Technological Advances: The Negative Effects

Technological Advances: The Negative Effects Technological advancement as a term can be defined as being able to improve the standard of living through altering the production process and increasing the level of production with fewer resources (Mabry Sharplin; 1986). This definition is closely linked to the act of using computers, robots and the like but any move towards more efficient ways of providing services is a technological advancement. When one begins with premise that the gradual shift from human-sensitive methods of construction will pose a problem in South Africa as a developing country, plain human knowledge becomes sufficient as a technological advancement. Technology varies in its purposes and uses. It has become the backbone of any sort of development initiative in the developing world. Characterised by efficiency, accuracy and cost benefits. Developed countries are suited better to manage the negatives that come from the overt use of technology. Their economies are strong enough to manage unemployment and the like. Often, people that fear or are weary of fast evolving technology are referred to as Luddites, this is untrue and grossly inaccurate for the Luddites (circa 1800s) were working but uneducated people who destroyed all symbols of advancing technology. Nobel laureate Wassily Leontief, who gave the keynote speech for the National Academy of Engineering at its 1983 symposium The Long-Term Impact of Technology on Employment and Unemployment, cannot fairly be called a Luddite, yet he expressed concern about what he saw as technological advancements undesirable distributional effects across income groups (Mabry Sharplin; 1986) The construction industry is slowly eliminating jobs that are human-sensitive. Jobs that previously required a strong human presence can now be done off-site (precast) and brought to site just to assemble. The jobs are becoming lower skilled and routine. With this in mind, one would think that there would be more jobs created but the opposite happens, jobs seem to be eroding. The implementation of new technology offers the companies a competitive edge over their rivals at the cost of jobs. In construction, efficiency is very important. Delays in time mean penalties and this requires more money. Redundancy caused by advancements in technology has been happening in the automotive industry where machines have rendered the jobs of many humans obsolete and have left some fastening bolts for eight hours a day. In the construction industry, though you will not find a machine laying bricks, there are other materials that are being developed to render using bricks and blocks outdated. Aluminium beams and columns are now de-rigueur in architectural circles and this will not take long at all to catch up with the industry and it will just be a matter of time before construction gangs of fifty will shrink to ten because of cranes doing all the heavy lifting and then ten men just fastening bolts. Technological advancement, in itself, is an indication of development in any country. Said advancement should not hinder the growth of the country by creating a poverty trap. A developing country has a few defining characteristics, defined below: Majority living below the poverty line Ex-colony Subject to economic inequality Inequality in the working environment As technology advances further and further it hinders growth through promoting the utilizing methods that arent human-sensitive. Chapter 2 The role of South Africas history 2.1 History Colonialism played a role in the current problems South Africa faces. To understand how technology affects employment, we need to have a clearer understanding of how we got to where we are from a developmental point of view. Colonisers occupied the country and divided the country geographically to make it more manageable. They then developed city centres and these city centres became economic hubs in their regions. During the 1886 Witwatersrand Gold Rush, employment was created for the natives. Many natives left their homelands to work in the Gauteng mines. The cities close to the mines kept flourishing as there became a need for other industries to support the influx of natives and wealthy mine owners to the mining cities. The homelands remained underdeveloped. Many decades later, rural areas are still underdeveloped and creating employment in those areas is hard because there are very few economic development initiatives. 2.1.1 Migration to the cities. As aforementioned, the movement of many natives from their homelands for employment in the mining cities left many homelands underdeveloped. The lure of employment opportunities in a quickly developing country proved to be problematic. W.W Rostow (circa 1960), cited by Utting (2011; Development Management IV: Course Notes; 189:190) discussed the modernization theories of development. The underlying principle of this modernization theory was that economic development was integral to the overall development of any society. Economic development is South Africa seemed to be happening in the mining cities only and not in the rural areas. 2.1.2 Consequence of migration. As men left to work in the cities, they left their families at home. Families that were uneducated and had no other means of income and mostly made a living through farming. Formal education was, and for the most part is just a fallacy to people living in rural areas. This is creating a problem because on one hand; low-skill level jobs are being automated, on the other hand; you have many people from the rural areas coming in with little-to-no education looking for employment. This contributes to creating what is termed a poverty trap. 2.1.3 Previously Disadvantaged Individuals People of colour were oppressed during the unjust reign of apartheid which officially began in the election of 1948 and lasted until 1994. In that time, people of colour were oppressed in every way imaginable. The end of apartheid brought about great elation and spelled the end of an oppressive regime, we also adopted many problems from there. For instance, the problem of unemployment. A complex issue that has no single solution. The previously disadvantaged individuals, i.e. people of colour in South Africa, are now trying to keep-up with the developed world. The issue is the means that are taken to develop South Africa further. The methods which utilize an excess of technology will widen the gap between the rich and poor. The previously disadvantaged will be left destitute and with very few opportunities to develop themselves let alone along with the country. 2.1.4 Addressing the issue of inequality Government implemented Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), which has now become Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), to facilitate the development of PDIs. Government also put a policy in place that was set to address inequalities in the workplace by giving construction companies a BEE status. This meant that a certain portion of the workforce had to be composed of PDI. This, of course, is a step in the right direction towards addressing inequalities in the workplace. An overwhelmed Government Decades after the 1886 Gold Rush, present Government still feel the effects of mass migration to the cities. Change of political regime brought about new challenges for Government. The two most important: Creating Jobs: Job creation isnt particularly the responsibility of Government. They are supposed to create an environment that supports and promotes job creation. Presently, graduates form the majority of the unemployed in South Africa. Homelands are still under-developed and this doesnt seem to be changing. Policies to address the unemployment and subsequent poverty problem in rural areas are addressed by issuing policies. The problem with policies is they are therapeutic, generic and do not address the problem of each rural area on a case by case basis. Another problem with policies is that they are developed by people who do so remotely so they do not know the actual problem, on the ground. Adequate Housing: Housing has is a problem especially in towns surrounding big cities like Durban and Johannesburg. The RDP programme was developed for this purpose. Independent contractors tender and build the house. Unfortunately, many contractors dont fulfil their obligation. The problem doesnt get better and we see violent service delivery protests. The tender process in itself is heavily flawed and marred by political interference and corruption. 2.2.1 Failure to create jobs. As aforementioned, the current Government is struggling to create job or rather failing to create an environment that promotes job creation. According to the World Bank (2011), Local Economic Development (LED) refers to the collective efforts between Government and non-governmental institutions to create an environment that is conducive to both economic growth and employment. In essence, LED provides the community ways to improve their chances of getting investment from external sources and their own business environment. The aim is to create a better life for all. Rural communities dont have much of this happening and the focus needs to move towards decentralization. The concentration of rural development policy makers in urban areas is also to the detriment of rural areas. The sheer distance leads to misappropriation of funds and resources and this keeps the rural areas underdeveloped. Top-down centralized policies rarely accomplish their goals because the policy makers arent anchored in the rural reality on the ground (International Labour Office; 2012) 2.2.2 Critical analysis of the tender process The tender process was initially meant to open up opportunities for people of colour to enter the world of business and trade. Unfortunately, the tender process is marred by corruption and political interference and this in counter-productive and robs the people it was meant to help in the first place. The process begins by realising a need for a service in a particular community and then sending that particular project out to tender with various contractors who then send back their estimates of how much it would cost to build the required infrastructure. The corruption begins when the tenderers start bribing officials to give them the contract. Too often the contractors themselves are incompetent and end up breaching contracts. The reason for their incompetency can be credited to the lack of knowledge. Most new contractors have no formal training and make very few attempts at getting adequate training and the cycle keeps on going. The process itself is not flawed; the issue is with monitoring it. There isnt an independent body that monitors the tendering process and this leads to corruption and moves back as a nation. Monitoring, or lack thereof, is not the primary solution to corruption because corruption is prevalent in all developing countries. Chapter 3: Basic education and training Lack of a proper educational framework in rural areas Bantu Education was established to give people of colour the most basic education. A means to create more muscle for the machine that was apartheid. The structure was such that skills development formed part of the school curriculum. Students who left the institution of Bantu Education left with skills and could go start looking for work immediately after. Universities were reserved for Whites only. In rural areas however, school infrastructure was few and far in between. As South Africa developed and established itself as a source of mineral wealth many moved into the urban areas (See, Chapter 1) and left the rural areas as they were. Rural areas dont have any economic development, chances for employment are slim. Even if businesses are encouraged, their longevity is cut short because there is no Local Economic Development. Schools in rural areas do not, to this day, receive adequate resources to teach. School buildings are of mud block construction. The chaos that arises from there can only be imagined when the rainy season starts. The education system in South Africa is not at its most stellar as we saw during the Limpompo Textbook Fiasco (M. Madia, 2012). This in turn creates problems when the students produced from rural schools are thrust into a society that demands a good knowledge of technology and pliable minds. The students, coming from a background with no knowledge of computers and the like will end up looking for employment that requires a low-skill level. On the other end of the spectrum, employers are looking for ways to increase productivity without affecting profits. On a building site, having concrete delivered, as opposed to mixing it on site, saves time and consequently saves money. Lower-skill jobs are slowly becoming redundant and the education system in rural areas isnt keeping up with the demand for technology savvy candidates. As a result, a cesspool of unemployment and everything it carries many other social problems such as crime and corruption. Desperation can kill you. Language barriers (machinery use) Communication is essential on site for all operations to continue. The language barrier between employer and employee makes the employee less desirable for employment. Employees from rural areas are often not well versed in languages either than their home-language. Similarly with machinery use, employers wouldnt employ someone with a minimal understanding of the language of instruction. Besides that being a health and safety hazard, it wouldnt be beneficial and training would take longer than it should. Misunderstandings on site (machinery use) Any sort of misunderstanding on site has a financial repercussion. With this in mind, employers avoid workers with little-to-no understanding of the language of instruction. There is a clear disconnection between the education department in rural areas and the required calibre of graduates. This in turn leads to students coming from that system to be left behind. When that happens and the very students are put into a system that requires a certain level of knowledge, knowledge that they lack. Subsequently, these people bear the grunt of job displacement due to the introduction of technology and/or automation. Chapter 4: Methods of construction The manner in which construction projects are carried out has changed dramatically. Change is constant and will not stop as humans develop further and further. From the times of the great Pharaohs, where heavy materials were rolled on logs, to present day where heavy materials are hauled into the air with cranes. 4.1 Evolution of Methods Traditional construction was of mass concrete. The older buildings like the Durban Station were of mass concrete and required many labourers to set up shutters, mixing concrete and pouring. Mixing of concrete was done on site. Technological advancements moved towards using central concrete depots and having concrete delivered to site. The purpose of technological advancement is to increase production while utilizing the least amount of resources. To a very large extent it is good, the problem begins when technology advances at the cost of peoples jobs. Project Planning Project planning has become more streamlined and can be managed by a single person as opposed to be an entire team. Project planning in South Africa has attracted a great amount of attention over the past few years because of its association with infrastructure. As South Africa develops further, infrastructure will be required. Many construction projects are complex and required teams to manage them, over time computer programmes were developed and managing large projects became easier. Technology has afforded us the opportunity to much with very little resources. It has also created a situation where those who do not adopt are left behind. This is well and good in a developed state but South Africa is a developing country with a 25% unemployment rate and threatening to grow as more and more technology is being introduced into the industry. The industry itself will do better, productivity will increase but many people will be permanently displaced, in terms of employment. The planning of projects will eventually be handled by a single person using a computer programme. The availability of jobs will decrease as companies need fewer people to run successful projects. Chapter 5: Construction Materials Building materials arent exempt from advancements. There has been a movement from mass concrete, to brick and block and now we are in the age of steel and glass construction. The movement from one age to the next has an adverse effect on employment. Presently, steel and glass construction needs just a few men and a crane. A shift in the paradigm of construction. Lighter Materials. Construction materials have gotten lighter while retaining their strength. Materials like fibreboard are now common place in offices. Even materials that always were the heaviest, like concrete, have had their share of technological advancement. Air-infiltrated concrete is lighter than conventional concrete. The secret is in the air bubbles that are trapped within the concrete that make it lighter while making it a bit easier to work with. This particular type of concrete is strong enough to take the loads of conventional concrete but can also be used as a cantilever slab (with reinforcing). Precast Items. With the paradigm shift of construction materials, precast items are becoming more common. From lintels in residential construction to entire floor slabs in commercial property. A shift that has brought about increased productivity. Concrete pouring and curing is the most time consuming exercise on site and having that time saved means saving money too. The problem, again, with such an advancement is how it affects employment. Concrete mixing, as a low-skill level job, employed quite a few labourers (proportional to size of project) and with concrete mixing being removed from equation, many are left jobless. The biggest hurdle is the lack of training initiatives for workers that have been displaced due to automation. They are left unemployed and unemployment leads to other social problems. Chapter 6: Globalisation According to the Education and Training Unit of South Africa (2012), globalisation refers to the changes in technological, political and economic that make the world different in its functioning to the way it was twenty or thirty years ago. The proof of globalisations can be seen in the emergence of giant corporations with branches all over the world. Globalisation forces developing nations to adjust their structures in order to match those of the developed nations. All this to help developing nations secure loans to help their flailing economies. BusinessDictionary.com refers to globalisation as a movement towards integration of many aspects of trade. In the same vein, they go on to say that globalisation threatens weaker economies when applied discriminately. Keeping up with the world. Even though South Africa has mineral wealth, it is still an emerging economy. The reason for this is the colonial history of South Africa (Refer to Chapter 2). The international markets play a role in how development in South Africa is implemented. This is where politics come into play. P. Kingsworth in his article Globalisation of South Africa describes the conditions under which the fate of common South Africans would be controlled by international markets. After the failure of the Reconstruction Development Plan (RDP) in 1996, the Growth Employment and Redistribution program (GEAR) was set-up to take its place. The difference between GEAR and RDP was that; where RDP promised free basic services, GEAR privatised utilities and would bill all users. Some of these users live below the poverty line. Rapid advancements in technology threaten jobs and yet the poorest of the poor must still pay for services. Global trends to employers. To employers, global trends dictate how they should react to the current market. Technological advancements give them an edge of the opposition and that edge equals more profit. As crude as it may seem, profit is the bottom-line to most, if not all, employers. Globalisation has afforded employers a chance to compete on an international scale. Increased connectivity with international markets offers them the option of showcasing their services overseas. In order to be able to satisfy international demand, they need to automate systems. That is a factor that leads to job loss. Chapter 7: Technology: Computer Programmes With globalisation burning hot at the heels of a developing South Africa, computer programmes come as part of the globalisation package. It was an inevitable move and one that was greatly needed in terms of development. Computer programmes dont directly affect low-skill employees, its a challenge that will face those that havent been introduced to computer programmes in University. Again, the highlight of the clear disconnect between the industry and the education system. Many graduates fall into the chasm unbeknown to them, with very little help from the industry and Universities. CCS For contractors CCS or the Candy system is a computer programme that is specifically aimed at making the job of a contractor manageable. A contractor with many projects going on at the same time will need a computer programme that will integrate forecasting, estimating, valuations and project planning. The design of the Candy system is such that it can be understood by anyone with a knowledge of construction. Corruption has created a distorted view of contractors. It is a general view that many contractors cannot manage projects and therefore cannot control funds. Quantity surveyors are usually employed to help them control funds for contractors. Programmes like CCS have now given smaller contractors with the option of being able to control their own projects and therefore their own funds without needing a quantity surveyor to do the work for them. WinQS for Professional Quantity Surveyors WinQS is a programme designed more for professional quantity surveyors as it offers an in-depth interface that will require a quantity surveying background. WinQS can produce complete bills of quantities because it has JBCC contracts within the programme itself. On a consultation with Steve Naidoo (2012; August 5th), he explained the great help that came with the introduction of computers. Doing bills on chart paper and having to transport them great distances, as opposed to emailing, has made work a lot easier. Consulting firms will employ the use of WinQs more widely. A company that employed many quantity surveyors will need fewer with the introduction of such programmes. The results of automation are clear in South Africa. People are losing jobs and not enough is being doing to boost small enterprises. What is being done is being overshadowed by corruption while the fate of South Africas youth dangles helplessly in the face of poverty and a host of other social problems. Chapter 8: Case Studies I have selected two cases that I felt were relevant to highlight my growing concerns about the problems that come with technological advances. I cannot deny the great leaps we have taken with the help of technology. The problem is how these leaps tend to take developing nations back a few steps, especially when coupled with international pressure (via Globalisation, see Chapter 6). The first example highlights the advantages offered by technology and its advancements, it also highlights the change and how it would affect a developing nation. The Ark Hotel, China The Broad Group, a construction company based in China, was able to build a 30 Storey building in just 15 days. The fastest construction of a hotel. What was amazing was how there were zero injuries. The hotel itself was designed and built to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale. Building materials were all prefabricated and brought to site to be assembled. This could be the secret to their Super-fast power as it was dubbed in the British DailyMail (2012). The movement to precast and prefabricated materials is as inevitable as the first steps of a healthy toddler. South Africa, as the toddler, is expected to start running before it knows how to walk. The Ark Hotel, was built like a structure made of Legos. All the pieces were made and fabricated off-site and brought to site to be assembled by a few specialists and a crane. Construction like this in a developing nation could cripple it. In countries where the construction industry employs the most people, a move towards using prefabricated material could be disastrous not only in the short-term but in the long-term too. Sanrals E-Toll Sanral has undertaken to build open-road tolling for road users in Gauteng. The network will be 560kms covering 34 of Gautengs busiest interchanges the most infamous being; Allandale, William Nicol, Rivonia and Elands. The reason that E-Tolling was introduced is to fund the improvements of roads. The tolling will be based on a user-pay system. It will become necessary to get an E-Tag for the motor vehicle that will be transporting passengers and every month a statement will arrive at your doorstep, detailing your daily commute through the several tolls on your way to your destination. This system could be rolled out throughout the entire country. According to Sanral (2012), only 19% of the countries roads are tolled roads, the remaining 81% arent tolled roads. The reality is that the money that is made from the tolled roads is insufficient to perform maintenance on roads. The system will be unmanned and thus starts the problem. The people that were employed will now be jobless as tolls will no longer need people to collect monies. This is yet another example of how technology is making people redundant. One cannot help but be in awe of the great technological leap, the same technological leap is at the same time robbing people of jobs and yet again bring the problem of unemployment to the fore. Chapter 9: Resolution In cases like these were it is one power reigning supreme over a nation, a solution cannot be employed. Resolutions can however be offered. These suggestions are subject to reviewing and adjustment. Using human-sensitive methods on site that dont rely heavily on the use of machinery. The human resource is abundant and renewable. Employers in South Africa ought to be looking into using this readily available resource. It may be argued that machines do not take sick-days, thats acceptable but machines will not be the ones using your project upon completion. We are creating a society we cannot afford. 25% of the population is unemployed and as more technology is being introduced more people will lose their jobs in favour of automated systems. Site work can be carried out by labourers instead of machines. Simple tasks like batch concrete mixing can be carried out by labour instead of machines and be delivered to site. The problem is not one dimensional; for instance, a contractor has a need to keep a healthy stream of work coming in because of the corrupt nature of the construction industry where certain parties are earmarked for jobs. In cases like this, the contractor will be trying to turn a profit on every job and one way of doing that is by always completing jobs on time, he does this by having a smaller team that uses specialist technology to help complete jobs quickly and usually under-budget. He keeps his business afloat and doesnt employ many. Government regulation.* The dilemma facing South Africa is the corrupt nature of our leaders. Technology provides a higher level of production while neglecting the steps taken to reach that level of productivity. Technology renders humans redundant and government is aware but is benefitting through the use of technology. Technology entrenches the divisions of the past by keeping the privileged employed and the rest of the country in close proximity of poverty. Perhaps, the only difference between present day and apartheid is that those who can adapt and use technology stand a better chance of being employed over those that very little knowledge of technology and the way in which it works. Unfortunately, those that have a limited knowledge of technology form the majority of the countrys population. The onus is therefore on Government to regulate how technology is introduced and implemented in the construction industry in South Africa before we are faced with a situation where the poor have nothing to eat but the rich. Training of people and subsequent employment The best way to get a better workforce is by training them. During Apartheid, skills-training was a part of the school curriculum. That aspect of the curriculum must come back to address South Africas skills shortage. The only difference is the training will be for specific industries. Science and technology, research and development, medicine and engineering are fields that require younger thinkers. It seems like our education system is amassing an army of entrepreneurs that have no idea of how to manage their businesses. Small business fail because of mismanagement. The use of people as a resource can also be seen as a technological advancement because with enough training, efficient ways of carrying tasks out are inevitable. Addendum 1: Supporting documentation Addendum 2: Bibliography Education and Training Unit of South Africa; 2012; Understanding Globalisation (Online); available at www.etu.org.za ; Accessed 26 August 2012 Kingsnorth, P; 2004; The globalisation of South Africa (Online); available at uk.oneworld.net; Accessed 26 August 2012 Mackenzie, C; 2012; Theyre now a super-fast power: How the Chinese built a 30 storey hotel from scratch in just fifteen days (Online); available at www.dailymail.co.uk ; Accessed 27 August 2012 Sabol, L; 2007; Technology, Change, and the building industry (Online); available at http://www.dcstrategies.net/files/2_sabol_technology_change.pdf; Accessed 27 August 2012 Mabry, R. H, Sharplin, A. D; 1986; Does more technology create unemployment? (Online); available at http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/does-more-technology-create-unemployment; Accessed 24 August 2012 International Labour Office; 2012; Boosting Local Economies in rural areas (Online); available at www.ilo.org/led; Accessed 15 August 2012 European Science Technology Observatory; 2002; Impact of technological structural change on employment: prospective analysis 2020 (Online); available at http://www.mcrit.com/espon_scenarios/files/DOCUMENTS/eur20258en.pdf; Accessed 18 August 2012 Kletzer, L. G; 1998; Job Displacement (Pages 115-136) (Online); available at http://www.jstor.org; Accessed 10 August 2012 Talbot, D; 2012; Tectonic Shifts in Employment (Online); available http://www.technologyreview.com; Accessed 12 August 2012 Moavenzadeh, Fred, Koch Rossow, J. A; 1975; The construction in

Dilema at Day-Pro Essay

The crossover point is the rate at which the NPV of the two projects are equal. NPV has a direct relationship between NPV and Economic Value Added. The NPV shows how the shareholders’ wealth would be increased if the project is accepted. The goal of the company is to increase shareholders’ wealth, thus NPV shows the better way in choosing the right decision to achieve their goal. NPV method implicitly assumes that the rate at which cash flows can be reinvested is the cost of capital, whereas the IRR method assumes that the firm can reinvest at the IRR. NPV method is better because it selects the project that adds the most to shareholder wealth. Tim can show that the MIRR is the more realistic measure to use in the case of mutually exclusive contracts by explaining that by using MIRR, they can avoid the multiple IRR problems and at the same time explain that since reinvestment at the cost of capital is generally more correct, the MIRR  which assumes that CFs from all projects are reinvested at the cost of capital rather than on the project’s own IRR (in the case of IRR), is a better indicator of a project’s true profitability. Tim could also state that with the use of MIRR, the company can avoid some conflicts encountered when comparing NPV with IRR. With the use of MIRR, they can minimize the conflict between the two, just like when the two projects being compared have equal size and same life, both NPV and MIRR leads to the same decision. The company can also arrive at the same decision when the two projects being compared have equal size and different life. Using Profitability Index can help in deciding which project to choose because it gives the ratio which allows us to measure the proportion of money returned to money invested. Thus by profitability index, it allows us to compare investment opportunities that requires us different initial investments. The higher profitability index will be chosen because it gives higher possible return in the amount that is to be invested. In short, in the dilemma of Day-pro, Synthetic Resin must be chosen because it gives a higher return in spite of the high initial investment. However, in using this method, the analyst will ignore many factors, such as risk, cost of capital, and liquidity of the project. Thus, the company must consider or decide first on what factor they will base their decision in choosing a project. Being more conservative in revenue projection will give us an idea that the project is less liquid because they projected a longer period of time before the company can earn back the invested amount. Moreover, it also indicates that they considered the possible risks that may occur in the project along the way. The chance of overestimation and underestimation of the project is less possible that make it more realistic. Thus, the Synthetic Resin project is more reliable and accurate. Knowing that the synthetic resin would require extensive and longer time before it could be implemented, it will cause doubt on the part of the Board to choose this  project because it only says that Synthetic Resin project is less liquid compared to epoxy resin and the company will be tied longer to this project before it can regain the invested capital. However, looking at the other side of the coin, synthetic resin gives a higher return in spite of its flaws and its risks. On the other hand, Epoxy Resin seems to be more liquid and less risky and the return of this project is less compared to the Synthetic Resin. As a result, the board might be more attracted to Epoxy Resin. Still, the decision of the board depends on what they give importance or emphasis in choosing a project. And since the Board has a strong preference in using rates or return as its criteria, we would recommend to the Board to choose Synthetic Resin.

Texting While Driving

Stop Texting While Driving Introduction I. Attention Getter- audience participation/ survey a. How many of own a cell phone with texting privileges? b. Now how many of you have ever texted while driving? II. Thesis Statement- Did you know that texting while driving can be more dangerous than driving while drunk? III. Credibility- I found these statistics along with other information on drivinglaws. org and various other sites. IV. Preview- Today I will be discussing statistics, a few laws in different states, and a story in hopes that I will be able to persuade you to ignore texting while driving.Body I. So as I said, texting while driving is more dangerous than drinking while driving. a. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute conducted tests using drivers texting, drivers under the influence of alcohol, and drivers under the influence of marijuana. It has been proven that texting is more dangerous than being under the influence. In fact, a distracted driver is more likely to cause a n accident 2. 8 times as much as a non- distracted driver. The statistics from the study show that drivers, between the age of 17 and 24, reduce their reaction time by 35% while texting.As a driver under the influence of marijuana, reduces their reaction time by 21% and drivers while intoxicated, only 12%. b. Every day in 2008, 800,000 are using cellular devices while driving. Also, every year, 21% of fatal car crashes involve teens results from the distraction of a cell phone. Back in 2002, Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year because of the distraction of cell phones, and another 330,000 are injured. This estimate is expected to increase 4% each year. These deaths and injuries can be avoided if people would put down their cell phones when they get behind a wheel of a car.No text message is worth risking your life. II. Now, 19 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam ban any cell phone usage while driving. One of these states includes Arkans as which is where I lived before coming to college. The governor of Arkansas has passed several bills banning any cell phone usage while driving a motor vehicle. This includes the House Bill 1013 which went into effect back in October. It bans any driver of a motor vehicle to engage in text messaging. A few other states that ban the use of a cell phone while driving are Illinois, California, New York, and Indiana has a ban on any one under the age of 18.III. A lot of young drivers have so much confidence in their driving and texting skills that they think that nothing could ever happen to them. Some of you may even think that you’re a good enough driver that you can text and avoid an accident. I don’t know how well any of you can drive, but I do know you risk your life every time you pull out your cell while driving on the road. I found this video that is too long and too graphic for this speech but I encourage you to go on youtube after this class and watch this video .Just go to Youtube and type in UK texting accident and it will be the first link that pops up. Please watch this video and you will understand why I am stressing this topic. Conclusion I just discussed with you the statistics of driving while driving, states with laws prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving, a video link to visit, and a story from my high school town. I hope you will consider the information I just shared and I strongly urge you to visit the video link, UK texting accident. All I want you to remember after this speech is that no text message is worth risking your life. Texting While Driving When the cell phone was first invented it was made as a personal safety device especially if a person lived alone or some distance from family members. Many of us may line in regions of the country where sudden tornado or hurricanes could occur without warning. Then there are other events such as fires, flooding, and blizzards that may require a quick evacuation or move to a shelter. A cell phone is important to either get help to let others know a person’s location and level of safety. In today’s society cell phone are being used for texting and talking while driving. The state of Alabama is ranked 3rd in nation for texting while driving (State ranks 3rd for texting while driving). There are only six’s states that have passed laws against driving while using a cell phone California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington and Virginia (Cell Phone and Texting Laws) . Driving while using a cell phone is precarious because it cause accident, injuries, and deaths between the age 16 and 17. I’d be lying if I said I never text while driving. I recognize the dangers, and try to do it as little as possible. However, there are still incidents that occur. One day, I was driving down highway 14, passing Wal-Mart, and received a text from my mother asking what time football practice was. I went to reply and took my attention away from driving. This immediately endangered myself, and anyone else in the car, with me. Due to my irresponsible action I also endanger driving that surround me while texting. I have no ability to respond to events as they occur around me on the road. Even if I may be able to text while driving and maintain control and crashing if someone around was to do something dumb, my ability to react safety is severely diminished. According to (Push to stop Texting While Driving) 45 percent of drivers between the ages 16 and 17 texting while driving and it is a problem that is growing. In 2007 nearly 1,000 crashes involved 16-17 year old drivers’ (Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics). For every 6 seconds of drive, a driver sending or receiving a text message. A trucker reaching for his or her phone or other device is 6. 7 times more likely to experience a truck accident. Amongst adult ant teenager drivers the use of cell phone has become very popular. Majority of teen drivers are influence by parents’ bad habits. They watch their parent bad habits driving with one hand while using their cellular phone. Parents need to be diligent in both telling and showing teenage drivers the safest way to drive while using a cellular phone. One good habit is pull over before making a call. According to (Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics) 52 percent of 16 and 17 year old teen drivers answer cell phone on the road. Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25 percent of accidents in 2008. Almost 6,000 people were killed and a half million was injured in crashes related to drivers who talk on their phones. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver reaction time slower than 70 year old. There were 1. 4 million crashes caused by cell phone conversation. And the reason why this is so dangerous because 48 percent of young American from 12-17 say they have been in a car while the driver was texting or talking while driving. The reason for all that is younger people fell a need to be constant contact with other. They put these things before the safety of other on the road. That is why driving using a cell phone is dangerous. Texting While Driving Cause/Effect Essay November 23, 2011 What effect has â€Å"Text Messaging† put on our lives? The term Text Message is defined as a noun, it is an electronic message sent over a cellular network from one cell phone to another by typing words, often in shortened form as â€Å"l8t† for â€Å"late† on the phones numeric or QWERTY keypad. (Dictionary. Com) Over the years text messaging to me has been taken out of content and has been used for things you would not imagine. The younger generations as well as the old are now using text messaging a lot and a lot of people know that it is an addicting activity. Text messaging is being used for many different things in today’s society, some things good and something’s bad. For example we use text messaging at our church in our choir to let the choir members know which colors to wear each Sunday. I honestly believe that text messaging has caused a lot of people to stop spelling out words. Text messaging in my opinion was designed to be a shorter and faster way of communication but in today’s society some people have put down the cell phone but have not started back writing there whole words. I say that to say text messaging also has an affect on peoples English in today’s society. By having an effect on peoples English that causes problems with the kids in school, because it is no secret that by fourth grade if not lower a lot of kids have cell phones and they have learned the activity of text messaging. As I stated before text messaging is a faster shorter way of communication which cause’s you to sometimes break down your words or spell them in ways that are shorter, with kids doing that sometimes it can get hooked to them and when there doing there school work they can misspell a lot of there words because in their head there still texting. This can cause kids to fail there classes due to simple mistakes from texting. This can be prevented though if parents control there kids texting and put a limit on it because if not texting can go a far way such as the term sexting, sexting is sending sexually explicit messages via cell phone or instant messenger. (About. com) you may say what does that have to do with the topic, I believe it has a lot to do with the topic because when you’re talking about texting that’s a big category. The young people in today’s society have taken texting to another level because there growing up and there body is going through different things and their emotions are raging. The best way I believe parents can talk to their kids about texting is to come to them in a way where your not judging them but also letting them know the consequences it could cause and give them time to talk also while you just listen. Sexting is one of the many ways texting can affect our life. Text messaging has become so convenient that people are now texting and driving at the same time which can be very dangerous. This has caused a lot of wrecks and police are really cracking down on this activity. Texting while driving laws have been put in place in some states studies show that Texting while driving laws prohibit the use of electronic devices to write, send or read messages while driving. I have known people to get tickets for texting and driving and have had to pay large fines. In this world today people drive so reckless and careless that your eyes should be on the road at all times when you’re driving. Texting while driving could cause your life or another driver’s life. In my closing I would like to say that I hope something has been said to show you how texting has a huge impact on our lives. Texting While Driving When the cell phone was first invented it was made as a personal safety device especially if a person lived alone or some distance from family members. Many of us may line in regions of the country where sudden tornado or hurricanes could occur without warning. Then there are other events such as fires, flooding, and blizzards that may require a quick evacuation or move to a shelter. A cell phone is important to either get help to let others know a person’s location and level of safety. In today’s society cell phone are being used for texting and talking while driving. The state of Alabama is ranked 3rd in nation for texting while driving (State ranks 3rd for texting while driving). There are only six’s states that have passed laws against driving while using a cell phone California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington and Virginia (Cell Phone and Texting Laws) . Driving while using a cell phone is precarious because it cause accident, injuries, and deaths between the age 16 and 17. I’d be lying if I said I never text while driving. I recognize the dangers, and try to do it as little as possible. However, there are still incidents that occur. One day, I was driving down highway 14, passing Wal-Mart, and received a text from my mother asking what time football practice was. I went to reply and took my attention away from driving. This immediately endangered myself, and anyone else in the car, with me. Due to my irresponsible action I also endanger driving that surround me while texting. I have no ability to respond to events as they occur around me on the road. Even if I may be able to text while driving and maintain control and crashing if someone around was to do something dumb, my ability to react safety is severely diminished. According to (Push to stop Texting While Driving) 45 percent of drivers between the ages 16 and 17 texting while driving and it is a problem that is growing. In 2007 nearly 1,000 crashes involved 16-17 year old drivers’ (Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics). For every 6 seconds of drive, a driver sending or receiving a text message. A trucker reaching for his or her phone or other device is 6. 7 times more likely to experience a truck accident. Amongst adult ant teenager drivers the use of cell phone has become very popular. Majority of teen drivers are influence by parents’ bad habits. They watch their parent bad habits driving with one hand while using their cellular phone. Parents need to be diligent in both telling and showing teenage drivers the safest way to drive while using a cellular phone. One good habit is pull over before making a call. According to (Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics) 52 percent of 16 and 17 year old teen drivers answer cell phone on the road. Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25 percent of accidents in 2008. Almost 6,000 people were killed and a half million was injured in crashes related to drivers who talk on their phones. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver reaction time slower than 70 year old. There were 1. 4 million crashes caused by cell phone conversation. And the reason why this is so dangerous because 48 percent of young American from 12-17 say they have been in a car while the driver was texting or talking while driving. The reason for all that is younger people fell a need to be constant contact with other. They put these things before the safety of other on the road. That is why driving using a cell phone is dangerous. Texting While Driving When the cell phone was first invented it was made as a personal safety device especially if a person lived alone or some distance from family members. Many of us may line in regions of the country where sudden tornado or hurricanes could occur without warning. Then there are other events such as fires, flooding, and blizzards that may require a quick evacuation or move to a shelter. A cell phone is important to either get help to let others know a person’s location and level of safety. In today’s society cell phone are being used for texting and talking while driving. The state of Alabama is ranked 3rd in nation for texting while driving (State ranks 3rd for texting while driving). There are only six’s states that have passed laws against driving while using a cell phone California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington and Virginia (Cell Phone and Texting Laws) . Driving while using a cell phone is precarious because it cause accident, injuries, and deaths between the age 16 and 17. I’d be lying if I said I never text while driving. I recognize the dangers, and try to do it as little as possible. However, there are still incidents that occur. One day, I was driving down highway 14, passing Wal-Mart, and received a text from my mother asking what time football practice was. I went to reply and took my attention away from driving. This immediately endangered myself, and anyone else in the car, with me. Due to my irresponsible action I also endanger driving that surround me while texting. I have no ability to respond to events as they occur around me on the road. Even if I may be able to text while driving and maintain control and crashing if someone around was to do something dumb, my ability to react safety is severely diminished. According to (Push to stop Texting While Driving) 45 percent of drivers between the ages 16 and 17 texting while driving and it is a problem that is growing. In 2007 nearly 1,000 crashes involved 16-17 year old drivers’ (Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics). For every 6 seconds of drive, a driver sending or receiving a text message. A trucker reaching for his or her phone or other device is 6. 7 times more likely to experience a truck accident. Amongst adult ant teenager drivers the use of cell phone has become very popular. Majority of teen drivers are influence by parents’ bad habits. They watch their parent bad habits driving with one hand while using their cellular phone. Parents need to be diligent in both telling and showing teenage drivers the safest way to drive while using a cellular phone. One good habit is pull over before making a call. According to (Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics) 52 percent of 16 and 17 year old teen drivers answer cell phone on the road. Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25 percent of accidents in 2008. Almost 6,000 people were killed and a half million was injured in crashes related to drivers who talk on their phones. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver reaction time slower than 70 year old. There were 1. 4 million crashes caused by cell phone conversation. And the reason why this is so dangerous because 48 percent of young American from 12-17 say they have been in a car while the driver was texting or talking while driving. The reason for all that is younger people fell a need to be constant contact with other. They put these things before the safety of other on the road. That is why driving using a cell phone is dangerous.

Analysis Of Michael Sliwinski s The Globalization Of Cinema

Introduction Michael Sliwinski had commented the Globalization of Cinema: the latest hit in the Avengers franchise, debuted in theaters recently and made more than $200 million in a single weekend. The surprising part, however, is that it earned that $200 million outside the U.S. before the movie even opened stateside (2015). Hollywood is more driven by foreign markets abroad. Nearly 60% box office came from overseas. The American film producers know how to secure the international market. That is, how to take a general audiences fancy. They were increasingly relying on big-budget blockbusters and avoid nuanced and culturally specific stories to make translation easy. They also show movie stunts to attract audiences. At the same time,†¦show more content†¦The analysis also attempts to explain the role of media activities in meeting audience needs. At the same time, this discussion will concentrate on the study of the audience, and try to summarize the universal principles of the relationship between media activities and audience. Generally speaking, this article will draw on the methods of research about Marxism, fan culture, and image stars building. That is, making the image star creation for fans as the central point of the analogy. On the other hand, it also provides some discussion on the review of Marxism, fan culture and differences between traditional media and social media. Second, a kind of image star about this research question will be discussed as the case study. That is, the American superheroes. And analyzing the nature that how these image stars influence the process of audiences transform into fans. Then, the analysis will summarize necessary elements. And finally, some general conclusions will be drawn regarding the method about what is the role of those American superheroes in the process that audiences transform into fans through image star creation. The article first provides some discussion on the review of Fans Culture. Next, building the logical structure of Star Theory as a reference, to discuss the formation of Fans Culture in the process of interaction between media materials and audiences. And finally, some general conclusions will be made regarding the reason of audience