Strategic managment report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Strategic managment report - Essay Example (Kuhn, 1996) A paradigm can also be described using its four basic elements: symbolic generalisation, metaphysical assumptions, values and exemplars. Symbolic generalisations refer to the different ways in which problems within the paradigm are put across and solved. Metaphysical assumptions involve the beliefs about what will be considered to be real. Values on the other hand are the characteristics that represent the basic priorities of what issues to pursue and the goals that need to be served. Finally, exemplars are the worked out approaches and answers which represent the whole world view as a logical form. (Kuhn, 1996) Paradigms, according to Thomas Kuhn, are culturally oriented and very discrete. For example, an Asian medical researcher who has an enormous amount of knowledge on eastern medicine would encompass a totally different paradigm to that of a western medical researcher. (Kuhn, 1996) Organisational paradigm implies the beliefs, philosophies, values policies, structures and operations that embody an organisation. (Kuhn, 1996) Organisational paradigm can be applicable to the domain of an organisation and also explains the frame of reference of an organisation as well as its culture and world view. The importance of an organisation’s paradigm for strategic management is that it can be used to revamp the management system of the organisation. (Kuhn, 1996) This can bring about a number of elements like the importance of the role of a leader, intensive employee training, increased salaries and budgets and combating any resistance to change. Strategic management paradigm leads to various generalities, for example towards the external environment which means that the organisation must show commitment to the social, economic and environmental issues that surround the firm. Institutional actions must also be considered which stress the values and principles of total quality

Exceptionalism, Isolationism, and expansionism with reference to Essay

Exceptionalism, Isolationism, and expansionism with reference to videos and assigned readings - Essay Example An examination of a developed country’s foreign policy such as America is essential in determining the importance of an effective foreign policy. A critical analysis of the American foreign policy portrays an interconnection of exceptionalism, isolationism, and expansionism. A manifestation of this interconnection is clearly seen during the Mexican - American War. This is because the war arguably marks the first steps of America’s rise to a global power. The Mexican – American War revolved around territorial disputes between America and Mexico. This implies that the entire Mexican – American War can be considered to be based upon American expansionism. This is because America sought to expand its territories into Mexico in areas considered to have some significance. America claimed that the border was at Rio Grande while Mexico argued that the border was at Nueces River. A border at Rio Grande meant that Mexico would lose a significant portion of land to America. In 1945, President Polk sent American troops under the leadership of General Zachary Taylor to the Nueces River to take over the disputed land. Polk’s actions can be considered to have been facilitated by his position as provided by America’s foreign policy where the president is recognized as the commander in chief of the army and navy. America’s presence was met by opposition from the Mexican troops at a time that saw the death of 11 Ame rican soldiers and imprisonment of several more (The Mexican American War, 2006). However, this was followed by a series of other conflicts in Mexico in which the American troops occasionally emerged victorious and consequently the occupation of Mexico City by Americans. In addition to increased expansion interests to the South, America also had keen interest in expanding the Northern borders such as California. This period that saw increased concentration on expansion can be considered to have marked America’s first attempts of becoming a

Kpis to Measure Sales Force Essay Example for Free

Kpis to Measure Sales Force Essay Sales Force of a company is often called the face of the company because they are the ones who actually face customers on the behalf of their business. And in terms of an insurance company, the sales force would be considered an important aspect of the business. Therefore, the need of effectively managing the insurance sales force also rises in importance. Effectively evaluating the performance of the sales force is necessary to figure out the loopholes in the performance and to devise ways to improve their efficiency. The nature of business is what makes an insurance company differ from other businesses around. Specially trained and motivated sales force is what required is in this form of business scenario where the customers are smart enough to bargain terms and where the competition in the insurance industry is immense. KPIs can be used to provide a holistic view of the business and with regard to Insurance Sales force Management. These can be categorised in four perspectives- financial perspective, operational perspective, customer service perspective and education and training perspective. Financial perspective comprises of KPIs like annual salary, incentive as percentage of salary, etc. This is to take care of the financial standing of the organization. Operational perspective represents KPIs such as percentage of renewed policies to the number of policies sold, percentage of policy lapses or missed payments, etc. This helps in conducting operations in a streamlined manner. Customer service perspective includes KPIs like number of referrals generated from customers, number of customer focused products developed, percentage decrease in customer complaints, etc. This angle works in making the organization build reputation and minimize losing customer base. The last perspective, Education and Training perspective talks ab out KPIs number of training sessions, number of motivational sessions, etc to ensure that the sales force is not leaving any stone unturned in achieving the targets. One of the most prominent challenges this industry has to encounter is the high attrition rate hinting at the very high professional pressure one has to go through. This in turn calls for implementation of as effective performance management system as possible. Balanced Scorecard is the measure that is dependable enough to combat such situations. This helps in creating a win-win scenario. The next hurdle to be faced is the concept of the task itself. There are a whole lot of verifications to be done before any funds are released when any claim is made. This requires clear strategy formulation from the organizational point of view. This is to further assist in laying down the goals, measurements and targets.

Effect of Water to Cement Ratio on Concrete

Effect of Water to Cement Ratio on Concrete Introduction In construction projects, concrete, along with steel, wood, glass, etc, is one of the most essential materials that are needed for a successful manufacture of a structure. It one of the most common materials on a construction site and accounts for billions of pounds everywhere across the world. Due to ever-increasing machinery and technological advancements concrete can now be made of a mixture of compound materials, nevertheless the necessary components of concrete are course or fine aggregates, Portland Cement and water. In the current times, concrete structures are manufactured every day and to sustain a safe environment for people, so it is vital that that the structures that are built are sturdy, durable and do not cause any hazards to people. It is therefore a huge task for construction companies to guarantee that the structures that are built are done so to meet all the specific safety codes, British Standards or the Euro Code Standards. The properties of concrete are very vit al as they provide the necessary stability that structures are dependent on to maintain their sturdiness. As a result it is essential to research and be aware of the distinctive components of concrete and its properties, and how in this experiment these might affect the way that concrete performs when changing some variables.  (Richardson, 2002). The workability of a concrete mix gives a measure of the ease with which fresh concrete can be placed and compacted. The concrete should flow readily into the form and go around and cover the reinforcement, the mix should retain its consistency and the aggregates should not segregate. There are four factors that can affect the workability are: Consistency: The degree of consistency is depended on the nature of works and type of compaction. Water/cement Ratio or Water Control of a concrete: Water/cement ratio is the ratio of water in a mix to the weight of cement. The quality of water that required for a mix is depended on the mix proportions, types and grading of aggregate. Grading of Aggregate: The smooth and rounded aggregate will produce a more workable concrete than the sharp angular aggregate. Cement Content: The greater workability can be obtained with the higher cement content. Aims The aim of this experiment was to establish the effects of water to cement ratio on the  fresh properties of concrete (workability), and its effect on the hardened properties  of concrete (strength). Furthermore to increase the understanding in making a concrete mixture and working out the water content that needs to be added to the mixtures. And last to expand on the understanding of the importance of fresh and hard properties of concrete. Objectives The objectives of the experiment were to make three concrete mixtures by altering their water/cement ratios (0.47, 0.55 0.65) and to find out the water content to use for the three mixtures. To do a variety of tests such as the slump test, compacting factor test on fresh concrete and to carry out compressive and flexural strength tests of hardened concrete. Then finally to discuss how features such as variation in the water/cement ratio affects the workability  and strength of concrete. Theory Concrete Production, concrete is a mixture that is made up of three components, cement, water and aggregate. The water and cement are mixed together to produce a thick paste, to which then measured out aggregates are added to. The aggregates that are added are mainly composed of usual materials such as sand, gravel and crushed rocks, however due to the latest advanced technology; it has been known that other materials such as car tyres and crushed glass to be also used as aggregates. The cement is produced by blending limestone and clay, and burning it in a rotary kiln, this results in the formation of a clinker, to which gypsum is added. The mix is then ground down to fine powder cement, in which the most common is called Portland Cement. The cement/water slurry solidifies through a chemical reaction called hydration, the reaction produces immense heat so fresh concrete must by no means be handled with unprotected bare hands. During the winter season, temperatures drop below 2Âà ‚ °C, so the chemical hydration reaction may be very slow as heat is needed as a catalyst to speed up the collision of the particles. Therefore concrete pours during these seasons are not suitable as the concrete will not set. Initially this reaction is slow to start with, so this allows for the concrete to be transported and poured before it is hardened, and the theory states that complete 100% hydration takes place after 28 days. Properties of Concrete: There are four key properties that are desired in fresh concrete i.e.  good workability, compactability, mobility and stability. The most desired properties for  hardened concrete are strength and durability. The concrete should have compressive strength  (resist squeezing), tensile strength (resist stretching) and flexural strength (resist bending). All these strengths are highly dependent on the water/cement ratio and aggregate used in the  mixture, the degree of compaction and the age of the concrete. Curing concrete under water  over time allows hydration to continue hence giving it strength. The concrete used in this experiment was a C30 concrete grade and according to B.S. 5328  the compressive strength for this grade at 28 days is 30.0 N/ sq mm which can also be written  as 30 MPa which is adequate for use in beams, however this is only an estimation as there  are other factors (mentioned above) that affect concrete strength. In this experiment the slump  test and the compacting factor test were used to assess the workability and uniformity of  concrete. The deflection/ flexural strength test was carried out to evaluate the strength of the  concrete beam (mini beam sample) and find the failure load of the mini beam (100mm by  100mm by 500mm). The compressive strength was carried out to determine the maximum  failure load of the cube samples (150mm by 150mm) and the cylinder samples (150mm by  300mm) (Barnes 1992). MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT Casting Equipment Concrete mixer Bucket (average size) Measuring Cylinder Shovel Wheel Borough Scale Figure 2: Shows Compaction Factor Apparatus. (used to determine workability of concrete  mixture) Figure 3: Slump Test Apparatus B.S. Slump cone (300mm high, tapering from a 100mm diameter top to a 200mm  diameter bottom) Slump rod (or steel tamping rod) (16 mm diameter, 600mm long, with rounded ends) Flat metal base plate (600 sq mm) (K0837225) Page 5 9. Metal Rule (300mm long) 10. Metal Scoop 11. Levelling Trowel 12. Waste rag 13. Vibrating Table 14. Moulds 6 no. Cube Moulds (150mm by 150mm) 3 no. Cylinder Moulds (150mm by 300mm) 3 no. Mini beam Moulds (100mm by 100mm by 500mm) 15. Materials Course Aggregates (Stones) Fine Aggregates (Sand) Cement Water (Tap) *Note: Aggregate used was natural aggregate used was from London. Therefore no need for  determining aggregate moisture content as aggregate is assumed to be laboratory dry to  SSD. Hence no considerable effect on water-cemet ratio. Striking Equipment 1. Pressure pipe (for striking cubes and cylinders) 2. Brushes (Soft and Hard metal brushes) 3. Oil, oil brush and rugs (for cleaning moulds before storing) 4. Crayon (for labelling concrete samples) 5. Curing room Testing Equipment 1. Compressive test machinery Figure 4: Shows the Compressive test machine used to apply loads on cubes and cylinder  samples 2. Deflection test machinery (Picture shown in figure 3. Load reader/display 4. Concrete samples 5. Digital Camera *Personal Protective Clothing was worn on all days of the experiment (Safety boots and Coats, individuals handling concrete wore protective gloves). METHODOLOGY Concrete Production: 1. Aggregates were readily weighed and placed into buckets. Quantities (constants) used in  all Concrete Mixes are shown below: Material Quantitative Weight (Kg) Cement (CEM1) 6.50 Fine Aggregate (Sand) 16.55 Natural Course Aggregate (Stones) 26.00 2. The amount of water required was determined by using the formulae shown below. Water content = (water/cement ratio) x cement weight. 3. Water was measured into a bucket using measuring cylinders. 4. The water/cement ratio was set as the variable between 3 Concrete Mixes (to determine  the effect of water/cement ratio on the strength and workability of the concrete). Water  content quantities used are shown on table 1. Table 1: Water/Cement Ratio (variable) for Concrete Mixes 1, 2 3 Concrete Mix Water/Cement Ratio Water Content (litres) 1 0.47 3 2 0.55 3.6 3 0.65 4.25 *See Appendix 1 for Actual Calculations Carried Out. 5. The concrete mixer paddles and pan were lightly dampened before aggregates were  placed in the mixer. 6. Course and fine aggregates were placed into the mixer and mixed for 30seconds. 7. Half the water required for the mix was added to the mixture and the contents were  further mixed for 1 minute. 8. The contents were covered and left for 8 minutes, to allow aggregates to absorb water,  (because aggregates are porous therefore they should soak in water into voids to get a good  mix and bonding with cementious (water/cement) paste). 9. Cement was spread evenly over the aggregates and mixed for 1 minute. 10. The remaining water was added and the contents were mixed for 2 minutes ensuring  homogeneity of the mix. 11. Workability tests were then carried out, in the order shown below. *Note; immediately after each test the used concrete was returned into the mixer and the contents were remixed for 30 seconds. FRESH CONCRETE TESTS Compacting Factor Test: 1. Trap doors of all hoppers were shut prior to beginning the test. 2. Sample of freshly mixed concrete was scooped from the mixer into the upper hopper, the  concrete sample was filled up to the brim of the upper hopper. 3. The trap-door of upper hopper was opened, to enable concrete to fall into the lower  hopper. 4. After all concrete had been collected onto lower hopper, the trap-door of the lower hopper  was then opened and the concrete allowed to fall into the cylinder. 5. Excess concrete remaining above the top level of the cylinder was then cut off using a  plane blade. 6. The concrete collected in the cylinder was then weighed. (This weight is known as the  weight of partially compacted concrete). 7. The concrete filled cylinder was vibrated to obtain full compaction, and more concrete  was added to the cylinder as required to ensure the vibrated/compacted concrete was  filled to the brim of the cylinder. 8. The now fully compacted concrete in the cylinder was weighed. 9. The compacting factor was then obtained using the formulae shown below. Compacting factor = (Weight of partially compacted concrete)/(Weight of fully  compacted concrete) Figure 5: Shows steps followed during the compacting factor test. 1) Compacting factor equipment. 2) Partially compacted weight is taken on a scale, 3) The concrete is vibrated/compacted  on a vibrating table and then the contents are toped up and vibrated to the rim container and the  partially compacted weight was taken. Slump Test: Concrete was thoroughly mixed in the concrete mixer. The slump cone was dampened to prevent concrete sticking to it. The slump cone/mould was placed on the centre of the metal plate and one individual was  asked to stand on the foot pieces on both sides of the mould. The mould was filled in 3 equal depth layers and each layer was rod 25 times using the  steel slump rod (ensuring even spread of blows covering over the whole area). Concrete was heaped over the top of the cone and with a rolling motion of the rod over  top of the mold the concrete was levelled thus removing the excess concrete. The spillage was carefully removed from the sides of the mould and the base plate   The mould/cone was carefully and slowly lifted vertically upwards. The slump cone was turned upside down and placed next to the molded concrete and the  rod was laid across the slump cone and the distance (slump) between the underside of the  rod and the highest point of the moulded concrete were read using a metal rule. There are different kinds of slump a collapsed slump, sheared slump and a true slump. The first two slump types indicate bad workability and a true slump indicates good  workability. Concrete Beam Casting Curing: Concrete was scooped out of the mixer into oiled moulds on the vibrating table (ensuring  even spread). Concrete was vibrated throughout the pour to eliminate voids and to enable compaction  of concrete by switching on the vibrating table. The vibrating motion also levelled the concrete. The concrete was left to set on the mould for 24 hours After which concrete was struck and placed in the curing room over 14 days. HARDENED CONCRETE TESTS Concrete Sample Testing: Compressive Strength Tests; were carried out on cube and cylinder samples. Flexural Strength Tests; were carried out in the mini beams. The machines where loaded with concrete sample and load applied was set to zero  before running the test. Base and top plates (spacers) were used to determine to provide platforms for the  concrete specimens and to also help provide even distribution of load. The load was applied by the machine till maximum failure load was reached. This reading was taken and the machine cleaned off concrete debris before running tests  for other samples. *Note the loading Pace Rates varied for different sample shape as shown below: Cylinders loading Pace Rate was set at 5.30 KN/s Cubes loading Pace Rate was set at 6.80 KN/s Mini Beams loading Pace Rate was set at 0.200 KN/s RESULTS 1. FRESH CONCRETE PROPERTIES TEST RESULTS Compacting Factor Test Results: Mix 1 Observations: The Concrete Mix appeared to be dry and did not pass through when the trap  door of the upper hopper was opened. The concrete mix was helped through the trap door to  the lower hopper by pushing it with a metal rod through the first trap door. The same was  done in order to get it through the second trap door into the container. This showed that it  was a bad mix with bad flowability, mobility and workability properties due to low water  content. Mix 2 Observations: The concrete mix was passed through the hopers with better ease than mix 1,  however only  ¼ of the contents went through, the rest was forced through both trap doors  with a metal rod. Therefore the flow ability and workability properties of this mix were bad,  but better than mix1, owing it to the increased water content in mix 2. Mix 3 Observations: The obtained concrete mix was a wet mix (a bit too wet) with what would  appear to be good flowability properties as all contents went through the hopers and trap  doors with one sweep and much ease. Therefore the flowability and workability properties  were the best observed for all 3 mixes, but too much water content is not good either. The compacting factor test was worked out for all the 3 Concrete Mixes and results are  shown in table 2 below. *The calculations were carried out on Microsoft Excel using the formula shown below. Compacting factor = (Weight of partially compacted concrete)/(Weight of fully  compacted concrete) BS 1881: Part 103 states that concrete is deemed unsuitable if its compacting factor is  below 0.70 or above 0.98. For normal concretes the compacting factor normally lies  between 0.80 and 0.92 (Jackson Dhir 1996). Apparent workability shown below was determined by using Compacting factor table in There was no slump as  the mix was too dry  therefore indicating  poor mobility,  flowability and  workability Collapsed slump was  obtained and the slump  exceeded the allowable  tolerance stated in BS  5328. The slump cone  was 300mm high and  the concrete mix  slumped by half that  value to 150mm. This  indicates that the mix  was too wet and this  affected its cohesive  properties. Very high *Apparent workability shown above was determined by using Slump Results Table shown  in Appendix 2 (Kew 2009). (K0837225) Page 12 Mix 1 Dry Mix/ Zero Slump Mix 2 Wet mix /13mm True Slump Mix3 Mix too wet/ collapsed slump Figure 7: Shows the Slump Results Obtained for concrete mixes with varying water  cement ratios. (Mix 1 w/c ratio 0.45, Mix 2 w/c ratio 0.55 and Mix 3 w/c ratio 0.65). 2. HARDENEDED CONCRETE PROPERTIES TEST RESULTS Figure 8: Shows the cube specimen being loaded into the compressing machine and on the right,  the classical cube hour glass failure mode on one of the cube specimen. Figure 9: Shows the cylinder specimen being loaded into the compressing machine and on the  right, the failure mode on 3 of the cylinder specimens. Figure 10: Shows a mini beam failing when subjected to Flexural Loads. This is the classical failure  mode of beams. The beam undergoes tensile and flexural strain resulting in bending and snapping of  the beam. Concrete is generally brittle and this makes it weak in tension. Hence the need for  reinforcement of concrete, steel is good in tension so it lends that quality to concrete, resulting in  better stronger structures. The results above are indicative of the effects of w/c ratio on the strength of concrete. At  0.45 w/c ratio the strength was 630.4 (Influence of test conditions. Table above show that specimen shape and size is also  influential on the compressive strength. Therefore measured strength of concrete is also  affected by height diameter ratio. This is to just show that test conditions can also affect the  determination of concrete strength. In BS 1881: Part 116 specifies that 150mm cube test are  only used for quality control purposes. Whereas BS 1881: Part 120 indicates that cylinder  test specimens are used to carry out compressive strength tests for in situ concrete and  precast members. A correction factories usually applied to the cylinder strength to obtain an  equivalent cube strength, it takes into account the specimen height /diameter ratio (i.e.  300mm/150mm = 2.). This explains the high compressive strength results obtained in  cylinder specimens than in cube specimens despite the being made off the same batch of  concrete. It should also be considered that the loading Pace Rates for c ubes (and cylinders  were varied. The trend obtained from the results shown above indicates that increasing w/c ratio increases  flexural strength. Af hydration strengthens the bonding between the cementious material and  the aggregates. However like all other factors, too much of anything is not good. If the mix  has excess water it will result in reduced flexural strength and results in bleeding of concrete  thus a weakened structure with pours in them. Again the normal distribution curve can me  expected with extremes. DISCUSSION One type of test is not enough to indicate the workability of the concrete as a whole. Use of  various tests bring out various properties that determine workability, for example, the  compacting factor can indicate how workable in the concrete will be in terms of how easily  can the concrete be vibrated and compacted. It is also a good indicator of the mobility and  flowability of concrete. It Shows how easily the concrete can be pumped from a concrete  skip into shutters, how easily the concrete will pass through the skip trap door when on  casting real structure on site. On the other hand the slump best indicates how workable the  concrete is in terms of its cohesive nature and segregation of its aggregates. It is important to  carry more than one of these tests to indicate various workability factors. These tests can also  be carried out at various stages between concrete production and casting. The common  construction site test (In situ test) is the slump tes t, it serves as the last point of quality check  prior to casting, and all other workability factors are normally carried out on the concrete  production sites. For example, the compactability factor will be most useful on production as  other mobility enhancing admixtures may be added prior to transporting concrete to site,  hence saving time, money and other complications that may arise from delaying site  programmes. From table 2 the results obtained from all mixes had compacting factors  between 0.70 and 0.98 hence indicating that all the tested concrete mixes would be  acceptable under the BS 1881. This certainly does not mean that all mixes had good  workability properties. Jackson Dhir (1996) state that some of the basic assumptions for  the test are not correct and should not be solely relied upon extensively as they can be  misleading. As concrete mixes can have same compacting factor but may not always require  the same amount of work to reach full c ompaction as compaction cannot be justified in the  true sense. From the results in table 2 it shows that changing the water/cement ratio affected  the compacting factor. Increasing the water cement ratio increased the compacting factor  therefore the workability of the concrete. All these tests have limits, for example placing  more water would have resulted in decreasing compactability factor as increasing the water  content will result in lowered compacting factors. (Compacting liquid materials do not result  in changes between partially compacted weight and fully compacted weight, hence if more  excess water is added the mix will have lower differences between partially compacted  weight and fully compacted weight. Hence giving rise to normal distribution curves for the  compressive tests. This also applies to flexural strength and durability of the concrete. CONCLUSION In conclusion it is clear that too little w/c ratio reduces the strength of concrete just as well as  too much w/c ratio will result in porous concrete. Therefore adequate amounts need to be  used to gain the best results. The best way of getting accurate assumptions on concrete is to  consider various factors. Increasing the water content ratio generally increases the strength  but may also result in shrinkage of the concrete hence altering durability and permeability  factors. Q1: Report all the results fresh properties (slump value and the shape of the slump) and  hardened properties (strength) of the concrete and comment on the results. See Results  Section for Answers. Q2: Why the need to measure the fresh and hardened properties of the concrete? Fresh properties are only of much importance in the stages of the concrete mix. These  help concrete producers spot problems early on the stage before structures are cast thus  potentially saving money, time and preventing unstable structures form being built by  spotting and correcting problems with concrete at an early stage. Also this helps prevent  the need to strike down newly built structures due to instability of concrete mixes used. Fresh properties can help indicate how much work labours will have to do on site and  consequently the energy and money that will be required when casting concrete on site. On the other hand hardened concrete properties are important in determining and the life  span of the concrete in the form of s concrete structure. The hardened properties are  important in observing and maintaining the strength of the structure and its durability. Other hardened factors are permeability and shrinkage of the concrete structures after  being built due to harsh weathers and conditions. The latter factors are of much  importance in structures like dams which require high water retaining properties.   Therefore both properties help in the development and maintenance of a good quality  structures and ensuring long life span. Whilst providing adequate safety to the habitats of  those structures. Q3: Concrete is usually tested at 28-Days for its compression strength. Why at 28-Days? The specimens should be cured under water and for normal concrete they should have  reached maximum strength at 28 Days. Concrete hardening process (Hydration) is  thought to reach its final strength in 28 Days as the reaction slows to a halt and adding  more water or curing concrete past that stage will sure minute or no further significant  changes in concrete strength. Q4: As for reinforced concrete beam, describe the need to place reinforced steel in  concrete beam, the purpose of cover/spacing, the diameter of the steel used and why  concrete beams need to be reinforced? Concrete is good in compression meaning it has high resilience to compressive forces but  is very weak in tension. As noted in the results the beams failed at much lower loads than  both cubes and cylinders, although there are other factors that play a role here that is the  general observation. Hence concrete reinforcement is required, it has good tensile  resilience and when concrete and steel are combined they result in components strong in  both tensile and compressive properties. The purpose of concrete cover is to protect steel  from corrosion, due to air reacting with steel and prevent rust formation due to water. Corrosion and rust results in weakened concrete structure as may result in loss of  resilience to tensile forces. So the concrete cove4r provides protection and a neutral  environment for steel. Concrete cover usually ranges around 500mm from the steel bars. Excess cover is not good as it makes the structure more susceptible to chipping and hence  weakens the cover itself and increases chances of steel corrosion taking place. The  diameter of steel used can vary according to the purpose of the structure but over  reinforcement can also bring about imbalances to the structural stability and may result in  a weakened structure. The normal diameter used ranges between 10-30mm, this makes it  easier to bend and alter on site as well as provide ease of manual handling for steel fixers.

Charles V :: essays research papers

CHARLES V FEBRUARY 24, 1500 – SEPTEMBER 21, 1558   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles V was born on February 24, 1500 in Ghent, which today is better known Belgium. He was the oldest in the family so when his father died in 1506, he inherited the Netherlands and the Franche Comte, which was located in France but actually belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. He gained much more land once his maternal and paternal grandfathers died. Not since Charlemagne, in the early 9th Century, had one person dominated so much land.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Charles visited Spain for the first time, he realized that he wasn’t popular among the citizens. However, his fight against the muslim Turks and the German Protestants won him some acceptance. Though being accepted was a problem, controlling the finances became a much larger one. There were many times when promising military campaigns had to be broken off due to lack of money and at times it appeared that Charles didn’t much mind that such actions had to be taken.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1519 Charles was elected German King and Holy Roman Emperor. So after his visit to Spain he went to Germany to be officially crowned king. But, he would have to wait until 1530 to become the Holy Roman Emperor. Charles was going through a lot and he soon started feeling the pressures of his obligations and to add to his pressures, he would soon be going into war with France, a big competitor and persistent enemy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles V went through many wars, but his most were with France. The Valois kings fought the emperor for the leadership of Europe in general and for the domination of Italy in particular. Though in 1525 Charles’s army defeated and captured Francis I of France at the Battle of Pavia in Italy it was thought that the war was over. But when the peace compromise was final and Francis was released, the Italian wars began again. In 1535 the Spaniards captured Milan and confirmed their domination of Italy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, in stages, between 1555 through 1568, Charles V voluntarily gave up the throne.

Coke: Behind the Image Essay -- Soft Drinks Papers

Coke: Behind the Image Almost everywhere I go, I see advertisements for â€Å"The Real Thing.† Even during my trip to Mozambique, a country stricken with poverty where the people rarely speak English, native children knew how to ask for their favorite drink, available just down the road at the street vendor‘s hut. Created in 1885 by pharmacist John Pemberton, Coca-Cola has evolved from a tonic peddled by traveling salesmen to cure headaches and hangovers, to one of the most recognized and most widely enjoyed beverages of all time (Oliver 14). On average, North Americans drink at least one serving of Coke per day (CSPI sc1). With over two million dollars spent every year on advertising and with very competitive prices, Coke is appealing to and affordable for people of all ages and financial situations. Although most people believe that Coke is the ultimate companion to a good time, that Coke promotes freedom and fun, that it tastes good and poses no threat to the health, I now see that with its aggressive advertising and inherent health risks, Coke has a hidden agenda to create young addicts and further people’s illusion of control. In 1885 Coke was originally trademarked as the â€Å"Ideal Nerve and Tonic Stimulant,† containing cocaine, wine and kola nut for flavor, and sold in drugstores (Oliver 13). Later, the wine was removed and the cocaine was replaced with caffeine. The beverage was then bottled and sold â€Å"within arm’s reach of desire,† a new concept by Coke businessmen who wanted Coke to be available wherever people were thirsty (Oliver 14). From the early 1900s on, Coke has kept growing, remaining in the top ten lists for both preferred beverages and highest sales (CSPI sc... ...4. Academic Search Elite. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 9 Mar. 2002. Manning, Steven. â€Å"Branding Kids For Life.† Nation 20 Nov. 2000:7. Academic Search Elite. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 9 Mar. 2002. â€Å"Myopia.† Nutrition Action Health Letter Dec. 1998:16. Academic Search Elite. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 9 Mar. 2002. Oliver, Thomas. The Real Coke, the Real Story. New York: Random House, 1986. Sampey, Kathleen. â€Å"Coke Shifts Not-So-Funny Ad Tack, Reaches For Teens in Next TV Push.† Brandweek 9 Oct. 2000:5. Academic Search Elite. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 9 Mar. 2002. â€Å"Save Harry.† Nov. 2001. CSPI. www.saveharry.com/bythenumbers.html 29 Mar. 2002 Watters, Pat. Coca-cola. An Illustrated History. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1978.

Ready Set Red Light

Red light runners cause hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries each year. In 2009, 676 people were killed and an estimated 130,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. About half of the deaths in red light running crashes are pedestrians, bicyclists, and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red light runners. An Institute study of urban crashes found that those involving drivers who ran red lights, stop signs and other traffic controls were the most common type of crash (22 percent). Injuries occurred in 39 percent of the crashes in which motorists ran traffic controls. Enforcement is the key to getting people to comply with a law, but communities don't have the resources to allow police to patrol intersections as often as would be needed to ticket all motorists who run red lights. Studies have shown that the presence of cameras reduces red light running. If a vehicle enters an intersection any time after the signal light has turned red, the driver has committed a violation. Motorists inadvertently in an intersection when the signal changes are not red light runners. In locations where a right turn on red is permitted, drivers who fail to come to a complete stop before turning may be considered red light runners. However, communities differ as to whether they issue tickets for it when it is caught on camera. A study conducted during several months at 5 busy intersections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, prior to the use of red light cameras found that, on average, a motorist ran a red light every 20 minutes at each intersection. During peak travel times, red light running was more frequent. Analysis of red light violation data from 19 intersections without red light cameras in 4 states found that 1,775 violations occurred over 554 hours, for a violation rate of 3. 2 per hour per intersection. In a 2010 telephone survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 93 percent of drivers said it's unacceptable to go through a red light if it's possible to stop safely, but one-third reported doing so in the past 30 days.