven leader types, fit for various behavioral processes and situations in my read of their leader theory: 1. Supportive Leaders (those considerate, people oriented leaders). 2. Directive Leaders (fit for repetitive or work spread between sites and for cultures such as Mexico that prefer status well defined. 3. Participative Leaders such as Dwight Eisenhower who could tame the Primadonna generals and politicians of WWII, and by careful listening to many v oices craft an alliance.   4. Reward and punishment leaders (transactional). 5. Charismatic (heroic) leaders 6. Boundary spanning (network) leaders 7. Leaders who build and forge social exchange (also networkers).   And now we have left the obsession with one best style of leadership. There is no universal style. There is as I have suggested, a dimension of behaviors running between Transactional and Transformational. The behavior school to this point is fixated on the transactional. To find transformational we must sail to the Isle of Situation.† (Howell and Costley). The same principles of Howell and Costley are elucidates in the paper. Core leadership behaviors Every behavior pattern has its own pros and cons. But the behavior pattern which works out the best is undoubtedly participative leadership. In this the terms and conditions are made very clear to the employees, any breach of these terms and conditions result in punishment, on the other hand if the employee perfo rms well, he/she is rewarded suitably for his/her work. This is probably the best behavior pattern, simply because everything is made crystal clear to the employees. The harder the employee works more will be his/her chances of getting rewarded. This pattern also has some risks involved like if an employee is punished for some mistake, the employee may leave the organization or

Gun Control in the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gun Control in the US - Research Paper Example Between the years 1997 and 2001, there were more than 30 such incidents that took place in schools, offices, and various other places, all over US, which resulted in the deaths of 139 people and another 188 being wounded. However, it was after the Columbine High School incident, public outrage reached its peak and there was a mass outcry to bring in stringent laws for gun control. After the initial outpour of rage and massive protests against the National Rifle Association (the champion of liberal gun usage in US), things have drifted back to their original conditions. In June 2010 we find a disturbing piece of news that tells us â€Å"The US Supreme Court found Monday a Chicago handgun ban to be unconstitutional in a far-reaching ruling that makes it much harder for states and city governments to limit gun ownership† (Ogle, US Supreme Court limits gun control by states). So again its status quo and we are back to where we had started, with the court giving a free hand to all potential killers. This article will take an in-depth look at this issue of gun control and the related controversies in US. It will explore as to why US have more gun violence than other countries, and will suggest measures to reduce this peril. From various studies and reports it has been seen that almost 40% of US homes have some sort of guns or fire ammunitions in their possession. Krug, Powell and Dahlberg in their research papers have come to the conclusion that the homicide rates in the American countries is almost 2-10 times higher than any other country in the developed world (Krug, Powell and Dahlberg, 214-221). There is no doubt that violence in some form or the other is present in almost all countries worldwide, but what increases the death rate in US is the rampant presence of guns. This relation between easy availability of guns in US and the high mortality rate has been proven in their research work by the famous

Marketing Performance Report - CUERO Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Performance Report - CUERO Ltd - Essay Example He had been successful in creating a brand identity for different product lines such as Leathercraft, Ritz and Savoy, also changing name of the shops to ‘Shoeshop’ after purchasing them from the Dent Group. Earlier, Wood had a market niche for only two types of foot wears, the hand-crafted men’s shoes and boots of quality construction for commercial usage but when he saw an opportunity to diversify and cater to other market areas, he grabbed the chance of acquiring 60 independent shops of the Dent Group to cover wider areas for the sale of his company shoes. All the shops sold by the Dent Group were located at premium sites in 60 different towns and cities. This was a huge marketing strategy initiative on the part of Frank Wood to expand business (Case Study). It is very interesting to acknowledge that the company did not run any advertisement initiatives for marketing of the foot wears manufactured at the in-house facility in the mid-twenties. It achieved customer recognition on tradition, location and branding. The company made use of only selective marketing tools; it did not indulge in direct marketing as a promotional strategy. Generally, companies follow an integrated marketing strategy (IMS) for improving customer focus. IMS promotes the sale of goods and services through internal marketing, print media and other levels of integration such as Horizontal, Vertical, Internal, External and Data integration (MMC 2009). CUERO Ltd. in stead relied on one major acquisition of all stores of a popular brand, leveraging from the bargain financially and changing the brand name of the acquired shops to ‘Shoeshop’. CUERO Ltd. relied on its own sales stores in stead of developing a public relations strategy. Sales stores located on premium shopping locations by its brand name through a network of its own sales and marketing teams in 60 small and big towns did the marketing and promotion function (Case Study). CUERO diversified its manufacturing of shoes into children’s segment of customers long time back, thus, capturing a huge potential of the children’s shoes market. It helped greatly in earning huge profit margins as it opened another manufacturing plant to cater to the newly acquired niche area of children’s shoes. Till 1990, the company performed very well even amidst non-conducive market environment prevailed upon from the opening of super markets, contraction in the UK shoe manufacturing industry, sourcing of foot wears from outside and changing trends in foot wear industry. Competitive rivalry was also ignored because of the sound financial position of the company (Case Study). Marketing functions were controlled centrally from the Head Office, managed with the help of limited staff including one marketing manager, three merchandisers, four product managers, three sales people, one resource to deal with advertising and two support staff. For any other competitive firm, this strength of marketing team could have been insufficient but CUERO managed on the previously earned reputation, as the bosses wanted the staff to strictly tow the traditional line (Case Study) Pricing policy was rigid as merchandisers added the fixed and pre-settled ratio of profit on the actual cost of foot wear irrespective of the market dynamics. Innovation was rarely allowed to the merchandisers; all innovation was limited and tailored to back up the product design inside the factory premises only. The promotional tool, thus, was not fully exploited by the company. Good thing was that market analysis was done statistically on product style, colour and price to get first-hand information of the market trends but it was unfortunate that the gathered data was not us ed intelligently on the name of following traditions of the company. No leverage could be achieved from the gathered information

Greenwashing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Greenwashing - Essay Example This essay is meant to make a travel through the realities of the profit-bothered present day business world and the upshot that is facing the next generation. There is no doubt that a unit of production of anything has to compromise with their controls to reduce garbage; however, the efforts it is willing to take to control the mishandling of such industrial wastes discriminates among the standards of various companies. In this alarming context, it becomes a collective responsibility of the people to protect their environment in order to get rid of the hazards in any form. If a standardized approach to ensure the shielding of environment is concerned, there arises the need for initiating the efforts to ensure the widely approved ‘green washing’ trials to save the earth from further degradation. To uncover the fact of social wellbeing lying in the core of every collective human effort, businessmen of the current time have to realize that the profitability of their motive s takes the right path only when the social requirements are fulfilled. The efforts of the visionaries to invoke the retailer giants and their sources are taking a better lead in the recent past as more and more customers are turning green-friendly by acting upon the need for refreshing the environmental conditions either directly or indirectly, thanks to their identification of most potential threats (The sins of greenwashing). However, the preference of customers to adopt a particular product that serves a specific purpose takes a categorical influx of differentiated opinions about making the right choice. In fact, it is not predictable as to what proportion of the customers is satisfied with most of the products they use daily. The need for a rethinking has to be identified with the managements of businesses that are directly dealing with the routine needs of the buyers in which they can implement trials on improving their social identity as responsible entities. The alarming fac t of uncontrollably increasing domestic garbage and the plastic disposal are the greatest actors in the challenges against the world nowadays. Many countries have recently developed a mechanism to promote the idea of protecting the environment by urging the common public as well as the visitors to adopt nature-friendly lifestyles. However, there are many witnesses from actual recipients of the evil face of many of the hoteliers and restaurant owners who comfortably compromise with their standards of such an ‘all green’ operation of their businesses. From the experience note of Lane (2011), it is so indicative as he says that most of such posters and catalogues that declare the ‘noble’ causes of behind the ‘love-all-green’ urges of the owners are no more beneficial than saving their cost-cut tactics by reducing the use of electricity and water whereby creating inconvenience to the guests. In most of the situations where the organizers of tours a nd holidays prepare sincere campaigns against the use of materials disastrous to the natural conditions of their own locations, plastic bags and containers are still a notable item of their trade. Developed countries like

Giardia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Giardia - Essay Example Identification of the Disease Giardiasis is an infection of the gastrointestinal tract. Other common names are lambliasis and beaver fever. After infection with the parasite, the individual suffers a diarrheal infection after the first week (Berger, 2011). The infection has been categorized as a global problem because of its prevalence in many parts of the world. The name ‘beaver fever’ emerged after research indicated that the disease was common amongst backpackers and campers. The science community ascertained the link between the giardia parasite and the diarrheal infection in the 1970s, although they had known the parasite since the 17th century. The diarrheal infection does not present any mortality rates unless in individuals exhibiting a compromised immune system. Many of the people infected with the parasite have been reported to exhibit minimal symptoms. Other researches indicate that there are cases that are more serious, and the infection can cause diarrhea fo r about two weeks. Description of the Organism The parasite giardiasis is the causative agent of a common diarrheal infection that has existed for a long time. Van Leeuwenhoek discovered the parasite in 1681. Using microscope, he highlighted that the parasite exhibited slow movement, and had flagella that facilitated the movement. He also classified the parasite as one of the simple eukaryotes. Other scientists developed interest in the parasite in the centuries that followed, and sought to describe it further. From advanced studies, it became evident that Leeuwenhoek had observed the parasites in the trophozoite phase. This was after the discovery that the parasite exhibited two different stages of life. According to the findings of 1880, it became evident that the parasite had both the trophozoite cysts stages (Parker & Parker, 2004). During the cyst stage, the flagella were invisible. Scientists have described the cyst stage as a dormant phase in which the parasite forms a protec tive wall around itself. This wall makes the parasite resistant to temperature changes, osmotic differences, pollution, and nutritional shortage. Further studies revealed that the cysts have the potential to remain viable for long periods without the having access to water and food. Usually, this serves as the infective stage of the parasite as many people get the infection from swallowing water infested with cysts. After entry into the gastrointestinal tract, the parasite moves from the cyst into the trophozoite stage. In this stage, the parasite engages in obtaining nutrients in the intestines and reproduces. The flagella are visible during this phase of Giardia (Russell and Cohn,2013). Biologists have described the trophozoite as having the ability to attach to the intestinal villi, where they depend on mucosal secretions for nutrition. In size, the trophozoites are 9-21 micrometers long, 5-15 micrometers wide, and 2-4 micrometers in thickness. When viewed under the microscope, t hey depict a pear shape that has a round end on the anterior side, two nuclei, as well as two distinctive median rods. The trophozoite also exhibits motion with the four pairs of flagella evident on each cell. In its ventral body, the organism has an adhesive disc that facilitates its attachment to the intestines. The organism reproduces by asexual binary fission, with the production of a new generation every five hours. Some trophozoites detach themselves from the intestines and