How does Mass Media affect people in society? Essay

So far, there’re various media for people to choose and access the information such as television, radio, Internet, or even mobile phone, consequently, media have a full capacity to set a social subject for mass audience to think and talk about. Often, media do not deliberately set the agenda and determine the pros and cons of that particular issue, so it repeatedly causes bad consequences towards public as well as establishes ‘moral panics’, which can sometimes lead to mob violence. The studies point that there is a correlation between violence on media and violent behavior. The reason that violent programs go well on the global market is violent imagery on television gets high ratings; therefore, producers are forced onto market to make a profit. But more significantly, television has taken the place of other forms of communication that at one time tied us together in families and communities, and gave us all the opportunity to participate in creating and passing along our cultural story. Since mass media as crucial vehicles to influence public opinion, the government is likely to control and dominate the press and broadcasting. There was a wide range of restrictions on reporting and in many countries in the region at the time, we had a number of governments that were authoritarian governments that used press control as one of their political tools. Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, just to name a few; all had restrictions on their own domestic media, restrictions on foreign journalists working within those countries, and restrictions on what news could be sent out. As example in Malaysia, during the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, authorities controlled all major newspapers and broadcast outlets, ensuring a substantial degree of official influence over news published in the country. The only exception was the Internet, which had so far remained censorship-free. Additionally, under Malaysian law, authorities are required to screen foreign publications prior to their distribution in the country. For instance, Malaysian government blocked the distribution of some U.S. newsmagazines in 2002, apparently because the government considered some stories inaccurate and untrue, including reports on alleged links between the al-Qaeda terrorist network and groups in Malaysia. On the other side, Thailand, as the democratic society, is still in the criticism about the current Prime minister, Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, regarding his policies and style of leadership whether they’re against the constitution and good moral or not particularly ‘War on Drugs’ policy. Furthermore, many people mentioned that he attempted to cover his critics by taking control of the country’s independent television station since 23 ITV staffs dismissed due to they â€Å"damaged the station’s reputation† by openly criticizing the station’s buyout by the Prime Minister. Not very long, the press violently reacted and declared that he was as dictator. Even more serious, some journalists believed that they were exposed to serious reprisals when they disclose the corruption of local authorities. Although Dr. Thaksin sharply uses media effect to structure individuals’ thinking and increase efficiency of mass communication for the governm ent, his propaganda shouldn’t be contrary to the legal constrains in terms of the right of expression. Media play an important role as a showcase that reveals trait of a certain area through outsiders. Obviously, when the press emphasizes on any topic and criticize people would be instantly interested in and rapidly spreading out till sometimes hardly cope with it. In conclusion, mass communication can affect cognitive change among individuals, mentally order and organize the world for us and also simply create conflict or violence among people in society. Therefore, authorities or interest groups who extremely control on media especially the government, television program producers and newspaper need a proper consideration for media use as well as being responsible for consequences.

Pestel

Pestel P2: The pestel framework: The PESTEL framework categorises environmental influences into six main types: political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal. Why you are using it: Thus it provides a clear list of influences on the possible success or failure of particular strategies apple uses or will use. Analyse how the pestel factors that may affect company: Political factors look at government policies, taxation changes, foreign trade regulations, political risk in foreign markets and changes in trade blocks (EU).In this case Apple†¦(article or) Economic factors look at business cycle and GDP trends, interest rates , unemployment rates, disposable income and exchange rates. In this case Apple.. (article or ) Socio cultural factors look at population changes, lifestyle changes, changes in tastes and fashion and culture. In this case Apple†¦(article or) Technological factors look at new discoveries and technology developments, ICT innovations, Rates of obsolescence and Increased spending on R&D. in this case Apple.. article or) iTunes 11 remains much the same as it has always been – bar some radical new design and front-end improvements. The visual redesign is obvious, with music selection laid out in a more logical manner. One of the few new features to be implemented in the update is the inclusion of the Miniplayer which, instead of being a mode within the application, appears in a completely new window. Another simple, yet helpful, addition is the inclusion of buttons which allow users to switch between the iTunes store and back to the library.However, Apple has made some good technological developments especially with their current Iphone5. It is half an inch bigger (4-inches), lighter (112g) and has a more powerful A6 chip than the previous. Siri (voice control software) has been updated so users can ask it to recommend films and restaurants and update their Facebook accounts verbally. The 4G network offers speeds up to five times faster than 3G. This will allow uninterrupted access to the web on the go, high definition films to be downloaded in minutes and TV to be streamed without buffering.The Camera includes a Panorama function: sweep phone sideways and software stitches images together. Finally a new software feature is a much whizzier Maps app which includes photo-realistic 3D cityscapes for some areas. Environmental (green) factors look at environmental protection regulations, energy consumption, global warming, waste disposal and re-cycling. In this case Apple†¦(article or) A Chinese environmental group singled out Apple for criticism in 2011, accusing the company’s Chinese suppliers of discharging polluted waste and toxic metals into surrounding communities and threatening public health.Factories that the group suspected were Apple suppliers often â€Å"fail to properly dispose of hazardous waste† and that 27 of the suppliers had been found to have environmental pr oblems. Also in 2011, 137 workers at a Chinese factory near the city of Suzhou had been seriously injured by a toxic chemical used in making the signature slick glass screens of the iPhone. In 2010 one of Apple’s biggest suppliers was hit by a wave of worker suicides at several of its mainland Chinese facilities.Also, in May, two people were killed and more than a dozen were injured in Chengdu city, in southwest China due to an explosion and fire at a plant that made Apple products. Legal factors look at competition laws, health and safety laws, employment laws, licensing laws and IPR laws. In this case Apple.. (article or) Apple Inc. of the U. S. and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea are embroiled in legal battles in 10 nations over intellectual property, spanning dozens of cases. Here are details of some of the bigger legal fights: In the U. S. , Apple scored a major victory on Aug. 4 2012 when a jury found Samsung had â€Å"willfully† copied Apple's iPhone and iPad, and awarded Apple $1 billion in damages. Apple is now requesting eight Samsung products be banned from the U. S. market. A hearing was rescheduled for Dec. 6. April 15, 2011 –In south Korea, Apple files a patent suit against Samsung claiming that it had copied the â€Å"look and feel† of iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad for its Galaxy smartphones and tabs. Apple lays out a total of 16 claims covering software and hardware. However, the court on Aug. 24 2012 dismissed Apple's claim that Samsung copied the look and feel of the iPhone and the iPad.Still, the judges issued bans on some Samsung and Apple products. It found that Apple illegally used Samsung's wireless technology while Samsung violated Apple's patent related to the way mobile devices notify users when an image reaches to the end. In Japan, the Tokyo District Court denied Apple's claim on Aug. 31 2012 that Samsung infringed upon Apple's patent to have mobile devices and personal computers â€Å"synchronizeâ €  or share data with each other. Other cases in Japan are still pending. P9 Summarise key implications of the pestel analysis (e. g. threats/opportunities): SWOT

How effective an adaptation of the play Macbeth is the film ‘Macbeth on the Estate’?

Macbeth on the Estate is a modern adaptation of Macbeth. It is set on a modern, run-down housing estate in Birmingham. The major changes from the play are the setting and the characters. There are much fewer noble qualities about the people and places shown. Instead, the setting is very run-down and poor. The characters are also corrupt and indulgent. A lot of the blame for the bad things that happen in the play seems to be given to characters. For example, the possibility that the witches control Macbeth, and he is not in control is implied to be untrue by suggesting that the effects that seem to be supernatural are simply caused by drugs and the poor conditions. There are also some things done that cannot be done in a theatre, such as camerawork to direct the audience. I believe that the film is a reasonable good conversion of the play into a modern film. I believe that it managed to portray the meaning of the original in a modern way that is easy to understand for modern people, as well as making suggestions about the story. I like how every aspect of Shakespearean world was converted into something of the modern world, for example the castle being converted into a social club. What I don't like about it is the fact that the language wasn't changed from the original text. Although it is quite important to keep the film similar to the original, so as not to forget that it is the same play, I think it made the film too much like the original play. I believe that if the setting is changed, the modernisation should be completed by making the language more modern. The point of the film is, after all, to give a modern slant. The language is the most out-of-date part and the most difficult-to-understand part of the play, and I believe that modern language should have been included. I will answer the question of how the ideas have been modernised mainly by giving various examples and explanation of what has been shown in their modernisation. I will answer the question of how the beginning and ending of the play have been changed by describing both beginnings and endings, explaining the changes made and also by giving reasons for changes. I will discuss the change in theatricality by first describing the differences between what can be done in film compared with theatre, and then describing and explaining the particular changes. I will discuss the characters by giving a description of the general change in the characters, and why this is, and then by analysing the change in each character individually, with possible reasons for these changes. I will then discuss how and why the adaptation loses its social and historical meaning and adds a meaning of its own. Shakespeare plays are often modernised to make them more accessible to modern people. This is so that people now can understand the plays, and can understand the meanings behind the plays, because they have been put into a modern context that we can relate to. Some ideas are not actually just translated; they are completed changed, or some are added. For example, the idea of Macbeth being totally evil is changed. Because this modernisation is a film, which means that it has certain ways to direct the audience in a certain way, a select few of the ideas from the original play are translated. An example of these is the idea that Macduff is a complete hero. Although I do not like the fact that only a few ideas are translated, I believe that on the whole, the few that have been translated have been translated well. The beginning and ending of a play or film can be very important for the meaning behind it. Beginnings give the audience a place to start from, to understand the story. They introduce the story and characters, and give the producers a place to start the story from. Endings are useful to round off the story, and give the producers a place to end the story. They are also useful to round off the story for the audience, whether it is a resolved ending or a cliffhanger. The very beginning scene of the play involves the three witches discussing Macbeth. This gives and impression of them controlling the plot, and makes this scene seem like the original source of Macbeth's evil. The beginning of the film is very different to that of the play. Macduff says an invented dialogue, although the audience does not know who he is at the time. The beginning has a lot of subtle references to the setting and the meanings. Macduff recites the new speech on a large wasteland. When the camera first shows this setting, before Macduff enters the scene, there is nothing restricting the view, and the whole of the frame is used, including the very extremities, so there is no particular focus point. This makes suggestions about the idea of confusion and the lack of focus in the story. The fact that the camera fades in re-enforces this with a feeling of fog. This barren landscape could be a battlefield, possibly like one in the play, reflecting the war-like culture. The fact that we don't know what it is re-enforces the idea of confusion, and also the idea about the audience deciding themselves about the true meaning of the play. The shot of Macduff is very close to him, and he looks right into the camera. This gives the impression that he is talking directly to the audience. This and the fact that Macduff is in the very first scene, rather than the witches, give an impression that Macduff is controlling the whole story, instead of the supernatural. I believe that Macduff is used as part of the way that the director makes him a larger part of the story, to ask questions about his true character. There are many differences between a play and a film. The main one is that with a play, the audience can interact much more, and can decide the story for themselves. This mainly comes from lack of direction, and the ability to imagine elements of the story. One way in which this is done is by not directing the audience's view. In a film, because there is a camera, the audience's view can be directed onto a particular character or object. This means that the audience's view can also be sub-consciously directed towards a particular meaning to the film. In a play, on the other hand, the audience is free to look at whichever characters they wish, to watch their actions and reactions to other events. This adds an element of the audience being able to decide what really happens in the play, and being able to decide which ideas are true, as well as the director being able to direct the audience to parts which show their own feelings. Another way in which is this is achieved is the difference in how the setting is portrayed. A film can be shot in different locations, making the setting much more believable, and making it seem much more like the characters are in the place where they are supposed to be. One again, this allows the audience to be directed, and shown exactly what the director believes the setting is, leaving no room for imagining it. A play has a much less vivid, defined setting. It is demonstrated by symbolic references to the actual things, meaning that the audience has to imagine them more. This means that a film is better if the director wants to deliberately highlight a particular idea to the audience, and wants to tell them something that they believe in. A play is better for giving a more open story, in which the audience is independent, and decides what is true about the story. Although the setting and characters are updated in the film, the language is not. As I have already mentioned, personally, I do not believe that this is very effective, because I think that if some parts are modernised, all the parts should be, although it is quite important to keep the conversion similar to the original. Tension can be shown very well in film, by using particular camera angles or special effects. This means that the tension in the film is shown much better, which is good, but only some elements of tension are properly shown, because the director has chosen to use only certain ideas. Because of the differences between film and theatre, the audience can also be directed towards certain elements of tension. In film, visual images can be used very well, because it is a visual medium, by using special effects. I do not believe that visual effects are used to a great extent in Macbeth on the Estate. The images used are not particularly used much more than they would be in a play. I do not believe that the potential for visual effects is used fully. Instead, the film loses some of the quality of the language from the play, which is an oral medium, making the film a less effective adaptation. It may be true, though, that the director has chosen to do this because what she wants to tell us is done much more subtly by using changes in the characters and setting. The soliloquies in the film are not adapted from the play very much. No elements that are exclusive to film are used, such as visual effects, making the soliloquies very similar to the originals. This is again because the director only wanted to make subtle changes. The actor can change their character by showing different body language, for example facial expression, and can use different tones to change the meaning of what the character is saying. The way that an actor can change the character is subtle, by changing subtle things not mentioned in the script. The part can be changed in many different ways. Some of these are quite significant, such as changing the original lines, adding soliloquies and changing things that are described directly in the original script. Others are less significant, and only involve changing parts that are not directly expressed in the original script, for example set locations and body language for the actors to use to help slightly change the emotions and related things, which make up the characters. The main alteration to the characters was to make them seem corrupt and not noble, to put them and society partly to blame for everything. It is mainly the characters that are very noble in the play who are changed, to make them seem less so. The major of these is King Duncan. In the play, he was known as a good and much-loved king. In the film, although he is liked a lot by the main characters, he has lost his nobility and kingliness. Instead of his castle, he has a social club, and he is very indulgent. Although all of the characters drink and smoke, he does these to more extent, and he almost never seen without a pint of beer. As well as having un-noble habits, he is also quite a sleazy character. For example, he hassles Lady Macbeth and is unpleasant to some of his servants. He is the main element in the way that the new director shows the environment around Macbeth as being corrupt and his character is changed more extremely than the others, in this way, because he is seen as the figurehead of the nobility in the play, being the most noble. Duncan's son, Malcolm, seems to be changed to also reflect the corrupt environment, but not as much. As in the play, he does what his father does, and copies him, but this is different in the film. He joins in with the indulgence, but this could just be the result of the world around him. Like in the play, he is quite good-natured, and a good person. The director could have used this to make suggestions about young people, not just now, but always, compared to adults. I believe that the fact that she shows the young people joining in with what the adults are doing, implies that they copy what the people around them do, and they quickly become just like the rest of society. The fact that he is a good person, and is not like his father suggests that people are born good and not corrupt, though, and are not like their environment until it indoctrinates them, and it becomes normality to them. This is one of the suggestions that the director makes about society that is true about today and Shakespeare's day. Donaldbain rarely appears in the film, and he is only slightly changed, in the same way as Malcolm. Banquo is changed much in the same way as the other people around the royalty; he has also lost nobility and is part of the corrupt society. Fleance remains more or less the same as in the play, but he has more of an element of innocence. He is younger than he seems to be in the film, and he has a very close relationship with his father, relying on him heavily. He seems to be very distressed by the events in the story, and there is strange thing at the end of the film: he points his hand at the camera as if it is a gun, and fires. This could be to show that he has been indoctrinated by the corrupt society, and he is no longer fearful of firing a gun, and killing someone, because Macduff shot Macbeth. I think that he could symbolise the pure good in the story which struggles to survive in the terrible environment, and then in the end has to give up and be lost into the corruption. Macduff is changed the most in relation to the other characters. In the play, he is Scottish, like most of the other characters, meaning that his background does not make him stand out from the others. On the other hand, in the film, all of the other characters are changed into English people from Birmingham. He, on the contrary, is from the West Indies, and so stands out from the other characters due to his background. This is to make him more obviously a very significant character in the story. The director has done this because she wants to portray Macduff as more of a main character than in the film, and wants to ask us about whether or not he is really as heroic as he is shown as in the play. This was because the film explores the good and evil in all of the characters more than in the play. In the play, Macduff was very blatantly shown as a purely good character, though in the film, we are made to question ourselves about whether Macduff is really as honourable as he might seem. The director probably did this because she wanted to show that there can be evil in everyone, and no one is either pure good or pure evil. Making Macduff stand out more helps illuminate what she wanted to convey to the audience. Lady Macduff is one of the characters who has been changed relatively little: in the play, she is quite a good person, and does not have too much character that is shown; also in the film she has little character shown, other than her kindness and motherliness. Although she joins in with the corrupt society a bit, she only does to moderation, and seems quite innocent. I believe that this was because the director did not want to dilute her messages, and the characters that could not help her portray her messages and did not have much significance were kept quite bland, so as not to take away the focal point from the more important characters. The innocence may have slightly helped a suggestion of feminism. The three witches are changed a lot from the film: they have become three children. I believe that the director chose to do this to help her argument about the corrupt society; she implies that they may not really have any powers, and they just cause the characters to believe in the supernatural, and so carry out the predictions themselves. This implication can be valid to show that today's society is corrupt, and may have changed since Shakespeare's time, but it could also be used to disagree with Shakespeare, and accuse the supposed supernatural occurrences of his day on the general nature of people. Lady Macbeth is one of the few characters that have had less blame put on her than in the play for the events in the story. The audience is made to feel sympathy for her, unlike in the play, which is done in a number of ways, for example by inventing something about some lost child. The changes to her are all part of the general trend that the characters' personalities are diluted into being partially good and partially bad, to make everyone, and our society, to blame for the events. I believe that the director very strongly and effectively puts across this message, and makes Lady Macbeth seem more innocent very well. This also suggests a hint of feminism. There seems to be a hint of feminism in the conversion because the female characters are shown as much more innocent that the male characters, but it is not a very strong hint. Macbeth is also relieved of some blame. In the play, he was portrayed as a thoroughly evil man, and his evil deeds were blamed solely him or the witches controlling him. He is also part of the suggestion that society creates evil, and just does what he does because of his society. The characters are mainly changed to help put across the message that the director wants to give the audience about the story. She wants to imply certain things about the individual characters, but she also uses this to give a new impression about society. Although she wants to make implications about how today's society, and how it would change the situation in the story, she may also want to make implications about timeless aspects of society that have always existed, and possibly to disagree with Shakespeare about how society was then. Although Shakespeare made a great deal of suggestions about society, I think the new director has taken the story further, and made new ones, as well as making alterations and her own touches to the original ones. Although the film seems quite bland and without many of these meanings at first, and it is difficult for the audience to realise these subtle messages when first seen, I think that she has been very successful in showing us her personal feelings about the play and in making suggestions to us about society, as long as the audience can pick them up. Any modernisation of the play inevitably results in the loss of some of its social and historical significance. This is because to understand what is meant by the play, people would need to know what the world was like at the time, and what was happening. When a play is modernised, it stops being about that world, and is about the modern world. There are a lot of modern issues in the film. Some of these are similar to those found in the original play and are only modified, and some are completely new, and are just relevant to modern life. An example of one which is only modified is the violence. The film shows that violence still exists, but in compliance with the idea of there being no nobility, the fighting is changed into dishonourable gang warfare. The modernisation is equally as much about the original play and modern society. Most of the messages behind it concern both in different ways. The best example of an idea, which complies with both, is the idea of no nobility. It works to do with the modern world because it could imply that the nobility is lost, but it could also imply that it never existed, and the people in Shakespeare's time were just as bad as now. My argument is mainly about how the director has used lots of minor alterations to tell us of her opinion of the original story. I believe that she has used the modernisation to make it easier for modern people to understand, but also as a tool to suggest that what Macbeth does is not entirely the fault of the people who were seen as completely evil before. I think she was very successful in taking Shakespeare's meanings on further, and developing new, separate ideas, as well as some contrasting with him, for example, not showing the main characters as completely good or evil, which I believe adds a very good personal touch to it, and shows very subtly, yet effectively, her personal beliefs. The main ideas I believe she wanted to put across are: nobody is completely to blame; everyone has no evil and some good; a hint of feminism; the world of Shakespeare's time exists with us today; there could be other possibilities of why the events in Macbeth happened, that Shakespeare did not include. I think that the film can be appreciated on many different levels: as a simple modernisation for easy understanding, and also as a subtly constructed message about the personal feelings of one person, which can be enjoyed by the observant audience, and can also prompt us to think about what we think about the story, and to wonder what it is really about.

Child Protection is part of a continuum of good child-care practice Essay

Child Protection is part of a continuum of good child-care practice that supports children's early development and learning. Discuss - Essay Example Some questions are often posted when experts and professionals discuss the issue of child protection: are children truly abused or molested by their parents and guardians? What are the actions that constitute these abnormal behaviours in people that are naturally expected to provide cares and love for these little ones? According to National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children NSPCC, children in the United Kingdom are abused in the following ways: physically, sexually, and mentally or psychologically (Cawson et al. 45). The manifestations of these abuses include: physical neglect of children that make them look dirty, uncared-for, forlorn and underfed; emotional and psychological maltreatment that make them appear disconnected from the society and their peers; physical abuse that comes from violent and irate parents and guardians who indiscriminately treat their children without respect for their rights; discrimination and constant bullying from parents that abused alcohol and other dangerous drugs; and the worst of all, sexual abuse of children and minors. In practice, professionals have worked so hard to unearth the reasons why the problem of child abuse is on the rise. Some theories about children abuse have been propounded; however, it is eye-opening to notice that parents or guardians that abuse the children in their custodies do so out of negligence, ignorance, drug or substance-motivated and self-reflection, if they had been victims of child abuse themselves (Cawson et al 58). This circumstance creates a serious social problem when those who should protect the children are the ones preying on or abusing them. Schaffer reckons that a child that is subjected to incessant abuse for a lengthened period of time would have what is referred to as â€Å"stunted growth and poor learning ability† (185). Experts have cleverly discovered that unprotected children from continuous abuse

Fossil Inc. clothing and accessorys Legal Structure Essay

Fossil Inc. clothing and accessorys Legal Structure - Essay Example a  partnership  ran by two or more people.  Also, another option is an incorporated company where business activities  are incorporated  into a company, which bestows  life  on business as a separate legal person (Mancuso 4). The Fossil inc. Clothing and Accessory is a  design, development, marketing and distribution, company that focuses on consumer products predicated on fashion and  value  such as sunglasses, watches, and leather goods among others, for retail sale on an international basis. Fossil Inc. is an incorporated  business  since it  is formed  on a corporation. Incorporating a business provides a liability  protection  and  considerable  tax advantages. The business can  move  on despite the death or bankruptcy of shareholders or  management. Moreover, it offers the best  means  of  expansion  and the provision of  outside  investors. Fossil Inc.  is under the ownership  of two brothers; Tom and Kosta Kartsotis who own about 30% of Fossil stock. In 1993, the Fossil Inc. sold 20% of the company to investors, but Tom retained 40.5% control over the  company  while his brother retained 18.8% ownership. According to Richardson (1), initial public offering of  stock  (public ownership) yielded $19 million, which Fossil Inc. used half of it to reduce the company’s  debt  and the other half to be kept as working capital. Additionally, in 1993, Fossil Inc. had  several  subsidiaries in Europe, led by Fossil Europe GmbH i.e. the company’s  primary  European  operation  in Germany. Other subsidiary companies of Fossil Inc. included Fossil Italia SRL and Fossil France SARL, which served as Fossil’s marketing, as well as distribution entities in those countries.  In addition, Fossil B.V., formed in 1993, stood as a company holding for the three European subsidiaries, where Texas-based Fossil Inc. controlled 70 per cent of the newly formed European holding Company (International Directory of Company Histories 1). In 1994, Fossil Inc. was able

Strategic Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Strategic Human Resource Management - Essay Example Even though the workers are apportioned into different departments, they will be overseen by the human resource department only, apart from the management team. Therefore, human resource department will make their presence in every aspect of worker’s life in an organization. This paper will look at the human resource department of a fictional company, Galactic Enterprise Furniture by specifically analyzing its Strategic Human Resource Management, its advantages, and the disadvantages. In addition, the paper will discuss a set of recommendations, which will be drafted to fill any gap, between what is actually happening and what is felt to be desirable. SHRM short for Strategic human resource management is the concept of managing workers in an organization through human resource management (HRM as well as HRD), with the main emphasis of attaining strategic goals of the organization. So, SHRM can be defined as â€Å"the linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility† (Truss & Gratton, 1994). Human Resource management always forms an integral part of the organization and when it becomes a strategic partner in the formulation of the company’s strategies, the concept of Strategic Human Resource Management is initiated. That is, if a company follows SHRM, the activities of the Human Resource Department such as recruiting, training and rewarding personnel will mainly border on achieving the strategic goals of the organization. In short, the HRD should function effectively to produce the best workers, who co uld produce the best results for the organization. So, this concept of SHRM could produce optimum results for the organization like Galactic Enterprises Group particularly Galactic Office Furniture (GOF) and the employees working in it.

Fashion photography and lens based images Essay

Fashion photography and lens based images - Essay Example The essay "Fashion photography and lens based images" analyzes the photography in fashion. Compared to other forms of photography, commercial photography is generally carried out by a photographer in order to sell the images. This stands in contrast to art based photography that is more aesthetic in character. Commercial photography in itself has diversified into a number of different applications that involve retail, wholesale and professional uses. Images are a powerful method of moving ideas from one person or situation to a wider audience. One of the more prominent features of images is their ability to carry the same idea to a wider audience. For this reason commercial photography has been used widely for advertising various kinds of themes and ideas. Perhaps one of the more distinguished forms of commercial photography in use for distributing ideas to the wider audience is fashion photography. Companies dealing with fashion products require for their products to be shown to the wider audience. Photography represents one of the easiest methods to move such ideas across the manufacturing table to the audience that actually wants to buy the product. However, unlike other forms of advertisements mired in photography, fashion photography tends to differ in more than one respect. One of the more prominent differentiation between fashion photography and other forms of advertising photography is the use of human models in order to provoke want. The primary focus of fashion photography.

O'Brien v. Ohio State University Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

O'Brien v. Ohio State University - Assignment Example The researcher states that to be absolved in the eyes of the law, University had to prove that OBriens actions, which were in violation of the contract, in fact, caused severe damage to the reputation of the University. The court found that OBriens act of lending a sum of $6000 to a recruit did not do material damage the university’s reputation. Jim O’Brien won the case and received about $2.5 million in damages. If the judge had interpreted that OBriens actions caused serious harm to the good name of the Ohio State University then they would most certainly have rejected the plaintiff’s claim. For instance, if they had discovered that Jim O’Brien had a history of breaching the University contract, then the court’s decision might have gone the other way. Ohio State had to prove that Jim O’Brien’s actions have caused their name significant bad reputation. However, the Ohio Court of Claims concluded that O’Brien’s actions an d his breach were not material to cause his termination. The weakening aspect of Ohio States case was they relied too much on specific contractual language. They put too much stress on the wording of the contract that OBrien would be breaking the terms of the contract if he breaks NCAA rules. Moreover, he was also supposed to report any breach that could have happened which he was aware of, and he had reasonable cause that a violation, in fact, had occurred. Jim all Brian failed to report this loan for almost five years. The NCAA rules clearly state that the staff member or the institution itself cannot give financial aid or any such benefit to recruits. This decision is a wake-up call for other colleges. It would be wise for the parties to such future agreement to be extra careful in adequately detailing the terms of the agreement, however, the analysis of materiality is a complicated task that hugely depends on the circumstances.

Reviews of education papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reviews of education papers - Essay Example The level of competence of children is reviewed and criticized by Buckingham in order to identify the appropriateness of debates used for media regulation in Britain and whether this regulation is justified in accordance with existing research on children and media literacy (Buckingham, 2005, p.2). In order to achieve the targets described above, Buckingham reviews the recent media regulation in Britain – emphasis is given to the Communications Act of 2003. The scope and the rules including in the above Act are criticized by Buckingham making reference to the actual characteristics and needs of education; At the next level, the interaction between media and children is analyzed – using the example of the potential negative effects of advertising on children’s social and eating behaviour. Relevant literature is also employed focusing on the following issues: a) the potential role of the state in the protection of children from the negative effects of advertising, b) how the responsibility of parents and teachers would be fairer distributed in regard to the protection of children from media, c) whether the concept of responsibility is appropriately interpreted today. The above tools used by Buckingham are considered as quite effective taking into considerati on the complexity and the demands of the issue under discussion. Moreover the findings of the research described above effectively support the Buckingham’s view that the term of competence – as used in the context of current media literacy – should be reviewed; children cannot be viewed as adults, an approach often promoted by the media. Rossi (2006) has tried to identify the nature and the elements of Australian identity; his research has led him to the conclusion that Australian identity does not exist – at least as a unique concept; rather the elements of this identity can be identified in various cultural and social events and

Contracts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contracts - Assignment Example The appellant proved that Woods did not seek an equivalent request for her explicit promise. In addition, she did not make any requests for any proceeds from Wood in a manner that would have provided a sense of her â€Å"consideration†, which was vital for the validity of the contract. In light of this, the court established that even though, Wood failed to create a binding contract by not seeking the input of the other party, it was naturally implicit for the party to conduct himself in a reasonable manner by delivering half of the proceeds he was to obtain. The primary rationale behind the ruling was that for a contractual term to be deemed as implicit, they must be very clear to validate the contract. This means that in common law, parties to a contract must foster a relationship that undercuts formalism of the document signing process. The English case law of Chandler v Webster [1904] 1 KB 493 involved frustration in the performance of contracts. Mr. Webster entered into an agreement with Mr. Chandler, in which the latter party would have an accommodation on a strategic street to witness the Kings installation on June 26 1902. In the initial agreement, the tenant was supposed to pay 141 £ 15s. Mr. Chandler had rented the room on behalf of another party who was not impressed by it; besides, the party could not use it due to other commitments elsewhere. In light of these changes, Mr. Chandler paid  £100 on June 19 and requested Mr. Webster to raise money using part of the room, and promised to settle the shortfall in a letter dated June 10, if any occurred under the new arrangement. The King became unwell prompting the cancellation of the event (McKendrick 730). The High Court ruled that the claimant could not reclaim the  £100, and that his letter dated 10th June was clear enough that he would only settle the balance after the ceremony. The defendant was also disbarred

Description of IT Methodology Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Description of IT Methodology - Coursework Example Quantitative research explores and describes facts quantitatively while qualitative research explores facts in a more qualitative manner. For the present research project, both qualitative and quantitative approaches have been employed. The data was evaluated using a quantitative approach and the attributes of the data were evaluated through a qualitative approach. The qualitative approach has also been used to scrutinize the various approaches to data mining. As per the requirements of this project, qualitative research was conducted in accordance with the objectives. This research was carried out to formulate the questions to be asked by the subjects. The subjects were the medical personnel of Abu Dhabi police hospital. The questions were based on diabetes and they were planned so as to enable the gathering of appropriate data for fulfilling the objectives of the present project. Qualitative research was carried out using books, the web, and other sources. The questions asked and t he answers obtained for the questions have been listed in appendix 1 at the end of the document. The data set obtained after analyzing the answers given by the medical staff was collected through data mining. The data was then examined. This is the quantitative aspect of the research project. Qualitative and quantitative research methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. The utility of each method depends on the objectives of the research. 2.2. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research The major advantage of qualitative research is that the analysis is credible and it requires thoughtful processing of the data to derive a comprehensive conclusion from it. The disadvantage of this kind of research is that it is based only a limited amount of information and that the conclusions derived from the data may vary depending the individual’s ideas and thought process. Advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research The major advantage of quantitative research is that it is cheaper. The data for the research can be acquired easily and compared with other research. The disadvantage of quantitative research is that some types of data may not be easy to get or the data obtained could be incomplete in some aspects. In this research project, it was difficult to obtain medical data due to concerns related to privacy. The quantitative research was based on the data obtained from the hospitals in the UAE. Sequential Language was used to alter the acquired data. This step was required in order to test the objectives of this project. Despite the difficulty in obtaining medical data, the entire project is based on collected data. Review of literature and creation of data file A literature review was carried out before carrying out further research. All kinds of publications including journals, books, textbooks, and online sources that detailed information on data mining were intensively reviewed. Aspects of data mining and their methods were studied and applied to information on diabetes. A data spreadsheet by the name Diabetes.arff was designed keeping the information on diabetes in view. The quality of the acquired data was examined and data mining algorithms then applied to the file containing the collected data. Data processing The data on diabetes obtained from various sources along with information obtained from the

Christmas Carol Essay Example for Free

Christmas Carol Essay A Christmas Carol focuses on a very mean character called Ebenezer Scrooge, who unnaturally receives a chance to make amends for his actions towards his clients. Life in Britain in the 1800s was very dark and gloomy, also its population was increasing rapidly. At this time and age, Britains industrial revolution was in full flow, thus making Britains population explode. Charles dickens had uncountable financial problems and was in in huge dept. In addition to this, in the fall of 1843 dickens and his wife were expecting their fifth child. Supporting his large family was difficult for Dickens. Requests for money from his family and a large mortgage had left Dickens seriously short of cash. In a way Dickens most cherished and most read books was created as a result of his own desperate need of money. Charles Dickens routinely walked the city streets, 10 or 20 miles at a time, observing the life. The descriptions in his writing seem like an exact replica of what he observed and experienced during these times. Evidence of this shown in the text. Descriptions such as a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, may show how Charles Dickens might have behaved when he had his desperate money problems. In this essay, I will be discussing the development of Ebenezer Scrooges character in Christmas Carol whilst going through each stave. Stave 1 clearly introduces Scrooges character to the reader. At the beginning of the stave, the first description we see is where it says: The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker and the mourner. Scrooge signed it. From this text the reader can already comprehend that scrooge is a man who only takes credit for himself and that he despises spending money on other people. Another description presented by the text tells the reader that there is something about Scrooges life style that makes him very unpopular with the locals. Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks My dear Scrooge how are you This makes it crystal clear that scrooge is obviously not a nice person, thus making the locals shun his presence. Scrooges cold and cruel actions to people result in Marleys Ghost appearing in Scrooges home. The ghost warns Scrooge that if he does not change his way of life, he will end up loosing everything and becoming just like Marley, who is dead and bound up in chains. In the second section or stave 2 of the novel, even though Marleys ghost had gone, its presence was having an effect on Scrooge. Marleys ghost bothered him extremely Since no one has ever been close to changing Scrooges personality, this text shows a slight alteration in Scrooges character. In this stave, Scrooge is visited by another ghost who says to represent Christmas past. This ghost shows Scrooge his early life and how much he has changed. After Scrooge has witnessed his passed life and actions, Scrooge is moved with regret. I wish Just these two words are very significant as they show a huge positive development in Scrooges character, which suggests that Scrooge is willing and hoping to change his cruel ways, and diminish descriptions of himself such as: To see a heightened and excited face would have been a surprise Scrooges life is full of negative descriptions like this and he wished to make amends for his past actions. Scrooge then says something to the ghost that is very, very unusual: There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night, I would like to give him something. This is probably the first time that Scrooge has ever shown any affection for anyone, which shows that the presence of the ghosts are developing Scrooges character in a divine way. In stave 3 of the novel Scrooge is visited by yet another ghost who says to represent Christmas present. This ghost shows Scrooge how other families, such as the clerks and the Cratchits. Scrooge sees that even though the Cratchits are very poor, they can have a high quality of life and be happy at Christmas. Earlier on in the novel Scrooge says a cold blooded thing concerning one of the Cratchits son called Tiny Tim who looks very frail and scrawny and much too vulnerable to the hands of death: If he be like to die he had better do it and decrease the surplus population. Scrooges cold heart was so uncaring, that he thought that the death of a person was a benefit or an advantage to people. However, when the ghost showed Scrooge this family, his reminiscence of his past sayings had a different effect on him: Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the spirit and was overcome with penitence and grief. Now that Scrooge has viewed that people can be happy without a lot of money, his former way of thinking has now disgusted him. Scrooge has now probably for the first time accepted that his way of life is detestable and needs to be changed: All the things that ghost has shown him came upon his mind. He softened If he would have listened he might have cultivated the kindness of life. This shows a further development of Scrooges character as his hard headedness had been softened and also, he now desires to have a personal quality of kindness. In stave 4 of the novel Scrooge is visited by the last of the three ghosts who represents Christmas future. In this stave scrooge is shown a group of people who are discussing a very unpopular mans death. Scrooge is puzzled by the conversation of the group until the ghost silently exposes the secret when he shows Scrooge a gravestone with his own name on it. The description of the ghost in the beginning of the stave definitely offers a hint that Scrooges future will be cold and dark just as his past life: Shrouded in a deep black garment It seemed to scatter gloom and mystery These phrases are fitting descriptions of a ghost that will bring news that is associated with death. The tone of this stave is also set with words such as; Shadow and dark room. These words give further evidence that a death orientated future awaits Scrooge. Scrooge is horrified when he sees his own gravestone, but to further upset him, he sees that his death is un-watched, un-wept and un-cared for. the phrase neglected grave shows that no one cared if Scrooge died because of the extent of the his cold-hearted actions towards people. This event made Scrooge release all of his emotions. I hope to live to be another man His future death makes Scrooge resolve to change his way of cold way of life into a much more kind, new man. Stave 5 shows the finale of Ebenezer Scrooges development of character. In this stave Scrooge is shown to be a completely different man. For example, instead of sacking one of his employees for being late, he raises his salary another example is that the story says that Scrooge became like a second father to Tiny Tim. In this stave there is also evidence that points to the outcome of the story as the mood of the novel suddenly changes from a dark and gloomy mood to a more happy mood. Words such as Bright and Golden sunlight show that something marvellous and positive is going to happen to Scrooge and his character. These hints are fulfilled when the text says: Glowing with good intentions Obviously from this, the reader can see that Scrooge is a changed man, and is exploding with good deeds and emotions, and instead of planning to do evil he is planning to do something obliging. Language devises such as similes are also used to show Scrooges development in character: As happy as an angel This simile is used to further emphasize the alteration in Scrooges personality. Since Angels are portrayed to be perfect heavenly creatures it is obvious to the reader that Scrooge has made some miraculous changes from being a cold hearted, uncaring and evil man into a loving, kind and angelic new man. In my personal opinion, I believe that the presence of the ghosts were like stepping stones to the development of Scrooges character. It seemed to me that the lessons taught by the ghosts became more and more severe as Scrooges mind gradually softens.

Leadership Style Development

Leadership Style Development LEADERSHIP A process that influences other people to achieve an objective and guides the company in a way to make it more coherent and cohesive is called leadership. You can also define leadership as a process of leading people in the right direction in order to achieve goals. LEADERSHIP STYLES Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Whether you are managing a team at work, captaining your sports team or leading a major corporation, your leadership style is crucial to your success. Consciously, or subconsciously, you will no doubt use some of the leadership styles. The style that individuals use will be based on a combination of their beliefs and values and preferences , as well as the organizational culture and norms. The leadership styles we look at here are: Autocratic leadership Bureaucratic leadership Charismatic leadership Democratic leadership Laissez faire leadership people oriented leadership Servant leadership Task-oriented leadership Transactional leadership Transformational leadership Situational Leadership 1. Autocratic Leadership: This is often considered the classical approach. It is one in which the manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. The manager does not consult employees, nor are they allowed to give any input. Employees are expected to obey orders without receiving any explanations. The motivation environment is produced by creating a structured set of rewards and punishments. 2. Bureaucratic Leadership: Bureaucratic leadership is where the manager manages by the book ¨ everything must be done according to procedure or policy. If it isnt covered by the book, the manager refers to the next level above him or her. This manager is really more of a police officer than a leader. He or she enforces the rules. This is a very appropriate style for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances or at heights) or where large sums of money are involved (such as cash-handling). 3. Charismatic Leadership: A charismatic leadership style can appear similar to a transformational leadership style, in that the leader injects huge doses of enthusiasm into his or her team, and is very energetic in driving others forward. The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through dint of personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority. It is interesting to watch a Charismatic Leader working the room as they move from person to person. They pay much attention to the person they are talking to at any one moment, making that person feel like they are, for that time, the most important person in the world. 4. Democratic Leadership Style: The democratic leadership style is also called the participative style as it encourages employees to be a part of the decision making. The democratic manager keeps his or her employees informed about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities. This style requires the leader to be a coach who has the final say, but gathers information from staff members before making a decision. Democratic leadership can produce high quality and high quantity work for long periods of time. 5. Laissez-Faire Leadership Style: This French phrase means leave it be and is used to describe a leader who leaves his or her colleagues to get on with their work. It can be effective if the leader monitors what is being achieved and communicates this back to his or her team regularly. The laissez-faire leadership style is also known as the hands-off ¨ style. It is one in which the manager provides little or no direction and gives employees as much freedom as possible. All authority or power is given to the employees and they must determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on their own. Most often, laissez-faire leadership works for teams in which the individuals are very experienced and skilled self-starters. 6. People-Oriented Leadership or Relations-Oriented Leadership: This style of leadership is the opposite of task-oriented leadership: the leader is totally focused on organizing, supporting and developing the people in the leaders team. A participative style, it tends to lead to good teamwork and creative collaboration. However, taken to extremes, it can lead to failure to achieve the teams goals. 7. Servant Leadership: The servant leader serves others, rather than others serving the leader. Serving others thus comes by helping them to achieve and improve. When someone, at any level within an organization, leads simply by virtue of meeting the needs of his or her team, he or she is described as a leader. In many ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership, as the whole team tends to be involved in decision-making. The leader has responsibility for the followers. Leaders have a responsibility towards society and those who are disadvantaged. People who want to help others best do this by leading them. 8. Task-Oriented Leadership: A highly task-oriented leader focuses only on getting the job done, and can be quite autocratic. He or she will actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plan, organize and monitor. However, as task-oriented leaders spare little thought for the well-being of their teams, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic leadership, with difficulties in motivating and retaining staff. Task-oriented leaders can benefit from an understanding of the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid, which can help them identify specific areas for development that will help them involve people more. 9. Transactional Leadership: The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. 10. Transformational Leadership: A person with this leadership style is a true leader who inspires his or her team with a shared vision of the future. Transformational leaders are highly visible, and spend a lot of time communicating. They dont necessarily lead from the front, as they tend to delegate responsibility amongst their teams. While their enthusiasm is often infectious, they can need to be supported by detail people. Working for a Transformational Leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience. They put passion and energy into everything. They care about you and want you to succeed. 11. Using the Right Style-Situational Leadership: While the Transformation Leadership approach is often a highly effective style to use in business, there is no one right way to lead or manage that suits all situations. When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single preferred style, such as using transactional or transformational methods. In practice, as they say, things are not that simple. Appropriate Style of Leadership for 21st Century: A good leader will find him or herself switching instinctively between styles according to the people and work they are dealing with. This is often referred to as situational leadership. For example, the manager of an Avalon Aviation Academy trains new candidates using a bureaucratic style to ensure operatives know the procedures that achieve the right standards of product quality and workplace safety. The same manager may adopt a more participative style of leadership when working on production line improvement with his or her team of supervisors. There are some forces that influence the style to be used after assessing the questions: How much time is available? Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect? Who has the information you, your employees, or both? How well your employees are trained and how well you know the task. Internal conflicts. Stress levels. Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple? As the new era has been started with the advancement in the technology field and there is no single style is better in 21st century. The best leadership style of 21st century would be the mix of all or some of the above stated styles as per the scenario of the organization. Even selecting the appropriate style for leadership these qualities should be in the leader to manage the organization. A good leader uses all the above styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include: Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee. Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything! The employee needs to take ownership of her job. Also, the situation might call for you to be at other places, doing other things. Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative). The most appropriate mix of leadership styles is Democratic, Servant and Transformational Leadership. The most using style in all the organization of the world. But there are also some situations where the leadership style is successful in each situation. These are followings: In some situations, an autocratic or authoritarian style is appropriate: In critical situations, where one leader is required When the leader has specific knowledge that others do not In some situations, a delegative style is appropriate: If a team member knows more than you do about a task When work loads and deadlines are pressing (shared success builds team cohesion) In most situations, a participative style is appropriate: Especially when team members understand the objectives and their role in the task To gain engagement and buy-in from all team members (it is noted that participative decision making is different to participative leadership and not always possible) Question: How come a leader can be effective in one organization move to another and seems to fail miserably discuss? A good leader is one who does not simply control his team members. Instead he sets himself as a role model. The task of the leader is to take the people from where they are to where they have not been. A leader need not be a superman. These are the following situation in which different style of leadership fail. The reasons behind these are Autocratic Leadership Style: It is the most effective style to use in these situations:- New, untrained employees who do not know which tasks to perform or which procedures to follow Effective supervision can be provided only through detailed orders and instructions Employees do not respond to any other leadership style There are high-volume production needs on a daily basis There is limited time in which to make a decision A managers power is challenged by an employee The area was poorly managed Work needs to be coordinated with another department or organization But is it will be miserably failed in these situations in the same organization or in the different organization Employees become tense, fearful, or resentful Employees expect to have their opinions heard Employees begin depending on their manager to make all their decisions There is low employee morale, high turnover and absenteeism and work stoppage Democratic Leadership Style: The democratic leadership style is most effective when The leader wants to keep employees informed about matters that affect them. The leader wants employees to share in decision-making and problem-solving duties. The leader wants to provide opportunities for employees to develop a high sense of personal growth and job satisfaction. There is a large or complex problem that requires lots of input to solve. Changes must be made or problems solved that affect employees or groups of employees. You want to encourage team building and participation. Democratic leadership style should be failed badly in these circumstances where There is not enough time to get everyones input. Its easier and more cost-effective for the manager to make the decision. The business cant afford mistakes. The manager feels threatened by this type of leadership. Employee safety is a critical concern. Bureaucratic Leadership: This style can be effective when the organization of this type. Employees are performing routine tasks over and over. Employees need to understand certain standards or procedures. Employees are working with dangerous or delicate equipment that requires a definite set of procedures to operate. Safety or security training is being conducted. Employees are performing tasks that require handling cash. This style is ineffective in organizational environments where Work habits form that is hard to break, especially if they are no longer useful. Employees lose their interest in their jobs and in their fellow workers. Employees do only what is expected of them and no more. Laissez-Faire Leadership Style: This is an effective style where behavior of employees in an organization is like these Employees are highly skilled, experienced, and educated. Employees have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own. Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants are being used Employees are trustworthy and experienced. This style should seem failed when the following situations falls. It makes employees feel insecure at the unavailability of a manager. The manager cannot provide regular feedback to let employees know how well they are doing. Managers are unable to thank employees for their good work. The manager doesnt understand his or her responsibilities and is hoping the employees can cover for him or her. Situational Leadership: These are the most effective approach for you in a situation where; The skill levels and experience of the members of your team. The work involved (routine or new and creative). The organizational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous). You own preferred or natural style. Question: Compare and contrast the leadership of Tony Blair and Pervaiz Musharraf.Use relevant course module in your discussion. Do you think these leaders can continue their success? Give reasons. Tony Blair as a Democratic Leader Tony Blair (Anthony Charles Lynton Blair) was born in May 6, 1953, Edinburgh, Scotland but spent much of his childhood in Durham, England. He studied law at Oxford and then practiced law until 1983. Blair was soon a rising Leader of what became known as the new Labour movement, with positions more centrist on fiscal affairs and social issues like crime. He became leader of the Labour Party in 1994, and three years later Blair was 44, making him the youngest British prime minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812. Blair was re-elected in Parliamentary elections in 2001 and 2005. He has always described himself as a social democrat and no doubt.he is a democratic leader of Labour Party. He led the party to victories in the 1997, 2001, and 2005 elections. He made several decisions with the mutual consulting of his party and with the coordination of opposition party. Blairs government implemented a number decision in his regime as listed below 1997 manifesto pledges, Introducing the minimum wage, Human Rights Act Freedom of Information Act Regional devolution, Establishing the Scottish Parliament, The National Assembly for Wales, The Northern Ireland Assembly. Control of interest rates to the Bank of England, Good Friday Agreement. War on Terror in 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. In his first six years, Blair had British troops ordered into battle five times Rights for gay people in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 Tony Blair as Prime Minister has played a significant role in †¢ Foreign Policy Blair argued that the relation with US is in Britains interest to protect and strengthen the bond regardless of who is in the White House. However, one-sided compromising personal and political closeness tends to serious discussion of the term Poodle-ism in the media. †¢ Security policy Blair introduced anti-terrorism and ID card legislation.Under Blairs government the amount of new legislation increased which attracted criticism. Blair increased police powers by adding to the number of arrestable offences, compulsory DNA recording and the use of dispersal orders. Relationship as a Democratic Leader : Tony Blair made relation with the UK parliament and other world role as a democratic leader Relationship with Parliament As a diplomatic leader,he replaced the then twice-weekly 15-minute sessions of Prime Ministers Questions held on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a single 30-minute session on Wednesdays. In addition to PMQs, Blair held monthly press conferences at which he fielded questions from journalists. Relation with other leaders of World Blair had a deep feeling for Israel as he born in part from his faith. Blair met Michael Levy a pop music mogul and fundraiser. He had been cool towards the right-wing Netanyahu governmenta and Ehud Barak, with whom Blair forged a close relationship. He also responded positively to Arafat, whom he had met thirteen times since becoming prime minister, regarding him as essential to future negotiations. Blair forged friendships with several conservative European leaders, including Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Angela Merkel of Germany and more recently Nicolas Sarkozy of France. Post-Prime Ministerial career Diplomacy After resignation from his post of Prim minister he also served as a leader in the diplomatic envoy in Middle East for the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia. In May 2008, Tony Blair announced a new plan for peace and for Palestinian rights, based heavily on the ideas of the Peace Valley plan. Private sector In January 2008, it was confirmed that Blair would be joining investment bank JPMorgan Chase in a senior advisory capacity and that he would advise Zurich Financial Services on climate change. Blair also gives lectures for a 90-minute speech. Yale University announced on 7 March 2008 that Blair will teach a course on issues of faith and globalisation at the Yale Schools of Management and Divinity as a Howland distinguished fellow during the 2008-09 academic year Charity On 14 November 2007, Blair launched the Tony Blair Sports Foundation, which aims to increase childhood participation in sports activities, especially in the North East of England, where a larger proportion of children are socially excluded, and to promote overall health and prevent childhood obesity. Honours Blair is presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. On 22 May 2008, Blair received an honorary law doctorate from Queens University Belfast for distinction in public service and roles in the Northern Ireland peace process. On 13 January 2009, Blair was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in recognition of exemplary achievement and to convey the utmost esteem of the American people, War on Terror and his role in achieving peace in Northern Ireland. Downfall of Blair Leadership Blair has no doubut a good leader ship qualities as a democratic leader but due to some decesion made in his tenur of Prime minister,the graph of his popularity go down. 1. Relation with US Government As the United Kingdom has its own place in the world but due to one sided relation with US government the, Blair was criticized by the public as well as other (Media Foreign leader). Nelson Mandela said that Blair as the U.S. foreign minister. Blair has also often openly been referred to as Bushs poodle. Kendall Myers, a senior analyst at the State Department, reportedly said that he felt a little ashamed of Bushs treatment of the Prime Minister and that his attempts to influence U.S. policy were typically ignored: Anthony Seldon revealing conversation between Bush and Blair, with the former addressing the latter as Yo, Blair was recorded when they did not know. Blair was sometimes paying insufficient attention both to the views of his own Cabinet colleagues and to those of the House of Commons.Due to this,he was criticised as not that of a prime minister and head of government, which he was, but of a president and head of state-which he was not. Nobel prizewinning playwright Harold Pinter and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad, have accused Blair of war crimes. 2. Invasion of Iraq The participation in the invasion on Iraq in 2003 due to the reason the weapons of mass destruction.Blair strongly supported United States foreign policy rarding invasion of Iraq. As a result, he faced criticism over the policy itself and the circumstances in which it was decided upon-especially his claims that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, which have not been discovered. 3. Israel-Lebanon Conflict Blair was criticized for his failure to immediately call for a ceasefire in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, with members of his cabinet openly criticizing Israel. Jack Straw, the Leader of the House of Commons and former Foreign Secretary stated that Israels actions risked destabilizing all of Lebanon. Significant number of ministers pressured Blair to publicly criticize Israel over the scale of deaths and destruction in Lebanon. Yes, of course this leader can continue their success by using these; Keep communication open: If the marketplace of ideas is going to be open for business, everyone needs to feel comfortable enough to put their ideas on the table. The democratic leadership style thrives when all the considerations are laid out for everyone to examine. Focus the discussion: Its hard to keep unstructured discussion productive. Its the leaders job to balance being open to ideas and keeping everything on-topic. If the conversation begins to stray, remind everyone of the goal on hand and then steer it back. Make sure to take note of off-topic comments and try to return to them when they are pertinent. Be ready to commit: In the democratic leadership style, you get presented with so many possibilities and suggestions that it can be overwhelming and difficult to commit. But as the leader, when the time comes, you have to choose and do so with conviction. The team depends on the clear and unambiguous mandates to be committed. Respect the ideas: You and your team might not agree with every idea, and thats ok. It is important, however, that you create a healthy environment where those ideas are entertained and considered not maligned or the flow of ideas will slow to a trickle. Explain, but dont apologize: You want the advocates of the solutions that were not selected to understand that their thoughts were considered and had validity, but that ultimately you had strong reasons to go a different direction. Its important that the decision be communicated, but you should not apologize for deciding on what you think. Pervaiz Mascara as an Autocratic Leader General (ret) Pervez Musharraf, born 11 August 1943 in Nehar Wali Haveli meaning House Next to the Canal, situated in Kacha Saad Ullah Mohallah, Daryaganj in Delhi, British India, is a Pakistani politician and military figure who served as the tenth President of Pakistan (2001-2008) and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army (1998-2007).He took power on 12 October 1999, following a nonviolent military coup and subsequent ouster of the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The military-led government stated its intention to restructure the political, economic and electoral systems. On May 12, 2000, Pakistans 12 member Supreme Court unanimously validated the October 1999 coup and granted Musharraf executive and legislative authority for 3 years from the coup date endorsing his governance. In 1961, he entered the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, graduating 11th in his class. He was commissioned on April 19, 1964 in the Artillery Regiment. Later he joined the Special Services Group and was posted to Field Artillery Regiments. A graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, and the National Defence College, Rawalpindi, Musharraf is also a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies of the United Kingdom.During his tenure has done several deceision as an Autocratic Leader. Economy of Pakistan come out of the list of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Improvement of fiscal policies and macro-economic achievements. Space Program, which was last frozen in 1996 unfreezed in his tenure as well as new established a separated fund for SUPARCO to developed its high-powered HRLV, SLV, PSLV projects. War on Terror in 2001 invasion of Afghanistan Enlightened Moderation as an alternative to Islamic Poverty alleviation, the poverty level dropped from 34% to 24% and the overall living standard improves dramatically. Exceptional setup of 47 universities, including Virtual University Womens Protection Bill on 15 November 2006 Ethnic Minorities Rights, appointed a Christian, Derick Cyprian, as a federal minister.In August 2005, Justice Rana Bhagwandas (a Hindu) was sworn in as acting Chief Justice of Pakistan. Corruption in country decreases, as per Transparency International, from 11th most corrupt country to fall down to 41st. and In 2007, according to Transparency International, Pakistan is clearly ranked 138th out of 179 countries. Relationship as a Democratic Leader : India Musharraf was Chief of Army Staff at the time of Mujahideen incursions into India from Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the summer of 1999. Although Pakistan claimed that these were Kashmiri freedom fighters based in Indian-controlled Kashmir, later developments showed that they were Pakistani paramilitary soldiers backing up the separatists on the mountain top. Kashmir dispute The issue of Baglihar Dam at river chenab Disput of Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch, Siachin glacier, issues of Gurdaspur and Ferozepurs status, China Musharraf accused Western leaders and media of politicizing the 2008 Summer Olympics by criticizing Chinas human rights record and its policy in Tibet. He also said he would cooperate with China, which is a historical ally to Pakistan, in the fight against terrorism. During President Musharrafs government, China for the first time allowed a pakistani president access to one of its most advanced and secret military research facilities. Saudi Arabia Pakistans relationship with Saudi Arabia continues to grow. After his coup in October 1999, Riyadh was the first foreign capital General Pervez Musharraf visited, to signify the importance he gave to PAK-Saudi relations. Both countries has common view on international issues such as Kashmir, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Irans nuclear program, Afghanistan and reform of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). President Musharraf honored King Abdullah by conferring upon him Pakistans highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, in a colorful investiture ceremony at the presidential palace. Honor In 2004, the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf was nominated in the final list of hopefuls for that years prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. It is not the very first time that a suggestion of awarding the Noble Peace Prize to President Musharraf has been made. Pakistani President in fighting terrorism against Al Qaeda and other extremist groups within Pakistan, several important figures and organisations have also begun supporting General Musharraf as the strongest entrant for the Noble Peace Prize. Downfall of Musharraf Leadership as a President Some of the issues cause the downfall of Musharrafs government are listed below. Suspension and reinstatement of the Chief Justice: On 9 March 2007, Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, pressing corruption charges against him and filed a reference against the Chief Justice, in the Supreme Judicial Council Musharrafs moves sparked protests among Pakistani lawyers. On 12 March 2007, lawyers started Judicial Activism across Pakistan Lal Masjid siege The Musharraf government was forced to act against the Lal Masjid militants, after they formally announced the establishment of a parallel judicial system. The pro-Taliban Lal Masjid administration vowed to enforce Islamic laws in the federal capital and threatened to unleash a wave of suicide bombers if the government took any action to counter it. Emergency declared in Pakistan On 3 November 2007 Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan. He suspended the Constitution, imposed State of Emergency, and fired the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Murder of Benazir Bhutto On 28 December,2007, suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto also creates hurdles to Musharraf and pakistani people becomes against his governement. Resignation from the Army On 2 Octo

Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings Introduction Climate change is a major world issue, average temperatures have risen across the globe by 1oC between 1906 and 2005 with a more rapid increase over the last 50 years (Conserve Energy Future, 2017], this rise has been attributed to global warming (McGrath, 2017). Emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4) contribute to this global warming and are known as greenhouse gases (NASA, 2017), though the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States of America stated in 2017 that CO2 was not a primary contributor to global climate change (McGrath, 2017). Energy use is a major producer of these greenhouse gases, governments around the world have put in place measures to reduce the production of these gases by introducing rules to improve energy efficiency (Conserve Energy Future, 2017]. In the UK energy use, can be broken down into 4 main areas, Transport, Domestic, Industrial and Services Sector (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 2016). This report will look at energy usage of buildings and techniques that can be utilised to improve a buildings energy efficiency. UK Energy Usage The breakdown of the UKs energy usage across the 4 main areas in 2015 was as follows (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 2016): Transport 40% Domestic 29% Industry 17% Services Sector 14% The fuels used to provide this energy were a mixture of Gas, Electricity, Solid fuels, Petroleum and Bioenergy (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 2016). Both industry and transport use large amounts of energy undertaking their processes be it production lines or the operation of various modes of transport such as trains or buses rather than the running of buildings (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 2016). Energy usage is fundamental to the operation of any building be it for lighting, heating, cooling, cooking or other services such as lifts (Wade, Pett and Ramsay, 2003), with most of this energy being provided by either gas or electricity (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 2016). Thus, Improving the energy efficiency of a building can considerable reduce the amount of energy that is used. Over the last 30 years there has been a considerable increase in energy usage by office blocks due to the rise in the use of technologies such as large computers and the increased use of air conditioning systems (Wade, Pett and Ramsay, 2003). In the service sector office buildings are second to retail units in the levels of energy that they consume, and these office buildings contribute to 1.1% of the UK CO2 emissions each year (Pothitou, Connaughton and Torriti, 2015). Figure 1: Energy Usage of a standard Office and Efficient Office, Source: (Knissel, 1999) To become more energy efficient a building needs to use less energy to undertake the same tasks or role (International Energy Agency, 2017), as figure 1 above shows, improvements from a standard office block to a super-efficient office block can reduce energy usage by 70% (Knissel, 1999) Lighting In a commercial office, the lighting uses up to 50% of all the electricity consumed (Irish Energy Centre, 1995) and 35% of the total the energy consumption of the building (Knissel, 1999). Lighting can be broken down into several types these being access lighting, task lighting, emergency lighting and effects lighting (Irish Energy Centre, 1995). For a building to become more energy efficient attention needs to be paid to the lighting design to reduce the level of usage, technological advances mean that improvements in the efficiencies of lighting can be done in several ways (Energy Saving Trust, 2017), some of these can also be applied to existing office buildings without too much work having to be undertaken other methods need major alterations to incorporate into older buildings and are more suited to new buildings or buildings going through major refurbishment (The Renewable Energy Hub, 2016). The simple replacement of existing lamps within light fittings can reduce energy usage, with more modern fluorescent tubes being 25% more energy efficient than older versions and compact fluorescent lamps using up to 75% less energy than an old tungsten lamps (Irish Energy Centre, 1995), these tungsten lamps having been invented over 100ÂÂ   years ago(Energy Saving Trust, 2017) Light Emitting Diodes lamps (LEDs) are also now available and are up to 80% more efficient than the tungsten lamps (Energy.gov, 2013), when invented in the 1960s LEDs were no more efficient than tungsten lamps it has only been in the last ten years that great improvements in their efficiency has been achieved (Energy.gov, 2013). This method of energy efficiency can be applied to existing buildings without too much trouble but does have a cost over and above normal maintenance costs of changing the lamps but by the energy saved the LED lamps can pay back their extra initial cost within 3 years. (Corkhill, 2014). Another area where lighting can be made more efficient is insuring that it is only used when required and that lights are turned out when not in use (Open Technology, 2016). The use of sensors such as proximity or absence detection also means that the lights come on automatically when occupied and turn off after a period of non-occupancy (Open Technology, 2016), the dis-advantages of this can that someone sitting still at a desk may not activate the sensor and the light may go out while they are still there. Office areas can also be divided into different lighting zones with different controls for each zone, lights then only need to be on in areas of the office that are occupied or being used (Knissel 1999) leading to further efficiency.ÂÂ   The use of daylight sensors to adjust the amounts of artificial light used when there is sufficient natural light helps reduce energy usage (Carbon Trust, 2017). This may be achieved by having lights that either switch off or dim depending on levels of natural light in an area and can be used alongside lighting zones so that the lights closest to the windows dim separately when the natural light levels increase (Open Technology, 2016). Dimming controls and timers can also be utilised to minimise energy usage, it may be that less lamps operate at a lower light level at certain times of the day such as during the evenings or night while cleaning of the office is being undertaken (Open Technology, 2016). The room layouts can also play a part in energy efficiency by positioning desks to make more use of natural light and by painting walls and ceilings light colours can maximise the effectiveness of the lights (Irish Energy Centre, 1995). Thermal Comfort All individuals working in an office want to feel comfortable and not to be either to hot or too cold no matter what time of the year it is (Seton, 2015). There are 6 factors which can affect the thermal comfort of people within an office environment, these can be broken down into environmental factors and personnel factors (HSE, 2016). The 4 environmental factors being Air Temperature, Air velocity, radiant temperature and relative humidity (Harish, 2017), the other 2 factors are personnel these being clothing and metabolic heat (HSE, 2016). The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) have identified several elements of a building that will affect the thermal environment these being items such as glazing, ventilation, air tightness, thermal mass, plant and equipment, waste heat along with working patterns, activities and workforce profile (Seton, 2015). CIBSE also provide recommendations on the temperatures levels, air supply and illuminance to provide a comfort level that will be acceptable to 80% of the occupants (Woods, 2015), this does though mean that there will be 20% that do not find it comfortable (Woods, 2015). Due to personnel preferences, it is not possible to find settings that are acceptable to all occupants and the recommendations are levels deemed to be a healthy office environment (HSE, 2016) Figure 2 CIBSE Comfort recommendations for Offices Conditions Temperature (Â °C) Air Supply per person (l/s/person) Illuminance Noise Rating (NR) Summer (Light Clothing) 22-25 8 500 35 Winter (Warm Clothing 21-23 8 500 35 Source: CIBSE Guide A: Environment Design 2015 (Woods, 2015) Many office blocks have heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) to maintain these comfort levels (Carbon Trust, 2017), figure 1 earlier in this report shows that in a standard office these systems use up to 42% of the all the energy consumed by the office block (Knissel, 1999). For the most efficient use of these HVACs systems it is important to design the buildings fabric to reduce the load imposed on these HVACs systems (Harish, 2017). For example, radiant temperature can involve both heat gain and heat loss through the structure, this is especially so near large windows, in these instances the structure can be designed with solar shading such as brise soleil or reflective blinds on elevations facing the sun to reduce solar heat gain (Harish, 2017). The windows can also be designed with triple glazed glass along with blinds that have thermal insulating properties to help reduce heat loss during the cooler months of the year (Harish, 2017). These measure help reduce the amount of work that either the cooling system or heating systems must undertake (Knissel, 1999), the disadvantage that any shading or blinds have is that they reduce the amount of natural light entering the building leading to the extra usage of artificial lighting. Heating in office buildings is usually provided by a central boiler (CIBO, 1997), the efficiency of the boiler can depend upon the fuel used, back in 1997 the typical energy efficiency for boilers based on fuel varied greatly as shown in figure 3. Figure 3 Typical Efficiency for New Boilers in 1997 Fuel Full Load Efficiency % Low Load Efficiency % Coal 85 75 Oil 80 72 Gas 75 70 Biomass 70 60 Source: (CIBO, 1997) Improvement in technology has meant boiler efficiency has greatly improved since 1997, micro combined heat and power (mCHP) boilers are now available for offices and domestic properties, prior to 2006 these were only economically available on extremely large scales (The Renewable Energy Hub, 2016). CHP boilers simultaneously generate useful heat and electricity making better use of the fuel being used (Ecoliving, 2017). Figure 4 Micro Combined Heat and Power Boiler Schematic. Source: (The Renewable Energy Hub, 2016). These combined heat and power boilers can be up to 98% efficient, with the electricity produced being either used by the building or returned to the main grid (The Renewable Energy Hub, 2016). A disadvantage of CHP is that it is only useful in a building that requires both hot water and electricity, if other methods are used for heating and hot water is only used for washing then a CHP is not practical (Dinneen, 2014). As well as improved efficiency of boilers and air conditioning systems better controls also help reduce energy usage, for every 1Â °C lower that the heating is run it reduces energy usage by up to 8% (Carbon Trust, 2017) so setting heating levels at the lower level of 21Â °C set by CIBSE rather than the upper winter level of 23oC can reduce the energy usage by up to 16%. In open plan areas controls to both heating and cooling should also not be accessible to the occupants as there could be instances where one individual turns up the heating in their area and another turns down the air conditioning in their zone and the two systems then try to work against each other (Carbon Trust, 2017). Some areas of a building such as computer hub rooms will require cooling all year due to the heat generated by the equipment within them (Wade, Pett and Ramsay, 2003), the use of a heat recovering system can be utilised to use this heat for other parts of the building reducing the load put on the heating systems and reducing the energy usage (Energytechs, 2017). These heats recovering units operate by using hot air from within the building to heat fresh cool air from the external environment (Energytechs, 2017) this warmed fresh air is then circulated around the building reducing the heating requirements (Wade, Pett and Ramsay, 2003) Figure 5 Heat Recovery Unit, Source: Energytechs, 2017 Conclusion Technology and energy efficiency of services for buildings is continually improving this can be seen by the advances in LED technology for lighting and the use of Combined Heat and Power boilers in smaller scale buildings that have advanced over the last 20 years (Wade, Pett and Ramsay, 2003). Buildings can only be built as energy efficient as the technology available at the time of construction, some energy efficiency measures can be installed later if the technology becomes available but this can be costly and disruptive (Wade, Pett and Ramsay, 2003) It is though important when considering energy efficiency of buildings services to ensure that comfort levels for occupants are maintained for the tasks they are undertaking and are not compromised to achieve great energy efficiency (Irish Energy Centre, 1995) Modern technology makes more use of automated controls to assist in improving energy efficiency within buildings, this helps to remove occupants interference with controls and the potentially unbalancing of the systems resulting in more energy usage. As already mentioned earlier in this report the guidance figures given by CIBSE will only be acceptable to 80% of the occupants (Woods, 2015) the other 20% will be looking to alter the settings to suit their requirements so good communication with the occupants on the reasons the strategy for control settings will help with the implementation of the energy efficiency measures (Irish Energy Centre, 1995). References Carbon Trust, 2017, [Online] Available at: https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/guides/energy-efficiency/lighting/ [Accessed on 15th March 2017] CIBO, 1997. Energy Efficiency Industrial Boiler Efficiency [Online] Available at: http://invenoinc.com/file/Energy-Efficieny-adn-Industrial-Boiler-Efficiency.pdf [Accessed on 25th March 2017] Conserve Energy Future, 2017. 35 Surprising Facts about Global Warming. [Online] Available at:ÂÂ   http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-global-warming-facts.php [Accessed on 14th March 2017] Corkhill, K. 2014. LED Payback Calculation [Online] Available at: http://www.jarvislights.com/led_payback_calculation_blog/ [Accessed on 23rd March 2017] Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 2016, Energy Consumption in the UK [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-consumption-in-the-uk [Accessed on 14th March 2017] Dinneen, P., 2014. Pros and Cons: Combined heat and Power (CHP) [Online] Available at: http://www.kinsley-group.com [Accessed 23rd March 2017] Ecoliving, 2017. What is CHP? [Online] Available at; http://www.ecolivinguk.com/combined-heat-power/what-is-chp/ [Accessed on 25th March 2017] Energy.gov, 2013. History of the light bulb [Online] Available at: https://energy.gov/articles/history-light-bulb [Accessed on 21st March 2017] Energy Saving Trust, 2017. Energy Efficient Lighting [Online] Available at: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/lighting [Accessed on 23rd March 2017] Energytechs, 2017. Heat Energy Recovery Ventilation [Online] Available at: http://energetechs.com/heat-recovery-ventilation/ [Accessed on 23rd March 2017] Harish, A., 2017. How to Improve Thermal comfort in an Office Environment. [Online] Available at: https://www.simscale.com/blog/2016/07/improve-thermal-comfort-office/ [Accessed on 21st March 2017] HSE, 2016. The six basic factors [Online] Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/thermal/factors.htm [Accessed on 21st March 2017] Irish Energy Centre, 1995, Energy Efficient lighting in OfficesÂÂ   [Online] Available at: http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Your_Business_Publications/Technology_Guides/Energy%20Efficient%20Lighting%20in%20Offices.pdf [Accessed on 15th March 2017] Knissel, J., 1999. Energy efficient Office Buildings [Online] Available at:- http://www.iwu.de/fileadmin/user_upload/dateien/energie/energy_efficient_office_buildings.pdf [Accessed on 23rd March 2017] McGrath, M., 2017. Extreme an Unusual Climate trends continue after record 2016 [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39329304 [Accessed on 21st March 2017] NASA, 2017. Global Climate Change, Vital Signs of the Planet [Online] Available at: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ [Accessed on 14th March 2014] Open Technology, 2016, Intelligent Lighting Controls [Online] Available at: http://www.opentechnologyuk.com/ligo/ [Accessed on 15th March 2017] Pothitou, M., Connaughton, J. and Torriti, J. 2015, Energy Demand Working practices in Office Buildings [Online] Available at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/tsbe/MaryPothitou_TSBE_Conference_Paper_2015.pdf [Accessed on 14th March 2017] Seton, 2015. Thermal Comfort in the workplace [Online] Available at: http://www.seton.co.uk/legislationwatch/article/thermal-comfort-workplace/ [Accessed on 21st March 2017] The Renewable Energy Hub, 2016. Micro Combined Heat and Power [Online] Available at: https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/micro-combined-heat-and-power-micro-chp-information/how-does-microchp-work-in-a-home-or-business.html#jump_21929 [Accessed on 25th March 2017] Wade, J., Pett, J. and Ramsay, L., 2003, Energy efficiency in offices: assessing the situation [Online] Available at: http://pett-projects.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ACE-Research-2003-05-Energy-Efficiency-in-offices-Assessing-the-situation-report1.pdf [Accessed on 14th March 2017] Woods, P., 2015. CIBSE Guide A: Environment Design 2015, LONDON: Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers.