Maritime Logistics Assignment 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Maritime Logistics Assignment 1 - Essay Example For efficient working of several global systems, there must be a system, which facilitates the movement of the goods and the related products. Maritime logistics is the system that is used to facilitate the movement of goods and related products from place to the other. Maritime logistics is mainly concerned with the movement of goods and services from one location to the other mainly via the sea. Maritime logistics can be simply defined as a detailed coordination of maritime activities with relation to people, facilities, and supplies (Mangan, Lalwani and Butcher, 2008, p. 8) Maritime logistics is used to facilitate the movement of raw materials and finished products between the producer, manufacturer, supplier, and consumer. There are various types of cargo transported using the maritime logistics. Types of cargo transported by the maritime logistics companies include: Containerized cargo: This refers to the cargo that is transported in containers that are standardized. This type o f cargo is very easy to handle as various types of equipment have been specifically designed to handle the containerized cargo. Project cargo: This refers to machinery and equipment that is exported or imported by a certain party for performance of a specific purpose. This type of cargo is difficult to handle as cargo size, shape and weight usually vary, hence making it difficult for the equipment to handle them without causing damage. Automobiles: This refers to the vehicles and similar equipment. Break bulk cargo: This refers to goods that are transported in bulk without being containerized. The main types of goods transported in this method are mineral and ores. Among the most important aspects of maritime logistics are the cost of provision of services, speed in which the products will ultimately reach the intended person, and the quality of services that the company provides. A company that is able to effectively utilize the above aspects usually has a competitive edge over the other companies. Navex maritime Navex maritime is a maritime logistics company based in Antwerp, Belgium. The company was formed in 1993 after the merger of the commercial activities of Navex N.V and Van Meerbeek & Company. Both companies had been in existence for a long time, with Navex N.V having been formed in 1919 and Van Meerbeek & Co. having been formed in 1946 (Navex maritime logistics company website 2011). In 2005, the company ventured into the global forwarding business. Navex logistics is mainly involved in the maritime trade as a sales agent to the ship owners, provision of third party logistic and in the forwarding of freight. The company mainly specializes in oil and gas industry and mainly handles break bulk cargo (Navex maritime logistics, company website 2011). The company’s strategic location in Antwerp, the second largest port in Europe - after Rotterdam – enables it to benefit from the volume of trade and cargo, which passes through the port to oth er parts of Europe. Antwerp is also among the 10 largest ports in the world. Main competitors Navex maritime faces stiff competition from the other large maritime logistics companies that have their operations in all the regions of the world including Belgium. These companies include Mediterranean shipping company, the largest maritime logistics company, A.P-Mollar Maersk group, Evergreen, P&O and MOL. Due to the fact that maritime trade is global, these large companies control a sizeable proportion of the

Why Most People Oppress Others because of Their Different Ethnicity, Essay

Why Most People Oppress Others because of Their Different Ethnicity, Race or Gender - Essay Example A theorist and feminist writer; Gloria Anzaldua’s works were of vital significance for the last two decades. Her work should be noted that it is now anthologized systematically in different compositions that reach different audiences on an annual basis. Her theory of Mestiza and borderland identifies the fuller theory of a culture which is different and broadly deployed in most disciplines and lecture halls. In most lecture halls across the state, most students read the chapters and excerpts from her Borderland text. Anzaldua’s work serves in a primarily essayist fashion. She explicitly shows that an individual’s act of writing assists the person in identifying and expressing his or her identity complexities. Anzaldua described her strong belief in the need for individuals to form coalitions in their different groups. My choice of Gloria Anzaldua’s literary works in her anthology of essays and poetry; Making Face, Making Soul: Haciendo Caras include: Borde rlands/La Frontera, La conciencia de la Mestiza, The Homeland, Aztlan/El Otro Mexico, How to Tame a Wild Tongue and This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. They are all arranged in order of significance. The first three literary works are some of Anzaldua’s best works and stand out from the other two. Anzaldua understood that individuals have diverse ideas and identity and that inter-sectionalism often creates conflicts between different people (Garci?a, 2006). Thesis Statement: Anzaldua understood and recognized the different ways that people use to oppress others, and the constituents that were overlapping their identity. Literary Works: Borderlands/La Frontera: One of Anzaldua’s outstanding works was Borderlands/La Frontera, which was published in the year 1987. Borderlands traces back to the personal and historical journey of people who are on the border between the United States and Mexico. Additionally, it talks about the political, spirit ual and the European socioeconomic impact that they have on conquering the indigenous and marginalized people on the borderland. All the contributors in Anzaldua’s works got affected by Anzaldua’s willingness to face her personal risks. Through Anzaldua’s acts and words, people learn to take risks on their own. These are the risks that form blurred boundaries and the identities challenge people’s ways of thinking (Anzaldua, 1987). By use of her words, she invites critics to engage with her theories and how they impacted on her life and work. In bridging, the contributors explore and discuss on Anzaldua’s spiritual and intellectual contributions of how new bridges are created through the community and diverse disciplines. The contributors and Anzaldua represented numerous generations of diverse ages of the twenties to seventies. This connection among many people could be seen in Anzaldua herself. Anzaldua’s words have touched most of the cont ributors separately.  

Working Hours of Construction Employees in Hong Kong

Working Hours of Construction Employees in Hong Kong This study examines whether the local construction workers satisfied with the length of their working hours and whether there is necessary for the Government to constrain the working hours of the labours by imposing regulations or similar control measures. For your background of this study, this chapter outlined (1) background of this study; (2) the aim and objectives of this study; (3) methodology adopted and (4) overview of the study scope. Background Construction industry significantly contributes to Hong Kongs economic. The long working hours as the negative impression of the construction industry causes aging problems and lack of fresh blood in the industry. According to the Working Time Directive from Europe (Directive, 2003), weekly working hours of at least 48 hours or more should be regarded as long. Therefore, more than 48 hours could be regarded as long working hours which makes consistency among studies. Alongside with that there are voices that the workers in Hong Kong are currently required to work excessively long hours some suggested that the average workers have to work for a range of 60 to 70 hours per week. This is long if it is compared to the average working hours of labour in the U.S., the European countries, Japan or other developed countries. The nature of Hong Kong construction industry is using long working hours to cope with the tight construction schedules. Normally, the workers in the mentioned regions generally work less than 44 hours per week (OECD, 2004). In Hong Kong, the employers of the contractors are complaining that they currently suffer from labour shortage and problem of an aging labour force. Therefore, there are two significances of this study. First, the reduction in the length of the working hours shall help to make building construction a more attractive industry for young men and women and shortage and aging problems. The youth may be encouraged to join the building construction industry. Second, people may suffer from fatigue after repeatedly working for long hours, such fatigues may lead to personal and/or family problems, occupational diseases and safety hazards. Thus, the situation on labours working hours must be revealed and studied. Research Aim and Objectives This research aims investigate of there is a need for the Government to constrain the working hours of the local construction workers to a designated limit by imposing regulations or similar control measures. The study covers understandings of the weekly length of working hour of the labour and their satisfaction of the length. And it also investigates the reasons of the longer working hours compared to the counterparts in the other advanced countries, examines if there are alternative ways to implement building construction works without the need of the workers to work for more than 44 hours per week. It is expected that this study can make contributions to reveal these mentions if actions shall be taken by the legislators to control the maximum working hours of labour serving the building construction industry. The objectives of this study are as followed: To identify the situation of working hours faced by the local workers. To examine the possible impacts due to excessively long working hours of the workers in the building construction industry. To identify the concept of work life balance. To examine the leading international practice on controlling the maximum number of working hours of individual workers per week. To conduct a questionnaire survey to the workers in the building construction industry for the situation. To conduct interviews with site agents or project managers of the building general contractors for the situation. To conduct interviews with the leaders of the local labour unions for any improvements. To discuss the issues identified and make conclusions and necessary recommendations (for further studies). 1.4 Methodology The objectives of this study can be achieved through the following methods: Literature review on books, journals and websites were carried out to summarize exiting knowledge on related topics. Data collection was carried out by conducting a questionnaire survey to front-line workers in the industry. Data collection was carried out by interviewing project managers and leaders of the local labour unions in the industry. Data analysis was conducted by using SPSS16.0 for window. The reliability assessments, descriptive analysis, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted. 1.5 Scope of Study In order to achieve the objectives, this study is divided in the following main chapters: Chapter 1 Give a brief introduction of the backgrounds, aim and objectives, methodology and scope of this study. Chapter 2 Give an overview of construction industry in Hong Kong; Investigate the impacts of long working hours; Investigate the concept of work life balance; and Elaborate the concept of work life balance Chapter 3 Describe methodology adopted for this study. Chapter 4 Conduct analysis on the collected data by using statistics techniques; Discuss on the findings of study. Chapter 5 Give conclusions and recommendations; Give limitations of this study; Provide suggestions for further research. CHAPTER 2:  LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of Construction Industry In Hong Kong, the construction industry plays an important role in the economy of Hong Kong. The Government announced in the 2011-2012 Budget that HK$58 billion would be spent on infrastructures, which is nearly HK$10 billion more than within 2010-2011. According to the Quarterly Report of Employment and Vacancies at Construction Sites, was published by the Census and Statistics Department, the industrys employees were accounted for 56,502 of the labour force in 2010. Also, the Government plans to invest continuously in infrastructure to promote growth, that the estimated capital works expenditure will exceed HK$60 billion for each of the next few years. In additional 600 thousands square meters land for commercial or business use will be available to enhance the self competitiveness among advanced countries. The Government expects there are 60,000 additional job vacancies will be created in this year. 2.1.1 Long Working Hours The long working hours should be divided by genders, for the male employees, long hours should be regarded as over 60 hours per week; for the female employees, it should be regarded as over 40 hours per week (Dex et al., 1995). In these recent years, Messenger (2004) had compared the working hours of employees in various countries, and found that the advanced countries like Japan, in which a high proportion of employees have to work 50 or more hours per week. According to the Working Time Directive (Directive, 2003), 48 hours per week was defined as long hours and which was used as the indicator in this study. As stated in The State of Work-Life Balance in Hong Kong 2010 survey conducted by Community Business, 48.7 hours was the average working hours to the employees in different industries. The Government announced in the 2010 Report on Annual Earnings and Hours Survey that there are more than 60% of employees in construction industry have to work more than 48 hours per week, and also the median weekly working hours increased 1.6% from 2009 to 2010. As stated in the overseas literatures review, the ideal length of working hours should be about 7 to 9 hours per day or 48 to 50 hours a week. 2.1.2 Factors for Long Working Hours The study (New Zealand Census, 2006) found that requirements of jobs, income, the culture of workplaces, and the job satisfactions provided motivate people work longer time. First, the requirements of the job include completion of the tasks appointed, even high workload and respond to the clients demands; Second, the need for more income should be driven by both maintaining basic needs of life and consuming luxury goods; Third, the culture of the construction site should be always under tight schedule, no matter due to inappropriate management or unexpected weather or accidents; Forth, the satisfaction of the workers should be intangible rewards of works (Lindy, 2009; Raphael and Itzhak, 2006; Weston et al. 2002). As the construction industry in Hong Kong is very competitive in the previous years, the number of projects is not enough for the workers due to the economic recession. Since the construction period of each contract is limited, contractors would like to compress the period of construction as possible for their own profit. Therefore, the workers have to complete their works as soon as possible to prevent delay of schedule and shorten the construction period by days. Otherwise, workers may not able to get further job opportunities. 2.2 Impacts for excessively long working hours There are many researches focus on the relationships between long working hours and fatigue, which could be associated with physical and psychological health of human. For this characteristic, Dex et al. (1995) believed that it brought both positive and negative impacts. At the positive side, the long hour working man could be regarded as a responsible, hardworking and motivated person to his/ her work, family and society. He/ she could earn more income to the family and be served as a role model. At the negative side, fatigue and stress come along with the deprivation of rest. Those feelings are not good for individual social network and family, and may damage to physical and mental health. Insufficient rest could also damage performance and cause safety problems, most accidents were due to unconsciousness (Lindy, 2009; Johanna and Joanne, 2003; Fox and Dwyer, 1999). 2.2.1 Fatigue Fatigue is not easy to be defined, which could be acute and cumulative. Konz (1998) believed that long daily work hours and long weekly work hours would make people being fatigue, especially if there is a lack of rest. Those effects of fatigue should be divided into direct and indirect outcomes, while the indirect outcome is in term of performance of work or health problems. His approach was to avoid overtime of work, that the working hour over 12 hours per day and 55 hours per week should be regarded as overtime. For the mechanisms which contributed to fatigue, Rogers et al. (1999) pointed that age, health status, quality and quantity of sleep, length of working hours, work experience, work motivation and home or family life should be used for measuring degree of fatigue. In the Asian countries liked as Japan and South Korea, researches showed that workers complained of physical and mental fatigue after excessively long working hours, such fatigue could not be escaped and be kept into the next day. The chronic fatigue brought harmful to cardiac health and decreases the cardiovascular functions (Park et al., 2001; Shimonitsu and Levi, 1992). There are evidences that the degree of fatigue is in positive relationship with the length of working time and negative relationship with the length of recovery time. 2.2.2 Physical Health A Japanese term Karoshi means people die from a syndrome of cardiovascular attacks liked strokes, myocardial infarction or acute cardiac failure after excessively overwork (Spurgeon et al., 1997). For a more biological explanation, Liu et al. (2002) conducted a research to investigate the relationship between heart diseases and length of working hours by comparing the workers who have to work more than 61 hours per week and who have to work less than 40 hours per week. The study reflected that overtime work increases blood pressure and heart rate, which induces cardiac symptoms such as chest pain. Presence of abnormal heart rate and blood pressure increases the risk of acute myocardial infarction (abbr.: AMI). Also, insufficient rest increases the rate of AMI; the risk of AMI should be induced by the combination of working hours and the quantity and quality of sleep. Besides heart diseases, Yasuda et al. (2001) pointed out that long hours working may damage the self immunity, chronic headache and irritable bowel problems might be induced by working overtime (CIPD ,2001). 2.2.3 Psychological Health In Hong Kong, the number of construction site workers in September 2010 was in total 56,503 people, in which published by the Census and Statistics Department, the ratio of male and female was approximately 12:1. The female site workers are minority in the construction industry. Shields (2000) noted that women who used to work longer hours are more likely to develop depression compared to their colleagues working normal hours. Depression could be a measure in considering stress, which the term Stress is difficult to be defined. Spark et al. (1997) concluded that there were outcome measures when defining stress. The outcome measures should include depression, anxiety, frustration, mood symptoms, poor sleep quality, role strain, irritability/ tension, problems with relationships and general mental stress amongst other things. All these diverse indicators are used to define stress in different bases. There is a small but significant correlation between psychological health symptoms and length of working hours, it should be contrast relationship. However, it was not easy to provide evidences to access the actual association with long working hours and poor mental health outcomes (Kodz et al., 2001). 2.2.4 Performance Most of the available evidences support that poor performance is related to longer working hours, but the relationship should be complicated and not conclusive. By measuring the performance effects, productivity outcomes and, speed and accuracy tests are the direct and indirect measurements respectively. A report showed that the productivity reduced for 2-4% whiles the length of working time increased by 10% (Shepard and Clifton, 2000). By conducting survey with management level, Worrall and Cooper (1999) showed that 68% of managers felt that there was an adverse effect on their productivity after working for long period of time. Kodz et al. (2001) pointed out a poll result that 62% of the managers believed that shorter working hours gives workers more incentive in production. Fatigue induced by long working hours could be regarded as a stressor, and excessive stressors will lead to decrease the performance of workers, suggested by Proctor et al. (1996). However, an appropriate level of stressors will increase arousal and enhance performance. Some researches tried to find the relationship between work performance and the weekly working days and the daily working hours, those researches had tested the employees by adjusting the different combination of working time. Shepard and Clifton (2000) noted that the length of workweek possibly affects the productivity through effects on individual motivation, effort and satisfaction, physical well-being, stress and fatigue, and absenteeism. The result showed that there are many variables in considering the correlation of working hours and performance. 2.2.5 Safety and Accident People after working for long hours would like to lose their attention and would to take risks, work-related accidents might then happen. Fatigue due to long working hours might cause man-made disasters. Wellens (2001) noted that Chernobyl or the Exxon Valdez oil spill were contributed by such fatigue. Besides the fatigue, losing attention while working might bring harms to the workers in certain working environments which are exposure to toxic chemical or hazards. Ong et al. (1982) said that the prevalence of hand injuries should be related to lack of training, supervision, inexperience and time of day. The time of day when is most likely to have accidents should be around the 8th to  ­9th hour at work (Hanecke et al., 1998). The Labour Department announced the number of accidents of the construction industry was 7.1% among the major economic activities, which about 2,755 accidents within 2009-2010. According to the statistics published by Labour Department, the top five types of accidents were (1) Injured whilst lifting or carrying, (2) Slip, trip or fall on same level, (3) Striking against or struck by moving object, (4) Striking against fixed or stationary object and (5) Contact with moving machinery or object being machined. The above types of accidents should be man-made, which could be prevented or avoided by great attention, good supervision and training. There are clearly showed that long working hours could be related to safety and accidents in particular working environments. 2.3 Work-life Balance Work-life balance (abbr.: WLB) has been being concerned in Hong Kong few years ago. As began at 2004, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Asia carried out a survey on the topic of work-life balance among the local employees, which was a questionnaire based survey. In that research, there were some benchmarks related to the situation in Hong Kong, they were length of working hours, general reasons for working overtime, effects on health, availability of sick leaves and annual leaves, and loyalty to company of the employees. In 2006, Community Business started to conducted a similar survey called The State of Work-Life Balance in Hong Kong, which published annually. The local situation about WLB is reviewed by this survey per year. And the objectives of the surveys are different by each year, the newest report published in 2010 studying the role of flexible work arrangements in improving the WLB of employees and reviewing the previous results since 2006. 2.3.1 Definition Until present, the concept of work-life balance is not well defined, but all the definitions are related to the work hours. If the hours of day are not measured, the concept of work- life balance should be intangible. The different combination of working hours and non-working hours in a day could provide a clear picture on the balance. Some people say WLB concerns flexibility of schedules, while the others say it is a reduction in working hours (Kodz et al., 2001; Dow-Clarke, 2000; Major et al., 2001; Fox and Dwyer, 1999; Wallace, 1999; ODriscoll et al., 1992). Also, the term of work-life balance is not the one used to describe the same issues around the world. Different researchers gave different terms to the issue in their own studies. For example, ODriscoll et al. (1992) preferred the term inter-role conflict to describe the conflicts within an individuals roles; work-family conflict brought up by Major et al. (2001) and Fox and Dwyer (1999); work-to-nonwork conflict proposed by W allace (1999). Dow-Clarke (2002) defined WLB with respect to family life, income and the life cycle of her selected employees. The work hours in WLB represent as short as achieving or maintaining individuals desired balance between work and family life. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in UK have made some practices of WLB in 2001, which are flexi-time, staggered hours, time off in lieu, compressed working weeks, shift swapping, self-rostering, working from home and etc. However, most of the practices are not practical to the workers in construction industry, especially in this study. Flexible working hours have been proposed in Hong Kong for several years, but it is not very popular; the practice has been only supported by large business companies and the Government. To narrow down the literatures review of WLB, the effects of working long hours on WLB would be focused. 2.3.2 Effects of long working hours on Work-Life Balance There are so many long hours standards in the various researches, some interviewed the employees working for 42 hours per week and some recorded the employees working more than 50 hours per week (Galambos and Walters, 1992; Wallace, 1999). It is not easy to compare the effects on long works. This review would aim to the effects on WLB only. As it is hard to measure the impacts of work on home, Kodz et al. (2001) concluded that most of the researches took off attitudinal survey or case study approaches. The survey released by DTI and Management Today in 2002, showing that the UK employees would prefer shorter working hours rather than winning the lottery and most of the workers admitted the low accessibility of any flexible working practices. For the effects on family life, there are three associations due to working long hours, (1) Disruption to family activities, (2) Dissatisfaction with the involvement and the amount of time spent in child care, and (3) Dissatisfaction with the amount of time spent with couples (La Valle et al., 2002). For the effects on personal life, they are relevant to depression and anxiety, stress, work life and role strain (Dow-Clarke, 2000; Galambos and Walters, 1992). In addition, Wallace (1999) concluded that the work life of individuals was the invader to the family life. 2.3.3 Influence of Work-Life Balance Besides the negative effects of working long hours on WLB, there are some practices like compressed workweek schedule and flexi-time schedule would be positive for working performance, job satisfaction and satisfaction with work schedule (Baltes et al. 1999). As mentioned before, there are some practices for improving WLB, which are all related to the work hours. Flexible time schedule, staggered hours, compressed workweek, shift swapping, self-rostering, annual hours, job sharing, working from home, and etc (DTI, 2001). All of them are the mechanisms to enhance the employees attitudes to work. Invancevich (1974) carried out a work performance comparison between workers worked for compressed workweek and workers worked for normal schedule; and Baltes et al. (1999) evaluated the work performance of workers under flex-time and compressed workweek, both of the studies showed the positive outcomes in shorter workweek. The latter study reflected job satisfaction and satisfaction with work schedule too. Baltes et al. (1999) pointed that the positive effects of compressed workweek would not diminish over time, and there was no disruption to the productivity of absenteeism too. The State of Work-Life Balance in Hong Kong Survey (2010) showed the problems resulting from poor WLB, there were the responses from employees. About 60% of respondents felt fatigue level, sleepiness and extreme tiredness prolonged by the poor work-life balance. Third of them complained the loss of amount of time to spend with family. Over a quarter of employees believed that their work hours invaded to their social life and decreased their job productivity. The results should be approximately same as the Work Life Balance Survey of Hong Kong Working Population published by HKU in 2009. To make a conclusion, the poor work-life balance affects the time arrangement of the employees throughout a day, functions as a stressor to the workers and harms the health of the workers. 2.4 Hypotheses of Study Long working hours is recognized as an element in the local construction industry. The factors for long working hours of each individual are various, most of them could be classified as four dimensions, requirements of jobs, income, cultures of workplaces and work satisfaction provided (Lindy,2009; Raphael and Itzhak, 2006; Weston et al., 2002). Impacts due to long working hours have been discussed for many years, which could be personal, family and social related. At the positive side, the employee could be served as a hardworking, motivated person, who should be a role model in a family (Dex et al., 1995). At the negative side, the physical and psychological health, family life, social network and safety problems are being affected by the long working hours (Lindy, 2009; Johanna and Joanne, 2003; Fox and Dwyer, 1999). Work-life balance is an important concept in a living person, but it is just mentioned for years in Hong Kong. There are many practices used to improve the balance, to reduce the proportion of work hours within the whole life. Such as flexible time schedule, staggered hours, compressed workweek, shift swapping, self-rostering, annual hours, job sharing, working from home, and etc are the ways used over the world (DTI, 2001; Baltes et al., 1999; Invancevich, 1974). For the consequences due to unbalanced work-life, there are loss of the involvement in family activities and child care, the amount of time with couples and full of stress and anxiety (La Valle et al., 2002; Dow-Clarke, 2000; Wallace, 1999; Galambos and Walters, 1992). Hypothesis 1- As suggested by the previous literatures, long working hours really affect the employee by different dimensions (Fox and Dwyer, 1999; Galambos and Walters, 1992). The workers are driven to work for longer hours by their own motivations (Lindy, 2009; Raphael and Itzhak, 2006). Since the degree of satisfaction in working long hours is different by people, it hypothesizes that the attitudes towards motivations that can enhance workers satisfaction in long working hours. Hypothesis 2- As mentioned before, people with unbalanced work-life will diminish their time in participating activities other than works (La Valle et al., 2002; Wallace 1999; Baltes et al. 1999), and make the life not well developed and healthy. It hypothesizes that flexible work arrangement can help work-life balance in all aspects like personal life, family life and productivity of work. CHAPTER 3:  Methodology 3.1 Introduction In the previous chapter, the background of the work hour problems faced by the workers in the construction industry was reviewed. Besides, the problems induced by long working hours and influences of Work-Life Balance were introduced in the literature review. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify the drawbacks of working hours to the local workers; (2) to examine the possible impacts due to excessively long working hours of the workers in the building construction industry; (3) to identify the concept of work-life balance; (4) to examine the leading international practice on controlling the maximum number of working hours of individual workers per week. In order to achieve the research objectives, a questionnaire survey had been conducted to collect data from construction workers, and a questions set with cover letter for interviews was designed to collect opinions from the union leaders and project managers in building general contractor firms. This chapter outlines the design of questionnaires, questions design of the interviews, data collection method and method of analysis undertaken in the next chapter. 3.2 Questionnaire Design In order to achieve the research objectives, a 10 questions questionnaire was designed (see Appendix 1). Part I required the respondents to provide their basic information such as gender, age, experience in the construction industry and form of employment. Part II required the respondents to provide their normal daily working hours and weekly work days, overall working hours per week, normal daily rest time and evaluate the current length of working hours. Part III listed the possible reasons for overtime work arrangement from practical cases (see Table 3.1). The respondents were asked to tick the top five reasons faced and sort the chosen reasons with numbers (1=most common, 5=least common). Shortage of Labours There are not enough labours and too many works remained. Poor arrangement of materials and/ or equipments The arrangement of materials and/ or equipments is not satisfied to the construction processes on site. Poor site management Planning is not practical enough and/ or the schedules of work are not up-to-date or poor leadership of supervisor. Reworks needed There are construction mistakes due to unclear instructions, lack of supervisions, poor quality control, careless mistakes made by workers and/ or inappropriate installations. Equipments damaged Equipments are damaged and/ or mal-function under normal operations. Changes of design Temporary scheduling caused by changes of design, preparation and construction of work have to be revised. Period of Contract Period of contract is too short for normal construction process. Unexpected weather Construction processes could not be operated caused by poor or unexpected weather, and then there is a delay. Others There are reasons not mentioned but happen in practical construction site. 3.3 Data Collection The targeted respondents of the questionnaire are the front-line workers who work in construction site. Two pages questionnaire was sent to the contractor firms and distributed to the targeted respondents. And some of the collected questionnaires were interviewed by face-to-face. The targeted interviewees were the project managers or site agents who are working in building general contractor firms and the leaders of the local labour unions. The questions set was sent to the targeted interviewees, email reply and phone interviews were conducted. 3.4 Data Analysis Method In this research, the data analysis was carried out by SPSS 17.0 for windows, including Enjoyment à ¤Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬ Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¥Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ °Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ

European Colonialism and Imperialism Essay -- Politics Government

How were the Europeans able to conquer and control large areas of the globe? What gave them a great advantage over other groups? The proximate cause of this advantage was their possession of guns, germs, and steel. But how is it that they possessed these things and others did not? Ultimate causes of the Europeans possession of these guns, germs, and steel could be â€Å"Divine Providence.† People at the time thought that God favored the Europeans over other groups. Another ultimate cause could have been â€Å"Scientific Racism.† Other people believed that the Europeans were genetically superior to the other regions of the world. Now, because of Jared Diamond’s thesis, we can conclude that the ultimate cause of European colonialism and imperialism was â€Å"Geographic Luck.† One of the main reasons for European colonialism and imperialism was the axis and climate zones. Having a long east-west axis results in the same climate zone and same day lengths. Crops are spread easily on an east-west axis because, moving east to west, there isn’t much change in weather. This gave Eurasia an advantage because there was a large mass of crops spread east to west. There was also a lot of fighting in that area which spread ideas and technology through the conquering of other regions. The Americas had a disadvantage because they had a long north-south axis. In a long north-south axis, there are many different climate zones. In the Americas, the groups were isolated and ideas rarely spread among one another. There were more domesticated crops in Eurasia because of this east-west axis, and in the Americas the crops were not spread as much because of the change in climate zones throughout the north-south axis. Eurasia also had a great advantage when it came to... ...very separated by the geography, but China was just one area making it easy to have only one ruler. Europe was able to conquer and control large areas of the globe because of Jared Diamond’s theory of â€Å"Geographic Luck.† God did not favor them more and their race was not genetically superior. Geographic luck is still affecting the world today. Trade is affected greatly, as well as the political unity in different countries. If everyone knew about this theory, I think the world would work together more. I think that more people would help the people who had a disadvantage because of the geography around them. Religions might also be affected if everyone knew about this theory. Some people may blame God for the way they live, but really God didn’t favor anyone. Wealth and the power in different societies that we have now I think are affected by the geography. European Colonialism and Imperialism Essay -- Politics Government How were the Europeans able to conquer and control large areas of the globe? What gave them a great advantage over other groups? The proximate cause of this advantage was their possession of guns, germs, and steel. But how is it that they possessed these things and others did not? Ultimate causes of the Europeans possession of these guns, germs, and steel could be â€Å"Divine Providence.† People at the time thought that God favored the Europeans over other groups. Another ultimate cause could have been â€Å"Scientific Racism.† Other people believed that the Europeans were genetically superior to the other regions of the world. Now, because of Jared Diamond’s thesis, we can conclude that the ultimate cause of European colonialism and imperialism was â€Å"Geographic Luck.† One of the main reasons for European colonialism and imperialism was the axis and climate zones. Having a long east-west axis results in the same climate zone and same day lengths. Crops are spread easily on an east-west axis because, moving east to west, there isn’t much change in weather. This gave Eurasia an advantage because there was a large mass of crops spread east to west. There was also a lot of fighting in that area which spread ideas and technology through the conquering of other regions. The Americas had a disadvantage because they had a long north-south axis. In a long north-south axis, there are many different climate zones. In the Americas, the groups were isolated and ideas rarely spread among one another. There were more domesticated crops in Eurasia because of this east-west axis, and in the Americas the crops were not spread as much because of the change in climate zones throughout the north-south axis. Eurasia also had a great advantage when it came to... ...very separated by the geography, but China was just one area making it easy to have only one ruler. Europe was able to conquer and control large areas of the globe because of Jared Diamond’s theory of â€Å"Geographic Luck.† God did not favor them more and their race was not genetically superior. Geographic luck is still affecting the world today. Trade is affected greatly, as well as the political unity in different countries. If everyone knew about this theory, I think the world would work together more. I think that more people would help the people who had a disadvantage because of the geography around them. Religions might also be affected if everyone knew about this theory. Some people may blame God for the way they live, but really God didn’t favor anyone. Wealth and the power in different societies that we have now I think are affected by the geography.

Promotional Mix: Public Relations Campaign

ObjectiveTo stimulate PB awareness by participating with Make a Wish Foundation by donating a portion of sales from the PB holiday accessories line. Budget The PB holiday (value) line donations for the Make a Wish Foundation will be supported by a budget of $500,000 in the month of November and December from the total allotted $5 million per month marketing budget. Estimated costs are minimal as they will be included in a small card mailer each month and as an online pop-up with the web promotion.Message strategyTo promote donations and funding for the Make a Wish Foundation and raise local and national awareness for PB to support community engagement. The Make a Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. It is Pottery Barn’s hope to raise $500,000 for the organization in 2013 through companywide involvement in donations from staff, customers and sales of the holiday line. Media planThe Sales reports will be reviewed weekly to ensure the tar get of $500,000 is progressing as hoped. The purpose is aid the Make a Wish Foundation and to widen the reach of PB to its consumers by adding a personal level to the organization. Offering employees a monthly payroll deduction with matching incentive from the organization, a 10% proceed from the holiday line sales, and customer donations the entire PB family will have the opportunity to give back to their community this holiday season. The web banner promotion running on the Frontgate, Better Homes and Gardens will accompany a Make a Wish/ PB cobranded pop-up allowing shoppers to donate immediately and at the time of check out.The Make a Wish Foundation ad will run the same timespan as the holiday line, November 1st through December 24th, purchases over $50Â  will still featuring the free gift offer. User profile information on social networking sites will be utilized to target and align with the PB consumer profile. The value promotion will be reviewed weekly and broken down into daily sales for each product in the value line, financial contributions will be tracked to total sales from the holiday (value) line. Donation goals will be set in place each week by location and by sales staff member, including web traffic.Additional commissions will be paid to associates, including designers that cross sell holiday product in their design sessions that meet and exceed their sales goals directly related to the holiday (value) line. It will be important to track leads from each online source using tracking software, Facebook ad audience profiles, following pay per click metadata, print ads, etc. to review electronic profiles of consumers online. Integrating PB rewards using the consumers email at checkout and providing electronic receipts will also allow further access to better defining successful community campaigns in the future.

Effect of Boko Haream in Nigera Econs

To say that the deadly activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, are killing the economy of the North is an understatement. In most states in the North, the devastating socio-economic effects of the sect’s serial killings and bombings, especially in Borno, Yobe, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau (which is more of ethno-religious conflict), Kogi, Bauchi and recently ,Sokoto, has destroyed economic and commercial activities with many people relocating to other places. In Maiduguri, Borno State, where the sect originated, the frequent bombings and clashes between Boko Haram and security agents have weighed down seriously on ommercial and businesses activities in the city as many business have reportedly crumbled while many people have fled the state. The Maiduguri Monday Market said to be the biggest market in the city is reported to have been seriously affected as hundreds of shop owners, especially Southerners are said to have closed their businesses and left the troubled city. Ab out half of the 10, 000 shops and stalls in the market were said to have been abandoned by traders who have fled the city. Banks and their customers are also said to be operating under difficult situation and have reduced their business hours to guard gainst being attacked by members of the sect. According to the Borno State Commissioner of Information, Mr. Inuwa Bwala, it will take the state 20 years to recover from the current predicament it has found itself. Bwala, in a telephone interview with THISDAY said the security situation has taken its toll on the economy of the state as many people have fled. According to the commissioner, â€Å"it is only natural that when you have such a situation as we have now, it will affect the economic fortunes, especially where people go out to do business under the atmosphere of fear. So there is no doubt that the crisis has aken its toll on our resources, on our business and on our economy. It will take us a very long time, not less than 20 ye ars to recover and get to the position we were before the crisis started. â€Å"It is our prayers that those who were scared away from Borno State out of fear, those who closed shops out of fear, those who fled in the height of the crisis and the general apathy among business men to invest in Borno State, should do a rethink and come back because the atmosphere is peaceful now. â€Å"Local businesses are beginning to pick up; we are in the process of recovering. The state government has intervened in various usiness sectors, especially the revival of our industries, alleviation of poverty, granting of business loans, development of business and technical skills and so many other programmes that the government has initiated for us to bring back the state on to stream and let people imbibe the spirit of self-sustenance, let them imbibe the spirit of thriving even in the face of challenges. So it is our prayers that we will recover soonest. â€Å"We are optimistic that Borno will be back on its feet as the economic ‘Heart Beat’ of the North-east. Mind you Borno has border links with three international communities nd all these routes had been very viable business routes. We hope that when we renew our links with these communities, businesses shall boom again in Borno State and the nation at large†. Since January 20, 2012, when the militant sect launched its onslaught on the metropolitan city of Kano, life has not been the same again in the city which is noted as the heart of the development of the North. The attack on Kano has been very devastating because the city has always been the commercial centre of western Sudan for the past 500 years. The city had been economic base of the North before even neighbouring countries like NigerRepublic, Chad and northern Cameroun before the evolution of the Nigerian nation. But today the story is different as business and commercial activities have taken a turn for the worse in the city as a result of th e security problems occasioned by frequent killings and bombings. Investors who have been doing business in the city for ages are said to be relocating their businesses due to the unending security challenges in the city. Kano, which is reputed to be the hub of business and commercial activities in the entire 19 Northern states and beyond, is gradually losing steam. About 80 per cent of the industries are said to closed shops, due o power failure and the daunting security challenges. The security challenges have impacted negatively on both the private and public sectors of the economy as many business men and traders have relocated their businesses from the city. About 35 per cent of the over three million Igbo businessmen and traders in the city who engaged in both small and medium scale businesses are reported to have fled to Abuja and the South-east due to the growing insecurity posed by the activities of Boko Haram. The indigenous business community in the city especially the te xtile merchants are not faring better as they count their losses as heir customers who used to patronise them no longer go to Kano for fear of the unknown. The Durbar Festival in Kano which used to attract local and international tourists was canceled last week because of security issues even though it was attributed to the Emir’s failing health. The Kano State government lost huge revenue from this singular decision. The story is not different in Jos, the Plateau State capital the unofficial headquarters of the Middle Belt. Plateau has been in the news before the advent of Boko Haram as a result of the persistent ethnic and religious crisis that has continued to engulf the state.The city has witnessed so much carnage that many businesses are no longer thriving, as many business concerns have abandoned the city and moved out their investments. Though the city is not reputed as an industrial city, it is noted for its tourism potentials which have contributed to the national ec onomy. However, the once thriving tourism destination that was an attraction for local and international tourists is now history as the spate of violence in the state which hitherto prides it as the ‘Home of Peace and tourism’ seems to have been robbed off of its glory in the tourism industry. Today, Jos is a no go area for tourists as estination marketers and tour operators take their clients to destinations with relative peace. Only hotels are recording slightly above 20 per cent occupancy rate. Some are said to have closed down while the Jos Museums, Jos Wildlife and Amusement Park no longer witness visitors trooping there again. The impact on hospitality is so much that investors in the industry are looking elsewhere, especially at neighbouring places like Abuja since tourism does not thrive in an environment characterised by insecurity and violence. Apart from the ethno religious violence, the city has had its share of the Boko Haram ombings. Many people have close d up their businesses and left the city. Social and economic activities are on the lowest ebb as a result of the security situation. Like Jos, Kaduna the former capital of the defunct Northern region has not fared better as business activities in the city continued to nose dive as a result of the increasing level of insecurity in state. As a result of the prevailing level of insecurity, many businesses, especially beer parlour operators, night clubs and other places of relaxation are gradually folding up as their owners count their losses. Worst hit are those located in the northern art of the city, such as the elitist NAF club, owned by the Nigerian Airforce , along Rabbah Road, which used to be a beehive of activities. Many residents live in perpetual fear of the unknown as the Boko Haram sect continuous to attack the city as they restrict their business activities to areas where they feel safe. Worst hit is the hospitality business in the city. Many hoteliers are counting their l osses as a result of lack of patronage. Many people who come into town for any engagement prefer to go to stay in Abuja rather than stay the night in Kaduna. A source at one of the leading hotels in Kaduna lamented that since, the reprisal ttacks that trailed the June 17 bombing of Churches in Kaduna and Zaria, there had been very low patronage. â€Å"As you can see, the whole place is looking empty; we don’t have customers as we used to have because people are afraid of coming to Kaduna. No any serious event, meeting or occasion that could bring people to Kaduna is holding, so business is on the declined,† said the source. A lot of Igbo are said be relocating from the city to Abuja and the East for a more secured business environment. According to Mr. Ben Ikowu, a businessman, businesses are no longer thriving in Kaduna as they ought to be as a result of insecurity ccasioned by Boko Haram bombings. â€Å"Sincerely business is not thriving at all in Kaduna. The busine ss environment is very doll, there is so much uncertainty. Each day you wake up, you are scared because you are afraid of what may happen during the day and you are very careful of places to go so that you don’t get caught up in the wrong place if anything happens. â€Å"We, especially the non-indigenes have been living under serious fears because of the bombings. A lot of people, especially we Igbo, are relocating to Abuja and the East. Some people have relocated their investments. A good number of people thatI know have put up their houses for sale because they want to relocate. â€Å"I know people who have moved to Abuja to secure business offices so that they could have a place to fall back on if the situation of things in the North remains the way we are seeing. â€Å"I know people; some of my Igbo brothers who have relocated their families back home because of the situation of things in the North generally so as to avoid the experience of the 1966 civil war. They are ready to leave and join their families back home anytime if things get worst,† he said. He lamented further that businesses were at a standstill because people are scared, dding that â€Å"if anybody tells you those things are moving well in Kaduna, that person is telling a lie. Well things may be moving well for people who are working and getting salary at the end of the month, but for those of us in business, we going through serious difficulties. â€Å"There is feeling of insecurity and uncertainty everywhere and that not good for any economy, it is not good for business and investment. † Also lamenting the situation, the Executive Director of Admiral Agricultural and Environmental Care, Kaduna, Mr Shadrack Madlion, regretted that the business environment in the North is becoming orst and called on the authorities to do something about the worsening security situation. Madlion noted that â€Å"business activities in northern Nigeria today have gone to almost zero per cent. There is no way anybody can come and put up any investment where there is insecurity. † He lamented that â€Å"I was thriving on N3 million on daily bases in business, in my agricultural inputs, but today, I don’t see N80, 000. Those in the transport business are feeling it too. Social life in the North is gone. â€Å"No one is going to say the North should wake up because they are feeling it. I seat in my office and somebody expects me to ay my local government taxes and other government taxes, under what circumstances can I generate the funds when business is not moving. I am not even sure whether I would be able to pay my children’s school fees this coming session because there had not been business. â€Å"People move out of Kaduna to go and look for their daily bread. In terms of food business at this Ramadan period, it is progressive but as I speak with you sales have dropped by 75 per cent compared to last fasting session. Prices have gone up b ecause of insecurity. Lamenting the situation further, the Bishop of Kaduna Diocese of the Church of Nigeria,Anglican Communion, Rev. Josiah Idowu- Fearon, said that violence has destroyed the economic, social and religious lives of the people of Kaduna State. Addressing the first session of the 19th Synod of the Anglican Church in Kaduna recently, Fearon said a significant number of church members prefer to stay within the safety of their homes rather than coming to churches and be bombed to death. According to him, businesses have dropped and the standard of living has also dropped deeply, stressing that for the situation to stop, the North must do something. â€Å"The entire North-east of the country, Jos and Kano are almost completely isolated conomically, socially and politically. The understanding by many in this northern part today is that Kaduna, the ‘Heart Beat’ of the North is the next target of this group that is bent on this mission of self- destruction,â⠂¬  he said. In virtually all the states in the story is not different as people living under fear of the unknown. Concerned about happenings in the region, the Federal Government, in February this year, raised the alarm over the devastating effect of the Boko Haram insurgency on the region, warning that religious extremists will destroy the region if the activities of the Islamic sect are not curtailed.The Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, who spoke on behalf of the government, had said the region needs peace and stability more than any other region in the country, particularly because the region is clearly lagging behind in terms of infrastructure, education and other development indices, declaring that the North's economy is on the verge of collapse. Sadly, the governors of the region appear to be helpless in containing the situation as the Islamic sect continuous with its bombardment. For how long will this continue? If the region comes out of this, it will surely take so me decades for it to recover from the effect of this madness.

Questions to Ask During an Academic Job Interview

Questions to Ask During an Academic Job Interview Every year graduate students, recent graduates, and postdocs to make the rounds on the academic job interview circuit. When youre looking for a faculty position at a college or university in this difficult academic job market, its easy to forget that your job is to evaluate how well the position matches your needs. In other words, you should ask questions during your academic job interview. Why? First, it shows that youre interested and attentive. Second, it shows that youre discriminating and wont just take any job that comes along. Most importantly, its only by asking questions that youll obtain the information that you need to decide if the job is really for you. Questions to Consider The following are various questions that you can examine and custom fit for your specific interview: How is the university organized? What are the major units and administrators of the school and what are their responsibilities? What does the organizational flow chart look like? (Note that you should do your homework beforehand and be somewhat familiar with the university; ask additional questions to clarify your understanding.)How are departmental decisions made?How often are departmental meetings held? Are decisions made in departmental meetings? Who is eligible to vote on departmental decisions (e.g., all faculty or only tenured faculty)?May I have a copy of the departmental annual report?Whats the relative importance of teaching, research, and service for promotion and tenure?What is the average time that faculty members spend in each academic rank? How long is it before assistant professors are reviewed for promotion and tenure?What is the nature of the tenure review process?About what percent of faculty receive tenure?Can grants be used to supplement salary?What type of retire ment program is there? What percentage of the salary goes to retirement? What does the school contribute? What type of health program exists? What are the costs and benefits?How many undergraduate and graduate students are presently in the department? How are their numbers changing?Tell me about your student population.Where do the undergraduate students go after graduation?What kinds of technology are available in the classroom?How well does the library meet departmental needs? Are the reserves adequate?What courses are you looking to fill?How do the department and university support the improvement of teaching?What are the departments research strengths and weaknesses?What are the departments plans for growth and hiring?What resources for research are available within the department (e.g., computer facilities, equipment)Is there a research office on campus to help faculty write grants?How important is research in determining tenure and promotion?Is outside grant support essential for promotion and tenure?How are graduate students supported?How do graduate students select research advis ors? What kinds of financial support are available for research and supplies?Is this a new position? If not, why did the faculty member leave? Final Advice One final caveat is that your questions should be informed by your research on the department and school. That is, dont ask questions about basic information that can be gleaned off of the department website. Instead ask a followup, in-depth questions that show that youve done your homework and that you are interested in knowing more.