Sunday, January 26, 2020

Looking At The Future Of Civil Engineering Construction Essay

Looking At The Future Of Civil Engineering Construction Essay It is very important for civil engineers of this generation to understand the responsibility of their profession in the perspective of the environment and society, and in the understanding this responsibility they must try to generate changes in their action and thinking. This can be successful but everyone has to be involved needs to support and encourage the sustainable thinking, this change can come through design and construction processes. Design sustainability is not an easy route as it must be applied in every design theory. Starting from the conception of the design and moving to the location, the structural materials, the structural methods and finally the possible demolition of the project, design sustainability have to be applied in many areas. On the other hand sustainable construction must aim to use less natural materials and materials which are dangerous to the environment, also less energy to cut the amount of the waste and reduce the environmental pollution without negotiating the quality of the project. Sustainable thinking, planning and acting must be involved in civil engineering to reduce the environmental effecting projects have over their whole design life. Only in the course of this process, and by implementing sustainable thinking at every phase in a project, can a set of ideologies to improve the quality of life be created. The economic component of sustainability has been the main driver of projects. As civil engineering considering the sustainability issues we need to consider more than today alone. It is vital to account for cost over a whole life cycle and the impact on the future development. These costs must be considered in tandem with the social consequences and environmental impacts. The social aspect of sustainability is one that has only recently come to the forefront, but has this not been part of the civil engineer`s role for many years. [1] The influence of engineers of the past and present has had wide- ranging social benefits in transportation, natural and physical security, safety, resource management and heritage, all of which improve the quality of life. The social benefits of these are immeasurable but need to be considered together with the impact on the environment and the economy. [1] All the significant factors that go into the design and construction of a project must be judged, making it hard task, but we must all try in order to achieve it. Clearly, it is going to be a long and difficult method before these ideologies are established, since all the information, the assessments and the resources available to both design and construction teams develop continuously but from project to projects it will become easier. The civil engineering profession has an exceptional opening to create a progression of change that will progress and sustain the environment and our planet in the long term. These are the very actions that make civil engineering a distinctive and very important profession for our planet and for our lives. There have been several projects in the UK and around the world, which are known to be the most sustainable building in the 21st century. Their design, development, use of material and the construction is processed and analysed so careful and that they have managed to come out with successful result in all of the following projects. They are known to be the environmentally friendly and economically friendly too. IBN-DLO Wageningen, the Netherlands This building of the IBN-DLO, the institute for forestry and nature research, sets a new standard in people friendly and environmental friendly building. The building, design by architect Stefan Behisch, behaves something like a living organism, with a self-regulation capacity for its temperature and water use, a capacity which responds to the cycles of summer and winter, day and night, heat and cold, rain and drought. This building can adapt and store energy to kick in when they climate changes and it will respond to the change very quickly, this somewhat is very environmental friendly building. The materials used to make this building can be all recycled and reused in there things or other projects. The roofing is made from glass, the frame consist of galvanised steel plus a considerable proportion of extruded alumina. The glass roof has proved to be 70% cheaper than comparable normal custom-made architectural atrium roofs. The wood-framed wall, doors and window are all made from w ood which is glued on to each other rather than they being nailed. The environment advantage of this is that a much larger proportion of the tree can be utilized for quality carpentry work; secondly the amount of frame timber has been kept to a minimum. This is possible because the whole building is made of glass so there is less need of window so less wood is used. an ecological issue. Every nail you dont use goes to the benefit of the environment Stefan Behisch said this during this project. [2] ECOS- Millennium environmental centre BALLYMENA, NORTHERN IRELAND This building is used to show the world that sustainable building is very much possible. Its used as a visitor centre, parkland, environmental information library and offices. Its not only used as museum but its used in everyday life. Its landscape architecture division developed the concept of a visitor centre where the building, displayed and surrounding landscape would be integrated to communicate a central theme of environmental sustainability. These are the methods they used to make their building a sustainable and environmentally friendly building. Heat Conservation and Efficient Heat Distribution Heavy mass structure retention of heat within insulated fabric, low temperature under floor heating distributed trough structural floors, passive solar gains- through south facing glazing and ramp structure, elevated solar absorption of renewable, efficient low energy lighting used where possible and combined heat and power unit fuelled from short rotation willow coppice crop grown on site. Renewable Energy- Predicted Annual Generation Biomass combined heat and power unit, solar water collection, photovoltaic array and predicted energy generation from renewable will be 71% of total predicted energy consumption. Materials Selection Where possible, PVC is not used. Alternative materials were used for electrical conduits and cabling. Plumbing and roof membrane durable and potentially recyclable materials were used; copper, steel, and concrete. Where possible renewable were used, timer stud partitions external timber cladding timber structure and floor. All timber was FSC certified. Use of organic and mineral paints, sustainable landscape management- avoidance of fertiliser and pesticides etc. Environmental Improvements and Town Connections Construction of new pedestrian and cycle path from existing housing and estate to town centre which is increasing bio-diversity through sustainable park management. Creation of habitats through new planting. Retention of existing trees and new lake construction. [3] Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd Information and Communication Center, Japan, Tokyo The unusually shaped building represents exceptional design in many respects. The trapezoidal structure encloses a huge, 9 story high atrium. Their intension was to blending technology, people and natural ventilation, a waterfall and pond, roughly cut stone walls and rocks, a floor with pebbled surface and stepping stones and some greenery. Matsushita wanted a highly intelligent large scale building, design in amity with nature. They wanted a holistic architecture that would reflect their own technological and environmental concerns. Three most important design solution that were required were The Ireko (or shell space concept) The creation of a heterogeneous indoor environment The use of natural energy systems throughout the building Ireko is the classical concept in Japanese architecture whereby space is approached by considering the layering of one environment within the other and how they and influence one another. The theory behind this classical Japanese architecture concept is to bring nature indoor and integrated into the building as an important interstice. [4] 60L, Australia 60 is the premier green commercial building in Australia, unique in its approach to energy and water consumption, and the use of recycled and re-used materials during construction. It achieved a commercially feasible, healthy, low energy, resource-efficient workplace with minimal impact on the environment. The design of the building and their motive to make this building the most sustainable they used wide range of materials which were new, recycled or re-used in the construction of the 60L. The original building was not demolished but was partially taken apart so that existing resources could be re-used. The bricks, timber glazed partition and the old building structure was re-used. The concrete poured was 60% recycled aggregate, in this situation crushed concrete reclaimed from other buildings. Timber windows and door frames were fabricated from recycled materials, as are the other items such as reinforcing steel and carpet. Most glues, adhesives, sealants and fillers frequently used in building giving off vastly toxic gases. Used of these was minimised wherever feasible. This building is using 50% less PVC than a typical commercial building of the same size and use. Where they used new material they where advised to use renewable materials such as timber, steel, bricks and copper. T hey used appropriate technology, rather than leading edge technology. In 60L case, it has changed the way water consumption in commercial building use to happen and they take a further step in being more environmentally friendly. They minimised the demand for water by providing water efficient fixtures fittings, including water-less urinals and low flush volume toilets pans. They collected rainwater to replace 100% of normal mains water consumption whenever possible. They installed 100% on site treatment and re-use of grey- water and black-water stream to produce reclaimed water for flushing toilets pans and irrigating the roof garden and landscape. Rainfall from the roof is harvested, and then transferred into the holding tanks by the use of a Syfonic system, which uses gravity to produce a siphon effect, which means water transfer is quicker and pipe diameter can be significantly reduced. [5] Finally, through research and understand of this essay I think sustainability and environmental friendly building is not impossible with this economic condition but its a long term program because sustainability and consideration of the environment has come on top of our agenda for past 10 to 15 years while there was major damage down in the past. There is a solution to the problem but this can take lot of time. We are all observers and assistants to the frequent degradation of our local and global environment. Issues such as deforestation, global warming, waste and rising sea levels are all indication to the fact. The management of sustainable construction must integrate the four dimensions: cost, time, quality and the environment. Each of which has local, national, international and global implications. In order to do this communication is required between personal, projects and companies to ensure that lesson learned and the information gathered is passed in and used to address the issue of sustainability. Sustainability is every person`s responsibility and as engineers we have the fundamental role of ensuring projects are intertwined with the reality of sustainability. In doing so we enable the sustainability agenda to be brought to the forefront of the design and delivery of all infrastructure projects in which we are involved. This needs to be from conception to implementation as the f uture of our planet depends on addressing the current issues, ensuring that sustainable agenda is approached and that in all areas it is implemented. The construction industry is traditionally and by its very nature a high usage sector of resources. As an engineer the first introduction to the concept of sustainability was during civil engineering design. As a concept sustainability was easy to define but when it came to the actual application to the project it became more difficult. In achieving sustainable infrastructure we have the chance to use lessons learned over time from innovative high profile sustainable construction projects and to implement new and improved systems of construction to schemes in which we are involved. In the long term everyone is aware that adopting a more mature and active approach to the sustainability agenda is really the only sensible option. I do believe that it is essential that civil engineers address this issue from now and in the future to make our society, economy and environment better and stronger. We are the designers and constructors of the future infrastructure and as such have a greater responsibility to the population and indeed the environment.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Foods Fantastic Company Essay

Foods Fantastic Company’s IT processing is very complex and sophisticated, therefore according to the SAS 109’s risk assessment procedures and SOX Section 404 Management Assessment of Internal Controls, an IT General Control review is required. The purpose of an ITGC review is to provide the foundation for reliance on any financial information Foods Fantastic Company produce. Although an ITGC review does not directly result in misstated financial statements or material control weaknesses, it can indirectly cause  application control deficiencies, and affect the financial auditor in assessing the risk of material misstatement in FFC’s financial statements. For the risk assessment my team performed at Foods Fantastic, first, we wrote down some questions and concerns for each ITGC area. Then, we looked at the company’s organization chart and had a meeting with the head of each department, and took notes from the meetings. We also observed the audit team. Af ter that we wrote down the strengths and weaknesses, and decide the level of risk assessment for each area. First of all, in the area of IT Management, the risk assessment is medium. They have a strategic plan, which is a strength, because a strategic plan will help FFC to meet its business goals by outlining the objectives and strategies for the information system group. In addition, FFC has an IT steering committee, which is also a strength, because the committee develops and revises IT and security policies, and reviews the operations of the IT department. However, there are a couple of weaknesses in the area of IT Management. For instance, their Chief Information Office only reports to their Chief Financial Officer. According to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the company’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer are requires to include an assessment of the operating effectiveness of their internal control structure over financial reporting when issuing the annual report. In addition, the Vice President of Applications, Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Information Security, and Vice President of Database Administration reports only to Chief Information Officer Second, there are quite a few strengths in their Systems Development area, they design, develop, and implement systems in a logical fashion, which all the duties ar e segregated. In addition, the organization consider internal controls as an integral part of systems design, and the IT personnel adequately tested the new bio-coding payment system prior to its implementation, so we determined the risk assessment in this area is low. However, FFC’s Internal Audit Department is involved as a voting member of the project teams. Internal audit performs post-implementation reviews on all projects over $2 million. Internal Audit should be independent, and should not be involved in the project ream. Third, the risk assessment in the area of Data Security is high. Although they have high control on the physical access to their data center computer room, but they have low control on the logical access. In order to control  the physical access, FFC’s computer room within its data center is locked at all times. All outsiders must first contact the data center manager in order to enter the computer room. Each must bring an official picture ID, sign a visitors’ log, and be escorted at all times by data center personnel during the visit. They also have environmental control in the computer room and are tested semi-annually. However, the Human Resources Department only forward the Transfers and Terminations report each month, and not immediately after the employee is transferred or terminated. The security policy is not current and was revised in 2005. The system generates a logical access violation report daily, but the company police only requires the Vice President of Information System to review the unauthorized system access report once a month. Finally, the risk assessment in Change Management area is low, but the risk management in the Business Continuity Planning area is high. Although they have no incidents occurred that required them to recover their systems, a company should always have a business continuity plan. They did not document any business continuity or disaster recovery plan, nor they did test the backup tapes during the past years, which they have no intention to test the tapes in the future. FFC backs up all of the data daily, but only store them once a week at a company-owned offsite location. They should store the data daily. Overall, I set FFC’s assessed level of ITGC risk as high because of their data security and business continuity planning. Data is the most important elements of an organization. Without data, the organization will not be able to operate. The fact that FFC does not have a business continuity plan because they believe that is cost prohibitive for an organization of its size is wrong. Every organization should have a business continuity plan in case there is a natural disaster. In addition, FFC should do a better job in control of logical access because hacker don’t necessary have to gain access to the organization’s data physically.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics - the Conspiracy

Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics - the Conspiracy Clothes are a sort of expression. Energy alternatives are the sole remedy to the environmental damage. But larger quantity of sodium intake has often been connected to increase in blood pressure that results in strokes. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to argue that the practice requires quite a little time and concentration. Why oil should be conserved. Why palm oil needs to be banned. The Benefits of Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics Homosexuality isn't a disease. But law ought to be uniform. In the aforementioned examples, you should have noticed that all these sort of speech has an objective. Thus, a speech should be organized. Regardless, it's always a better idea to work with a topic that is very close to you and that you are in possession of a genuine interest in, rather than just picking a random topic. When you selected proper arguments make sure you have sufficient evidence to support them. Normally, having three key arguments to show your point is sufficient for a convincing paper. End up with a potent conclusion. The Death of Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics Construction plans must incorporate an environment-section. Today is a lovely day and I am unable to see it. Student spend the majority of their time in school. Presentation is extremely important. Top Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics Choices There are lots of religions. The inhabitants appeared to be trying hard to survive. It's not ethical to get rid of people like we try to get rid of diseases. Supporting euthanasia is similar to supporting suicide. But marriage isn't about procreation. Lies You've Been Told About Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics Fishing regulations are essential to preserve the surroundings. Recycling should be mandatory for everybody to be able to conserve the surroundings. This makes an extremely tense environment and that isn't how a home should be. Spread over a place of about 2. Lies You've Been Told About Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics Until then, you may use these fantastic suggestions to help you compose the ultimate persuasive essay for your next college undertaking. You should utilize APA reference tools to aid in writing your essay the right way or employ an expert essay writer that may write the essay working with the APA reference tools. It's important to understand that essay topics are just basic ideas that leave you pondering a notion that might be a huge deal to somebody else. One of the most typical essay topics is the problem of environmental pollution It is a good idea to read our instructions and steps for effective essay writing. One other important consideration is your private interest. On the opposing side, acquiring a list of good persuasive essay topics is insufficient. Click the unit to find the research topics offered and suggestions for sources. All this material, with supporting information, was made to help you better your essay writing skills. The Basics of Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics The reversal of climate all around the world can result in unexpectedly serious results like melting of ice caps and increasing of sea level. International climate change isn't only due to humans. The best rainforests on the planet. The pollution of the world today. Recycling chlorofluorocarbon chemicals will assist the environment and lessen the likelihood of ozone layer depletion. Now, it's the folks who needs to know and think recycling is excellent for the surroundings. Water pollution is going to be the world's biggest problem within the next decades. Imagine needing to prevent ocean pollution. Not all folks are suicidal that manner. Demonstrate or give examples to produce the audience understand the way that it works and the way that it solves the issue. It's usually best to decide on some controversial topic for this purpose because this way you can be in a position to draw more attention to your work. Deciding on the most suitable topic for a persuasive speech can be not such an easy matter to do as it might seem. Donating blood is the best action to do. It might save somebody's life. Everyone wants to appear good.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Analysis Of The Story Cathedral - 1734 Words

Introduction Cathedral is a famous short story by American writer and poet Raymond Carver. The story was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981 and appeared in The Americas Best Short Stories in 1982. In the short story cathedral, the unnamed narrator’s wife’s blind friend is coming to visit. The narrator isn’t thrilled about his wife’s blind friend coming to visit nor is he happy that the man is blind. Later in the evening the narrator experiences a life changing realization of the true meaning of seeing after connecting with the blind man whom he previously had no interest in knowing. Raymond Carvers â€Å"cathedral† is a story that reveals those who are blind see the world differently from those whom have sight but choose to see†¦show more content†¦Plot summary The narrator beings telling the readers about his wife’s blind friend that is coming to visit. The blind man’s wife has passed away and he is visiting family in Connec ticut not far from their home in New York. The narrator isn’t very thrilled about the blind man coming to visit nor is he thrilled that the man is blind. The narrator explains how his wife had met the blind man over ten years ago when she responded to a help wanted ad and how she had worked for him throughout the summer. The narrator’s wife and the blind man became good friends and toward the end of her employment of working with the blind man he had asked to touch her face. The narrator describes his wife’s experience when the blind man touched her face and how it affected her so much she wrote a poem about it but the narrator doesn’t understand how that experience had affected his wife. The narrator explains that his wife and the blind man have kept in touch over the years by sending audio tapes back and forth. The narrator begins making fun of the man for being blind and mentions how awful the blinds man’s wife must have felt knowing her husband was never able to know what she looked like. The day comes and the narrator’s wife goes to pick up the blind man who is introduced as Robert. When the narrator’s wife arrives back to the house the narrator is shocked when he sees the blind man. He begins describing whatShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Story Cathedral 936 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Cathedral† is all about inner vision. It throws light into the fact that inner vision is more vital than physical vision. It covers various areas of life: intimacy of relations, importance of communication, need for love and care in relations, trust etc. The story is about a husband, wife and a blind man who is the narrators wife’s friend named Robert. Robert is a blind man, but he has got good insight than the narrator who hardly understands the feelings of people. When the narrator comes toRead MoreAnalysis Of The Story The Cathedral 989 Words   |  4 Pagesplace. Everyone has been guilty of putting someone else down, for personal gain. Ego is associated with confidence and often clouds our perception of others, making us feel superior to others and that is portrayed in these three short stories. Short story â€Å"Cathedral,† narrated by a husband who expresses his feelings toward his wife’s legally blind old friend and former boss, Robert. Robert had lost his wife to cancer recently and was invited by the narrated wife to stay with she and her husband forRead MoreAnalysis Of The Story Cathedral 1351 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Cathedral† The story â€Å"Cathedral† demonstrates that lack of sight does not necessarily prevent one from perceiving things as they are, or live their life to the fullest. In the story, a middle-age blind man, who is a friend to the narrator’s wife, and used to be her boss at one point, visits the narrator and his wife. The narrator has never interacted with blind people before, and all he knew about blind people was what he had seen on television. 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Similarly, in the story â€Å"Everyday use† by Alice Walker, the character Dee visits her mother and sister, which turns into a very unpleasant encounter. Lastly, the main character, Hulga, in â€Å"Good Country People† by Flannery O’Connor, is deceived by her visitor, a bibleRead MoreThe Theme Of Blindness In Raymond Carvers Cathedral745 Words   |  3 PagesIn Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† the narrator is seen to show ignorance and bias towards blindness throughout the story, however towards the end he realizes his flaws and the difference between looking and seeing. From the beginning of the story to the end you can see a change within the narrator after his encounter with the blind man. At the end of Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† the narrator hopes t o accomplish a change in his understanding of himself, and his experience with Robert flickers this changeRead MorePersuasive Essay804 Words   |  4 PagesPersuasive Essay In 1983, Raymond Carver introduced his short story â€Å"Cathedral† to the public. The first-person narrative takes place within the narrator’s home, where his wife is waiting upon the arrival of her blind friend Robert. The narrator, however, becomes more concerned about how Robert’s visit will affect him rather than enjoy the situation. Once Robert arrives, the narrator tries to understand the blind man, but he is unaware of what tasks Robert is capable of performing due to the narrator’sRead MoreAn Analysis of Cathedral822 Words   |  4 PagesAn Analysis of Cathedral Cathedral, written by Raymond Carver, is a short story that explores the narrator’s insecurities and fears of what he does not understand and through the progression of the story is enlightened by the man he fears. The short story Cathedral is a story of the narrators’ wife’s old friend coming to visit. The friend, Robert, is a man that she knew ten years before and has kept in contact with since. The two correspond via tape recordings on a regular basis. The wife tellsRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1426 Words   |  6 PagesCharacter Analysis in Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†: The Narrator Literature has the potential to act as a mirror by presenting people’s lived experiences, expectations, and perceptions through characters. Such is what can be deciphered through the analysis of different characters in Raymond Carver’s story â€Å"Cathedral.† This paper focuses on the narrator of the story portrayed by the author as blind, which is used metaphorically not to imply physical blindness, but the inability to have reasonedRead MoreRaymond Carver with Cathedral and John Updike with AP979 Words   |  4 PagesRaymond Carver with â€Å"Cathedral† and John Updike with â€Å"AP† â€Å"Cathedral† and AP both short stories written during the same century. But even though they both introduce stereotypical characters that somehow change their view of the world, they have many more different aspects. The stories differ in atmosphere and the quantity of people involve in each story. The story â€Å"Cathedral† only took place in a family house with only the husband, wife who can be qualified as a static character tried to kill