Eric Rauchways Murdering McKinley Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Eric Rauchways Murdering McKinley - Essay Example Such a system thereby magnified some of the social challenges that the political regime appeared slow to resolve. The murder of President William McKinley was an epitome of the of social revolution portraying the urgency with which the populace wanted some of the social and economic challenges resolved as discussed in the analysis of Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley in the essay below. The historical masterpiece analyses the circumstances in the country prior to the murder of the president, the subsequent speedy apprehension and execution of his murderer, Leon Czolgosz1. The change in the political regime in the country thereafter ended the implementation of some of the policies formulated by McKinley and instigated the Roosevelt progressivism policies that the people believed would solve most of the social and economic problems thereby providing America with a progressive future by creating a conducive environment for the development of the economy. The murder of McKinley thus appears to have been engineered by his successors and the populists who succeeded the government soon after his death. The book analyses such thus providing more insights to the death and the influence of such to the development of the modern day political, economic and social structures in the United States. An industrial America would present better living conditions for the populace. The economy would grow rapidly and the states would grow, as different industries would begin operations thereby employing millions of America. The development of cities as a modern settlement pattern brought people together thereby intensifying integration in the society. However, the American society was grappling with serious social and economic issues that would stifle the industrial revolution. The inability of the different regimes prior to McKinley’s tenure

Is our Education System Failing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is our Education System Failing - Essay Example Research evidence seems to indicate the problem may be one of inappropriate measurement methods; however, a more detailed examination of American secondary schools indicates that although measurement methods might negatively affect our estimates about how much high schools are failing students, an underlying problem still exists and it needs to be corrected. This underlying problem with secondary schools is one that revolves around the concept of accountability, and a number of issues emerge from unaccountable schools. An important consideration to make when considering the success or failure of American secondary schools is the statistics involved with either side of the argument. A graduation rate is a good indicator of whether a specific school is successfully educating and preparing its students. Therefore, it is essential to see whether the statistical measurements of graduation are actually correct or not. Swanson (analyzes American graduation rates across the country, and offe rs a resource for better evaluating and measuring the graduation crisis. The analysis points to a clear role for public policy in improving the conditions and environmental circumstances in which American secondary schools operate. An important consequence of this is that â€Å"the findings here do tell us that there is a strong and very detrimental linkage between graduation rates and the environmental conditions that go along with factors like poverty and segregation† (Swanson, 2003, p. 35). Accordingly, the author of this report is convinced that incorrect concepts of graduation rates leads to incorrect views (and incorrect solutions) of the educational crisis. That is, by identifying the environmental circumstances surrounding failing schools, officials can be better prepared with â€Å"better knowledge† about how to fix the problem. However, ascribing poor graduation rates to environmental circumstances (such as poverty and segregation) is a point of view that mov es responsibility for failings away from the schools themselves. Swanson (2003) is suggesting that the only solutions to the graduation crisis can only come from successful interventions, which implies that internal changes to schools is not an effective strategy. But studies such as Chiang (2009) indicate that accountability pressure, which is defined as the â€Å"threat of sanctions on low-performing schools,† is not an effective tool when schools are able to manipulate the accountability system. Referencing claims like those made by Swanson (2003), Chiang (2009) argues that accountability systems within schools properly constructed and maintained make educational reforms more likely to generate test score gains. So, even if in fact American secondary schools are failing their students in terms of the students’ long-term benefits, improved accountability systems within schools will lessen the impact of environmental circumstances that decrease student performance. Fo r instance, in some cases, sanction threats prompted schools to increase spending on instructional technology, which improved student performance. Knowing that accountability is the best solution for making sure secondary schools do not fail their students, one might compare that result with additional studies where accountability is a problem

Comparison Of Building Vulnerability Assessment Methods Engineering Essay

Comparison Of Building Vulnerability Assessment Methods Engineering Essay A review of vulnerability assessment methods for buildings is conducted out with a view to evaluate their appropriateness for use in seismic risk assessment. A ranking scheme has been developed to score each vulnerability assessment method. The ranking considers general description of vulnerability, building response factors, variance in output, applicability and ease of use, which are the major characteristics for vulnerability assessment tools used in seismic risk assessment. A case study in the older portion of Dhaka city, Bangladesh has been conducted to investigate the efficiency of some state-of-the- art vulnerability assessment methods. The hybrid vulnerability scale, which uses a FEMA 310 and IITK GSDMA approaches score high in the ranking, whilst the other scales based on the Rapid Visual Screening FEMA 154, Euro Code 8, New Zealand Guidelines, Modified Turkish Method and NRCC perform differently in various weighting scenarios. However, it is found that none but the hybrid ( which includes the local site specific issues as well as the results from non destructive testing and experimental data) method effectively suits all the criteria essential for their use in seismic risk assessment, especially emphasis on physical vulnerability factors, applicability and variances in output. Keywords vulnerability assessments, physical vulnerable parameters, seismic risk assessment 1. Introduction Seismic risk assessment is a vital tool to manage the growing risk in the face of the ever-increasing exposure in highly seismic regions. Due to the changes in the built environment and continuously evolving seismic sciences, it is essential to refine the risk assessment modeling continuously. In particular, vulnerability of buildings to ground shaking is recognized as a key element in any seismic risk model (Spence et al. 2008). Therefore, seismic vulnerability assessment is an essential tool for governments and individuals to mitigate the consequences of earthquakes. Existing vulnerability assessment methodologies vary with various postulations proposed for the characterization and prediction of earthquake hazard and the methodology used to evaluate building regarding the hazard (FEMA 1999; Bertogg et al. 2002). The development of a region-wide seismic vulnerability assessment framework, such as FEMA 310 for the US (FEMA 1999), requires a unique vulnerability assessment tool to acc ommodate all the above mentioned issues. Within this paper, a comparison and critical review of existing vulnerability assessment methodologies for buildings is conducted out, with a view to their utilization in a region-wide seismic risk assessment. A hybrid method consisting of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1999) and IITK GSDMA (Durgesh 2005) has been set up to evaluate vulnerability, combining an analysis of building typologies with expert judgment. Background information on the most significant vulnerability assessment methods are provided in the paper together with their advantages and disadvantages for use in seismic risk assessment. Moreover, the seismic vulnerability for contemporary and historical 93 buildings in old Dhaka City, Bangladesh has been assessed as a case study to show the spatially distributed qualitative risk within the area with the help of different vulnerability assessment tools. Finally, a scoring method is proposed to qualitatively represent the relative rankings of the selected vulnerability assessment tools t o find out a suitable uniform approach to be used for seismic risk assessment. 2. Selection of suitable building classification system Vulnerability can be defined as the susceptibility of buildings to damage in presence of seismic ground motion (Hill and Rossetto 2008). The evaluation of building vulnerability is a basic part of any risk assessment methodology. An accurate, transparent and conceptually sound algorithm for assessing the seismic vulnerability of the building stock is one of the main ingredients in a seismic risk model and indeed over the past 30 years many tools and methodologies have been proposed for this purpose. This study takes an overview on some of the most noteworthy contributions in the field of vulnerability assessment and the key advantages and disadvantages of these procedures have been identified in order to distinguish the main characteristics of an ideal methodology (Calvi et al. 2006). In vulnerability studies, it is essential to differentiate various building types, since, different types of buildings tend to respond in a different way under similar ground motions (Tesfamariam and Sa atcioglu 2008). Hence, the buildings should be classified according to their similar dynamic properties, before the conducting a vulnerability assessment of an urban area. The parameters that influence the dynamic response of a structure to ground motion are well recognized, for example, in Euro code 8 (BSSC 2003; CEN 2004), and embrace the structures geometrical and material properties. A building classification system that considers a high-degree of segregation in vulnerability studies and an enhanced estimate of the financial losses, has been expressed elsewhere (Carvalho et al. 2002). This study focuses on the dominant building types of the Indian region (Alam et el. 2010), which comprises mainly of reinforced concrete buildings and masonry buildings. 3. Existing seismic vulnerability assessment methodologies: an overview Table 1 in Appendix A briefly describes each vulnerability assessment tool selected and the rationale for their selection. It is obvious that the review is not extensive; however, the tools have been selected for the predominant building classes as well as to the contemporary practices in seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings. From the literature, it is evident that, there is a lack of unified vulnerability assessment technique, which covers the entire local as well as the global parameters. To cover the location-specific physical components present in both the developed and the developing countries, a hybrid method has been formulated for the vulnerability assessment of existing structures incorporating FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) and IITK GSDMA (Durgesh 2005) methods. Other vulnerability assessment tools are chosen from a wide range of published and peer reviewed papers in seismology, structural vulnerability, and earthquake engineering fields. Since, most of the tools have been developed for some particular circumstances, such as vulnerability assessment in the field, for structural analysis etc. they may not contain some of the uniqueness specified in the scoring structure. However, they are included in this study, as either elements of these guidelines or tools have been used in past seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings or they illustrate a distinctive characteristic, which is essential in a tool for the seismic vulnerability assessment. 4. Investigation of the suitability of different vulnerability assessment tools: a case study A case study of 93 buildings of older portion of Dhaka city-the capital of Bangladesh (Alam et al. 2010) has been selected to evaluate the suitability of various vulnerability assessment tools for seismic risk assessment. The predominant structural types, specially associated with medium to high seismicity, present in South Asian countries have been presented in the building classification system. After considering building inventories of different countries of South Asian region, it was found that South Asian building inventory is primarily composed of reinforced concrete buildings and masonry buildings. The study includes Bangladesh (CDMP 2009), Nepal (AUDMP 2007), and India (Durgesh 2005) for classifying major building classes for the area. There exist some other types, such as adobe (mud house), tin-shed housing, timber and steel structures etc, which contribute a very small proportion of the existing inventory with moderate to high seismicity. The premier resolutions of relevant building type sub-categories for the vulnerability assessment are the reinforced concrete frames with and without masonry infill as well as the unreinforced masonry buildings for the study area. The seismic vulnerability of buildings in the stock varies widely with different vulnerable factors (Hugo 2002). The principal vulnerability factors used in the categorization of buildings in the study area are structure type (the main lateral force resisting system of buildings), number of story, and code level (seismic design standard applied in the design of buildings). Moreover, architectural features which are the parameters for defining geometry of buildings such as story height, span length, presence of open first-storey etc. act as factors for the vulnerability assessment. Several structural features may be considered as the factor affecting vulnerability of buildings. These factors include soft story, heavy overhang, short column, pounding possibility between adjacent buildings, and visible ground settlement. During this study a number of vulnerable factors were identified that are comprehensively discussed here. According to Turkish method (Bommer et al. 2002, Tesfamariam a nd Saatcioglu 2010), the level of building damage during earthquakes depends on the apparent building quality which is, in turn, related to the quality of construction materials, workmanships and building maintenance. Well-trained observers can classify a buildings quality roughly as good, moderate, or poor. Many building collapses during seismic events may be ascribed to the absence of the bracing elements (e.g. available walls in the upper floors) in the ground floor, and hence develop a ground floor soft in the horizontal direction. The plastic deformations at the plastic hinge points of the columns can develop an undesirable sway mechanism with a large concentration of the plastic deformations at the column ends (Hugo 2002). Hence, the soft story buildings exhibit a less safe behavior than the similar regular structures during moderate and severe earthquake. Normally, this situation can be resulted from the building that locates along the side of the main street as the first sto ry is being used for a commercial space that has opening between the frame members for customer circulation. Figure 1 shows some of the examples of soft story (ground floors being used as shop) in Shakhari Bazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. In addition to soft stories, another vulnerable factor, termed as heavy overhanging floors in multistory buildings lead to irregularity in stiffness and mass distributions (Hugo 2002). From the earthquake engineering view point, these irregular plan shapes are undesirable as they cause inappropriate dynamic behaviors when subjected to horizontal earthquake ground motion. Typical heavy overhangs found in the old part of Dhaka City are shown in figure 2. Moreover, the shear failure of short columns is another major cause of building collapse during a seismic event (Hugo 2002). It is also termed as squat columns, i.e. columns having relatively high thickness compared to their height, and most of the cases are fixed in strong beams or slabs. By unintentional addition of parapet infill in frame structures, slender columns can also be converted into short columns. In case of short columns with significant bending capacity, enormous moment gradient can develop a large shear force under horizontal actions of a seismic event, which generally leads to a shear failure before the plastic moment capacity is being reached (Hugo 2002). It was observed after the August 17th, 1999 earthquake in Turkey (Mw=7.4) that a large number of buildings were damaged due to the presence of short columns (Saatcioglu et al. 2001). Damage due to pounding can also be observed after almost every earthquake events. Different vibration periods and non-synchronized vibration amplitudes cause the close buildings to knock together. Buildings subjected to pounding receive heavier damage on higher stories (NZSEE 2000, 2003). Topographic amplification may also increase ground motion intensity on hilltops during earthquake; hence, this factor should be taken into account in the seismic risk assessment. In the last not the least, building shape and elevation are major factors affecting buildings during an earthquake. It was evident from the experience of different seismic events, that the buildings with irregular shape are more damaging than the buildings of regular shape (Hugo 2002). Similarly elevation of building is also another important factor responsible for structural/building damage during an earthquake. Narrow tall buildings are more vulnerable during an earthquake (Hugo 2002). Figure 3 shows vertical irregularity of an existing building in the study area. There exists a numerous numbers of vulnerability assessment techniques, that utilize various types of vulnerability factors. Table 2 summarizes different vulnerability factors, which are frequently, used in different seismic vulnerability assessment techniques utilized in the study. From this study, it can easily be identified that some of the seismic vulnerability assessment techniques are very robust, e.g. FEMA 310, FEMA 154 etc, whereas in case of some other methods, (e.g. Euro Code 8) some of the major vulnerability parameters are not clearly defined. The results from the assessment of 93 buildings in the study area are depicted in the figure 4. For risk evaluation, it is required to collect, analyze and properly match a huge quantity of data. Geographic information system (GIS) can effectively be utilized to manage and overlay the information levels and graphical output of the results (Codermatz 2003). Therefore, a geographical information system (GIS) database has been developed to represent the spatial distribution of the vulnerable buildings for different assessment techniques within the study area. Figure 5 shows the distribution of vulnerable buildings in GIS environment, resulted with the use of FEMA 154 method, which shows that most of the buildings fall under very high risk group. Whereas, the distribution of risk classes within the buildings are in a wide range in case of hybrid method, depicted in figure 6. The distribution of vulnerable buildings assessed by Euro Code 8 and NRCC are also presented in figure 7 and figur e 8 respectively, which show comparatively lower risk variances. 5. Vulnerability assessment methodology scoring system The general description of vulnerability assessment methods which include the input variables, are very useful for the people involved in the field directly, where as the information about physical measurable parameters are necessary for the detailed analysis of a structure and the decision makers utilize the description of output for generating an effective decision (Hill and Tizina 2008). A reliability or performance scoring system has been developed to rank the vulnerability assessment methodologies according to the criteria mentioned above. The proposed scoring system consisting of 3 main sections with 17 sub-categories is depicted in Table 2 of Appendix A. The score obtained in each of the 3 sections is given equal weighting in the computation of the total reliability score for vulnerability assessment. The system tries to reduce most of the subjectivity implicated in the ranking of different vulnerability assessment methods. Since, some subjectivity has been utilized to assign the categories, the resultant scores can be utilized only as a qualitative representation of performance or reliability. To provide a clear indication of each methodologys performance or reliability, an affirmative score is given as 3 points, a moderate score is given as 2, a negative score 0 point, whereas the method partially fulfills the requirement is given 1 point. Since, experimental value provides data based on real-life experiences, it is more preferred in the scoring system. Analytical and judgment-based values are considered as second and third best respectively. For the sub-categories, the scoring is based on the Table 3 of Appendix A. This scoring for reliability or performance has been applied to the vulnerability assessment methods applicable for mainly reinforced concrete buildings as well as unreinforced masonry building types. Category A of the scoring system in Table 2 deals with the basic input description of vulnerability assessment tools, i.e. ease of measurement (Saatcioglu, et al. 2001), range of buildings types covered (FEMA 2002, ASCE 2003, UNDRO 1980), site specific factors, including local and global aspects regard (ASCE 2003, ASCE 1988, NRCC 1993, Durgesh 2005) .This is important for the people working in the field measurement. In category B mostly physical measurable vulnerability factors have been considered, which is very useful for analyzing the structural behavior. It deals with the scope of vulnerable parameters (ASCE 2003), quantity of database (ATC 2004), applicability of tools as non-structural components of the structures (NRCC 1993). Finally category C of the proposed scoring system utilizes the involvement of the output factors, which encompasses the well defined vulnerability scales (FEMA 2002) (ASCE 2003), risk variances (ASCE 2003, Durgesh 2005), impact of non-structural components as well as the adoptability (NRCC 1993). This category mainly focuses on the preferences for the decision makers. For different specific needs, risk assessment specialists may prefer different weightings on the scoring categories. The categories are weighted according to four different scenarios (I-IV) as depicted in Table 4 of Appendix A. These weightings give a maximum score of 51 points in each case which are only for illustrative indication. An example of use of the proposed scoring method is given in Table 5 of Appendix A. The final ranking for the vulnerability assessment tools considered is shown in Table 6 of Appendix A. The individual scores are given in Table 7 of Appendix A 6. Discussion on vulnerability assessment method scoring This section discusses about the performance of different vulnerability assessment tools in different scoring categories in wider aspect for all the weighting scenarios proposed. At this point it is essential to re-state that the vulnerability assessment ranking reflects how appropriate the method is for use in seismic risk assessment. To rank the techniques, several weighting scenarios have been utilized with the calculated scores. For weighting scenario I, equal weighting for each category was adopted which provides an overall view of the vulnerability assessment methods performances. The authors believe that each of the identified features is equally important and it is suggested that proposed scoring system utilizes this weighting scenario. Hybrid method, NRCC (NRCC 1993) guidelines and FEMA 154 (FEMA 2002, ATC 1998) rank the top three positions for the weighting scenario I. The Hybrid method contains detailed descriptions for different classes of buildings and has a well defined methodology for calculating physical vulnerability factors. The ASCE 31 standard (FEMA 310) is not a building code.  Ã‚  It is a method of evaluating existing buildings to determine if they meet seismic performance objectives such as Life Safety or Immediate Occupancy.   NRCC guideline follows the similar principles as the hybrid one; however, the calibration for building typology for NRC guidelines considers the Canadian construction practice. Fundamentally, the score ( seismic priority index) in NRCC is related to the seismic risk for a particular building, given the occurrence of an earthquake equivalent to that specified in the National Building Code of Canada (NRCC 1993). It is to be used as an initial assessment for deciding which building should have more detailed evaluation in order of priority. Moreover, the effect of torsional irregularities has not been taken in to account. In FEMA 154, the score was affected by the lack of sufficiently detailed analysis; rather it e ncompasses a rapid visual screening method (FEMA 2002). The use of seismicity regions, rather than site-specific seismic hazard data, for the Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) procedure substantially reduces the accuracy of results because the calculations use levels of ground motion which differ from the levels of ground motion at all sites except those where ground motions are at the median value for a seismicity region. Thus, RVS final scores are systematically shifted and overestimate the level of risk for locations with below-median ground motions and underestimate risk for locations with above median ground motions. In case of weighting scenario II, more weighting is given to general description of vulnerability to highlight the methods suited for in-field measurements. For weighting scenario II, again the same results happened, i.e. Hybrid one out ranked all other approaches. For weighting scenario III, more weighting values have been given to the physical vulnerable parameters. And in case of scenario IV, weighting has been given to the variance in output. For this purpose, a case study of 93 buildings of old Dhaka city of Bangladesh has been conducted. In this case study, different types of buildings have been assessed with various methodologies. Here, Hybrid and NRCC Guidelines ranked the 1st where as FEMA 154 (FEMA 2002, ATC 1998) and NZ Code ranked 2nd and 3rd. The variation and the results of the assessment have been depicted in Figure 5 through Figure 8. In weighting scenario V, more conscious was given to Canadian present construction practices (Cook 1999, Onur et al. 2004). Here, the Hybrid as well as the NRCC method outranked the other methods. 7. Scoring Summary with Different Multi Criteria Decision Making Tools The proposed scoring system is a wide-ranging tool to compare different vulnerability assessment methods in the context of ease of use and applicability. It cannot catch all the parameters, but qualitatively gives a better indication of the suitable seismic vulnerability assessment method for buildings. First of all, it can be remarked that, the positions of the methods in the ranking change markedly between the different weighting scenarios. Of the considered seismic vulnerability assessment methods, it is seen that the Hybrid method composed of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) and IITK-GSDMA outperforms other vulnerability assessment in all respects. However, NRCC (NRCC 1993) method also performs adequately, where the guideline was developed specifically with Canadian buildings in mind, though certain features are lacking within the description of detailed analysis. Nonetheless, for all the weighting scenarios, the proposed hybrid method performs well and should be considered as the preferred alternative. Moreover, the presence of FEMA 154, Euro Code 8(Milutinovic and Trendafiloski 2003, CEN 2004) and New Zealand Guidelines (NZSEE 2000, 2003) in the ranking system are notable. However, it is clear that the methods do not capture a sufficient quantity of characteristics that are required of such a guideline for the particular weighting scenarios. In this study different multi criteria decision making tools (e.g. AHP. Elctre I Is, and TOPSIS) have been utilized to find out the suitable most alternative. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a decision-aiding method developed by Saaty (Saaty 1980). The main goal of AHP is to quantify the relative priorities for a given set of alternatives on a ratio scale, based on the judgment of the decision-maker, and stresses the significance of the perceptive judgments of a decision- maker as well as the consistency of the comparison of alternatives in the decision-making process (Saaty 1990). Whereas ELECTRE I (Benayoun et al, 1966; Roy 1971) is an overall method of ranking alternative systems in the presence of qualitative criteria. The idea in this algorithm is to choose those nodes (i.e. alternative systems) which are preferred for most of the criteria and yet do not cause an unacceptable level of discontent for any one criterion. Moreover in case of TOPSIS (Technique for Order pre ference by Similarity to Ideal Situation) method, the selected alternative should be as close to the ideal solution as possible and as far from the negative-ideal solution as possible. The ideal solution is formed as a combination of the best performance values revealed in the decision matrix by any option for each attribute. The negative-ideal solution is the combination of the worst performance values. Propinquity to each of these performance poles is measured in the Euclidean sense (e.g., square root of the sum of the squared distances along each axis in the attribute space), with elective weighting of each attribute (Olson 2004). By utilizing Electre I Is (Hwang and Yoon 1981) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (Yang and Lee 1997); it was found that the proposed hybrid method outranks all the methods in all cases (Figure 10 and Figure 11). Finally TOPSIS method (Chu 2002) has validated the same decision about the proposed hybrid method to be the preferred one. In the context of decision making and field measurement, hybrid method consisting of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) and IITK-GSDMA is recommended. Whereas, if the rapid assessment of buildings is the major concern, vulnerability assessment through FEMA 154 (FEMA 2002, ATC 1998) and NRCC (NRCC 1993) guidelines should also be considered as the preferred options. 8. Conclusion This study has identified significant characteristics that should be included for an appropriate seismic vulnerability assessment method of buildings. A scoring system has been proposed for the qualitative review of various vulnerability assessment techniques and a particular attention was given to potential use in Canada. It is found that a vulnerability assessment technique termed as hybrid method i.e. combination of FEMA 310 (FEMA 1998, 2003, ASCE 1998) IITK GSDMA (Durgesh 2005) captures characteristics to a wider degree that a suitable vulnerability assessment method should posses. However, the proposed hybrid method is calibrated with the data from US and Bangladesh, which can be applied to other regions with slight modifications. In seismic risk assessment, the building vulnerability assessment depends on data from many sources, amongst which, the past earthquake damage survey data are of major concern. Existence of various vulnerability assessment approaches, raises concern over worldwide to have a simplistic effective vulnerability assessment tool, to be useful world-wide. The authors believe that the proposed hybrid method provides a robust basis for vulnerability interpretation and recommended future studies of vulnerability assessment method to combine more consistent and wider descriptions of the parameters for use in seismic risk assessment. Reference: Alam M.J., M. Abdur Rahman Bhuiyan, and M.Roqibul Islam(2006) Seismic Structural Assessment of Damaged Chittagong Public Library Building During 27 July 2003 Earthquake 4th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering Taipei, Taiwan Alam M. N., K. Mashfiq, A. Rahman, and S. M. Haque , (2010)Seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings in heritage and non-heritage areas in the older part of Dhaka city, 3rd International Earthquake Symposium, Bangladesh Dhaka, March 5-6, 2010, ISBN: 978-984-8725-01-6 ATC (1987), Evaluating the seismic resistance of existing buildings, ATC 14. Applied Technology Council, Redwood City, California. ASCE (2003), Sismic evaluation of buildings, ASCE/SEI 31-03. Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Virginia. ASCE (1988a). Rapid visual screening of buildings for potential seismic hazards: a handbook, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA-154, Washington, D.C. ATC 21 (2004), Rapid visual screening of buildings for potential seismic hazards training manual, ATC-21-T, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY Washington, DC ASCE (1998), Handbook for the seismic evaluation of buildings a pre-standard, American Society of Civil Engineers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA 310 Report, Washington D.C. ASCE (2003), Seismic evaluation of buildings, ASCE/SEI 31-03, Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Virginia. ATC-21 (1998), Rapid visual screening of buildings for potential seismic hazards: a handbook, Applied Technology Council, Redwood city, CA, USA. AUDMP (2007), www.adpc.net/audmp/audmp.html Benayoun, R., Roy, B. Sussmann, B. (1966) ELECTRE: une mà ©thode pour quiderle choix en presence de points de vue multiples. Sema (Metra International), Dir. Sci., Note de Travail No. 49, Paris, France. Bertogg M, Hitz L, Schmid E (2002), Vulnerability functions derived from loss data for insurance risk modelling: findings from recent earthquakes. In: Proceedings of the twelfth European conference on earthquake engineering (paper 281), London, September 2002 BIS (2002), IS 1893 (Part I)- Indian standard criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures part I general provisions and buildings, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi. Bommer J, Spence R, Erdik M, Tabuchi S, Aydinoglu N, Booth E, Del Re D, Peterken O, (2002), Development of an earthquake loss model for Turkish catastrophe insurance, J Seismol 6:431- 36 Building Seismic Safety Council National Institute of Building Sciences (BSSC) (2003) NEHRP recommended provisions and commentary for seismic regulations for new buildings and other structures, 2003 Edition (FEMA 450). Washington New Zealand Government (2004), Building Act, Wellington, New Zealand Calvi, G. M., Pinho, R., Magenes, G., Bommer, J. J., Restrepo-Velez, L., Crowley, H. (2006). Development of seismic vulnerability assessment methodologies over the past 30 years. ISET Journal of Earthquake Technology, 43(3), 75-104. Carvalho E, Coelho E, Campos-Costa A, Sousa M, Candeias P (2002), Vulnerability evaluation of residential buildings in Portugal. In: Proceedings of the twelfth European conference on earthquake engineering (paper 696), London, September 2002 Codermatz, R., Nicolich, R., Slejko, D. (2003). Seismic risk assessments and GIS technology: Applications to infrastructures in the friuli-venezia giulia region (NE italy). Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 32(11), 1677-1690. CDMP (2009), http://www.cdmp.org.bd/ C.L. Hwang, K. Yoon (1981), Multiple attribute decision making, Springer-Verlag, Berlin. Comità © Europà ©en de Normalization, CEN (2004), Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance- Part 1. General rules, seismic actions and rules for buildings (EN 1998-1). Brussels Cook S. (1999), Evaluation of non-structural earthquake damage to buildings in southwestern British Columbia. M.Sc. Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 1999. D. DAyala and A. W. Charleson,(2002), Review of seismic strengthening guidelines for R. C. buildings in developing countries, 12th European Conference on Earthquake Engineering Paper Reference 820 Department of General Services (2002), Seismic safety inventory of California public schools, a Report to the Governor of California and the California State Legislature D. L. Olson (2004), Comparison of weights in TOPSIS models, Mathematical and Computer Modeling, 40, (7) 21-727, 2004. FEMA (1985) An action plan for reducing earthquake hazards for existing buildings, FEMA 90. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, D.C. FEMA( 1992), NEHRP handbook for the seismic evaluation of existing buildings, FEMA-178. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, D.C. FEMA 310 (1998), Handbook for the seismic evaluation

Revelation :: essays research papers

No part of the Bible and its interpretation is more controversial than the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the last profound book in the New Testament. It conveys the significant purpose of Christianity by describing God’s plan for the world and his final judgment of the people by reinforcing the importance of faith and the concept of Christianity as a whole. This book was written by John in 95 or 96 AD. What is, what has been, and what is to come is the central focus of the content in Revelation. Literalist fundamentalists read Revelation’s multivalent visions as predictions of doom and threat, of punishment for the many and salvation for the elect few. Scholarly scientific readings seek to translate the book’s ambiguity into one-to-one meanings and to transpose its language of symbol and myth into description and facts. In Elisabeth Schà »ssler Fiorenza’s The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment, a third way of reading Revelation is depicted. The collection of essays in this book seeks to intervene in scholarly as well as popular discourses on the apocalypse from a liberationist feminist perspective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first two parts of the book discuss the kind of theological-historical perspective and ecclesial situation that determines the form-content configuration of Revelation. The first section attempts to assess the theological commonality to and differences from Jewish apocalypticism. Fiorenza focuses of the problem that although Revelation claims to be a genuinely Christian book and has found its way into the Christian canon, it is often judged to be more Jewish than Christian and not to have achieved the â€Å"heights† of genuinely early Christian theology. In the second part of the book, Fiorenza seeks to assess whether and how much Revelation shares in the theological structure of the Fourth Gospel. Fiorenza proposes that a careful analysis of Revelation would suggest that Pauline, Johannine, and Christian apocalyptic-prophetic traditions and circles interacted with each other at the end of the first century C.E in Asia Minor. She charts in the book the structural-theological similarities and differences between the response of Paul and that of Revelation to the â€Å"realized eschatology†. She argues that the author of Revelation attempts to correct the â€Å"realized eschatology† implications of the early Christian tradition with an emphasis on a futuristic apocalyptic understanding of salvation. Fiorenza draws the conclusion that Revelation and its author belong neither to the Johannine nor to the Pauline school, but point to prophetic-apocalyptic traditions in Asia Minor.

Auditing Ethics

The natural setting, that we are predominantly in an imperfect world, brings about the question of ethics in many spheres of the human endeavor, including auditing.It is therefore a pre-liquisite for all auditors in any organization to understand and give concerted considerations to the human factor (both within the organization and outside) as they conduct ethically sensitive audits as well as determining the required audit coverage. It is common practice for most organizations to have some postulated ethical guidance procedures-the codes of ethics- the comprehensive principles and values statement that should serve as a daily guide to auditors in their daily work.This gives an outline regarding not only the ethical requirements but also the professional obligations that should be emphasized whenever any critical decisions relating to the business proceedings are to be made (Matthias, 2004, 16).There should be prior, clear communication and reinforcement of such ethical codes among the suppliers, customers, and employees (including the internal and external auditors). However, the extent and the nature of any audit coverage are critically determined by the management’s degree of commitment to high ethical and integrity standards.DiscussionIt is paramount to understand at this point that there are several risk factors that are involved in the process of auditing ethics. This implies that the auditors must be well conversant with all the functional fields in an organization so as to identify activities and functions in which ethical implications would pose the greatest risks. After such risks have been identified, a value (such as low, medium or high) is assigned to facilitate proper allocation of audit efforts (Usoff, 2001, 21).Among the most considered risks by auditors include, but are not limited to the following: ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sensitive data/information disclosure ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perceived business loss ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adverse publicity ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Probable injury to employers, employees, and/customers and ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adverse legal implications.Some areas are imperatively more risk prone than others and auditors should therefore allocate them more ethical auditing time. One of these is the procurement and purchasing department in most, if not all enterprises. Red flags must always be raised in times when larger gratuities and gifts are offered by suppliers. These also include other nominal gifts offered, and every employee who is involved in purchases must be thoroughly reminded of the company policy on gratuities and gifts.Another are that require careful consideration at all times is the environmental, health issues, and safety department. An elaborate example deliberate audit denial is the Soviet’s Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident which they refused to acknowledge until other European neighbors complained ab out the nuclear fallouts.Environmental issues have been among the major challenges to industries world wide, with many other stakeholders such as the media, the public and regulatory bodies demanding apt responses on the part of the companies to make responsible precautions (Caplan, 2003, 14).

Yahoo! Internal Analysis

The Company When Yahoo! was founded in 1994 by Stanford Ph. D. students, David Filo and Jerry Yang, it began as their hobby and has evolved into a global brand that has changed the way people communicate with each other, find and access information, and make purchases. Today, Yahoo! Inc. is the Internet's leading global consumer and business Services Company, offering a comprehensive network of essential services for Web users around the globe as well as businesses of all sizes. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, Yahoo! www. yahoo. com) is the leader in traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is also the most recognized and valuable Internet brand globally, reaching over 345 million unique users in 25 countries and 13 languages. The Only Place Anyone Needs To Go Find Anything, Communicate With Anyone, or Buy Anything Serving the world's largest Web audience, Yahoo! remains focused on becoming increasingly essential to the lives of consumers. St arting with its comprehensive, hand-built directory as well as the popular My Yahoo! ervice, Yahoo! offers a broad and deep array of communications, commerce and content services in over 100 distinct properties that lead consumers to make Yahoo! their home on the Internet and wireless devices. Fitting the lifestyles of the mobile consumer, Yahoo! offers an increasing array of essential, personalized, localized and timely information on wireless devices, including wireless phones, two-way pagers and personal digital assistants. Committed to extending content and services beyond the desktop, Yahoo! as the largest global mobile audience and the greatest breadth of wireless products and services of any Web content provider. Becoming Increasingly Essential to Businesses & Enterprises Worldwide As the No. 1 Internet network on corporate desktops, surpassing a 70 percent reach in the U. S. workplace, Yahoo! also offers a range of services for businesses and enterprises of all sizes. Corpor ate Yahoo! is an information portal solution that enables companies to communicate and interact directly with their employees, customers and shareholders over a secure and scalable platform. Yahoo!Broadcast Services is the leading provider of Internet audio and video streaming solutions for corporate and consumer communications, delivering thousands of live and on-demand, corporate events including: product launches, marketing programs, training/distance learning, keynote addresses, annual shareholder meetings, and quarterly earnings calls. Yahoo! ‘s Small Business services enable small businesses and professionals to establish and grow a business presence with services such as Yahoo! Domains, Yahoo! Website Services, Yahoo! Servers and Yahoo! Store. An industry leader in online advertising, Yahoo! ffers an integrated set of marketing services through Yahoo! Fusion Marketing that unite Yahoo! ‘s media, e-commerce, direct marketing, broadcast, and communication tools to a llow clients to find any audience, connect with anyone, and sell anything. Yahoo! ‘s data driven services provide unparalleled targeting and measurement capabilities far beyond banners, clicks, and conversions. Customized to integrate clients' traditional marketing programs online, Yahoo! Fusion Marketing programs generate greater customer acquisition and retention, extended brand value, and increased sales in today's global marketplace. SWOT AnalysisThe external environment includes all the factors outside the organization which provide opportunities or pose threats to the organization. The internal environment refers to all the factors within an organization which impart strengths or cause weakness of a strategic nature . The environment in which an organization exists can be, therefore defined as the opportunities and threats operating in the external environment apart from the strengths and weakness existing in the internal environment. A systematic approach to understand the environment of Yahoo is the SWOT analysis. Internal Factor Analysis (IFA) of the Yahoo CorporationStrengths The strength is an inherent capacity which an organization uses to gain a strategic and competitive advantage. The strengths of Yahoo Corporation are: * Yahoo! ‘s Overture is a tremendously profitable Internet advertising business. It focuses on affiliate advertising for large advertising accounts, in the same way as Google's Adsense programme. This is an important income stream for Yahoo!. * Yahoo! has over 500 million users of its services and solutions. This makes it a very powerful marketing company, with a very well known brand. Some reports indicate that it is the most popular website in the World. A key long-term strength is Yahoo! ‘s international business presence. As the Internet expands and it is adopted by more nations the opportunities for Internet brands begin to emerge. Yahoo! is well placed to take advantage of these opportunities with its strat egic business units in Asia, Europe and Australia. * The Yahoo! Directory is an original source of structured information. It has built over the last decade, and unlike mainstream search engines, its content is moderated (i. e. sites are vetted before their inclusion). Weaknesses: A weakness is an inherent limitation or constraint which creates strategic disadvantages for the company.It is overdependence on a single product line, which is potentially risky. The weaknesses of Yahoo are: * As per Jan 2012 data, a survey says yahoo’s market share in search engine is only 6% * Google already has more than 50% market share and the immediate competitors are Baidu which has same 6% and bing has 4% in search engine * Google being the leading the service provider on the internet , is grabbing the revenues from advertisements * Most of the services provided by Yahoo are unknown in the internet space. * Yahoo is ranked 5th in visitors among video sites. YouTube was first owned by Google .There has been near about 3 % slump per year in Yahoo’s image search. * Google search results produce double revenues as compared to Yahoo. * Yahoo is losing its market share in mailing services very gradually due to Google’s strong presence in search engine market and it related product portfolio complementing to search engine services * For Yahoo, differentiation is difficult. Almost all of its services are available from other sources such as Mail services, news, shopping, financial data and business directory services are provided by many others like MSN, CNN, e-bay, Money control etc. The future of Yahoo is uncertain as the technology develops and new unforeseen advertising media emerges. * Financial health of the company is not so promising for the investors. The company’s assets both in terms of intangible and tangible are on the declining side. Matching analysis Match the external factors against the internal factors of YAHOO! Opportunities| Threats| * Internet video advertising spending expected to increase by 82% to $610 million by 2009. * Yahoo! Inc has purchased Flickr. * Broadband expansion. * Yahoo! as a strong and talented employee base. * Yahoo! has penetrated markets that are still untouched by competitors. | * Google commands about 50% of all online searches and Yahoo! has only 24% according to Neilson/NetRating. * Consumer attitudes towards online advertising may become more negative. * Increasing strength of competitors. * Social websites such as MySpace and Facebook are now breaking into the online advertising market. * Google is surpassing Yahoo! in revenues. | Strengths| Weaknesses| * Yahoo! Inc. has beaten Google in the mobile market. * Yahoo!Inc. has many more auxiliary products compared to the competition. * Yahoo! Inc. has strong brand recognition. * Partnerships with MLB, VISA and NFL. * Access is available to anyone with internet access. | * Yahoo! is ranked 5th in visitors among video sites. YouTube which is owned by Google is ranked 1st. * Yahoo! image search has been declining 3% per year. * Google search results generate twice as much revenue as Yahoo!. * Advertising revenues are falling due to Google and other competitors in the market. | Alternative strategies or RecommendationsIt is clear that the Yahoo Corporation has faced some major challenges in staying on top of the Internet market. It is suggested that the corporation should continue to grow its customer base. The corporation can grow its customer base by successfully capturing the international market. In addition, Yahoo can enlarge its target customer statistics by including customers outside the age group of 18-34 like people of above 55 years. Yahoo has to distinguish itself from the rest of its competitors in the Internet market in order to successfully accomplish these objectives.The alternative strategy that the Yahoo Corporation can adopt is: Capturing the international market: In capturing the international market, Yahoo has been comparatively unsuccessful. Though, Yahoo provides its services in a variety of languages but it has been unable to contend with national companies of other countries. For example, in China, Yahoo holds less than 5% of the total Chinese market share. The majority of the China market is dominated by Chinese search engine known as Baidu. com. In August 2005, Google, the American rival has captured a significant portion i. . approximately 33% of the Chinese market. Moreover, near about 71. 3% of the overall international market has been captured by Google. Some of this percentage was grabbed from Yahoo. Yahoo must ensure that internet access is available to its target market in order to strategically grow its customer base. If the target market does not have the means or ability to access services, Yahoo will not be successful. It is important for Yahoo Corporation to capture international customers during the exposure to the Internet. This can create a comfort-zone for its new users.Yahoo also, should become familiar with the likes, dislikes, habits and other characteristics of each niche of the international market. The company should use appropriate marketing channels to create the demand in international market. The marketing techniques like sales promotion, advertising, publicity, etc. will work more effectively to capture international market. Expanding the target market: To become successful, it is important for the Yahoo Corporation to expand its target market. It is important that Yahoo tries to capture those who are its first-time Internet users.Through partnerships with telecommunications providers and cable companies, Yahoo should work to become a primary part of a new Internet service package. Yahoo can successfully get new web users to begin their Internet use. The users use the internet because it allows them to communicate with their friends and family members who are separated geographically. Furthermore, people like the Internet b ecause it allows them to find information and items that they can’t find elsewhere. With this demographic, travel, leisure and financial information tend to be popular.Yahoo should promote its different offerings in publications and media to achieve the best reach and to focus on the particular areas. Yahoo should publicize itself as a source of health information as well as a site that provides travel information for those who plan for retirement. Yahoo should portray itself as a portal of information. Differentiation: To remain competitive, Yahoo should adopt and initiate new projects. The company should begin as a search engine and expand its offerings by including finance, personals and hot Jobs and other activities.For example, Yahoo has realized that the potential users of Yahoo music consequently acquire a significant share of the online music industry. The ability to differentiate itself from its competitors is the main reason for the success of Yahoo. To promote new products, Yahoo is able to take advantage of its brand equity and its large user base. Yahoo should not limit itself to fixed media sites. Yahoo should attempt to commence a multimedia Internet project called runner. This video-intensive and web-based reality TV project will focus on a fugitive crisscrossing the country.Yahoo Corporation should also expand its Internet-based market to compete against traditional media. Conclusion Thus, it is concluded that in the dynamic Internet market, Yahoo is a strong and relatively established company. Its core competence includes focus on young adult users, regularly improving fixed web sites, driving advertising revenue and encouraging employees to be practical. All this points have been a formula for its success. Yahoo must apply aggressive strategies and maintain healthy financial statement to remain competitive.It is important that Yahoo carefully review all these strategies and examine the timing of its initiatives. The company can achiev e its target and growth by hiring competent managers and experienced consultants as well as by remaining focused on its core competencies. By maintaining the strategies, Yahoo will be able to position itself to become a leader in the race for multimedia domination. An understanding of the external environment in terms of opportunities and threats and the internal environment in term of strengths and weaknesses is important for the existence, growth and profitability of Yahoo Corporation.