Five challenges of human resource manager Essay

1.2. Finding and Retaining Talent Human resource is an important resource of a company as important as capital. It could be pivotal for a company in enhancing the company’s competitive advantage. This is because the most challenging task of human resource manager is to retain recruit and the right people for a suitable position and having such people in the time they need it. Hiring of appropriate personnel is one of the key determinations in making the company difference from others. In current environment, the talent that needed by the company is limited even the labour available is usually more than the position available in the market. This make the human resource faced with challenges as they are indirectly competing with other companies’ human resource in  order to attract and retain the talent in their company. To stay outstanding from other companies, it is depending on the ability of the human resource to continuously finding new ways to maximize the level of talent in their company especially the knowledge-centric companies. But, such task is not easy to accomplish in the current competitive market. Besides that, retaining existing talent is also one of the challenging tasks for human resource manager. Again, due to the increase in competitiveness of the market, some companies may offer better benefits for the employees that they wish to hire in order to attract those employees to quit their current job and work for the new company. Hence, the human resource manager needs to put effort and find new creative ways in order to retain talent in their companies. To solve such challenges mentioned above, the human resource manager may offer a custom-made or more liberalized system that less restricted the employees. For example, decentralized the company so that those employees are empowered and allowed to give suggestion and made decisions which in turns made them feel they are appreciated by the company; add creativity to their job design so that they feel motivated to come across different challenges; offering additional benefits such bonus or voucher that is out of their expectation; providing them better working conditions by designing a healthy entertainment area (such as gym) for employees to relax themselves; and others. 1.3. Change Management One of the functions of human resource is to improve the position of business or to assist the business to achieve certain improvement. In order to carry out the improvement activities which conducted to adapt with the changing business environment, certain changes may be made to the corporation, especially technology changes. In managing such changes, the employees may resist to change as they are afraid that their responsibilities and their positions will be replaced by the new technology that is introduced into the company where such new technology may improve the efficiency and effectiveness of work. Hence, the role of human resource manager is to deal with this resistance issue. However, it is not easy to change people mind. This issue has becoming one of the biggest challenges face by the human resource manager. To reduce or overcome this issue, before the corporation implement any new changes, the human resource manager shall communicate to  the employees to explain the reasons to change and benefits that could gain through the change as well as the constrains so that the employees may have proper mental and physical preparation before they approach to the changes in the corporation. Besides that, the human resource manager may also emphasize that the technology will only assist rather than replace the employees to eliminate employees’ anxiety in facing with the changes. And, at the same time appreciate the employees so that the employees know their worth to the corporation which helps increase their sense of security of their positions. 1.4. Investigating Employee Complaints In a working environment, some frictions may occur between the employees and supervisors, which resulting in employees’ complaints. This is because the supervisor always being over-confidence with their management style that they didn’t realize that it had affected the employees. And, certain employees also do not realize own problems but always assumed the problem is come from the supervisor. The Human Resource Department is responsible to handling such conflict and employees’ complaints. They need to investigate the reasons behind the complaint and find the best solution to the problem. However, it is not easy to solve the conflict as those significant complaints usually come when it reach a critical situation. Human resource manager tends to end up coaching both sides without giving a solution due to lacking of experience or knowledge on how to deal with conflicts. In fact, improvement comes after conflict being solved. However, handling employees in the best possible way is a big challenge for the human resource manager. To solve this challenge, the human resource manager may attend certain training regarding human resource management on how to deal with conflicts in the companies. They also need to be neutral in handling the complaints, but not only listen to one party word. They should not only comfort, but to communicate with the related party regarding the problem, so that the problem may solve rather than only curb in order to prevent it happened again. 1.5. Relationship Management Human resource department is a place for employees to voice out their  concerns. Hence, human resource manager is responsible to communicate with the employees to deal with any problems or issues raised and at the same time ensuring employees’ human right is protected. To carry out these tasks effectively, human resource manager is encouraged to maintain neutral relationship with the employees to avoid discrimination, bias or unfair treatment being given to different employees. However, this had becoming a big challenge for the human resource manager because as a human being, it is not easy to remain unswervingly when a great concern, which might affecting him or someone he care, has approach to him. A good relationship management may comfort the employees and increase employees’ trust and loyalty towards the company; while a poor relationship management may fail to solve the issues raised and demotivate the employees. To improve such relationship management skill of the human resource manager, training regarding relationship management may provide to the manager so that he place the organization benefits as the priority. The human resource manager should also listen to the employees concern first without prejudice to ensure fair treatment will be given to the employees. Besides that, communication is a main element in relationship management where effective communication builds trust while poor communication causes uncertainty. Hence, the human resource manager shall improve his communication skills in order to maintain proper relationship with the employees. 1.6. Managing Cultural Diversity Managing diversity is a significant challenge that most companies do not recognized or realized. It is actually important and need to pay attention on due to the globalization that resulting in internationalization nowadays. In today environment, the labor involving many people from different cultures and this including those that come from different countries, possessed different education background, working experiences, religious beliefs, different maturity of thinking level and perception, abilities and talent, etc. The challenges of human resource manager are to manage such cultural diversity and ensuring the people can work and cooperate together harmoniously. Human resource manager also need to revise the corporate culture to ensure that it appropriate to all individuals according to different cultural sensitivity. However, the more the employees from  different cultures being hired, the more difficult the human resource manager to reconcile everything in order to comfort everyone in the company. To resolve this challenge, the human resource manager needs to maintain a good relationship with all employees. He shall understand every culture well and always communicate with the employees so that he can solve any problem raised as soon as possible before the problem being expanded and causing un-retrievable situations. 2.0. REFERENCES Human Resource Management Challenges. Villanova University. Retrieved from: http://www.villanovau.com/human-resource-management-challenges/. Accessed date: 17/6/2014 Challenges Faced by Human Resource Managers Because of Technical Changes . Jeremy C Bradley, Demand Media. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/challenges-faced-human-resource-managers-because-technical-changes-61058.html. Accessed date: 17/6/2014 Major Challenges Affecting a Human Resources Manager. Jeremy C Bradley, Demand Media. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/major-challenges-affecting-human-resources-manager-57675.html. Accessed date: 17/6/2014 Facing Modern HR Challenges Head-On. N Nayab, Michele McDonough. Retrieved from: http://www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/articles/83254.aspx. Accessed Date: 21/6/2014 Major Challenges Affecting a Human Resource Manager. Ralph Heibutzi, Demand Media. Retrieved from: http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/major-challenges-affecting-human-resource-ma nager-29113.html. Accessed Date: 21/6/2014

Karsanbhai Patel

Entrepreneurship Development- assignment 2013 Entrepreneur Profile-Mr. Karsanbhai Patel NIRMA- From Rags to Riches -Gitika Kolli(1225112321) -MBA-C-GIM Gitam institute of management(2012-2014) Introduction: Nirma is one of the few names – which is instantly recognized as a true Indian brand, which took on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess, i. e. the consumer. Nirma, the proverbial ‘Rags to Riches’ saga of Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, is a classic example of the success of Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition.Starting as a one-man operation in 1969, today, it has about 14, 000 employee-base and annual turnover is above Rs. 25, 00 crores. Way back- Nirma and its existence: India is a one of the largest consumer economy, with burgeoning middle class pie. In such a widespread, diverse marketplace, Nirma aptly concentrated all its efforts towards creating and building a strong consumer preference towards its ‘value-for-money’ products. Innovation, Creation and Foundation: It was way back in ‘60s and ‘70s, where the domestic detergent market had only premium segment, with very few players and was dominated by MNCs.It was 1969, when Karsanbhai Patel started door-to-door selling of his detergent powder, priced at an astonishing Rs. 3 per kg, when the available cheapest brand in the market was Rs. 13 per kg. It was really an innovative, quality product – with indigenous process, packaging and low-profiled marketing, which changed the habit of Indian housewives’ for washing their clothes. In a short span, Nirma created an entirely new market segment in domestic marketplace, which is, eventually the largest consumer pocket and quickly emerged as dominating market player – a position it has never since relinquished.Rewriting the marketing rules, Nirma became a one of the widely discussed success stories between the four-walls of the B-school class room across the world. Marketing Miracle: The performance of Nirma during the decade of 1980s has been labelled as ‘Marketing Miracle’ of an era. During this period, the brand surged well ahead its nearest rival – Surf, which was well-established detergent product by Hindustan Lever. It was a severing battering for MNC as it recorded a sharp drop in its market share. Nirma literally captured the market share by offering value-based marketing mix of four P’s, i. e. perfect match of product, price, place and promotion. The year 2004 sees Nirma’s annual sales touch 800,000 tones, making it one of the largest volume sales with a single brand name in the world. Looking at the FMCG synergies, Nirma stepped into toilet soaps relatively late in 1990 but this did not deter it to achieve a volume of 100,000 per annum. This makes Nirma the largest detergent and the second largest toilet soap brand in India with market share of 38% and 20% respectively. Strateg ies: It has been persistent effort of Nirma to make consumer products available to masses at an affordable price.Hence, it takes utmost care to provide finest products at the most affordable prices. To leverage this effort, Nirma has gone for massive backward integration along with expansion and modernization of the manufacturing facilities. The focal objective behind modernisation plan is of up gradation with resource-savvy technology to optimise capabilities. Nirma’s six production facilities, located at different places, are well equipped with state-of-art technologies. To ensure regular supply of major raw materials, Nirma had opted for backward integration strategies.These strategic moves allowed Nirma to manage effective and efficient supply-chain. Nirma has always been practiced ‘value-for-money’ plank. Nirma plans to extend the same philosophy in categories as commodity food products, personal care products and packaged food. Distinct market vision and ro bust infrastructure allowed Nirma to have cost leadership. Apart from this, lean distribution network, umbrella branding and low profile media promotions allowed it to offer quality products, at affordable prices. Organisation Structure: In present scenario, an inspiring 59-year-old persona, Dr.Karsanbhai K. Patel, leads Nirma, playing role of key strategic decision-maker, whereas his next generation has already skilled management capabilities. Shri Rakesh K Patel – a qualified management graduate, is spearheading the procurement, production and logistic functions, whereas Shri Hiren K Patel – a qualified Chemical engineer and management graduate, heads the marketing and finance functions of the organisation. Shri Kalpesh Patel, Executive Director, leads the professional organisational structure. Awards and Accolades: The man behind the success of Nirma phenomenon – Dr.Karsanbhai Patel is a recipient of various awards and accolades. He has been bestowed with var ious awards like†¦ * Udyog Ratna by Federation of Association of Small-Scale Industries of Gujarat, New Delhi. * Outstanding Industrialist of Eighties by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad (in 1990). * Gujarat Businessman Award in 1998 by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad. * Excellence in Corporate Governance Award by Rotary International District 2000. * A&M Hall of Fame, _______.Shri Karsanbhai has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Florida Atlantic University, Florida, USA in the year 2001 in recognition of his exceptional accomplishments as a philanthropist and businessman. This world has also recognised his ability, acumen and wisdom and in recognition of the services rendered by him in his various capacities. Dr. Karsanbhai Patel has also served as a Chairman for two terms to the Government of India’s Development Council for soaps and detergents, as a Member of Bureau of Indian Standards Committee for Soaps and Detergent Indust ries and President of Gujarat Detergent Manufacturers Association.Conclusion: Karsanbhai Patel stands to be a source of inspiration and provides insights in setting up an industry with the spirit of self-confidence and fulfilling the criterion of a budding entrepreneur in evolving his conceptual knowledge into a practical approach by using creativity and innovation, which has accolades of praises in due for him. REFERENCES: http://www. nirma. co. in/genesis. htm http://www. slideshare. net http://www. iloveindia. com/indian-heroes/karsanbhai-patel. html http://toostep. com/insight/success-story-of-nirma http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Karsanbhai_Patel

Supervisor Interview Assignment II ( Is there someone who has Essay

Supervisor Interview Assignment II ( Is there someone who has Supervisor friends or contacts or you can be a interviewee if you are a supervisor.^^ ) - Essay Example Before taking on the responsibilities of a supervisor, this candidate had 4-years experience in same process that he is currently supervising. Upon being recognized as a potential candidate for supervisory role, he was selected for an in-house front line leadership training workshop. According to the interviewee, the three most important qualities of a good supervisor include knowledge of the work, coaching skills and ability to build strong interpersonal relationships. Knowledge and expertise related to the concerned work and tasks will help in training and guiding the executives; secondly, these will also help in monitoring their progress and providing the correct and constructive feedback so that the executives can continuously improve their performance. In order to train and continuously improve the team members’ performance, the supervisor needs to earn their trust and confidence which is possible only when the team members believe that their leader has the knowledge of the work and is aware of the challenges and issues related to their work. This will help the supervisor and the team members to work together without any conflicts. The second most important quality is coaching ability because it is their responsibility to coach their executives on wo rk, on attitude and behavior, as well as provide constructive feedback. Thirdly, the supervisor feels that the ability to build strong interpersonal relationships is essential for executing effective leadership. Supervisor’s functions also involve empowering individuals with tasks according to their skills and abilities; motivating the staff through appreciation, promotion, and meeting their expectations as much as possible; managing the smooth running of work processes; handling conflicts and influencing team members to perform as per organizational expectations. All these functions require an understanding of the executives’ needs and

Constructing the written evidence based proposal Essay

Constructing the written evidence based proposal - Essay Example If a nurse does not know the amount or level of exercise that may put the patient at risk, they may end up getting low quality healthcare services. A number of studies have shown that it is not necessary for an individual to meet the recommended time for exercise in order to achieve the best outcome. It is evident from the studies that the intensity of the exercise to be done is dependent on the age, gender, and the severity of the condition. For instance, one study found out that women who walked a distance of more than ten blocks reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by a considerable margin. The proposed change at the hospital involves the introduction of an exercise recommendation plan. The Change will be implemented in a period of 24 months. The process of incorporating the change into the organization’s culture, structure, and workflow will be based on the 8-step change model developed by Kotter. The change will be initiated by a group of nurses working as a team in the care of cardiovascular disease. The change will be overseen by a committee to include various stakeholders including nurses, physicians, and clinicians. Resources needed for the change implementation include staff, educational materials, assessment tools, and funds. The plan will be evaluated by surveying nurses in relation to their attitudes toward the change, comparing the patient’s discharge survey before and after initiation of the change, and comparing the probability of cardiovascular risk among individuals who exercise and those who do not based on their gender and age. Tools to e ducate the project participants include questionnaires and PowerPoint slides. The evidence will be disseminated through websites, newsletters, reports, e-mail, workshops, briefings, and conferences. Exercise has been described as an important element in the well-being of an individual. In fact, exercise has been hailed by many an expert as

INTERNATIONAL TRADE FINANCE LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

INTERNATIONAL TRADE FINANCE LAW - Essay Example Buy-back and the countertrade, are long-phase trade agreements with the mutual trade flows happening at varied phases of the period. Where readily viable credit facilities and readily acknowledged forms of money exchange are available, markets eschew inefficient and cumbersome countertrade transactions. However, due to governmental restrictions on operation of markets and due to international liquidity issues have motivated many nonmarket economies ( NMEs) and majority of the less-developed countries and industrially developed nations, to usher â€Å" creative â€Å" business transactions that bypass the normal exchange medium of contemporary markets2. It is estimated that about 25 to 30% of international trade are carried through unofficially by way of countertrade or barter system and various empirical evidence prove that whenever there is a financial or economic crisis, there is an increased practice of these kinds of trade. As per Aggarwal, government may persist on countertrad e to safeguard or to kindle the output of domestic industries. This kind of protectionism may kindle counter-purchase or offset deals which in turn may facilitate to purchase much required skills to develop the economy further. According to Lecraw, countertrade practices can be employed to override other guises of protectionists’ trade policies and finally the government policies which attempt to balance and plan its foreign trade, may involve statutory countertrade3. From what has been mentioned above, this research essay, an earnest attempt will be made to find out the legal principles involved in the financing of countertrade transactions in the international oil and gas business with a particular emphasis to whether the present law is adequate to support business in this province with decided cases on the subject, in order to discuss the issue adequately before coming to a conclusion. Legal Principles involved in Countertrade The legal principles in the financing of count ertrade transactions 1. Discrimination principle As per IMF estimates , the countertrade is presently employed by half of its members and is viewed as a guise of exchange restriction and trade which is especially condemned in cases of debt rescheduling by a member nation as in the case of Romania in 1982-1983. In the countertrade , the export revenue will not be distributed fairly and hence there is a legal principle of discrimination exists in countertrade. 2. Protection of domestic industries The WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement states that Member nations may levy anti-dumping duties, where dumping is considered to create ‘material damage’ to the domestic industry. countertrade is frequently said to be means of destabilising or evading anti-dumping law, because countertraded goods lack a translucent, arms-length export price. Hence , countertrade has the legal principle of offering no protection to domestic industries . 3. Consultation principle Countertrade like any other export or import transactions includes negotiation of disputes through alternate dispute mechanism like arbitration etc. 4. Stable basis of trade Countertrade helps to maintain stable prices during the period of extreme exchange volatility and also helps to attain a stable export revenue for a nation. 5. Types of letters of credit framework of agreement obligations Letter of Credits are significant in countertrade transactions concerning parallel L/Cs and are also significant to make sure payment on

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

Revelation - Essay Example When someone reads the quote that someone would give a different meaning if there were other words selected for the quote. Even if the words meant something similar to the words already in the quote, the interpretation of the quote would be entirely different. The quote means that there is light, and that time will stand still in the light. When someone dies that someone sees only light, peacefulness, and happiness, the quote has profane time because time on earth is priceless, and time in heaven will be endless. Having time on earth with one’s family gives one a sense of belonging and togetherness. One will take a family snapshot to keep memories alive, and remember those loved ones who have passed away. When life on earth is done all one, has been the memories of a loved one, and often those memories are captured when time freezes in a family snapshot. Family snapshots are one of the most important things that a person can have, these things help to keep the memory alive and are especially important when a loved one dies. Loved ones who die will see the light, which is what the sunlight, or flash represents in the quote. The flash, and time standing still are symbols as if they are symbols of the afterlife. So, whenever a person takes a snapshot to capture one moment in time, the person should realize this may be it, this may be the last snapshot taken. Part Two: â€Å"The doctor’s waiting room† (86) was small in size, and Mrs. Turpin could not be there were so many people in the waiting room. Mrs. Turpin wanted Claude to sit down so she said â€Å"sit in that chair† (86). When Claude sat down this is Turpin continued to look around the room. Her eyes became focused on an elderly gentleman sitting in a chair near Claude. â€Å"The lean stringy old fellow with a rusty hand on each mean was pretending to be asleep† (86). Claude tried to get up and allow Mrs. Turpin to sit down. Mrs. Turpin said to Claude â€Å"you know you ar e not supposed to be standing on that leg† (86). Claude let everyone in the waiting room know what was wrong with his life, and why he was not supposed to be standing on his leg. With nowhere to sit one of the other women sitting in the waiting room who was dressed just like Mrs. Turpin suggested that the little boy in the waiting room cannot, and allow Mrs. Turpin to sit down â€Å"but the child did not stir† (86). Mrs. Turpin decided she would need to wait until someone was called into the doctor’s office before she would be able to sit. The waiting room was small, and â€Å"hardly bigger than the garage† (86). There were not too many moments that passed by before the â€Å"door opened and a nurse† (86) called the next patient in. Mrs. Turpin, and the woman who dressed like Mrs. Turpin was having a conversation. Next to the woman â€Å"was a fat girl of 18 or 19" (87). The fat girl was well-dressed women’s daughter. The child’s moth er sat next to him, she was dirty. Mrs. Turpin often entertains herself at night with thoughts of how blessed her was that she was who she is. Sometimes, â€Å"Mrs. Turpin occupied herself at night naming classes of people† (88). The classes of people were below her, with her, and above her. The child’s mother was definitely below Mrs. Turpin. Mrs. Turpin, and the well-dressed woman were having a conversation in the doctor’s office. The conversation was about anything that occupied either woman’s mind. Oftentimes the low class woman would join in the conversation. Mrs. Turpin would cut the lower-class

Assessment in Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assessment in Counseling - Essay Example Assessment being an integrated assortment of data gathered from both informal and formal interactions with the client by the counselor provides a more holistic insight into the problems of the client (Juhnke, 1995, p. 2). The assessing process is found to begin when the counselor starts to see â€Å"a clear picture of the outcomes a client expects from counselling† (Hiebert, 1996). The assessing process should focus on client learning outcomes as well as client impact outcomes (Hiebert, 1996). It can be seen that client learning outcomes are easy to realize while impact outcomes may remain difficult to attain yet (Hiebert, 1996). This is shown in the below given example: School counsellors can feel confident about teaching children conflict resolution procedures or anger management skills (which are learning outcomes), but they may be less successful in making a child less aggressive (which is an impact outcome), because they cannot have sufficient impact to counteract the eff ects of contextual factors such as family violence and many years of practice using aggression to resolve conflict (Hiebert, 1996). When a counselor tries to bring about both these outcomes through assessment, the assessment techniques are used in harmony with each other so that it becomes â€Å"a continuous process, throughout treatment† (Juhnke, 1995, p.2). ... circumstances and the range of client learning outcomes make it unlikely that appropriate standardized assessments could be developed (Hiebert, 1996). Informal assessment techniques comprise of â€Å"informal, yet systematic, procedures for documenting the evidence that client progress has been made† (Hiebert, 1996). Some informal assessment techniques are, goal attainment scaling, checklists, self-monitoring, thought listing, mind mapping, life line, role play, and photograph safari (Hiebert, 1996; Juhnke, 1995). Here, the process of assessment itself is viewed as part of the change process that happens in the client ((Juhnke, 1995, p.2). The five major uses of assessment according to Wall (n.d) have been â€Å"selection and placement, diagnosis, accountability and evaluation, identifying trends or progress (and) self discovery† (p.69). Wall (n.d) has also listed the advantages of using assessment, namely, objectivity, cost effectiveness and fairness (p.71-72). Two sit uations in which I would use formal assessment While dealing with children with language disabilities, I may use developmental screening method (Gullo, 2005, p.45). Gullo (2005) has described developmental screening tests as â€Å"norm-referenced assessment instruments that allow one to compare an individual child’s score with those of other children of similar chronological age† (p.45). These tests will also enable me to gauge the â€Å"visual-motor and adaptive skills† of these children and design special learning packages for them. I can use another formal assessment method, diagnostic tests, while handling children with dyslexia. The purpose of such a test is that we identify and measure â€Å"the existence of a disability or specific area of academic weakness in a child† (Gullo, 2005, p.46). I will

Global companies tax avoidance and CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Global companies tax avoidance and CSR - Essay Example In the present times, companies save tax through CSR activities (Barker, 2012). This study aims at discussing the other side of the coin. CSR initiative by the companies is appreciated and motivated by government and regulatory bodies, but there another side of this aspect too, which is negative. The discussion would be evaluating the evolution of CSR from risk management to tax avoidance tool, with respect to the IT, Internet, software and electronics industry, which would mainly drawing examples of those famous companies that has been criticised for their tax avoidance through CSR activities (Elkingtom, 1998). These Companies offer funds on relief and for service to the society. However, the actual amount of fund spent for CSR activities are lesser than the amount show, but these companies get tax benefit on the amount shown by them for CSR activities. This is a general way how these companies try to avoid tax through social services. In order to discuss this issue in detail topics like drivers behind changing CSR environment, voluntary CSR initiatives, and support of the policy environment would be discussed, so as to understand the theme of this study. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policies and Tax Avoidance According to Organization for Economic Co-operation (OECD), government of every country needs to revise their tax-system, so that they can trap the multinational companies, who dodge the corporate tax. These companies easily shift their profits and offshore and the tax authorities of the country lose billions of money which form an integral part of revenue for the government. Tax has been a missing element in the framework of CSR. CSR activities should also have tax obligations or compliance. Tax is portrayed as a cost, whereas it is a part of profit that is distributed back to stakeholders of the company. This reveals that the companies are not only generating revenue from investor’s capital but also from the funds of the society in whic h they operate. These funds are use for the development of the infrastructure of the country, growth of the society, education facilities, etc (Elkingtom, 1998) Companies like Google Inc, Amazon.com, etc were severely criticised for tax avoidance in the name of CSR activities. Corporate tax was not such a gripping subject for people previously, and the accountants of these companies easily found loop holes to hide their tax amounts behind social activities done by the company for the society (The Guardian, 2013). Google UK and Amazon are the most talked about companies who were found to be involved in tax evasion activities with the excuse of social activities. Google dropped their motto â€Å"Don’t Be Evil† suspiciously and 1 percent of the profit of the company, which was given for charity, was also stopped quietly, without any information. The company was accountable to pay a tax amount of 1.2 billion pounds, while it paid ?600,000. It channelled its revenue to Irel and, which has a more liberal tax system than UK (Barker, 2012). The issue of tax avoidance and CSR is a matter of corporate accountability. This has gained significant in the recent years due to several reasons. Firstly, these companies are acquiring more and more power, and in many cases they even become more powerful in the location than the regulatory body. Many authors blame issues like welfare standards, environment, labours, and over-commercialisation for such a scenario.

What is the microeconomics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

What is the microeconomics - Term Paper Example Economics is a wide field which is divided into two different aspects of study that is macroeconomics and microeconomics.Microeconomics focuses on a smaller area and mostly on the individual and business decisions as opposed to macroeconomics which focuses on economic behavior in its totality However, the two are interdependent in that they both examine impacts of business activities in terms of demand and supply. Microeconomics can be defined as a branch of economics which studies the behavior of individuals and the firms in making business decisions regarding resource allocation and price of goods and services. Microeconomics makes a focus on the concept of supply and demand as well as other forces that account for the levels of prices experienced in the economy. It focuses on both higher up country decisions and government decisions as suggested by Pottsvv (87). Under the supply and demand concept, it is concerned with how buyers and sellers interact and what influences their choi ces. For instance microeconomics would focus on a particular company’s maximization of production capacity in lowering prices for a better competition in the industry. Microeconomics makes different assumptions on the economy. One of the assumptions is about individuals making decision on the basis of the utility concept. This implies that the individual decision should increase his/her satisfaction and happiness, thus accounting for the rational behavior also referred to as rational decision making. From this assumption, it can be argued that individuals have to make choices of their own despite their effects on the economy, has to be fulfilling to them. The concept of utility referred to here means individual benefit. Thus the individual decision as focused on in microeconomics is reflected in that the more beneficial a product is to the consumer, the more likely he/she will make a decision to use the product. According to Wessels (123), consumers in most cases assign diffe rent utility levels to different goods hence giving rise to different levels of demand. Therefore under this assumption, microeconomics focuses at both marginal utility and total utility. Marginal utility in this case indicates satisfaction brought by an additional unit of a product. On the other hand, total utility refers to the total satisfaction that is brought to the consumer by the consumption of a product The second assumption is that businesses make their decisions on the basis of market competition. Competition is a dominant factor in the market and thus it has to be focused on in making major business decisions such as pricing of products and location of the business (Bernanke 18). Microeconomics tries to analyze the levels of competition faced by a firm or company in the market and how it determines price. In microeconomics, four types of competition are studied. One of them is perfect competition whereby the supply and demand theory assumes that markets are faced by perfe ct competition according to Besanko and Braeutigam (382). This means that the market is flooded by many buyers and sellers hence none of them can significantly influence how goods and services are sold. In perfect competition, the assumption is that there are few barriers that hinder entry into the goods production. There is also monopolistic competition which implies that there are a large number of firms which participate in goods production with each firm being able to differentiate its products. As a result of this, there are few barriers that hinder market entry. Oligopoly competition is also focused on this assumption. It assumes that there are a relatively small number of firms participating in goods production with each firm having the ability to differentiate its products (Pottsvv 36). Under this type of competition as discussed in microeconomics, barriers to the market entry are viewed to be relatively high. Monopoly competition

Controlling Child Pornography on the Usenet Article

Controlling Child Pornography on the Usenet - Article Example So it is easily understandable that anonymity serves as the key for such criminals, which they feasibly use as a protective shell. The catch-22 is that the complete censorship of CP on Usenet cannot be implemented easily since that is somewhat impossible without banning the internet because Usenet is basically served by the internet. And why just strike out a war against Usenet when the percentage of CP on the internet is basically even larger? The cutting truth is, pornography can never be simply rooted out and finished forever since it really grows vigorously. Amidst darkness, the scintillating hope is that lately many Usenet communities have been reported to be curbed after important measures observed at the Government level. Internet Service Providers have been forced to shut down Usenet access at many places in order to cut down the incessant demand of child porn. Cuomo crackdown is a well known open war happening against the erotic newsgroups of Usenet. â€Å"NY State attorney Andrew Cuomo has managed to get two more ISPs to join his ‘Crusade’ against Usenet child porn.† (Roettgers, 2008). America Online is among the ISPs who have agreed to do something about blocking CP and once it denies access to newsgroup servers, the Usenet is sure to become a less attractive magnet for cybercriminals. Another fact supporting the rampage against Usenet is that Recording Industry Association of America sued Usenet for trillions of dollars, criticizing it as the network of illicit file sharing sites. Still saying that cyber censo rship alone can play a vital role in stemming down CP is not actually true, since a large number of new Usenet groups and web servers are created daily.

Electromagnetic research Essay Example for Free

Electromagnetic research Essay We can relate the density to the scattering of radiation in the X-ray region by using the mass attenuation coefficient,  µ/? , and the mass energy-absorption coefficient,  µen/?. In the X-ray region (10-100 KeV), we will find that as the electron density increases, the x-ray signal also increases1. X-ray scattering is considered to be due to the electron density of the atoms in a sample2. J. J. Thomson derived a formula relating the intensity of coherent scattering from a particle. If the incident radiation is not polarized, then his relation takes the form: I(2? ) = Io [(e4)/(r2 m2 c4)] [(1 + cos2 2? )/2] where e is the charge of the particle, r is the distance from the â€Å"scatterer†, m is the mass of the â€Å"scatterer†, c is the velocity of light, and [(1 + cos22? )/2] represents the partial polarization of the scattered photon. An electron is 2000 times lighter than a proton. Most nuclei are made up of many nucleons that have an even greater mass than the mass of a proton. Because the scattered intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the mass of the particle emitting the X-ray photon, scattering of X rays from the nucleus is considered negligible compared to the scattering from the electrons of an atoms. We can conclude that X-ray scattering is due to the density of the electron. The probability for coherent scattering decreases with increasing photon energy and increases with increasing atomic number (increasing number of interfering electrons). As a fraction of the total mass attenuation coefficient, ? coh/? is maximal at atomic numbers around Z=10 and photon energies in the interval 30-50 keV. At higher atomic numbers, the relative fraction decreases due to the strong increase of photoelectric absorption with increasing atomic number3. In silicon, for example, the relative probability for coherent scattering is 14% at 50 keV. Let us refer to table 1, where the densities of elements could be found, and figures 2. 1, 2. 3 and 2. 4, the Absorption of Electromagnetic Radiation by Gold, Silicon, and Iron respectively. The density of silicon is 2. 330, iron is 7. 874 and gold is 19. 32. In the graphs, as the radiation increases we will notice that the absorption decreases. For gold, this will continue until it reaches 200 eV where a discontinuity takes place. In terms of the densities of the elements, as the density of the element decreases, the coherent scattering also decreases. For example, gold, which has an atomic number of 79, contains a higher electron density than an element such as silicon and iron (of lower atomic number 14 and 26 respectively); therefore the photon-absorption processes are stronger (higher  µ) making gold suitable as a radiation-shielding material. However, the decrease in ( µ) with increasing photon energy (below 1 MeV) means that relatively thick sheets are needed to absorb hard (short-wavelength) x-rays or gamma -rays, compared to soft (long-wavelength) x-rays for example. Photon absorption in the visible region of the spectrum depends on the atomic arrangement of the atoms and their bonding. Pure silicon (Si) is strongly absorbing but silicon combined with oxygen is transparent. For the energetic photons in the x-ray regime, photon absorption is much easier to predict and is independent of the details of atomic arrangement. It depends primarily on the electron concentration per unit volume. Since the concentration of atoms per unit volume only differ by factors of 2 or 3 from each other, the electron concentration in two materials can be estimated from the atomic number, Z. Gold (Z=79) absorbs x-rays much more efficiently than silicon (Z=14) or iron (Z=26). X-ray absorption does depend on the energy of the x-rays and decreases with increasing x-ray energy, E. Absorption decreases nearly proportional to the cube of the energy (i. e. absorption proportional to (1/E3). The eventual rise in  µ indicates that a third process occurs at high photon energy; this is pair production, in which a pair of elementary particles (a particle and its antiparticle of the same mass but opposite electrostatic charge) is created from the energy (hf) of the original photon4. In this case, the two particles are an electron and an anti-electron (more commonly known as a positron, whose rest mass m0 is the same as that of an electron but whose charge is +e). Pair production can be represented by an equation, which represents the conservation of total energy (or mass-energy): hf = 2(m0 c2) + K(-e) + K(+e) Here, (m0 c2) = 0. 511 MeV is the rest energy of an electron, which is equal to that of the positron, so the factor of 2 represents the fact that two particles of identical rest mass are created. K(-e) and K(+e) represent the kinetic energy of the electron and positron, immediately after their creation. If the photon energy were exactly 2m0c2 = 1. 02 MeV, the two particles would be created at rest (with zero kinetic energy) and this would be an example of the complete conversion of energy into mass. For photon energies below 2m0c2, the process cannot occur; in other words, 1. 02 MeV is the threshold energy for pair production. For photon energies above the threshold, a photon has more than enough energy to create a particle pair and the surplus energy appears as kinetic energy of the two particles. BIBLIOGRAPHY Giacovazzo, Carmelo. Crystallography. Retrieved 9 June 2008, http://xrayweb. chem. ou. edu/notes/crystallography. html. McAlister, B. C. and Grady, B. P. The Use of Monte-Carlo Simulations to Calculate Small-Angle Scattering Patterns. Macromolecular Symposia, 2003. The American Physical Society. X-Ray Radiation from Non-linear Thomson Scattering. Vol. 91, No. 19, 13 November 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2008, http://www. eecs. umich. edu/USL-HFS/TaPhouc_prl_03. pdf. Weidner, R. T. and Sells, R. L. Pair Production and Annihilation. Retrieved 9 June 2008, http://physics. pdx. edu/~egertonr/ph311-12/pair-pa. htm.

Court Organization Essay Example for Free

Court Organization Essay The paper focuses on the various court organizations and the corresponding function of every court organization as a whole as well as the various functions of its internal elements. Among the court organizations that the paper aims to analyze are appellate courts and trial courts. By looking into the corresponding jurisdiction of each court organization, the paper further completes the analysis by juxtaposing the jurisdiction of one against the other. With the idea of jurisdiction, the paper also elucidates on the types of cases that each court organization handles and the legal manners in which such cases are decided. Court Organization The system of courts that comprise the totality of the American federal courts are organized essentially by the U. S. Constitution and the laws legislated by the American federal government. Among these courts that function in the American judicial branch are trial courts and appellate courts. For the most part, federal trial courts are referred to as Federal District Courts which has the authority to hear appeals from lower bodies such as the administrative law judges. On the other hand, the intermediate appellate courts are referred to as the Federal Court of Appeals which functions under a mandatory review process that amounts to the task of hearing all appeals from the lower court bodies. The organization of these two judicial bodies, generally speaking, is more parallel in contrast to being different. In essence, the differences between the federal trial courts and the appellate courts can be observed from their respective internal organizational composition. While much of the similarities between the two courts can be obtained from their general task of deciding on legal cases, their distinctive features on how they are to specifically function substantiates their individual characteristics and separates their roles despite their apparent overlapping similarities as we shall see later. What is important to note at this point is to bear in mind that appellate courts and trial courts, specifically in a federal government, have separate functions amidst the parallel characteristics that one may observe from the two. The conception of these two distinct but seemingly parallel courts can be traced from the evolution of the judicial system of the United States. Much of the written historical basis for establishing a judicial system can be extracted from the Constitution of the United States of America. The history of the American judiciary includes the Judiciary Act of 1789 which created a Supreme Court composed of one chief justice as well as five associate justices. In essence, the Act established the judiciary arm of the American government which also defined the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction. Among these jurisdictions include, but is not limited to, the appellate jurisdiction over larger civil cases as well as cases wherein state courts ruled over federal statutes. The Act also provided the composition of the lower district courts, which amounted to thirteen back then, as well as the proposition that the Supreme Court can resolve conflicts between states and that the judgment of the Supreme Court is final (â€Å"The Judiciary Act of 1789,† 1999). From the Judiciary Act of 1789, District Courts were established which had judicial responsibility over their respective districts. As these district courts were divided into circuits, the jurisdictions of these courts were divided as well according to the circuits they belong. Federal District Courts Being the general courts of the court system of America, federal district courts are the courts where both criminal and civil cases are filed. This can also be taken from the fact that federal district courts were conceived as a court both of equity and of law. Each of these courts spread across the various judicial districts unique for every state are formally named after the district where the court has jurisdiction such as the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for instance. United States district judges are judges of the district courts of the federal government where their total numbers for every district court are defined by Congress in connection with the Judicial Code. Under Article 3, federal district judges are appointed throughout their life in their position where they can be removed involuntarily from their position in factual instances where they breach the standard of ‘good behavior’. This involuntary removal from office can be obtained through an impeachment process initiated by the House of Representatives proceeded by a trial in the Senate. After a two-thirds vote to convict is established in the Senate, only then is the federal district judge removed from his or her office. Moreover, in order for an individual to file a case in the federal district court, the individual must be able to provide a substantial justification as to why a federal court instead of a state court should decide on the case. This in turn leads to the observation that not all cases can be admitted by the federal district courts under its adjudicatory powers. Since not all legal cases can be litigated in federal courts, it is an imperative for the individual to be able to make certain that the case being filed is a federal case if the individual is after a federal case against an individual for instance. State laws are oftentimes the basis for the claims for federal district courts as in most cases the claims under state laws were pleaded and that the sole and primary source for federal jurisdiction is the variety of citizenship. There are also instances wherein the plaintiff has pleaded claims under the state law even if the case is under a federal question. In such cases, the federal district courts must decide state law claims through the application of the substantial or relevant state law in which they preside even if federal court judges apparently employ federal law for the corresponding procedure. Ironically, the opinions set forth by the state courts supersede the opinions given by federal courts and that, further, a federal court must give way to a state supreme court in matters that involve the interpretation of state laws. In essence, a final court ruling by any district court in criminal or civil cases can be appealed towards the Court of Appeals of the United States with respect to the corresponding federal judicial circuit under which the district court is situated. One exception to this is that some rulings from federal district courts which involves patents and several other matters that are specialized must be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In several rare occasions, the cases may be directly forwarded and appealed immediately to the Supreme Court of the United States. Federal Court of Appeals The Federal Courts of Appeals of America are considered as the mid-level appellate courts under the system of federal courts of America. It is the court that adjudicates the appeals for cases previously decided by the federal district courts of the United States which is under the corresponding federal judicial circuit. In essence, the total number of thirteen Courts of Appeals in the United States is positioned between the Supreme Court and the District Courts of the United States although there are cases where a case can be appealed directly to the Supreme Court. As every particular state in the United States has its own structure of appellate courts, it leads to the variations on how cases are to be handled. For instance, the Court of Appeals in the state of New York is considered as the highest court within the state inasmuch as it is the court of ultimate resort within the legal confines and jurisdiction of the state. One exception, however, are cases that pose questions concerning the federal law where they can be appealed from the respective court of appeals to the Supreme Court. What differentiates a federal district court from a federal court of appeals? The answer to this question rests on the legal presumption that the court of appeals can reevaluate and overturn any previous decision from federal district courts. This is essentially initiated by the instance when the accused who was previously given a ‘guilty’ verdict files an appeal to the federal court of appeals. This can be observed from what has been termed under the ‘due process of the law. ’ The term itself implies the administration of equal laws according to established rules, not violating the fundamental principles of private right, by a competent tribunal having jurisdiction of the case and proceeding upon notice and hearing. Nevertheless, one must not fail to recognize that certain lower court decisions can be overturned which then presents the idea that these lower court decisions are not yet final. For one, the decisions upheld by federal district court justices can be overturned by a higher court. However, the higher courts cannot instantaneously initiate a thorough reconsideration and cannot simply arrive at a decision—either the court will uphold the decision of the lower court or overturn the judgment—without a ‘formal’ appeal from the accused. For instance, the case of Pell v. E. I. DuPont de Nemours Co. Inc. gives us a brief sketch on how accused parties can resort to a reconsideration of a previous district court decision. In the case, the district court of Delaware earlier denied the request of the plaintiff for restitution for unduly payments for pension that are deemed low. In consequence the plaintiff resorted to a motion for reconsideration for the district court which, in the end, the court denied for the reason that the plaintiff failed to discharge the high burden necessary to prevail on the motion filed by the plaintiff. In essence, the case and the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration emphasize the ideas: that the district court can look into a motion for reconsideration from the plaintiff once filed and, conversely, that the district court can either deny or grant the motion. In contrast to the function of federal district courts to hold trial and determine the punishment for criminal cases or damages which will be awarded, the appellate courts of the federal government do not essentially hold trials as part of their innate legal function. On the other hand, these courts merely serve the legal function of reviewing the decisions of federal trial courts for the existence of any errors of law. This conversely relates the idea that these courts merely have appellate jurisdiction. Moreover, federal appellate courts do not accept anything else other than the records from the federal trial courts such as the papers that both legal parties have filed as well as the exhibits and transcripts relating to the trial. The federal appellate courts also consider the legal arguments of the involved parties in the case. With these ideas in hand, one can note the essential differences which separate one court from the other. More importantly, the scheme in which court hearings and legal cases flow signify that there is a formal system being strictly followed. That is, an individual cannot originally file a legal complaint against another individual or entity in the appellate courts for such an instance is not the definitive function of federal appellate courts. Moreover, a plaintiff can still resort to an appeal to the federal court of appeals once the verdict of the lower courts, or the federal district courts for instance, do not favor their side. All of this information leads us towards the larger understanding that there is indeed what we call a ‘court organization’ which gives a formal and rigid structure to the entire legal system especially in a federal government. The hierarchy in courts or the court organization in general limits certain legal actions while sustaining the due process of law. While the organization of courts gives certain limitations, it can be seen as a legal tool for securing the systematic approach for meticulously arriving at crucial decisions. Let us now look into the advantages and disadvantages that come along with the very nature and structure of the organization of courts, specifically between federal district courts and federal appellate courts, in a federal system of government. Advantages and disadvantages It is an established fact that appellate courts cannot simply address a legal appeal without the parties requesting for one. Moreover, appellate courts do not have the legal jurisdiction of hearing trials and providing punishments and damages to individuals and other entities. Conversely, these things suggest the ideas that there must first be an appeal and that, second, there must be previous court decisions on which the appellate courts will derive their corresponding decision. Hence, an appealing party has the advantage of going through a rigorous examination of their case which ensures that the decisions made until it reaches the Supreme Court are carefully brought into proper attention. On the other hand, the very organization of the court makes it a disadvantage for the appealing party at least in terms of resources. Specifically, financial resources must be present o as to sustain a continuous appeal for the appealing parties as the case ascends higher into the hierarchy of courts. Financial resources, for the most part, applies very well for the funding of legal battles which come in the form of payments for legal services rendered and other related expenses. In essence, appellate courts, being the courts between the trial courts and the Supreme Court, stand in the way for appellants to go directly to the Supreme Court for a final appeal. Nevertheless, these appellate courts were not essentially established to hinder individuals from going directly to the higher court but to see to it that lower court rulings are kept in accordance to the law while giving the Supreme Court a lesser task to attend to so that the Court can focus on larger issues that need large amounts of careful analysis. On the other hand, it appears that federal district courts can also legally entertain motions for reconsideration which barely amounts to an appeal to the appellate courts. Hence, plaintiffs, for instance, have the option to file a motion for reconsideration in federal district courts before filing an appeal to the appellate court once the motion for reconsideration is denied by the district court. One disadvantage to this scheme is that it takes a considerable length of time assuming that the plaintiff is willing to take all legal paths so as to attain the desired court decision. The value that must be noted here is that a seemingly justified and rightful decision comes as several expenses. These expenses, for the most part, come in the form of time and financial resources. These two elements are exhaustible which presents the idea that either an individual can spend a considerable fraction of his or her life fighting a legal case for the rightful decision or a certain court, the appellate court for instance, can hinder the individual’s attempt inasmuch as the court sees fit. On a deeper analysis, one can observe that if a certain federal district court grants the motion for reconsideration filed by a plaintiff, it translates into the acceptance that, at some point in time, the court has failed to see all the angles in the case and provide the necessary, justified, and rightful decision. For instance, a federal district court can decide to grant the motion for reconsideration filed. However doing so leaves us the assumption that the trial court accepts its failure to formally account and resolve the legal case. While the courts are essentially expected o arrive at firm decisions bounded within the confines of the law, these courts are not essentially assumed to commit to error either deliberately or unintentionally. In any case, federal district courts are at the helm or core of the case since these are the courts that primarily decide on verdicts and that the role of the higher courts, in essence, can be seen as something more of a reviewing body that realigns the decisions of the lower courts in accordance to the law. The need for court organization Is it possible to arrive at a substantial decision from among courts if they re not linked in one way or another? For instance, if the federal district courts and federal appellate courts function entirely separate without having a schematic purpose or correlation, would it lead to a substantial advantage to the people they serve? Interestingly, it can be seen that one of the primary reasons why court organization has been established is to give an ample room for reviewing and realigning previous court decisions in a lawful manner. Although federal trial courts are the primary courts where legal cases are filed and decided, it can be noted, however, that federal district courts are not the penultimate courts where no appeal can be filed. Quite on the contrary, the fact that these courts allow individuals to file a motion for reconsideration of court rulings brings us towards the perception that these courts may not be entirely devoid of committing to either partially or totally erroneous court decisions. Since federal courts, and perhaps any other courts, are still open to unintentionally committing errors in judgment, there must be at least a scheme that addresses such a situation. Otherwise, any court would hardly be able to correct its own misjudgments or the misjudgments of other lower courts. Given this observation, court organization—specifically the manners in which federal district courts are lower than appellate courts at least in terms of the scope of jurisdiction—can help resolve the underlying problems that may substantially arise over the course of time. How can court organization be able to help resolve the underlying problems in erroneous court rulings? The answer to this question rests on the premise that, by placing a certain hierarchy among courts and by limiting and specifying the jurisdiction for every court, certain decision can be reviewed and be realigned in accordance to the proper dictates of the law. By having a form of checking the decisions of the lower courts—for instance, the case between federal district courts and federal appellate courts—higher courts such as appellate courts can see or reiterate that the decision of the lower courts is fitting. On the other hand, appellate courts can also reverse the previous decision of the lower courts. What is important to note here is that the organization of courts, specifically the jurisdiction under which they operate, allows for a ‘refining’ of previous court decisions given the instances where there is an appeal from the concerned party. Although federal district courts can entertain motions for reconsideration from the concerned party, it does not necessarily translate to the idea that the party can resort to an infinite number of motions for reconsideration until the court has decided favorably to the side of the party. The very idea of court organization gives due importance of an appeal from individuals. This it does by allowing the individual to file for a motion or an appeal yet in a planned scheme. By ‘planned scheme’, what is being contended is that, from the lower courts to the Supreme Court, the right of the party to file for an appeal or a motion is met by dispersing the jurisdiction of courts to hear the appeal or motion sequentially. That is, the party must follow the sequences or procedures established by the law when appealing. For the most part and in most cases, an ordinary individual cannot go directly straight to the Supreme Court to file for an appeal without having first to pass through the lower appellate courts. Like in most organizational scheme, a hierarchy of the divisions of the organization permits a systematic approach in handling the tasks innate to the function of the organization. Since the court system of a federal government is an essential and significant portion of the government’s functioning, it is an imperative that the court system must be given due attention. One way to achieve this end is to provide a scheme in which the entire court system will be able to effectively handle its multifarious tasks from the bottom level to the larger degree. This ‘scheme’ is parallel to a court organization whereby there is a level of court divisions handling specific functions. As we have seen, federal district courts are the courts which receive the cases filed by individuals. On the other hand, federal appellate courts are the courts which receive appeals from individuals seeking a decision that legally favors them. Conclusion The system of courts that comprise the totality of the American federal courts are organized essentially by the U. S. Constitution and the laws legislated by the American federal government. Federal District Courts and Appellate Courts are two of the courts in the federal government that serve the identical functions of bringing justified and lawful decisions to legal cases. On the other hand, these two court systems also have varying functions. In essence, the differences they have rest on their respective jurisdictions. References Courts. Appellate Jurisdiction of Supreme Court. Suit against United States. (1919). The Yale Law Journal, 28(5), 513. Appellate Practice: Power to Amend Judgments. (1927). Michigan Law Review, 25(7), 789. Constitutional Law. Construction, Operation, and Enforcement of Constitutions. Constitutionality of an Appellate Court with Final Jurisdiction. (1931). Harvard Law Review 25(2), 187. Federal Courts. State Rule Holding Payment of Federal Judgment Attached in State Court a Valid Satisfaction of the Judgment Not Controlling on Federal Court. (1940). Virginia Law Review, 27(2), 231. Constitutional Law. Judicial Powers. Statute Authorizing Appellate Court to Pass on Motion for New Trial Undisposed of by Trial Court Held Unconstitutional. (1941). Harvard Law Review, 54(8), 1391. Federal Courts. Relations of Federal and State Courts. Federal Interpretation of State Legislation. (1954). Harvard Law Review, 37(8), 1140. Collins, M. G. (2005). The Federal Courts, the First Congress, and the Non-Settlement of 1789. Virginia Law Review, 91(7), 1515. Fair, D. R. (1971). State Intermediate Appellate Courts: An Introduction. The Western Political Quarterly, 24(3), 415. Grunbaum, W. F. , Wenner, L. M. (1980). Comparing Environmental Litigation in State and Federal Courts. Publius, 10(3), 129. Haas, K. C. (1982). The Comparative Study of State and Federal Judicial Behavior Revisited. The Journal of Politics, 44(3), 721. J. , G. (1929). Courts: Appellate Courts: Review of Findings. California Law Review, 18(1), 84. Newman, J. O. (1989). Restructuring Federal Jurisdiction: Proposals to Preserve the Federal Judicial System. The University of Chicago Law Review, 56(2), 761. ONeill, M. E. (1990). A Two-Pronged Standard of Appellate Review for Pretrial Bail Determinations. The Yale Law Journal, 99(4), 885. Richardson, R. J. , Vines, K. N. (1967). Review, Dissent and the Appellate Process: A Political Interpretation. The Journal of Politics, 2(3), 597. The Judiciary Act of 1789. (1999). Retrieved September 5, 2007, from http://usinfo. state. gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/8. htm Yuhas, G. (1976). Statewide Public Defender Organizations: An Appealing Alternative. Stanford Law Review, 29(1), 157. Outline Introduction The paper will initially provide the substantial facts and accounts to court organizations as a whole, including a brief sketch of its history and evolution as well as its current state. The introductory part will conclude with a brief overview of the trial courts and appellate courts. Body The paper will further substantiate on the essential attributes for the trial courts and appellate courts correspondingly which will then be used as a basis for the varying approaches trial and appellate courts handle and decide cases as well as the jurisdictions of every court organization. By introducing these various factors, the paper will then attempt to establish an account of the jurisdiction, including the possibility of overlap in jurisdiction as well as restrictions thereof, for every court organization. The body of the paper will conclude with a paragraph restating the differences and similarities between the two court organizations. Conclusion In conclusion, the paper shall provide a brief rerun of what has previously been discussed to be followed by an account of each court’s jurisdiction as well as the unique roles of every internal element of trial and appellate courts.

Building Information Modelling (BIM)

Building Information Modelling (BIM) 2.1 Introduction As expressed in the Egan report (1998), the UK construction industry is a significant contributor to the domestic economy in the UK that it is simply too important to be overlooked. The construction process and its success are influenced by various factors and choosing the most effective investment to improve the construction process is a very important decision. Building Information Modelling has been said to represent a paradigm that will have comprehensive benefits brought to the construction industry (Eastman, 2009b). Popov et al. (2010) claimed that the growing diversity of disciplines, professionals, tasks, events in respect of the management during design and construction stages of projects, plus the more competitive cost and more intense deadlines with higher quality expectations as well as the need for enhancing technology are the driving force of information modelling in the construction industry. Building Information Modelling, or better known as BIM is not; strictly speaking a new technology as it has been developing and used by other industry sectors since 1950s i.e. the automotive and aero plane industries. These industries have been way ahead of the AEC industry as for the past 20 years, fully utilizing the available technology for their industries (Augustsson, 2007). Subsequently, this literature review will assess and evaluate the historic and current information in respect of Building Information Modelling to enable an understanding on the past development of BIM, the benefits that it could offer to our construction projects as well as identifying the barriers entailing for the full adoption of BIM among the contractors in the UK construction industry. 2.2 What is BIM? As defined by BIMForum:- â€Å"A building information model (BIM) is an object-oriented building development tool that utilizes 5-D modeling concepts, information technology and software interoperability to design, construct and operate a building project, as well as communicate its details† (BIMForum, 2007). One common understanding to describe BIM is the building development tool that creates a three dimensional (3D) geometric model with computer softwares. The model then can be used to assist the design, construction and operational process and also acting as a communication tool (BIMForum 2007). Nevertheless a 3D geometric model wouldnt be sufficient to answer the demanding construction requirements at present. A BIM model contains a high level of intelligence which not just limited to a three-dimensional geometric representation of the building, (GSA, 2007) but also includes 5D modelling where the 4th dimension is referring to time element whilst the 5th dimension is referring to cost. In addition, as indicated by BIMForum (2007), there might be further development that is inclusive of procurement application which is the 6D as well as the operational applications which is the 7D. In general, a building information model is a digital representation, â€Å"virtual† representati on of all the physical and functional characteristic of a building which also acts as a resource of information storage for the building which could be shared/used from the inception period and throughout the lifecycle of the building. 2.3 The past development and revolution of BIM Conventionally, constructing a building was merely the responsibility of the Architects and the Engineers, designing on papers and then the Contractors build it. Cyon Research (2003) stated that Construction projects have always been defined by various drawings and documents where at times might be in conflict with each other thus showing inconsistency. These inconsistencies are the typical issues that often aroused when the documents and drawings are maintained separately with different participants working on different or superseded documents. There will always be unanticipated field costs, delays and eventual lawsuits between various parties within a project team as a result of errors and omissions in paper based communication. According to Vinod Kumar (2009), the beginning of orthographic drawings and perspectives can be traced back as far as during the Renaissance era when Filippo Brunelleschi represented the plans in drawing format for Santa Maria del Fiore in Italy in order for the patrons to understand how the building would look like. Vinod Kumar (2009) further explains the evolution of systematic documentation from manual methods all the way till our presently available technology by dividing it into three phases: I phase Till early 1980s: Before 1980s the traditional way of creating design documents are through manually drawn lines representing building i.e. plans, sections, elevations and etc. II phase 1980s to Late 1990s: This was the period where major change took place from manual drafting towards computer aided drafting when computers were firstly introduce. There is more elaborated information as the complexity of buildings increased as well as more specialization in the design and construction process. Use of computers, especially for 2D drawings and reports are ground-breaking changes into the systematic Documentation. III phase Beginning of the 2K: With the buildings degree of complexity presently, the number of parties involved in the process of drawing production has also increased. In line with the development of technology there are also more introduction of more interrelated and integrated building system i.e. HVAC system, energy requirement and etc. The computer based technology has also been constantly updated to reduce errors that occur but nonetheless they are still merely the collections of manually created, non-intelligent lines and text. The diagram below shows the evolution from manual methods all the way till the introduction of new technologies. A previous study by Autodesk (2002) which correlates with Vinods statement, mentioned that in the early 1980s the Construction industry took one step forward when the architects began using PC based Computer Aided Design, CAD. It is said that the CAD system was adapted with ease by the Industry as it was initiated from the pin-bar drafting which the Industry was familiar with. Thus many construction documents and drawings were completed using CADD rather than being drafted manually on drawing boards. DWS files were then exchanged in replacement of paper drawings, from simple graphics to the information content on the building. The CAD files developed significantly, communicating the information on the building which plotted drawing couldnt. Following that Holzer (2009) also stated that in the late 70s and early 80s, CAD systems like RUCAPS was used where it operated in parametric environment enabling 2D information extracted from a 3D model. RUCAPS allowed multi user access and put f orward a new way in generating, distributing as well as retrieving building information which was different fromt he common drafting processes. Unfortunately the down side of this system was the high cost and slow speed of the system as well as its inability of producing more complex geometrical shapes. Nevertheless, some of the fundamental concept of RUCAPS can be found in the current BIM software such as Autodesks REVIT, Bentleys TRIFORMA, Gehry Techs DIGITAL PROJECT and etc. Nowadays, the use of BIM is very common within the manufacturing and aerospace industries where new products or product changes are modelled virtually for the assessment of design, performance and production. . We are also in the process of experiencing a similar revolution in the construction industry. BIM and other related technologies have emerged since the past decade and developing up till the present where they have been acknowledge as the platform for the design and construction of various projects (Shen, et.al, 2009). Nevertheless, FWCI (2009) argued that it is important to understand that BIM is not CAD+ or the â€Å"Son† of CAD as BIM functions in its own approach and discipline. BIM, acting as a single source entry for project team involves the process of generating, storing, managing, exchanging and sharing building information in an interoperable and reusable way. Generally a BIM system is a tool that enables users to integrate and reuse building information and domain knowledge through the lifecycle of a building Presently there are numerous BIM products on the market by various vendors. Autodesk Revit was considered as one of the leading BIM creation tools. Bentley Systems, Graphisoft, Vico software and Nementcheck are also currently very well-known in the market. They each provide various building model tools to design a building (Rosenberg 2006). With this technology, the information needed for a projects design, construction and operation are contained in a model digitally which is centralized and could be shared across all associated project stakeholders (COBRA, 2008). 2.4 Various understanding of BIM in the Industry At present there is a vast amount of information that is available in respect to the definition of premise of BIM. Holzer (2007) explained that even though the application of BIM becomes more accepted and common throughout the industry, but there has been a problem in agreeing the definition of BIM. The common definitions would be described as a method for project information management with the combination of non-geometry attributes with geometrical entities, or defined mostly by pointing out its capabilities for cost-control and to facilities management. Holzer (2007) continues to claim that because the term BIM is often used by vendors for their marketing strategies in order to promote their company software, the definition of BIM technology has become very confusing. On the other hand, Eastman et al (2008) has suggested that in order to deal with this confusion it is useful to describe modelling solutions that do not utilize BIM technology. This includes tools that create models containing only 3D data with no object attributes, models that do not utilize parametric intelligence, models composed of multiple 2D CAD reference files that must be combined to define the building as well as models that allow changes to dimensions in one view that are not automatically reflected in other views. Furthermore, another popular â€Å"talk about† issue within the industry is the multi dimension product models, the ability of BIM to provide multi dimensional application. (GSA 2007) has stated that 4D models represent 3D models plus time which include project phasing, construction scheduling whilst 5D models incorporate the costs elements. Nonetheless, Lee (2005) has identified the additional numbering of the dimension as â€Å"nD† modelling. Lee stated that nD modelling is an extension of the building information model that incorporates multi-aspects of design information required at each stage of the lifecycle of a building facility. On the other hand, in the year 2006, The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) also published â€Å"The Contractors Guide to BIM† which touched on the issue in respect of the continuing usage of the numbering i.e. 6D, 7D, and etc has therefore acknowledged the extended application of the 3D tool as â€Å"XD† (AGC , 2006). This research is mainly focusing on the 3D models with incorporation of time (4D) and cost (5D) elements. 2.5 Benefits of BIM There are many obvious benefits that BIM could offer to various parties including the owners, planners, engineers, estimators, designers and etc. It is understood that different stakeholders would value BIM differently. They may share the same information but have different responsibilities and uses on the model. From a Contractors perspective, BIM brings essential value for enabling virtual construction of the structure within a single source file (Hardin, 2009). As quoted from the BIM 2009 Smart Report, â€Å"A model is Worth a Thousand Drawings†. Contractors are making use of the intelligent model for assisting them with various activities i.e. planning construction sequences, cost estimations and bidding, conflict resolution and visualization project demonstration for client and etc (Neeley, 2010). The incorporation of intelligent data improves the models construction and post-construction realities, which also enables the contractor to get closer to the world of the desig ner (Sage software 2008). The initial literature review has showed that costs are significantly reduced, time is saved and the quality improved. 2.5.1 Single source Model In conventional process, the Project Manager reviews the updated drawings and reflects any changes onto the schedule as the design progress. Many times the same information is entered into different program. Every repetition increases the probability of inconsistency and error occurrence. BIM on the other hand allow direct changes applied to the single model. As both designers and contractors have access to the model simultaneously, this corresponding process also enables them to reduce lead times which normally take place throughout the period of sending back-and-forth the documents. The collaborative environment contributes to a substantial time saving during pre construction. Extra coordination checks are also unnecessary because the information generated from the model will lead to fewer errors on site which normally is caused by inaccurate and uncoordinated information. In the case of any last minute design changes, addendums, clarifications and etc it could be altered and updat ed to the model automatically across the project team, from early design through completion (Hardin, 2009). These ensure that all parties are working with the latest information. With all the information contained within the BIM database it will definitely increase the efficiency between the Architect, Engineer as well as the Contractors. 2.5.2 The 3D Visualization Clash Detection The 3D visualisation capability of BIM models can be of great benefit as a means of testifying the workability and demonstrating aspects of the construction itself such as construction sequencing, logistics, access, storage and security (C3 System 2009). BIM allows for â€Å"building twice† which offers various benefits like improvement in Constructability, maintainability, cost estimate accuracy and etc. This reduces ambiguities before commencement of actual construction (Robert, 2005). The construction issues for layperson or non layperson are also made easier to understand as the 3D visualisation helps them to understand any constraints that the client had not made clear earlier, or were misunderstood (Furneaux and Kivits 2008). One of the major benefits which BIM could provide for contractors is clash detection. As identified by FWIC (2009), a hard clash is where more than one object is being designed to occupy the same space whilst a soft clash is where the objects in the design is too close to each other that there is no space for access or construction, or are too close that they have violated the building codes. The BIM system automatically detects and manages interferences which prevent possible delay or additional cost. The system could be set to run the check either the entire model or between certain parts of the model. 2.5.3 Construction Phasing (4D Simulation) Furthermore, one of the obvious BIM applications for improved time efficiency is construction planning. Hardin (2008) argued that the construction planning is one of the most important tasks and also one of the driving factors that determine the success of any projects. It is noted by Eastman et al (2008b) that Construction Planning and scheduling involves sequencing activities in space and time, procurement consideration, resources, spatial restrictions and etc. BIM is said to contribute in project planning solutions via the use of 4D simulation. Napier (2009) claimed that the conventional scheduling methods are labour intensive and is not easily understood by laypersons. BIM enables better communication and understanding how the schedule would impact site logistics as a result of the 4D construction phasing/planning tools that incorporate direct links to the design model, capturing spatial information which the traditional Gantt chart is unable to demonstrate. The 4D model incorpor ates time as added 4th dimension which enables the planner to visually plan and sequencing of construction activities with space and time consideration. Also, there might be specific materials and products selected from a potential range of refinements and substitutions that meet the project specification but may result in changes to some aspects of the design. As Neeley (2010) have stated, with the allowance of â€Å"what ifs†, a significant of cost, project risks and unnecessary waste could be saved by shifting the â€Å"try-and-error† process from construction site to the virtual environment on beforehand. Resource Allocation/Reducing Waste According to Egan (1998) in â€Å"Rethinking Construction†, within the construction industry almost 10% of materials are wasted and 30% of construction is rework. As mentioned by Articlesbased (2009) construction projects are very often planned based on resources availability as well as other external factors. With the 4D construction phasing/planning, the team members are able to understand the scope of work and the availability of various resources in order to optimize the resources and labour accordingly. In addition, Eastman (2008b) highlights that BIM is also accurate in providing the design model and material resources required for each segment of the work, it effectively assists in utilization of critical resources like labour, material and time during the building construction life cycle. With the improved monitoring of site logistics and the progress of project, the site management via BIM fosters just-in-time (JIT) of materials, plant/equipment and labours. Pre-fabrication Accuracy of design details are critical for determining the success of pre-fabrication, and a data-rich BIM model can have a positive impact and provide greater confidence on pre-fabrication. As BIM brings clarity towards a complex project, more contractors appreciate that BIM offers the advantage of effective coordination as the complexity level of project increases. The â€Å"Design to Build and Build to Design† concept improves accuracy for estimation and design specification for prefabricated elements thus reducing unnecessary wastage (BIMJOURNAL 2009). With greater confidence in the coordination process, many contractors are approaching more prefabrication options to help ease schedules. (BIM Smart Report, 2009) 2.5.4 Cost Estimates/schedule management From the costing aspect, Jernigan (2008) stated one of the main benefits provided by BIM is the accuracy in cost estimate during earlier stages. Conventionally, estimators have been relying on Excel spreadsheet to carry out their construction cost estimating (Autodesk, 2007), Eastman (2009b) then revealed that BIM include features for extraction and quantification of BIM component properties. By using a building information model instead of drawings; the takeoffs, counts, and measurements can be generated directly from the underlying model and the information can be linked to generate bills of materials, size and area estimations along with other related estimating information. Therefore the information is always consistent with the design and reduces the potential for human error or misunderstanding (Autodesk, 2007). This contributes to substantial time and cost saving as well as ensuring good quality of the BOQ. BIM offers the opportunity to develop more accurate cost estimates bas ed on actual elements (Hartman and Fischer 2008). Moreover, the linked cost information evolves in step with the design changes (Ashcraft, 2008). In addition, an indirect advantage that BIM could offered is the estimator would be given more extra time to bring in more value engineering, more time for risk evaluation and to more time to find any additional cost savings as the â€Å"technology† has taken up most of the grunt work from the estimator (Hague, No date).Using cost attributing features of the model to assess alternative design and construction schemes to enhance and improve the value engineering process; BIM certainly contributes in supporting the Contractor to present value for money to the Client. Neeley (2010) has claimed that the use of BIM and IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) is reducing project costs around 10%- 20% below construction costs compared to non BIM/IPD projects. 2.6 Case Studies No 1: One Island East, Hong Kong One of the popular examples of the actual Building Information Modeling Project that has been mentioned by various Authors in their research is One Island East Office Tower in Hong Kong which was developed by Swire Properties Limited. Together with the project BIM consultant, Gehry Technologies (GT) they began the process of working together to create a single, 3D electronic Building Information Model (Riese, 2006). The Project Details are summarized as follow: 2.6.1 Background Information The One Island East is a 308 meter high skyscraper with 59 stories of office space and two basement levels. The building has 70 floors in total which comprise of a sky lobby on 37th and 38th floors (Elkem Microsilika, 2009). It was Swires intention to achieve a high-quality design while improving construction time as well as cost savings by the use of collaborative, collocated work methods and integrated 3-D modeling tools. The initial objective was to save 10 percent on the cost with reduced time for construction (Shelden et al, 2008). The software tool chosen to create the BIM for this project is â€Å"Digital Project† with some of the benefits stated as follows: (Riese, 2006) Has automated clash detection and management Has a complete ME system routing tool. With built-in scripting function, enabling project requirements to be integrated for customization. Automated simultaneous file versioning and file sharing. Able to handle and manipulate large amounts of data Integrated with Primavera scheduling software with high interoperability 2.6.2 BIM Implementation (Pre-tender stage) BIM commenced after the schematic design phase. The office building has been pre-designed virtually using Digital Project by assembling up to 300.000 building components in a single master file. Almost all coordination issues were resolved using BIM. The design team, BIM consultant and Project Manager worked in one room for the first year. They also communicate with each other via a portal site for the BIM process. The DP software was capable of identifying geometric clashes and generates a list automatically. There were already several clashes and errors identified and resolved before tendering and construction. The DP tool also measured most of the quantities automatically which reduced the time and effort compared to manual take off. Also, the quantities were linked to the BIM which automatically updates when changes were made. 2.6.3 BIM Implementation (Tendering Stage) The model was provided to all tenderers which enabled them to have confirmation on the bill of quantities using the model without having to measure the quantities manually. As a result, tender process improved significantly with lower cost estimates and more accurate quantity takeoffs. 2.6.4 BIM Implementation (Post Tender Stage) Gammon Construction Limited, which was the contractor awarded for the project had full responsibility for the BIM model and began the development of highly accurate and detailed 3D BIM model for construction, ensuring that all 2D information would be firstly scrutinize in the 3D prototype before it went to the site. 2.6.5 BIM Implementation (Construction) During the construction period, the BIM model became the main visualization tool for the coordination of various project elements. There were full time modelers that assisted with the clashes identification and coordination issues where the design solutions were then incorporated into the model. A few subcontractors also participated in modeling their parts of work. 4D simulation was one of the main factors for the success of the OIE project. It was used extensively for improving construction sequence and managing risk. 2.6.6 Outcome There were more than 2000 clashes and errors were identified prior to bidding and construction stage, which resulted significant cost savings. The figure below is an example of a clash that has been detected between an electrical cable tra y and an air supply duct. Without BIM it wouldnt have been detected until the actual construction taken place which might potentially cause additional cost and time to the project. According to Shen et al.(2009), the geometric coordination off the design prior to construction is thought to achieve 10% cost savings whilst construction process modeling is thought to contribute further 20% cost savings on the construction. Gammon Construction has also reported that Construction Process Modeling saved the project at least 20 days. This project was awarded the American Institute of Architects 2008 BIM award for design/delivery process innovation. 2.7 Implementing BIM and the Potential Challenges From section 2.2 above it is demonstrated that BIM has brought numerous advantages and benefits to the industry. However there are also challenges and barriers that to be overcome before the full capability of BIM could be demonstrated and subsequently fully â€Å"enjoyed† by the industry stakeholders (Furneaux and Kivits 2008). In the very traditional and fragmented building industry, new technologies are not easily introduced. It should be noted that when a new technology is introduced, there will be a certain period of time in which the claims about the potential of the technology needs to be examined, tested and verified particularly the AEC industry which is known for the very long adoption periods of promising technologies (May et al. 2005; Salazar et al. 2006). Even though the technology of BIM is readily available and rapidly maturing but the adoption of BIM is much slower than anticipated (Fischer Kunz, 2006). Gillis (2008) made the criticism indicating that UK appears to be a more conservative and over protective country that demands proven effectiveness before considering adoption of new technology whilst Counties such as Norway, Sweden, and US attempts to proceed with new technology without 100% confirmation (Simon Gillis, 2008). As criticised by Prather (2007), most of the time, our professional would take the â€Å"wait-and-see† approach towards BIM. This is echoed by Safe software (2008) stating that our industry would mostly accept BIM only when the risk level has dropped and a clear return on investment is made known to the industry. Moreover, in these recessionary times, the money to spend on technology has got to have a good business case. The current UK industry inhibitors include contracts that has not promote working in collaboration, no external incentive for innovation, no motivation for parties to seek ways to deliver a better or quicker product and etc (Steve Dunwell, 2008). 2.7.1 Installation and operation Cost Eastman (2009) has highlighted one of the barriers to adopting BIM is the cost associated with the implementation. It is said that implementing new technology like BIM requires additional cost in respect of purchasing new software and hardware packages, training as well as changing the work processes and workflows. Also, if there are no technical expertises available within the organization, there will be a need to engage with external consultants to train employees prior to applying BIM within the organization which accounts for additional cost as well (Furneaux and Kivits 2008). Corresponding to what Eastman (2009) as well as Furneaux Kivits (2008) have said, a research done by Suermann et al. (2009) revealed that the whole installation of BIM for an organization is a costly plan when done at on one occasion, and even greater when done for several installations simultaneously for different projects. In addition, Suermann et al (2009) findings showed that there has been company which have had to increase their effort and cost allowance to do BIM due to the high learning curve. Apart from that, there is also an implication for procurement policy where consideration needs to be given to the additional funding for the development of BIM models in the first instance. The large size of BIM files will involve a different system for data sharing i.e. real time access to the BIM database between firms which are geographically distant and high speed internet connectivity will be essential (Kiviniemi et al., 2008 p.64). This would constitute extra cost for the operation of BIM. Furthermore, in order to reduce the risk of data corruption, sabotage, and loss; it is important to pay any indispensable cost associated to ensure data stability and security. 2.7.2 Embracing BIM throughout the entire supply chain Another apparent factor that has caused BIM taking the back seat is lack of commitment from the higher level of the supply chain. According to Oberle (2009), the transition to BIM requires support and commitment throughout the supply chain from top to down of an organization. In addition, The Crawley Schools PFI project in West Sussex has revealed the benefits which they have gained with the implementation of BIM but simultaneously also addressed one of their main barriers in implementing BIM was the reluctance of the supply chain in embracing this new technology, stating that some conservative individuals did not believe the benefits that BIM could offer thus were hesitant to undertake this new approach (Constructing Excellence, 2010). It is also noted that some Contractors that have too much existing workload might give the excuse that they dont have enough time to try out new technology. As quoted from Dunwell (2009), â€Å"Old habits die hard†. Most workers are reluctant to step out from their comfort zone and believed that their current handling approaches towards Building Information Modelling (BIM) Building Information Modelling (BIM) 2.1 Introduction As expressed in the Egan report (1998), the UK construction industry is a significant contributor to the domestic economy in the UK that it is simply too important to be overlooked. The construction process and its success are influenced by various factors and choosing the most effective investment to improve the construction process is a very important decision. Building Information Modelling has been said to represent a paradigm that will have comprehensive benefits brought to the construction industry (Eastman, 2009b). Popov et al. (2010) claimed that the growing diversity of disciplines, professionals, tasks, events in respect of the management during design and construction stages of projects, plus the more competitive cost and more intense deadlines with higher quality expectations as well as the need for enhancing technology are the driving force of information modelling in the construction industry. Building Information Modelling, or better known as BIM is not; strictly speaking a new technology as it has been developing and used by other industry sectors since 1950s i.e. the automotive and aero plane industries. These industries have been way ahead of the AEC industry as for the past 20 years, fully utilizing the available technology for their industries (Augustsson, 2007). Subsequently, this literature review will assess and evaluate the historic and current information in respect of Building Information Modelling to enable an understanding on the past development of BIM, the benefits that it could offer to our construction projects as well as identifying the barriers entailing for the full adoption of BIM among the contractors in the UK construction industry. 2.2 What is BIM? As defined by BIMForum:- â€Å"A building information model (BIM) is an object-oriented building development tool that utilizes 5-D modeling concepts, information technology and software interoperability to design, construct and operate a building project, as well as communicate its details† (BIMForum, 2007). One common understanding to describe BIM is the building development tool that creates a three dimensional (3D) geometric model with computer softwares. The model then can be used to assist the design, construction and operational process and also acting as a communication tool (BIMForum 2007). Nevertheless a 3D geometric model wouldnt be sufficient to answer the demanding construction requirements at present. A BIM model contains a high level of intelligence which not just limited to a three-dimensional geometric representation of the building, (GSA, 2007) but also includes 5D modelling where the 4th dimension is referring to time element whilst the 5th dimension is referring to cost. In addition, as indicated by BIMForum (2007), there might be further development that is inclusive of procurement application which is the 6D as well as the operational applications which is the 7D. In general, a building information model is a digital representation, â€Å"virtual† representati on of all the physical and functional characteristic of a building which also acts as a resource of information storage for the building which could be shared/used from the inception period and throughout the lifecycle of the building. 2.3 The past development and revolution of BIM Conventionally, constructing a building was merely the responsibility of the Architects and the Engineers, designing on papers and then the Contractors build it. Cyon Research (2003) stated that Construction projects have always been defined by various drawings and documents where at times might be in conflict with each other thus showing inconsistency. These inconsistencies are the typical issues that often aroused when the documents and drawings are maintained separately with different participants working on different or superseded documents. There will always be unanticipated field costs, delays and eventual lawsuits between various parties within a project team as a result of errors and omissions in paper based communication. According to Vinod Kumar (2009), the beginning of orthographic drawings and perspectives can be traced back as far as during the Renaissance era when Filippo Brunelleschi represented the plans in drawing format for Santa Maria del Fiore in Italy in order for the patrons to understand how the building would look like. Vinod Kumar (2009) further explains the evolution of systematic documentation from manual methods all the way till our presently available technology by dividing it into three phases: I phase Till early 1980s: Before 1980s the traditional way of creating design documents are through manually drawn lines representing building i.e. plans, sections, elevations and etc. II phase 1980s to Late 1990s: This was the period where major change took place from manual drafting towards computer aided drafting when computers were firstly introduce. There is more elaborated information as the complexity of buildings increased as well as more specialization in the design and construction process. Use of computers, especially for 2D drawings and reports are ground-breaking changes into the systematic Documentation. III phase Beginning of the 2K: With the buildings degree of complexity presently, the number of parties involved in the process of drawing production has also increased. In line with the development of technology there are also more introduction of more interrelated and integrated building system i.e. HVAC system, energy requirement and etc. The computer based technology has also been constantly updated to reduce errors that occur but nonetheless they are still merely the collections of manually created, non-intelligent lines and text. The diagram below shows the evolution from manual methods all the way till the introduction of new technologies. A previous study by Autodesk (2002) which correlates with Vinods statement, mentioned that in the early 1980s the Construction industry took one step forward when the architects began using PC based Computer Aided Design, CAD. It is said that the CAD system was adapted with ease by the Industry as it was initiated from the pin-bar drafting which the Industry was familiar with. Thus many construction documents and drawings were completed using CADD rather than being drafted manually on drawing boards. DWS files were then exchanged in replacement of paper drawings, from simple graphics to the information content on the building. The CAD files developed significantly, communicating the information on the building which plotted drawing couldnt. Following that Holzer (2009) also stated that in the late 70s and early 80s, CAD systems like RUCAPS was used where it operated in parametric environment enabling 2D information extracted from a 3D model. RUCAPS allowed multi user access and put f orward a new way in generating, distributing as well as retrieving building information which was different fromt he common drafting processes. Unfortunately the down side of this system was the high cost and slow speed of the system as well as its inability of producing more complex geometrical shapes. Nevertheless, some of the fundamental concept of RUCAPS can be found in the current BIM software such as Autodesks REVIT, Bentleys TRIFORMA, Gehry Techs DIGITAL PROJECT and etc. Nowadays, the use of BIM is very common within the manufacturing and aerospace industries where new products or product changes are modelled virtually for the assessment of design, performance and production. . We are also in the process of experiencing a similar revolution in the construction industry. BIM and other related technologies have emerged since the past decade and developing up till the present where they have been acknowledge as the platform for the design and construction of various projects (Shen, et.al, 2009). Nevertheless, FWCI (2009) argued that it is important to understand that BIM is not CAD+ or the â€Å"Son† of CAD as BIM functions in its own approach and discipline. BIM, acting as a single source entry for project team involves the process of generating, storing, managing, exchanging and sharing building information in an interoperable and reusable way. Generally a BIM system is a tool that enables users to integrate and reuse building information and domain knowledge through the lifecycle of a building Presently there are numerous BIM products on the market by various vendors. Autodesk Revit was considered as one of the leading BIM creation tools. Bentley Systems, Graphisoft, Vico software and Nementcheck are also currently very well-known in the market. They each provide various building model tools to design a building (Rosenberg 2006). With this technology, the information needed for a projects design, construction and operation are contained in a model digitally which is centralized and could be shared across all associated project stakeholders (COBRA, 2008). 2.4 Various understanding of BIM in the Industry At present there is a vast amount of information that is available in respect to the definition of premise of BIM. Holzer (2007) explained that even though the application of BIM becomes more accepted and common throughout the industry, but there has been a problem in agreeing the definition of BIM. The common definitions would be described as a method for project information management with the combination of non-geometry attributes with geometrical entities, or defined mostly by pointing out its capabilities for cost-control and to facilities management. Holzer (2007) continues to claim that because the term BIM is often used by vendors for their marketing strategies in order to promote their company software, the definition of BIM technology has become very confusing. On the other hand, Eastman et al (2008) has suggested that in order to deal with this confusion it is useful to describe modelling solutions that do not utilize BIM technology. This includes tools that create models containing only 3D data with no object attributes, models that do not utilize parametric intelligence, models composed of multiple 2D CAD reference files that must be combined to define the building as well as models that allow changes to dimensions in one view that are not automatically reflected in other views. Furthermore, another popular â€Å"talk about† issue within the industry is the multi dimension product models, the ability of BIM to provide multi dimensional application. (GSA 2007) has stated that 4D models represent 3D models plus time which include project phasing, construction scheduling whilst 5D models incorporate the costs elements. Nonetheless, Lee (2005) has identified the additional numbering of the dimension as â€Å"nD† modelling. Lee stated that nD modelling is an extension of the building information model that incorporates multi-aspects of design information required at each stage of the lifecycle of a building facility. On the other hand, in the year 2006, The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) also published â€Å"The Contractors Guide to BIM† which touched on the issue in respect of the continuing usage of the numbering i.e. 6D, 7D, and etc has therefore acknowledged the extended application of the 3D tool as â€Å"XD† (AGC , 2006). This research is mainly focusing on the 3D models with incorporation of time (4D) and cost (5D) elements. 2.5 Benefits of BIM There are many obvious benefits that BIM could offer to various parties including the owners, planners, engineers, estimators, designers and etc. It is understood that different stakeholders would value BIM differently. They may share the same information but have different responsibilities and uses on the model. From a Contractors perspective, BIM brings essential value for enabling virtual construction of the structure within a single source file (Hardin, 2009). As quoted from the BIM 2009 Smart Report, â€Å"A model is Worth a Thousand Drawings†. Contractors are making use of the intelligent model for assisting them with various activities i.e. planning construction sequences, cost estimations and bidding, conflict resolution and visualization project demonstration for client and etc (Neeley, 2010). The incorporation of intelligent data improves the models construction and post-construction realities, which also enables the contractor to get closer to the world of the desig ner (Sage software 2008). The initial literature review has showed that costs are significantly reduced, time is saved and the quality improved. 2.5.1 Single source Model In conventional process, the Project Manager reviews the updated drawings and reflects any changes onto the schedule as the design progress. Many times the same information is entered into different program. Every repetition increases the probability of inconsistency and error occurrence. BIM on the other hand allow direct changes applied to the single model. As both designers and contractors have access to the model simultaneously, this corresponding process also enables them to reduce lead times which normally take place throughout the period of sending back-and-forth the documents. The collaborative environment contributes to a substantial time saving during pre construction. Extra coordination checks are also unnecessary because the information generated from the model will lead to fewer errors on site which normally is caused by inaccurate and uncoordinated information. In the case of any last minute design changes, addendums, clarifications and etc it could be altered and updat ed to the model automatically across the project team, from early design through completion (Hardin, 2009). These ensure that all parties are working with the latest information. With all the information contained within the BIM database it will definitely increase the efficiency between the Architect, Engineer as well as the Contractors. 2.5.2 The 3D Visualization Clash Detection The 3D visualisation capability of BIM models can be of great benefit as a means of testifying the workability and demonstrating aspects of the construction itself such as construction sequencing, logistics, access, storage and security (C3 System 2009). BIM allows for â€Å"building twice† which offers various benefits like improvement in Constructability, maintainability, cost estimate accuracy and etc. This reduces ambiguities before commencement of actual construction (Robert, 2005). The construction issues for layperson or non layperson are also made easier to understand as the 3D visualisation helps them to understand any constraints that the client had not made clear earlier, or were misunderstood (Furneaux and Kivits 2008). One of the major benefits which BIM could provide for contractors is clash detection. As identified by FWIC (2009), a hard clash is where more than one object is being designed to occupy the same space whilst a soft clash is where the objects in the design is too close to each other that there is no space for access or construction, or are too close that they have violated the building codes. The BIM system automatically detects and manages interferences which prevent possible delay or additional cost. The system could be set to run the check either the entire model or between certain parts of the model. 2.5.3 Construction Phasing (4D Simulation) Furthermore, one of the obvious BIM applications for improved time efficiency is construction planning. Hardin (2008) argued that the construction planning is one of the most important tasks and also one of the driving factors that determine the success of any projects. It is noted by Eastman et al (2008b) that Construction Planning and scheduling involves sequencing activities in space and time, procurement consideration, resources, spatial restrictions and etc. BIM is said to contribute in project planning solutions via the use of 4D simulation. Napier (2009) claimed that the conventional scheduling methods are labour intensive and is not easily understood by laypersons. BIM enables better communication and understanding how the schedule would impact site logistics as a result of the 4D construction phasing/planning tools that incorporate direct links to the design model, capturing spatial information which the traditional Gantt chart is unable to demonstrate. The 4D model incorpor ates time as added 4th dimension which enables the planner to visually plan and sequencing of construction activities with space and time consideration. Also, there might be specific materials and products selected from a potential range of refinements and substitutions that meet the project specification but may result in changes to some aspects of the design. As Neeley (2010) have stated, with the allowance of â€Å"what ifs†, a significant of cost, project risks and unnecessary waste could be saved by shifting the â€Å"try-and-error† process from construction site to the virtual environment on beforehand. Resource Allocation/Reducing Waste According to Egan (1998) in â€Å"Rethinking Construction†, within the construction industry almost 10% of materials are wasted and 30% of construction is rework. As mentioned by Articlesbased (2009) construction projects are very often planned based on resources availability as well as other external factors. With the 4D construction phasing/planning, the team members are able to understand the scope of work and the availability of various resources in order to optimize the resources and labour accordingly. In addition, Eastman (2008b) highlights that BIM is also accurate in providing the design model and material resources required for each segment of the work, it effectively assists in utilization of critical resources like labour, material and time during the building construction life cycle. With the improved monitoring of site logistics and the progress of project, the site management via BIM fosters just-in-time (JIT) of materials, plant/equipment and labours. Pre-fabrication Accuracy of design details are critical for determining the success of pre-fabrication, and a data-rich BIM model can have a positive impact and provide greater confidence on pre-fabrication. As BIM brings clarity towards a complex project, more contractors appreciate that BIM offers the advantage of effective coordination as the complexity level of project increases. The â€Å"Design to Build and Build to Design† concept improves accuracy for estimation and design specification for prefabricated elements thus reducing unnecessary wastage (BIMJOURNAL 2009). With greater confidence in the coordination process, many contractors are approaching more prefabrication options to help ease schedules. (BIM Smart Report, 2009) 2.5.4 Cost Estimates/schedule management From the costing aspect, Jernigan (2008) stated one of the main benefits provided by BIM is the accuracy in cost estimate during earlier stages. Conventionally, estimators have been relying on Excel spreadsheet to carry out their construction cost estimating (Autodesk, 2007), Eastman (2009b) then revealed that BIM include features for extraction and quantification of BIM component properties. By using a building information model instead of drawings; the takeoffs, counts, and measurements can be generated directly from the underlying model and the information can be linked to generate bills of materials, size and area estimations along with other related estimating information. Therefore the information is always consistent with the design and reduces the potential for human error or misunderstanding (Autodesk, 2007). This contributes to substantial time and cost saving as well as ensuring good quality of the BOQ. BIM offers the opportunity to develop more accurate cost estimates bas ed on actual elements (Hartman and Fischer 2008). Moreover, the linked cost information evolves in step with the design changes (Ashcraft, 2008). In addition, an indirect advantage that BIM could offered is the estimator would be given more extra time to bring in more value engineering, more time for risk evaluation and to more time to find any additional cost savings as the â€Å"technology† has taken up most of the grunt work from the estimator (Hague, No date).Using cost attributing features of the model to assess alternative design and construction schemes to enhance and improve the value engineering process; BIM certainly contributes in supporting the Contractor to present value for money to the Client. Neeley (2010) has claimed that the use of BIM and IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) is reducing project costs around 10%- 20% below construction costs compared to non BIM/IPD projects. 2.6 Case Studies No 1: One Island East, Hong Kong One of the popular examples of the actual Building Information Modeling Project that has been mentioned by various Authors in their research is One Island East Office Tower in Hong Kong which was developed by Swire Properties Limited. Together with the project BIM consultant, Gehry Technologies (GT) they began the process of working together to create a single, 3D electronic Building Information Model (Riese, 2006). The Project Details are summarized as follow: 2.6.1 Background Information The One Island East is a 308 meter high skyscraper with 59 stories of office space and two basement levels. The building has 70 floors in total which comprise of a sky lobby on 37th and 38th floors (Elkem Microsilika, 2009). It was Swires intention to achieve a high-quality design while improving construction time as well as cost savings by the use of collaborative, collocated work methods and integrated 3-D modeling tools. The initial objective was to save 10 percent on the cost with reduced time for construction (Shelden et al, 2008). The software tool chosen to create the BIM for this project is â€Å"Digital Project† with some of the benefits stated as follows: (Riese, 2006) Has automated clash detection and management Has a complete ME system routing tool. With built-in scripting function, enabling project requirements to be integrated for customization. Automated simultaneous file versioning and file sharing. Able to handle and manipulate large amounts of data Integrated with Primavera scheduling software with high interoperability 2.6.2 BIM Implementation (Pre-tender stage) BIM commenced after the schematic design phase. The office building has been pre-designed virtually using Digital Project by assembling up to 300.000 building components in a single master file. Almost all coordination issues were resolved using BIM. The design team, BIM consultant and Project Manager worked in one room for the first year. They also communicate with each other via a portal site for the BIM process. The DP software was capable of identifying geometric clashes and generates a list automatically. There were already several clashes and errors identified and resolved before tendering and construction. The DP tool also measured most of the quantities automatically which reduced the time and effort compared to manual take off. Also, the quantities were linked to the BIM which automatically updates when changes were made. 2.6.3 BIM Implementation (Tendering Stage) The model was provided to all tenderers which enabled them to have confirmation on the bill of quantities using the model without having to measure the quantities manually. As a result, tender process improved significantly with lower cost estimates and more accurate quantity takeoffs. 2.6.4 BIM Implementation (Post Tender Stage) Gammon Construction Limited, which was the contractor awarded for the project had full responsibility for the BIM model and began the development of highly accurate and detailed 3D BIM model for construction, ensuring that all 2D information would be firstly scrutinize in the 3D prototype before it went to the site. 2.6.5 BIM Implementation (Construction) During the construction period, the BIM model became the main visualization tool for the coordination of various project elements. There were full time modelers that assisted with the clashes identification and coordination issues where the design solutions were then incorporated into the model. A few subcontractors also participated in modeling their parts of work. 4D simulation was one of the main factors for the success of the OIE project. It was used extensively for improving construction sequence and managing risk. 2.6.6 Outcome There were more than 2000 clashes and errors were identified prior to bidding and construction stage, which resulted significant cost savings. The figure below is an example of a clash that has been detected between an electrical cable tra y and an air supply duct. Without BIM it wouldnt have been detected until the actual construction taken place which might potentially cause additional cost and time to the project. According to Shen et al.(2009), the geometric coordination off the design prior to construction is thought to achieve 10% cost savings whilst construction process modeling is thought to contribute further 20% cost savings on the construction. Gammon Construction has also reported that Construction Process Modeling saved the project at least 20 days. This project was awarded the American Institute of Architects 2008 BIM award for design/delivery process innovation. 2.7 Implementing BIM and the Potential Challenges From section 2.2 above it is demonstrated that BIM has brought numerous advantages and benefits to the industry. However there are also challenges and barriers that to be overcome before the full capability of BIM could be demonstrated and subsequently fully â€Å"enjoyed† by the industry stakeholders (Furneaux and Kivits 2008). In the very traditional and fragmented building industry, new technologies are not easily introduced. It should be noted that when a new technology is introduced, there will be a certain period of time in which the claims about the potential of the technology needs to be examined, tested and verified particularly the AEC industry which is known for the very long adoption periods of promising technologies (May et al. 2005; Salazar et al. 2006). Even though the technology of BIM is readily available and rapidly maturing but the adoption of BIM is much slower than anticipated (Fischer Kunz, 2006). Gillis (2008) made the criticism indicating that UK appears to be a more conservative and over protective country that demands proven effectiveness before considering adoption of new technology whilst Counties such as Norway, Sweden, and US attempts to proceed with new technology without 100% confirmation (Simon Gillis, 2008). As criticised by Prather (2007), most of the time, our professional would take the â€Å"wait-and-see† approach towards BIM. This is echoed by Safe software (2008) stating that our industry would mostly accept BIM only when the risk level has dropped and a clear return on investment is made known to the industry. Moreover, in these recessionary times, the money to spend on technology has got to have a good business case. The current UK industry inhibitors include contracts that has not promote working in collaboration, no external incentive for innovation, no motivation for parties to seek ways to deliver a better or quicker product and etc (Steve Dunwell, 2008). 2.7.1 Installation and operation Cost Eastman (2009) has highlighted one of the barriers to adopting BIM is the cost associated with the implementation. It is said that implementing new technology like BIM requires additional cost in respect of purchasing new software and hardware packages, training as well as changing the work processes and workflows. Also, if there are no technical expertises available within the organization, there will be a need to engage with external consultants to train employees prior to applying BIM within the organization which accounts for additional cost as well (Furneaux and Kivits 2008). Corresponding to what Eastman (2009) as well as Furneaux Kivits (2008) have said, a research done by Suermann et al. (2009) revealed that the whole installation of BIM for an organization is a costly plan when done at on one occasion, and even greater when done for several installations simultaneously for different projects. In addition, Suermann et al (2009) findings showed that there has been company which have had to increase their effort and cost allowance to do BIM due to the high learning curve. Apart from that, there is also an implication for procurement policy where consideration needs to be given to the additional funding for the development of BIM models in the first instance. The large size of BIM files will involve a different system for data sharing i.e. real time access to the BIM database between firms which are geographically distant and high speed internet connectivity will be essential (Kiviniemi et al., 2008 p.64). This would constitute extra cost for the operation of BIM. Furthermore, in order to reduce the risk of data corruption, sabotage, and loss; it is important to pay any indispensable cost associated to ensure data stability and security. 2.7.2 Embracing BIM throughout the entire supply chain Another apparent factor that has caused BIM taking the back seat is lack of commitment from the higher level of the supply chain. According to Oberle (2009), the transition to BIM requires support and commitment throughout the supply chain from top to down of an organization. In addition, The Crawley Schools PFI project in West Sussex has revealed the benefits which they have gained with the implementation of BIM but simultaneously also addressed one of their main barriers in implementing BIM was the reluctance of the supply chain in embracing this new technology, stating that some conservative individuals did not believe the benefits that BIM could offer thus were hesitant to undertake this new approach (Constructing Excellence, 2010). It is also noted that some Contractors that have too much existing workload might give the excuse that they dont have enough time to try out new technology. As quoted from Dunwell (2009), â€Å"Old habits die hard†. Most workers are reluctant to step out from their comfort zone and believed that their current handling approaches towards