The French Reign of Terror Essay Example for Free

The French Reign of scourge EssayAs if the French Revolution were non enough, the French batch having endured decades of irresponsible governing and political agitation were plunged into a nonher nightm atomic number 18 of drastic proportion. Indeed, in todays terms the French terror would be called an act of genocide. The Reign of dread is synonymous with one man in particular Maximilien Francois Marie Isidore Robespierre. Robespierre was born in Arras on 5 May 1758, to an advocate father but was brought up by relatives along with three siblings after the tragic death of his mother in 1767. Robespierre himself qualified as an advocate in 1781 and exhibiting profound oratory artwork he became a successful advocate. His fascination of social theory grew into a rule of a hobby with his chief mentor being the French philosopher jean Jaques Rousseau. Robespierre joined a group that became known as the Jacobin Club, of which he was nominated pre locatingnt. This group of intel lectuals were often referred to as The Incorruptibles and along with Petion de Villeneuve, the two men became patriotic to the political party of France.At this full point, war with Austria was imminent. In June of 1791 King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to defect and Robespierres former support for the monarchy dwindled. The Duke of Brunswick made full use of this political unrest and together with Prussia and certain non-patriotic French threatened France with annihilation should anyone oppose his entry into France (Age of the Sage, 2008).The Reign of Terror lasted from folk 1793-July 1974 and was largely due to the philosophical belief that the closure by compartment and execution, although terrible and extreme, was necessary for the building of a pure French nation. Rousseau, the philosopher held the belief that no man is inherently evil or born evil, but that nine makes them evil. This gives rise however to old argumentation of whether the chicken or the egg cam e first. So an estimated 16 000 people between these dates were guillotine in an effort to be sick the nation of the trouble makers and rabble of familiarity from January.The corruption that settled into France after the execution of the monarchs, questioned whether or not the monarchy had been so crappy after all, since the battles between Austria and France were not in Frances favour, those that appeared to be siding with the enemy were, of course disposed of by the Jacobin Assembly. The Committee of Public safety, of which Robespierre and his colleague Danton were influential, ruled France from January of 1793, but it was only in September that the mass executions began in earnest.The Assembly passed from Danton to Robespierre and the real collapse of Robespierres reign of terror came to an abrupt and grotesque end when he condemned his two booster amplifiers Danton and Desmoulins ( The France of Victor Hugo). At this stage the obvious pressure of power and worse still of of importtaining power had taken its toll on the diverse Robespierre. By some misfortune, he believed his own lad comrades to be conspiring against him. This scenario is not unlike that of the German autocrat Adolph Hitler, whose mantra and volatile personality played proscribed in a similar fashion.The connection is that they both were heart on purging their countries and were staunch defenders of their nationality. The simple paranoia that had gripped Robespierre was defined by rumor alone, when it was heard that Danton had been taking bribes from officials and the monarchy, whether or not this was true is met with considerable skepticism. Desmoulin had the misfortune of having sided with Danton on a completely different subject altogether.The fact that he sided with Danton once must surely mean that he is acting in the same room as Danton and is therefore also not adverse to corruption. The cycle of paranoia is in the end the very rule that sent Robespierre to his death on 28 July 1794 (Ibid. ). The rationale used by Robespierre was one of intense self-delusion. The only man to decide what was right and what was wrong, he allowed no other arguments to sway his opinion. With the death of his two friends, he had crossed the barrier between seeking what was good and right for the people and what sit downisfied himself.In modern terms he could be termed Narcissistic, a discommode associated with many of the modern autocrats including Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein. That there was something wrong with the ideology of purging the nation may not suck in been the chief problem, the problem was his meteoric and incensed rise to power. At this stage some of the members of the Committee planned the coup of Robespierres power, fearing their own lives to be in danger. He was arrested the day before his execution, the Committee not leaving room for his defense or release (Ibid. ). only when Robespierre did not go to the guillotine alone, nineteen followers were also sentenced, including Louis St Just and Georges Couthon (Age of the Sage, 2008) A moralistic question inevitably rears its head within the context of the story of Robespierre at what stage does a good idea become a horribly bad one? At what stage does one the power of a group of people pass to one person, and why? Moral high-ground in this case argues that yes, society should be purged of those who corrupt it, but who is granted the soul power with which to judge these people?In addition to this is the philosophical question Robespierre himself might have asked what are the just deserts? Just deserts, contemplated by the old-fashioned philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle would say that to each person should be given the penalty they deserve for the plague they committed. A person convicted of treason of felony, would be measured not in the same way as one convicted for murder. This would not give Robespierre or his compatriots intellect by which to execute thos e who have not committed murder, or those who cannot be tried beyond reasonable doubt for what they have allegedly done.This was Robespierres prime downfall. But Robespierre was not alone in his plight to rid France of the corrupt. He numbered about 19 supporters close to him. Along with Danton and Desmoulins was also the likes of Marat and the upstart St Just and Couthon. St Just and Couthon were bothe guillotined with Robespierre on that fateful July day. Robespierre is quoted as having express in a proposal to the deputation at Aisne, In the situation in which it now is, gangrened by corruption, and without power to take over it, the Convention can no longer save the republic both will perish together.(Morris, 2007). denim Paul Marat, a Swiss born doctor, died not long after the start of the Reign of Terror, when he was assassinated by Charlotte Corday in his apartment. Marat had suffered a debilitating skin disease contracted from hiding out in sewers after the execution of th e monarchy. Because he opposed the trial and guillotining of his king and queen, he was hated by the ruling party of the parliament at the time, the Girondins and had been on the run since his outspokenness regarding the lack of justice in the parliament.The Jacobin Club of course welcomed him whole-heartedly as an alliance, but after his tragic stabbing, the leading squelchs of the Committee began to ill-defineden. With Danton and Robespierre now the main voices for the cause it was not long before the rot would set in (NNDB, 2008). Jean Jacques Danton had also opposed the trial of the king and had also pleaded for the release of his friend Marat, long before the execution of the monarchs occurred. Although he was allied to Robespierre, he did not consider him to be terribly bright, yet saw him in this manner as a good scapegoat in the face of the new decision to purge France.To Dantons demise, Robespierre had his moment of revenge when he tenacious Dantons execution. But Danton died with one phrase that would soon prove to be right, I leave it all in a frightful welter, he said not a man of them has an idea of government. Robespierre will follow me he is dragged down by me. Ah, better be a poor fisherman than mediate with the government of men (NNDB, 2008). Camille Desmoulins and his wife Lucille were both executed by the maniacal Robespierre along with Danton. He was a writer and as a result had enormous power to boost or shatter any government or parliament.More a friend of St Just than Robespierre, he was accepted into the fold of Jacobin Assemblies and go on to write in favour of the purge of France. Also a fan of Jean Jaques Rousseau, Desmoulins used Rousseaus statement burning is not answering, to the shady Robespierre on the day he ordered the burning of Desmoulins Vieux Cordelier. At this stage both St Just and Robespierre were becoming too fundamentalist about their pursuits, using needless means to order the execution of civilians on a whim rather than because they had grievously damaged the Assembly (NNDB, 2008).Memoirs written in a dissertation called Memoirs From beyond The Grave, by Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand recalls the life of a noble man returning to Paris after the revolution. The excerpt it cutting and altogether rather frank in its translation of the Paris under Terror. In 1792, when I returned to Paris, it no longer exhibited the same appearance as in 1789 and 1790. It was no longer the new-born Revolution, but a people intoxicated, rushing on to fulfil its destiny across abysses and by devious ways.The appearance of the people was no longer curious and eager, but threatening. The kings flight on June 21, 1791, gave an immense impulse to the Revolution. Having been brought back to Paris on June 25, he was dethroned for the first time, in consequence of the declaration of the National Assembly that all its decrees should have the force of law, without the kings concurrence or assent. I visited several o f the Clubs. The scenes at the Cordeliers, at which I was three or four times present, were ruled and presided over by Dantona Hun, with the record of a Goth.Faithful to my instincts, I had returned from America to offer my sword to Louis XVI. , not to involve myself in party intrigues. I therefore decided to emigrate. Brussels was the headquarter of the most distinguished emigres. There I found my trifling baggage, which had arrived before me. The coxcomb emigres were hateful to me. I was eager to see those like myself, with 600 livres income. My brother remained at Brussels as an aide-de-camp to the Baron de Montboissier.I set out alone for Coblentz, went up the Rhine to that city, but the royal army was not there. Passing on, I fell in with the Prussian army between Coblentz and Treves. My white uniform caught the kings eye. He sent for me he and the Duke of Brunswick took off their hats, and in my person saluted the old French army(De Chateaubriand, 1802). In his memoirs, th e division in France was obvious, and was not to die even in the writings observed by the writer Alexandre Dumas, whose book The Three Musketeers, bravely holds to the army of the king.The state of France was not only thwarted by impending attacks of Austrian and Prussian power but also threatened by the Terror from within its country, which had originally formed in order to prevent the breaking up of the unity France had tried to maintain. Bertrand Barere de Vieuzac remembers the succession of the Robespierre Triumverate and the request to disband the law of power as a means to control and prevent further deterioration of the already fragile climate.De Vieuzac had been a member of the Committee and Constituent Assembly As for the Committee of Public Safety, they stated that they had played no role in the content, and disowned the law completely. Everyone agreed that it would be revoked the next day. After this decision, Robespierre and Saint-Just stated that they would put the ma tter before the public. They stated that it was perfectly clear that a party had been created to ensure immunity for the enemies of the people and that in this way, Libertys most ardent friends would be lost.But, they said, they would know how to cheer the good citizens against the combined maneuvering of the two governmental committees. They departed, threatening members of the committee, including Carnot, among others, whom Saint-Just called an aristocrat and threatened to denounce to the Assembly. It was like a declaration of war between the two committees and the triumvirate. (De Vieuzac, 1842 205-206). other memoir that relates the opposite side of the field are from the Nationalist movement, those opposing Robespierre.Marthurin de Lescure recalls how he stood up against the Triumverate and by some miracle was not executed for his beliefs. His prime argument was that a man cannot be persecuted on the grounds of hi opinion. He remembers the idea of persecution of civilians and parliamentarians simply because their opinion differed from that of Danton and Robespierre Bentabolles proposition requesting a report on my enquiry was rightfully argued against, since the freedom of opinion is the right of a representative of the people, and that without this freedom, the entire State would be oppressed.Also, far from wanting either a report or a decree on this matter, I proposed that only those who were against this sacred right receive a punishment. In addition, Bentabolles language made it clear how the Montagnards judged the silence of their colleagues on their right. They called them the weak beings, a name which, if they were right, was a serious charge against us, since we were sent by the Nation to uphold its interests. To neglect those interests, or sacrifice them through weakness, would have been a real failure to do our duty.But we only had the appearance of weakness, because, not being able to fight the follies of the Mountain under pain of death, ou r inactivity was but a great strength. We preferred the dangers, the disrespect, the humiliations with which we were bombarded, than giving in to being accomplices of the Mountain for our own safety. Nothing was easier for us than to line up in the quiet ranks of our dominators. But the price to pay for this peace was worse than death. . . . There was, in the space that separated the Right from the Mountain, a spot in the hall that was called the stomach. Those that sat there were not of the Right, they did not share in our humiliations, but neither did they have the courage to disprove the evil done by the left side by sitting so close. They had nonetheless the silly pride to call themselves wiser that those on their right, even though they were less courageous, and alone deserved the name weak beings. (de Lescure, 1881 410-413). I the end, Robespierre had his day, and it was an entirely necessary part of the French history from the point of view that it draws attention to the dan gers of radicalism.It draws the realization that power is both fixating and damaging. Robespierre has unfortunately been reincarnated in the form of Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin and Saddam Hussein and in time has become the most hated and strangely respected man in French history. The French Terror lasted a maximum of 15 months but killed more than 16 000 people in a vain attempt to rid society of corruption. It is not unlike the ideas of the ancient philosophers, but it has to be remembered that what works in theory may not work in reality.SourcesBertrand Barere de Vieuzac, Memoires de B. Barere, membre de la constituante, de la Convention, du Comite de Salut public, et de la Chambre des representants, vol. 2 (Paris J. Labitte, 1842), 2056. Translated by Exploring the French Revolution project staff from original documents in French found in John Hardman, French Revolution Documents 179295, vol. 2 (New York Barnes Noble Books, 1973), 250. Camille Desmoulins, Georges Jacques Danton and Jean Paul Marat. 2008. NNDB. Accessed 11 February 2008. (http//www. nndb. com/people/480/000097189/)(http//www. nndb. com/people/658/000092382/ ) (http//www. nndb. com/people/630/000092354/)

Explore Joe Gargerys role in Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Explore Joe Gargerys role in Great Expectations Es vocaliseIn Great Expectations, Joe acts as a father figure to Pip, when he is in fact his brother-in-law, as Joe married Pips sister, Mrs Joe Gargery. We are introduced to Joe as a mild, sizeable-natured, sweet-tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow. Pip describes him as a mixed bag and gentle man, making the reader immediately like him. Good-natured and sweet-tempered give Joe an endearing quality, so the reader is drawn to him. However, foolish introduces a potentially negative side to his tone, like he is stupid, although this too could be considered endearing. possibly daemon does this so that we contribute understand Joes actions better, or at least entert view him too negatively when he cant protect Pip from Mrs Joe. In contrast to his gentle personality, he is a blacksmith, and indeed a strong man. Pip thinks of him like the steam-hammer, that can crush a man or pat an egg shell. He is likening Joe to a machin e in the forge, giving Joe a sense of power. Although, crush is quite a violent word, suggesting Joe to be violent, which he definitely is not.Perhaps Dickens include this detail to make us respect Joe, which is important for later on in the novel, so we dont just view him as a sweet-tempered man. But t here(predicate) is a sense of this good natured man in the word pat, it could potentially have paternal connotations. Perhaps this links to the photograph of the egg shell as well, as it is a fragile protector of life. Furthermore Joe could almost be seen as the protector of Pips life, as he saves him several times. Also egg shells can be strong, but have weak sides if they are put under stress, just like Joe has a weak side he cant protect Joe from Mrs Joe Gargery.As well as this, there is the idea that Joe is in control, in the words can and or, he can choose which side of himself to be, strong or gentle. This is a genuinely adult concept, but Joe can sometimes be rattling chil dlike. Joe cant deal with the idea of death, despite being a strong blacksmith. When Pip asks Joe if Miss Havisham died, he eventually replies she aint financial bottoming. This is a very backward way of saying it, a way we dont normally use, showing Joes childish innocence.He avoids the subject area of death again, when Pip asks him if he had heard of Magwitchs death. Even though Joe never knew him personally, he avoids saying the words, instead he says he heard something or another in a general way in that direction. The vagueness of this statement is almost humorous, he cant even just say yes. Joe is unable to confirm a persons death, he just brushes over the subject, not fully acknowledging or possibly understanding it, like a child would. Another way Dickens portrays this childishness is through making Joe illiterate.Pip writes him a letter, and all he can read is his name Why, heres three Js, and three Os, and three J-O, Joes, in it, Pip The exclamation mark at the end imp lies he is excited and proud that he has managed to read, and that he is wanting Pip to recognise his achievement, like a child would want their father too. This childishness makes Joe a lovable character, the reader wants to see him do well. Perhaps it also makes Pips behaviour towards him seem worse, from the readers perspective, as Joe is such an innocent character.Whilst Joe may not have great cognition or academic skills, he possesses something most of the other characters dont have, self-knowledge, he recognises he is illiterate and stupid. He tells Pip on two separate do that he is most awful dull. He is accepting of himself, he knows he is not the cleverest, in fact awful suggests that he thinks he is very stupid. Moreover, dull could imply many things, not only that he is stupid, but also that he isnt sharp. Perhaps this is a reference to him being a black smith, that he is like one of his hammers, only good for physically things, hes not sharp witted or clever.Dull could also conversant(p) that he thinks he is boring, perhaps why he struggles to talk to, or be in the presence of people in a higher line to himself, because he considers himself boring and unworthy. But this dullness does not stop him from being wise. Throughout the novel, Joe gives Pip many pieces of advice, for example if you cant get to be oncommon through going straight, youll never get to do it through going crooked. Joe, even though he is perhaps the most uneducated character (shown in the wording of the sentence) he can sometimes be the most wise and honourable. Because of this he acts as a hidden role model for Pip. non only is he honourable and wise, he understands his place I am wrong out of the forge he tells Pip at their awkward reunion. Dickens suggests (through Joe) that people should stay in their class, and not aspire or try to move up he argues for social immobility. Joe tells Pip that if he ever came back to the forge hed see Joe the blacksmith, there, at the old an vil, in the old burnt apron, sticking to the old work. Joe labels himself the blacksmith implying that he believes it is all he is good at. The repetition of old makes him seem experienced, as he has been doing it a long time.There is also the idea that he clings or latches onto his work, in the word sticking, he fixes himself onto it so much that it has become how he defines himself. The fact that he feels himself wrong when not in the forge could be the reason why he cant talk to Miss Havisham Joe persisted in addressing me. It is like he cannot deal with the formality of he occasion, as he feels he doesnt give way there. Dickens humiliates Joe here, presenting him as a shy and awkward character, making the reader sympathise with him. This is another negative quality, helping to balance out the character of Joe.

Why Democracy Fail in Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Why Democracy Fail in Pakistan EssayExecutive Summary Pakistan has been in quest for stable democratic constitution from its very inception. The process of its democratization has been slow and passive. Its nature has remained fragile. It has been showing high vulnerability towards non democratic interventions. Besides, it has been easily locomote prey to non civilian forces. As a result, Pakistan has been continuously failing to fling what a democracy promises.Such pathetic scenario has mixed efforts behind it at only three levels State, government and society. This Essay attempts to pin point and analyze the reasons behind such fragile and weak nature of democracy in Pakistan and extends recommendations along with identifying various means and players especially youth for strengthening democratic process in Pakistan to make it promising and delivering. Introduction. From very its start, Pakistan has choiced democratic form of government for itself.Its founders had ardent ly back up and emphasized for democratic system that could ideally permeate the governance structure and body politic of Pakistan Quaid Azam Muhammd Ali Jinnahs speech at the Staff College on June 14, 1948 is the feel of his staunch support for democracy as corresponding structure for the polity of Pakistan to make it people friendly and welfare state. However, it is an other fact that Quaid Azam Muhammd Ali Jinnah himself laid the installation of non-democratic trends through centralizing structure of Muslim Leauge, dissolving non democratically Sindh Assembly and Ministry of Khan Sahab in NWFP in 1948 .Despite all this, what he choiced and dreamt for Pakistan about system is undoubtedly democracy. But unfortunately being constitutionally a democratic country, Pakistan entirely fails to offer what constitutional democracies offer viz, sovereign parliament, free, fair and regular elections, control of constitution, independent Judiciary, rule of law, civilian control over the ar med forces, political life free from armed forces involvement, safety to minority rights, provision of basic world needs and guarantee of freedoms of movement, expression, association and assembly.Contrary to dreams ,hopes and promises ,What Pakistan offers is the chequered history of democracy and unstable democratic process. Ironically, the countrys constitution has been abrogated twice (1958 and 1969) and suspended thrice (1977, 1999 and 2007) . More than half of its political life has been encroached by military prevalents. Five elected governments have been removed by army. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of political vibrancy, mass base politics and giver of Atomic power to Pakistan was ruthlessly executed through judicial murder.Ex-prime ministers, and Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto were exiled. Causes Nothing exists without any reason in universe world of everything carries reason with itself. More ever, According to principle of Cause and Effect unless the root cause s of any problem are not accurately identified and thoroughly diagnosed, problem poopt be solved on sustainable basis. Therefore, lets find and discuss the causes behind such weak, vulnerable and dented face and location of democracy in Pakistan and try to reach at workable solutions.Colonial Inheritances and Institutional Imbalance. From time of its very creation, Pakistan has been experiencing institutional imbalance. Its roots go back to British period. Pakistan inherited administrative, political and legal legacies of British period . From political and adminstrative legacies point of view, Pakistan inherited high institutional imbalance characterized with strong and organized civil and military bureaucracies, weak1 Political institutions and non-democratic political parties.As a result, it lacked strong, dynamic and sustainable political institutions which could hold regular elections based on universal franchise, could build trust of sight into democracy, could protect demo cratic process against constitutional transgression and could provide a conducive environment for democracy to flourish and could correspond to desires and aspirations of masses.Muslim Leauge which is credited to creation of Pakistan was a movement not a well-structured and deeply rooted political entity2 that could offer post partition program, could counter the power of army and bureaucracy and could offer corresponding structure to desires and needs of masses after the partition. Besides, League was non democratic in its nature led by elitists3. Consequently, It could not produce first termination aswell second line leadership embedded with love for democratic norms and values in particular and overall democratic culture in general .In this backdrop, administrative supremacy coupled with absence of elections based on universal franchise4 in particular and lack of democratic culture and process in general facilitated bureaucrats to rein the country from 1947 to 1958. Their period s is characterized with dummy and rubber stamped parliaments, abrupt and non democratic dissolutions of assemblies, political intrigues, bickering and quarrelling, inefficiency, abrupt and fast changes of regimes.

Major Depressive Disorder Case Study

Major Depressive Disorder nerve StudyCase StudyIdalh BarnesJessica J. RuizCase StudyBarbara Torres is a 36 year-old Hispanic married women and the start out of male twins of seven years old. She lives in Kalamazoo, in the state of Michigan. She has a genuinely ch altogetherenging, high stress occupation as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Stryker, a multi-billion manufacture corporation that develop medical examination checkup devices and medical equipment.Ms. Torres has always been a hard worker and high achiever. She graduated from Harvard University with top honors in both college and graduate school. She has very(prenominal) high principles for herself and can be very self-critical when she fails to meet a goal.Barbara Torres arrives to the Pan-American Mental wellness Center seeking for psychological services for possible symptoms of depressive disorder. Before the intake interview began, the psychologist introduced herself to Ms. Torres, explained the mission, values an d services provided in the affable health center, the purpose, form and time of the interview, the information that it will be gathered, and the basis for a good working lymph gland/therapeutic relationship, among others.The client substitute and signed the consent for treatment form, authorization to contact form, release of information, and other necessary or relevant paperwork. Once the documents were signed, it was proceeded to explain confidentiality and its limits.Presenting ProblemDuring the initial interview, the client was inquired slightly information about the present problem, the symptomatology, when did it start, how often does it issue forth, how long does the symptom last, how it affected her passing(a) life, any incidents that precipitated the symptomatology, and if this mood episodes occurred previously.The client chief complaint was symptoms of slump and excessive injury that started about terzetto months ago with daily depressed moods, decrease of intere st or pleasure in everyday activities, difficulty in sleeping, diminish of energy, weight loss and lack of concentration beca affair of worry. Then the symptoms just get worse. thither was no incident or psychosocial stressor that could precipitated the symptomatology.Ms. Torres was asked what motivated her to look for answer at this point, and she explained that after some(prenominal) deliberation with her family, friends, primary medical doctor and pastoral counseling, she decided to look for help, because the symptoms she was and still experiencing, are deteriorating the relationship with her husband and kids, with her big businessman to accomplish her work, and were interfering with her daily functioning.The client explained that in her traffic she has struggled with significant emotions of slowness, embarrassment and guilt due to her inability to perform as well as she always has in the past. The client describe that shes having a lot of stress and preoccupation that she cannot handle the situation or that something awful may detect (like lose her job or family).Her colleagues consume noticed that she is often short-tempered and reserved, which is quite dis identical from her normall(a)y cheerful and friendly character. She has called in sick on numerous propagation, which is absolutely unlike her. Those days she stays in home ruminating about the present problems, viewing TV or sleeping. This behavior has occurred four times in a month.In her home, Barbaras spouse has observed changes as well. Shes presented little interest in sex, had diminished interest in closely all activities with him and the kids, had drop twenty pounds in three months and had difficulty in sleeping (3-4 hours sleep per night and does not feel rested upon waking).Her sleeplessness has been tutelage him awake, as she tosses and turns for a couple of hours or both after they go to bed. Hes heard her having recurrent crying phone conversations with her closest friend, whic h turn in him worried. When he attempted to talk to her to open up about whats disturbing her, she pushes him away with an immediate the whole thing is fine.The relationship with her parents and sisters in addition has been impaired because she lacks of motivation to regard them or talk to them frequently as she used to do. Even though she hasnt ever deliberated or think about suicide because of her faith and Catholic religion, Barbara has found herself increasingly unsatisfied with her life. Ms. Torres gets frustrated because she knows she has all the reasons to be happy, but yet cant enjoy all her success.The client expressed to be overwhelmed and with much stress for not knowing what is happening to her also describe performed excessive rumination about the problems that this symptoms has caused in her job and family.According to Nolen, Wisco, and Lyubomirsky (2008), rumination is the method of thinking constantly about ones emotional state and difficulties. Studies has shown that rumination have an exclusive association to opinion symptoms and its prejudicial cognitive features.Ms. Torres was asked how intense where her symptoms in a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 means low intensity and 10 means high intensity, and she expound that her symptoms were positioned between 6 and 7. In the same manner, she was asked how that symptoms intensity impaired her daily life activities, and she reported that the symptoms impair her daily functioning between a 7 or 8, stating that she couldnt performed any activity as she used to.Ms. Torres was asked if she experienced these symptoms in the past and she stated that she experienced two of the present symptoms (lack of energy and decreased weight) in her adolescence when she broke up with her first boyfriend at the age of seventeen. The symptoms last three weeks.Mental Health StatusThe client arrived to the Pan-American Mental Health Center in a clean state, properly dressed, and seemed according to her chronological ag e. Her physical appearance seems to be thin or underweight. Ms. Torres was attentive and well point on the three spheres (time, place, and person). Ms. Torres maintained eye contact, her voice tone was normal and her body movements and general attitude were according to what she expressed. The client expressed to be overwhelmed and with much stress for not knowing what was happening to her.She voluntarily provided information about herself, the present problem and symptomatology, medical, psychiatric and family history, among others. Throughout the interview the client understood everything that was explained, prove to be rational and seemed to have good understanding of her psychological difficulties.Developmental HistoryMs. Torres stated that her childhood was remarkable. She grew up in a small townspeople in Michigan with her parents and two older sisters. Her father was a manager in a retail store for 45 years and her mother was a Tennis trainer in a school for 25 years, and b oth were very caring and attentive with the kids. The parents have 55 years of matrimony.The family relationship was described as positive and the client explained that throughout her life she has a very good relationship and communication with both sisters and both parents. She considered her family very close and fall in they spend almost every Christmas together. She and her sisters were raised in the Catholic religion, and stated that ever since have a very strong faith.In her childhood, Barbara enjoyed participate in all kind of sports, but mostly she excelled in Tennis. In school, Barbara developed very good relationship with peers, always had excellent grades, and the teachers described her as an undischarged student and an innate leader. In her adolescence and adulthood she reported that she never used drugs or has any problem with the law. She also stated that there was no affectionateness abuse history in her family.Medical and psychiatrical HistoryMs. Torres reported that shes never been diagnosed of any medical or mental disorder. Since she was young, her parents took the children regularly to visit the primary doctor. One of her sisters was diagnosed with asthma. A well-known family history of medical diseasees including diabetes, hypertension, strokes, multiple sclerosis, and hypothyroidism was refused.Before looking for psychological services, Ms. Torres visited her primary doctor one month ago to see if everything was good with her health. Her doctor sends her to take several routine physical exams and tests (complete blood count, chest x ray, urinalysis, cancer screening test, mammogram, pap smear, pregnancy test, sexually transmitted diseases, stress test, among others) to discard any health conditions or concerns that could be producing her symptoms. The test showed that Barbaras health was in good condition. Her doctor advised to use vitamins supplements to prevent malnutrition and referred her to visit the psychologist for possible sy mptoms of depression.She was asked if a member of her family was diagnose with depression and she stated that her mother-side of the family has history with this disorder. Her mother, grandmother and aunt where diagnose with major depression. When she was an adolescent her mother received psychotherapy with a psychologist for five years, but never used psychotropic medication. In the paternal side of the family there were no history of mental and psychiatric disorders.She denied the use of medication with the exception of birth control pills taken at the age of nineteen until she was twenty five years old. Barbara denied any psychiatric hospitalizations, past or present ideation, plan, or intent for suicide or homicide. She also denied any hallucinations or delusions. This is the first time seeking treatment from a psychologist, but she described participated in pastoral counseling.DSM 5 Diagnosis296.22 / 296.23 Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode, Moderate- Severe with Anxiou s DistressDepression is a medical illness or mood situation in which people face depressed feelings and have a decrease of interest or pleasure in everyday activities that usually enjoy (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).According to Nunstead, Skarsater, and Kylen (2012), in modern society there is an increasingly serious problem of major depression in all social groups. They emphasize about the importance of individuals capacity and how the individuals own comprehension of the disorder and symptomatology help them to manage and carry on with factors associated with the disorder.The criteria for Major Depressive Disorder designated by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (5th ed., DSM-V American Psychiatric Association, 2013), described the main indications of Major Depression as the manifestation of a minimum five of the following symptoms depressed feelings or mood, decrease of interest or pleasure in everyday activities, decrease or absorb of weight or appetite, sleep disturbance, psychomotor agitation, decrease of energy, feelings of worthlessness, lack of concentration and recurrent thoughts of suicide or death.Diagnosis ImpressionAt the present time, Ms. Torres meets criteria for the DSM 5 diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode, Moderate-Severe with Anxious Distress due to the presence of the following symptoms daily depressed moods, decrease of interest or pleasure in everyday activities, difficulty in sleeping, feelings of worthlessness, decreased of energy, weight loss and lack of concentration for the last three months.Ms. Torres rejected experienced in the past of similar psychiatric symptoms, making this episode a single one. The level of impairment Barbara is experiencing in her occupational, social, and other important areas is moderate to severe. There is confirmation of anxious distress by symptoms of excessive distress, worry or tension, incapable to rest as a consequence of anxiety, lack of conce ntration because of concern, anxiety that something terrible might occur and feelings that she will miss control.Differential DiagnosisMs. Torress complaints do not include symptoms of persistent elevated mood, increases in goal-directed behavior, or symptoms in criteria B, unrelenting one week (Bipolar I Manic Disorder) or four days (Bipolar II Hypomanic Disorder). Consequently, any diagnosis related with either one of the above-mentioned episodes was instantly excluded.Mood Disorder Due to another Medical Condition was ruled out, because there was no family history of medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, strokes, multiple sclerosis, hypothyroidism and all the medical exams performed recently by her primary doctor showed no recent acquire condition.Substance/Medication-Induced Depressive or Bipolar Disorder was disqualified since there was a negative history of substance and medication use at time of onset of symptoms.The client reported absence of impulsivity in her family, her childhood and adolescence, and the symptoms of lack of concentration started three months ago, as a result, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity disorder was ruled out.Because the onset of symptoms was approximately three months ago and there was no psychosocial stressor that precipitated the symptomatology, Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia) and Adjustment Disorder with cast down Mood were ruled out.Sadness excluded because Ms. Torres meets the criteria of severity (five or additional symptoms), duration (for the most part the day, nearly every day for a minimum of two weeks), and clinically noteworthy impairment in functioning, needed to be diagnose as a client with Major Depressive Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).EtiologyDuring the interview, Ms. Torres reported a maternal family history of major depression (mother, grandmother and aunt) and explained that her mother received psychotherapy for five years, but never used psychotropic medication. There were no history of mental and psychiatric disorders in the paternal side of the family.Several family studies have discovered that the genetic relatives of clients with mood conditions are more potential to acquire mood disorders than are individuals in the general population.In the present, doctors and scientist still dont know what are the exactly causes of depression. Roetker et al. (2013) indicated that the etiology of depression is change and heterogeneous although many factors (biological, genetic, psychological, and environmental factors, among others) can contribute to the arrival of depressive symptoms.According to Tamatam, Khanum, Bawa (2012) genetic factors have been connected in the etiology of depression and numerous investigations and studies have determined that fluctuations in protein structure are associate with a predisposition to specific conditions.In the other hand, many other studies had found no correlation between genetic factors and depressive sympt oms, and concluded that the environment and social factors were more predictive of depressive symptoms (Roetker et al., 2013).Monroe, Slavich, and Gotlib (2014) indicated that three of the most dependably informed and influential predictors of depression are a current major life experience, a family history for depression, and an individual history of previous depressive occurrences. In the case of Ms. Torres, the combination of daily activity stressors and family history of depression may possibly triggered the outcome of an episode of major depression.Treatment RecommendationsPsychotherapy and medication is the treatment of choice for mood disorders. Based on a field of battle performed by Casacalenda, Perry, and Looper (2002) the best treatment for depression is the combination of antidepressant medication and psychotherapy (principally cognitive behavior therapy and interpersonal therapy).Ms. Torres will be referred to a psychiatrist to start the pharmacological intervention an d treat symptoms of low mood and insomnia, among other symptoms. Medication will help in the stabilization of the chemicals in the conceiver to the right levels, relieving the depressive symptoms.Along the interview, the client expressed to be constantly overwhelmed, preoccupied and anxious likewise she reported perform excessive rumination about the problems and having feelings of worthlessness and guilt.Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy will help Ms. Torres to people change negative thinking and behavior patterns. Also, will help the client to comprehend the issues that may be behind her thoughts and feelings, be aware of depressive symptoms and how to identify things or events that could make the depression worse.In combination with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, the implementation of Interpersonal Therapy will allow the client to improve social allowance and return to her social, occupational and family activities.Treatments of medication and psychotherapy, will help Ms. Torres to c ope with social circumstances and other factors that may trigger further episodes of depression (Casacalenda, Perry, and Looper, 2002).ReferencesAmerican Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA American Psychiatric Publishing.Casacalenda, N., Perry, C. J., Looper, K. (2002). Remission in Major Depressive Disorder A Comparison of Pharmacotherapy, Psychotherapy, and Control Conditions. Am J Psychiatry, 159, 1354-1360. doi10.1176/appi.ajp.159.8.1354Monroe, S. M., Slavich, G. M., Gotlib, I. H. (2014). Life Stress and Family History for Depression The Moderating Role ofPast Depressive Episodes. Journal of Psychiatric Research,49,90-95.Nolen, S., Wisco, B. E., Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking Rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(5), 400-424.Nunstead, H., K.,Skarsater,. Kylen, S. (2012). Experiences of Major Depression Individuals Perspectives on the tycoon to Understand and Handle the Illness. I ssues in Mental Health Nursing, 33(5), 272-279. doi 10.3109/01612840.2011.653038Roetker, N. S., Page, D., Yonker, J. A., Chang, V., Roan, C. L., Herd, P., Atwood, C. S. (2013). Assessment of Genetic and Nongenetic Interactions for the Prediction of Depressive Symptomatology An Analysis of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study using Machine erudition Algorithms. American Journal of Public Health, 103(1), 136-144. doi 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301141Tamatam, A., Khanum, F., Bawa, A. (2012). Genetic biomarkers of depression.Indian Journal of Human Genetics,18(1), 20-33. doi10.4103/0971-6866.96639

Construction Productivity Measurement Techniques

Construction Productivity Measurement TechniquesThe grammatical social structure persistence remains one of the few nigh labour intensive industries in the developed world. It is thus imperative to understand the measure of construction labour productiveness. Furthermore, recent institutional and industrial calls for an increase in productivity suggest a desperate need to get the criterion of productivity levels right. The research reported in this paper forms take leave of an ongoing Ph.D. chew over into the issue of construction labour productivity. An earlier study highlighted that less than 50% of the diligence actually actively measure and monitor productivity levels, with a majority of those companies that claim to measure go about measuring rod on the land of the intuition of key site management personnel. This may seem alarming, how ever so, it was argued that productivity measurement techniques could be perceived as suppositional, arduous and expensive for con struction companies to adopt. This paper reviews the methods of productivity measurement available and describes ii type studies conducted during this research, with a view of inform the problems and issues confront when attempting to establish productivity levels at a working class level. Lessons learnt atomic number 18 then drawn from the experience.INTRODUCTIONThe quest for productivity returns in the UK construction industry has been an especially important agenda over the last decade (Latham, 1994 Egan, 1998). However, what is found baffling is the fact that the measure of productivity is often conflated with the measure of performance. One sole(prenominal) needs to turn to the Construction Productivity Network (CPN) to seek an instance of much(prenominal) misapprehension. Indeed, the very name of the network is misleading since it deals with such far wider issues as risk management and knowledge management. Clearly, the network might be more suited to have adopted the term Construction Performance Network as compared to the apply of the term productivity, which traditionally refers to the quantifiable ratio between inputs and outputs in physical terms.Indeed, the industrial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) rightly recognise the clear none by acknowledging the measure of productivity as a subset of the wider measure of business performance. However, in the pursuit of convincing the industry to take on board improvement programmes and initiatives, recommendations have tended to represent simp inclinationically improvements through headline measures such as reduction in construction quantify, defects, accidents etc., for instance, in the case of the Movement for Innovation (M4I) demonstration projects. Productivity, hideestingly, was careful by the M4I by taking the median of the political party prize cast uped in monetary terms per employee. This value added approach mirrors the value-added approach conventionally applied at the industria l (macroeconomic) level (see e.g. Jonsson, 1996). While it is understandable, from a marketing perspective, to report headline indicators per se, given the fact that embarking on any initiative undoubtedly needs unified buy-in by senior managers, it is mat that capturing productivity measurements at the strategic level may be insufficient to guarantee that improvements actually occur at the available level. Therefore, it is firmly believed that going back to the basics of measuring productivity at the project site level would be necessary in facilitating improvements. This is beca call the construction industry is largely project-based. Grok, for instance, issued a stern warning that there is an inherent failure to recognise that the site was the defining locus of production organisation (1994 288) for construction.However, there lies a problem here. Apart from the musket ball measures propounded by such initiatives as the M4I stated above, galore(postnominal) an separate(pren ominal) construction companies just do not have glob measures in place at the project level. For example, Chan and Kaka (2003), in a questionnaire survey to 400 UK asserters, found that of the 77 respondents, more than half of them do not monitor productivity levels at the project level. Furthermore, a third of those who claim to do so base their judgement of productivity on gut feeling and experience of dealing with contract schedules. Similar findings were noted in a large study commissioned by the Investors in People in the UK, which was aimed at examining productivity measurements inter alia across sectors including manufacturing, transport, service and construction. The Investors in People (2001) noted that era 22% of the respondents did not measure productivity levels at all, 36% and 22% of the respondents used formal and informal techniques to establish productivity levels obeisanceively. Yet, past research have shown that the very process of formalising on-site producti vity measurements itself delivers project improvements. For example, Winch and Carr (2001) notably identified a growing competitive spirit among the workforce as they draw closeed in their study investigating the benchmarking of on-site productivity, thus reinforcing an earlier comment do about the wideness of measuring productivity levels at the project site level.Nonetheless, Chans and Kakas (2003) and the Investors in People (2001) reports beg the question as to why there is falter for formal productivity measurements, and which forms the premise of this paper. The chief aim of this paper is to explore the pertinent issues that would explain whatsoever of the reasons behind what we would call industrial inertia towards productivity measurement at the project level. In so doing, we would tackle it from some(prenominal) theoretical and practical perspectives. The next section briefly reviews the key textbook approaches to measuring on-site productivity and highlights the limi tations in terms of reli powerfulness and relevance of these approaches that restrict industrial adoption. Thereafter, we will report on the relevant findings of two live projects observed as part of a wider study into understanding the concept of construction labour productivity, revealing some of the practical issues encountered when measuring on-site productivity. Conclusions are then drawn from both the review and the case studies that lead to the recommendations for future research that would hopefully encourage the industry to measure on-site productivity.PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUESConstruction textbooks are afloat(predicate) with details of key productivity measurement techniques and it would be inappropriate to replicate the explanation of these techniques within the constraints of this paper. According to Noor (1998), productivity measurement techniques fall within a spectrum between two broad categories of billal methods, namely continuous observation (e.g. direct observation and work study) and intermittent observation (e.g. audio-visual methods, delay surveys and activity sampling).Noor prize that while continuous observations such as direct observation and work study provide high levels of accuracy and detailed data for understanding productivity, these are often date-consuming, arduous and costly. Given the operational imperative of construction projects and the ever increasing time pressures exerted on project schedules, the cost of employing personnel to conduct such observations both in terms of the monetary cost of wages and the time value of observation that does not result in the physical growth of buildings (i.e. non value added) would deter companies from adopting such measurement techniques. Furthermore, the benefits of continuous observations are marred by the inexorable restriction of scope and thus, would make it difficult for large projects to pursue this approach. Where the use of technical equipment for audio-visual meth ods is concerned, Winch and Carr (2001) were especially cautious that the workers might feel that the surveillance was unnecessarily intrusive. As such, they avoided the use of such methods to observe the workers and opted instead for direct observation where the researchers got to know the individual workers on a personal level. Therefore, while the absence of the workers uneasiness was achieved, the inability to observe the whole construction process became an evident trade-off.With respect to intermittent observations, Noor noted that these are prone to errors in determination since the data tends to be aggregated statistically through the observation of a representative sample. To add to this, Radosavljevic and Horner (2002) recently revisited formwork and masonry productivity data sets across eleven sites in the USA and the UK, provided to confirm their suspicion that productivity is not normally distributed, thereby implying that some basic statistical diagnostics may give mi sleading results and are not applicable (p. 3). Accordingly, this questions the dubious reliability of conventional productivity measurement techniques. Serendipitously, Radosavljevic and Horner do a brief comparison of the data with volatility studies in econometrics to reveal surprising similarity with Pareto distributions, which are typical of chaotic systems. They concluded thus that victimization test statistics that rely on normality usually have been taken for granted, and consequently not much could have been done to achieve a fall apart understanding of the ubiquitous complexity (p. 11) as they call for a paradigm shift to understand the complexities of construction labour productivity, possibly through chaos theory. However, it is felt that such complex methods of analysing productivity levels might pass on discourage companies to measure productivity since this would mean additional investment of statistical expertise.Another problem with many of the conventional prod uctivity measurement techniques is the reductionistic approach in analysing work time (see e.g. Drewin, 1982). To put simply, much of the analysis of productivity data had been concerned with the binary family relationship between productive (or value-adding) time and time loss. However, contenders such as doubting Thomas et. al. (1990) challenged this underlying assumption the inverse relationship between productive and non-productive time, and that reducing time loss leads to productivity improvements as they claimed while these assumptions seem sensible and logical, they will be shown to be unsupportable for most construction trading trading operations (p. 712). In fact, a later study (Thomas, 1991) provided evidence that would cast doubts on the assumption of the binary relationship between productive and non-productive time, and hence on the productivity measurement techniques.A further limitation relates to the application of productivity measurement techniques in past re search. A review of the literature revealed that measurement techniques were mainly concentrated, in past research, on a number of key construction operations namely cover works (Proverbs et. al., 1999 Winch and Carr, 2001), masonry projects (Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987 Olomolaiye, 1990), structural steel (Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987) and electrical works (Thomas, 2000). Evidently, with the exception of electrical works, much of the studies were concerned with the structural elements, i.e. elements that contribute to the structural frame of the building. This means there is an overwhelming lack of research aimed at studying such other aspects of the building process as architectural elements (e.g. plastering, internal fit-out, painting and decoration) or services installations (e.g. mechanical and sanitary installations). Indeed, the studies surrounding electrical works were related to the effectuate of schedule acceleration, in part, due to the effects of productivity-related prob lems of the earlier structural phase of projects (see e.g. Noyce and Hanna, 1998 and Thomas, 2000). One of the potential reasons for this phenomenon is the lack of previous studies (unlike where areas such as bricklaying and cover operations are concerned) or industrial productivity data for comparison. Notably, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) in the US has been deeply keen in examining productivity issues ever since the late 1960s (Thomas et. al., 1990) and have been actively developing labour consumption curves (NECA, 1983) to inform the industry for possible applications on different project types (Thomas, 2000), offering maybe an explanation as to why productivity on electrical projects are examined.Olomolaiye (1990) is one of the few who explains his decision to focus on bricklaying as he attributed his sense of taste to the predominance of bricks as one of the main construction materials in the UK. He added a bulk of construction manpower still goes i nto bricklaying as it remains passing labour-intensive (p. 302). On the decision to focus on concrete operations, Winch and Carr (2001) cited Horners and Zakiehs (1996) claim that studies of estimating have shown that the largest items in the bill can be used to patch up overall outputs very closely. Furthermore, they expounded that data on concrete deliveries by ready-mix trucks for any given period are easily obtained from site records, and because concrete is perishable, we can realise that deliveries on a day have been poured that day (p. 581). It is argued, however, that concentrating on the predominant or largest activity results in a reductionistic approach, which fails to take into account the entire construction process. Interestingly, Kazaz and Ulubeyli (2004) in a recent study aimed at reconciling governmental statistics and real project data on productivity rates in joker elected to examine only 82 work items deemed to be used most in practice, thus affirming the rese archers observation, although they acknowledged that these only constitute 6.11% of all possible work items. In this respect, conclusions made in past studies are limited in their scope in offering plausible recommendations for implementation for the improvement of construction labour productivity.The limitations of productivity measurement techniques discussed hitherto, to some extent, help to explain the low industrial uptake within construction. These encompass the issues of reliability and relevance of existing techniques that would hold in the ability of companies to meaningfully analyse their project productivity so as to bring about improvements to the entire construction process. Furthermore, there are the investment constraints of time and expertise in implementing the existing productivity techniques. These emerging issues from the brief review explains some of the general difficulties claimed by the participants of the Investors in People (2001) study, particularly the d ifficulties in obtaining dead on target information, the varied nature of individual job roles and the complex nature of productivity that is dependent on several intervening factors (p. 6).CASE STUDIES AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGSHaving briefly discussed the theoretical issues surrounding existing productivity measurement techniques, this section now turns to the two projects, hereinafter known as projects A and B, observed during the course of the study. The purpose of the case studies is to explore the issues faced by practitioners when measuring project productivity. The two projects were selected because project participants had either attempted to measure productivity (project A) or claimed to have a formal method of measuring productivity in place (project B). Each case will begin with a brief synopsis of how the researchers got involved with the projects and an account of the empirical process. This will then be followed by a succinct report of the key issues involved in the i mplementation of the productivity measurement techniques in the two projects. object A Multi-storey Car ParkBackground to project AProject A is the construction of a multi-storey car park for a economical airport. This was initially selected as a pilot study at the onset on the basis of convenience, access and geographic proximity as instructed in Yin (1994 75). It is by chance worthwhile, at this point, to provide an insight into how and why access was given to this project in the first place. A marketing flyer accompanied by a cover letter was sent to companies to seek collaboration and access to projects, people, data etc. at the start of the research. A positive response from the main contractor executing project A then resulted from this initial call for participation. The contractor was a fast growing company at that time that aimed both to polish off the Scottish construction market and to succeed in gaining repeat business with British Airports Authority (B.A.A.). Because the company had not undertaken any on-site productivity measurement, they were therefore keen for the researchers to assist in the development of on-site productivity measures. And so, access to the project was granted on a two-days-a-hebdomad basis and the project meter surveyor of the company was involved with the researchers in developing the measurement technique.To overcome the problems discussed in the previous section regarding the isolation of construction activities in measuring productivity, a decision was made to measure productivity levels using the existing company worker timesheets. Timesheets were found to be extremely useful mainly because timesheets were used for the purpose of calculation of periodical wages and linking this to productivity measurement would probably show meaningfully the notion of a fair wage. Furthermore, measuring productivity on a daily basis was considered to be the most appropriate technique as corrective action could be taken as quickly a s possible. For data collection purposes, foremen were instructed to effect time inputs and physical outputs for each worker under their charge within a set time sheet on a daily basis. hedge 1 below shows a simplified example of a recording on the activity of pouring concrete by a gang of concrete labourers. Based on the data presented in table 1, a total of 66 man-hours were used to produce 232m3 of concrete, yielding a productivity rate of 3.5m3 of concrete per man-hour.Emerging issuesA number of issues arose whilst attempting to measure on-site productivity levels for project A in this way. The desire for a speedy construction process meant that many proprietary systems, e.g. in the case of formwork, were used as part of the construction techniques. These were undertaken by specialist subcontractors (with whom access was not granted). What was observed was that the core labourers used by the main contractor were general operatives who were often mobile in terms of the labour they did. So, for example, an operative could be involved in general housekeeping on day n, shifting what is known as tables (a proprietary form of the conventional birdcage scaffolding that is on wheels to support the formwork) on day n + 1, and putting occluded front ends along the perimeter of a plot prior to concreting to prevent the concrete from spilling over on day n +2 and so on. Perhaps the only stable groups of workers were those who were relatively more skilled, e.g. concretors and steelfixers, who tended to stick within the task of their trades. Even so, these workers moved to other projects in the vicinity when their tasks were not scheduled for project A. Therefore, while measuring productivity levels in this way appear to be more holistic and probably closer to reality than the methods highlighted in the previous section, the mammoth task of tracking workers posed an immense challenge. Moreover, although the data was collected at the gang level (through the foremen) , the boundaries of the gang were found to be arbitrary because of the volatile movement of the workers. This resulted in high variability of the productivity data obtained, which supports Radosavljevics and Horners (2002) observations, but which implies that discerning the factors affecting productivity especially those related to the workforce issues was particularly problematic.Administering the measurement was also not without problems. To start with, foremen were not akin to filling out forms and throughout its implementation, the project quantity surveyor discovered that there was a need to constantly explain to the foremen the mechanisms of recording. devil reasons accounted for this. The first relates to the inevitable problem with determining output quantities given that construction operations are often associated with work-in-progress that can be difficult to ascertain. Rules of credit (see e.g. Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987) may go some way to facilitate this process, alth ough time and manpower is needed to maintain a database of such information for which the project quantity surveyor did not have. In fact, the project quantity surveyor resigned in the middle of the project and the measurement of productivity halted due to the absence of a willing successor. To exacerbate the problems of measurement, the project quantity surveyor had identified a complex list of more than 170 task descriptions, thus causing further confusion for the foremen in the recording process. This enormous list of task descriptions is believed to be due to the fact that many proprietary systems were used in the construction process. Still, as the predicted trend for the construction industry is towards greater outsourcing and use of innovative technology in the production of buildings (see e.g. CRISP, 2001), it would be sensible to take into account such complexities when measuring productivity. It is here that project B sheds some light.Project B Headquarters of a Commercial BankBackground to project BProject B involves the construction of the headquarters of a commercial till on a greenfield site just outside Edinburgh. Access was given to interview senior project managers and to conduct questionnaire surveys with the site operatives. During the interviews, the researchers were struck by the ability of the managers to report what they allege to be the precise number of man-hours expended on the project to date, a phenomenon that was non-existent in other projects observed during the study. Inquisitively, the researchers investigated how project participants captured this data through further probing during the interviews.According to the project managers, project B utilised what is known as The Last Planner system, a planning system that has gradually gained mention and refinement since its inception in 1994. Much has been written about the system (see e.g. Ballard, 2000), although this is really related to planning and never intended to be used as a means of measuring on-site productivity. However, one of the KPIs resulting from this system, known as the Percent Plan Complete (PPC), was thought to be extremely valuable by the project participants for them to gain an informed view of the on-site productivity levels. Basically, the PPC refers to how much of the planned work on a weekly basis is actually completed. In a similar vein, this ostensibly is comparable to the earned value analysis used in project management (see Project Management Institute, 2000). Figure 1 above shows an extract from a weekly progress update, which enables project Bs participants to keep track of how productively the work packages were performing to plan. To help improve the PPC, the progress meetings were used as a platform to understand what went wrong, i.e. what intervening events or factors resulted in a low PPC (e.g. weather, lack of materials etc.).Emerging issuesWhile this paper is not aimed at analysing whether this system constitutes a credi ble means for measuring on-site productivity, it was felt that this system provided an effective way for managers to establish how progress was being made. Hence, this allowed project participants to get a feel of the productivity of the workers by complementing the measure of PPC with the number of man-hours expended. To show a simplistic example, using figure 1 above, let us assume that work package 1 utilises the akin amount of man-hours throughout the project. Therefore, one can safely deduce that achieving 100% PPC in say week 13 and 76% PPC in week 14 would signify a dip in labour productivity. In other words, PPC can be viewed as an output in the productivity ratio and so alleviate the problems of complexities involved in construction operations and sub-contracted work packages experienced in project A above. Furthermore, such information should provide useful feedback to the workforce regarding their performance.Implementing this system for the project participants was also met with a number of challenges. For instance, the system is largely paper based and therefore archiving such information and managing it within a database would still require the deployment of manpower. Nonetheless, as compared with the attempts in project A, this is perceived to be relatively more straightforward. It would also be tempting to proclaim that running this system commenced from the first day of the project. In fact, the project managers had attempted to implement such a system on a previous project six years ago but faced immense resistance from the project workers as it was then thought to create a point culture so that fault could be apportioned when things went wrong. Interestingly, another project observed, which involved the construction of an office block in central capital of the United Kingdom and built by the same contractor running project B, had initially tried to adopt the system. However, it was abandoned as soon as it started on the same basis of resis tance. Still, project B participants learnt from their previous experience from six years ago and thus, made a conscious effort to allay fears of a blame culture right from the very start of the project through constant reassurances given during early briefing sessions.CONCLUSIONSIn conclusion, the paper raised the issue of the enormousness of, and lacklustre attitude of companies towards, measuring on-site productivity. Thereafter, a review of the limitations behind the key textbook approaches to measuring productivity was provided and these represent some of the problems, which contribute to the industrys reluctance to measuring productivity. We have then taken the reader on a journey through two projects observed and summarised here some of the practical issues faced in the implementation of an on-site productivity measurement system. These include the time and expertise needed in handling the complexities of productivity data and resistance from the workforce. In essence, the u nderlying theme throughout the experience is that a productivity measurement system has to be comprehensive enough to take into account the complexities of todays construction operations and ever increasing emphasis on sub-contract work packages as seen in project A but simple enough to be effective as portrayed in The Last Planner system in project B. However, the reliability of using The Last Planner system to measure productivity was beyond the remit of this current study. Nonetheless, the experience of project participants in project B shows that it works in reality to help provide that informed view of on-site productivity levels needed to bring about improvements. Therefore, further work is required to establish the feasibility of using such a system in measuring productivity.

Emerging House Husbands :: Research Sociology Home Caregivers Essays

The out-dated stereotype that workforce are better workers than women is now more laughed at than believed. Yet, the stereotype that women can book care of the house tick off better than a man has not changed. Extensive research proves that house husbands are more popular than ever imagined they have their get under ones skin in websites, groups, and how-to books. House husbands are becoming much more popular, but are they being appreciated the same as house wives were. The simple definition of a house husband is a married man who either chooses to not hold a career and assume all household responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning, bill paying, full child care, and necessary evils such as, buying stamps in the absence of their fulltime working wife. (Heiman 122) It can also be a man who does hold a career but chooses to have a second shift by coming home and assuming household responsibilities. At the end of 1987 15% of married men chose to become house husbands (OSullivan). A ccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 189,000 full-time, stay-at-home dads in 2002, up 18 percent from 1994. But dads groups say that cast is the result of too-restrictive criteria, and they put the number at closer to 2 million. Now, some may not consider this to be a huge leap, but take into consideration the standard of living has also grown. Also, many people still regard women as the care takers of the house, and a man assuming this job is unpaired and unacceptable. The option of becoming a stay at home dad might be more realistic than it seems. If a father is considering staying at home, they picture their earning power as compared to their partners. They consider work attire (no need for power suits), as well as commuting costs (gas, wear-and-tear of the car, depreciation, extra insurance costs), daycare costs, and all the other expenses of working (Father Time).A slight repetitive blemish is embedded along with the idea of house husbands. Women statistically mak e less than men even if they are working the same job. (Nair 47) Most employers well tend to give men a better income because they are traditionally the sole loot winner for their family. (Arendell 157) They give less to women because they believe she already has a man taking care of her and any children she has. This can easily discourage men because their known egos can get the best of them, especially when it comes down to the green.

Speaking Ethically Essay -- Literary Analysis, Dinesh D’Souza

The 5 thoughtfulnesss for public speaking ethically are have a fresh and responsible tendency (p. 51) use sound evidence and reasoning (p. 52) be sensitive to and patient of of differences (p. 53) be honest (p. 53) and dont plagiarize. The three considerations for listening ethically are communicate your expectations and feedback (p. 57) be sensitive to and tolerant of differences (p. 58) and listen critically (p. 58). The first consideration for speaking ethically exists in reviseing to establish want with the sense of hearing. The audience should be aware of what the point of the address is, what they are going to be persuaded about. Personally I feel that Dinesh DSouza violated this consideration by labeling his speech Christianity and Islam is faith the problem? It was excruciatingly clear that he wasnt honestly examining the advantages and disadvantages (pragmatic effects, clearly theological effects would have been a different discussion) of religion in society, he was stating his opinion that atheists shake up millions of deaths per year, Muslims cause thousands of deaths per year, while Christians advance the world and prevent deaths. Thus, the title of his speech was misleading, and according to the book, unethical.The second consideration for speaking ethically exists so that opinions may be genuine or dismissed on their own merits. The idea is that sifting through imitation ideas is a right thing, and the best method for sifting through false ideas is for each individual to form his or her own opinion. I believe Dinesh DSouza violated this consideration with the following paraphrased argument President Obamas spawn wants to crush corporations under the heel of government the title of a book written by Preside... ...o hold. In other words, the opinion is worthwhile because there is an aftermath that is important.The third step is satisfy. It exists in order to show that the valuable opinion can solve the need. The fourthly step is visualization. It exists in order to assist the audience visualize the issue, and the outcomes that will occur because of the issue not being fixed.The fifth step is action. It exists in order demonstrate how the audience personally can help fix the issue. For example, step 3 may be initiates need increased funding and step 5 might be you individually volunteering at school sporting events lets the school spend money on other things.The sixth step is rebuttal. It exists in order to be a straw-man argument, albeit possibly with more honesty. This step allows the speaker to honestly, or dishonestly, propose other possible solutions and dismiss them. Speaking Ethically Essay -- literary Analysis, Dinesh DSouzaThe 5 considerations for speaking ethically are have a clear and responsible goal (p. 51) use sound evidence and reasoning (p. 52) be sensitive to and tolerant of differences (p. 53) be honest (p. 53) and dont plagiarize. The three considerations for listening ethically are communicate your expectations and feedback (p. 57) be sensitive to and tolerant of differences (p. 58) and listen critically (p. 58). The first consideration for speaking ethically exists in order to establish trust with the audience. The audience should be aware of what the point of the speech is, what they are going to be persuaded about. Personally I feel that Dinesh DSouza violated this consideration by labeling his speech Christianity and Islam is religion the problem? It was excruciatingly clear that he wasnt honestly examining the advantages and disadvantages (pragmatic effects, clearly theological effects would have been a different discussion) of religion in society, he was stating his opinion that atheists cause millions of deaths per year, Muslims cause thousands of deaths per year, while Christians advance the world and prevent deaths. Thus, the title of his speech was misleading, and according to the book, unethical.The second consideration for speaking et hically exists so that opinions may be accepted or dismissed on their own merits. The idea is that sifting through false ideas is a good thing, and the best method for sifting through false ideas is for each individual to form his or her own opinion. I believe Dinesh DSouza violated this consideration with the following paraphrased argument President Obamas father wants to crush corporations under the heel of government the title of a book written by Preside... ...o hold. In other words, the opinion is worthwhile because there is an issue that is important.The third step is satisfy. It exists in order to show that the valuable opinion can solve the need. The fourth step is visualization. It exists in order to help the audience visualize the issue, and the outcomes that will occur because of the issue not being fixed.The fifth step is action. It exists in order demonstrate how the audience personally can help fix the issue. For example, step 3 may be schools need increased funding a nd step 5 might be you individually volunteering at school sporting events lets the school spend money on other things.The sixth step is rebuttal. It exists in order to be a straw-man argument, albeit possibly with more honesty. This step allows the speaker to honestly, or dishonestly, propose other possible solutions and dismiss them.