Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coursework - Essay Example Coca Cola Company owns over 300 brands including carbonated drinks, non-carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks and bottled water. It is estimated that this company has a daily turnover of 2billion on all of its brands thus providing enough prove that Coca Cola Company is among the biggest companies holding biggest market share in the global markets where 80% of the turnover and profitability comes from international markets outside USA. To sustain this dominance and to facilitate its expansions into the new market segments at the same time launching new products the company has to develop market plan in where it outlines various guidelines and strategies that the company should fully implement, more notable is that the Company has become a success story because of its various marketing strategies that suits the various consumer market segment across the globe (Doole 2008). These marketing strategies have enhanced the continued expansions of the company into the new global pot ential markets through acquisition of other brands countering its major competitors, launching of new brands and development of new markets in the unexploited markets as well as facilitating brand awareness to the existing and potential consumers thus enhancing consumer satisfaction, trust and loyalty on these brands. The Company approach on laying emphasis on consumer marketing campaigns has seen the Company’s brand varieties such as Diet coke, Rc cola, Sprite and Fanta performing well in all the market segments globally. The key factor that is notable to significantly contribute to the Coca Cola Company’s global market sustainability is the brand consumer marketing approach of adopting global marketing strategies. The need for adopting global marketing strategies came as a result of the company implementing the consideration of expanding into the global markets where they needed to address the various consumer needs, market segments and diverse consumer cultures (Doo le 2008). Marketing strategies for making marketing decisions varies in different regions in the world therefore it has become important for Coca Cola Company to conduct consumer marketing based on the domestic market segment cultures and the needs of the society. Coca Cola Company has faced stiff competition and increased rivalry in the domestic markets and the international markets, its major rival is Pepsi which is also manufacturing and distributing substitute products to those of Coca Cola Company. There are also other challenges that the company needs to address in order to consolidate its position as a leader in the global and domestic markets. These among others include lower sales of brands in the new markets; communication marketing mechanisms are inadequate; brand recognition and awareness in some market segments was very low and finally is the negative perception of consumers towards Coca Cola brands in regard to health issues. With this situation the Company needed to c ome up with unique marketing strategies and techniques to ensure that they edge out its competitors through the expansion of its markets and the consolidation of the customer base. To ensure that they identify suitable and appropriate marketing strategies for this consideration, the company sought to understand the consumer theories that may apply in the various societies in regard to marketing. They also found out how various marketing and advertisement models work in the consumer

The First Day of High School Essay Example for Free

The First Day of High School Essay Right when I got out of the car, I had no clue where to go, I’m accustomed to walking through the middle school doors and going to unite with all my friends after a thrilling summer, but today was different. It was my first day of high school and I was about to go on an adventure. I finally reached my destination, the freshman courtyard, and I walked into my first period class. I sat down, looked around and thought to myself, â€Å"I know absolutely no one! † Then the bell rang and my teacher walked in. First thing that came out of her mouth was, â€Å"So who has their summer reading assignment?! and I sat there in astonishment. In middle school, on the first day, it’s usually all about rules, rules, and more rules! And how the classroom should be, but no! Not in high school. It was more of, â€Å"You’re in English honors, let’s get to work and write an essay! † Well wasn’t that a surprise. Later throughout the day, I finally saw some of my friends and felt more comfortable that there were people I knew. I was starting to enjoy my classes, and I got to know my teachers a little more, but now it was 5th period lunch and Man was I hungry! When I walked into the lunchroom, I stopped in bewilderment on where to go; there were swarms of people everywhere I turned, freshman, sophomores, juniors, and even seniors. There was a snack line, soda machines, and an abundance of tables that filled the cafeteria. You could even sit outside! It was a humongous difference from middle school; we have so much more freedom. Speaking of freedom, did I mention how spectacular it is in high school compared to middle school?! In class, we get to work together and have immense amount of free time; we can also take our phones and iPods out more often. During passing we can have our phones out and can’t get in trouble for it! The best part of all is we can have any  electronic devices out at lunch and we can go to two different places, the media and the learning lab. It is so much more suitable than being locked up in captivity all day long. Some people would expect high school to be stricter than middle school and have countless rules. Actually, it is uncomplicated, less strict and more intriguing. When I was in middle school I still felt like a little kid, but now that I am in high school I feel like I am turning into a mature adult.

Episodic Dystonia and Hallucinations Due to DLAT Genes

Episodic Dystonia and Hallucinations Due to DLAT Genes Title: Carbamazepine responsive Episodic Dystonia and Hallucination due to Pyruvate Dehydrogenase E2 (DLAT) gene mutation Fatema J Serajee1, Salman Rashid2, and AHM M Huq1 ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations is a very rare condition with only 4 reported cases to date. METHODS: We describe a 15-year-old girl with mild intellectual disability, paroxysmal dystonia and bilateral basal ganglia signal abnormalities on brain MRI. Additional neurophysiological, imaging, metabolic and exome sequencing studies were performed. RESULTS: Routine metabolite testing, and GLUT1 and PRRT2 mutation analysis were negative. A repeat brain MRI revealed Eye-of-the-tiger-sign. Exome sequencing identified homozygous valine to glycine alteration at amino acid position 157 in the DLAT gene. Bioinformatic and family analyses indicated that the alteration was likely pathogenic. Patients s dystonia was responsive to low dose carbamazepine. On weaning carbamazepine, patient developed hallucinations which resolved after carbamazepine was restarted. CONCLUSIONS: PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutation has a more benign course compared to common forms of PDH E1 deficiency due to X-linked PDHA1 mutations. All known cases of PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations share the features of episodic dystonia and intellectual disability. Our patients dystonia and hallucinations responded well to low dose carbamazepine. Introduction: Pyruvate Dehydrogenase (PDH) E2 deficiency is a rare pediatric neurometabolic disease due to mutation in DLAT gene (Head et al., 2005; McWilliam et al., 2010). Only 4 cases with DLAT gene mutations have previously been reported (Head et al., 2005; McWilliam et al., 2010). All share the features of dystonia and some degree of developmental delay and characteristic globus pallidus signal abnormalities on brain MRI. This disease tends to have more benign course as compared to PDH E1 deficiency (Head et al., 2005; Huq et al., 1991; McWilliam et al., 2010; Patel et al., 2012). We report an additional case with DLAT mutation with new phenotype and treatment information. Case Report A 15-year-old girl presented with paroxysmal episodes of left lower extremity weakness and stiffening for the last 8 years. These episodes were triggered by exercise but no exacerbating or relieving factors were noted. There was no associated aura, alteration of consciousness, incontinence or other associated neurological symptoms. Her parents were second cousins, but family history was negative for known genetic disorders. Birth and past medical histories were also unremarkable. Patient had a speech delay but met her other childhood milestones appropriately. Later, she developed academic difficulties and at 15 years of age she was performing at a 4th grade level. At presentation, the patient had a normal examination except for some cognitive and reading difficulties. At the time of initial presentation to a pediatric neurologist at 7 years of age, an MRI of the brain revealed bilateral T2 hyperintensities in the basal ganglia. In addition, she was found to have decreased NAA peak an d the suggestion of a lactate peak on MR spectroscopy. EEG, EMG and nerve conductions studies were unremarkable. Over the years the patient was considered to have paroxysmal kinesiogenic dyskinesia and was treated with carbamazepine (100 mg daily). The patient was initially evaluated by us at age of 14 years. Metabolic work up for serum lactate, serum amino acids, acyl carnitine profile, serum copper and ceruluplasmin and GLUT1 or PRRT2 mutation analysis were unremarkable. Repeat MRI revealed basal ganglia signal changes including Eye of the tiger sign (Figure 1). MR spectroscopy studies were suboptimal. Exome sequencing was performed through Ambry laboratory as previously described (Serajee and Huq, 2015). The patient had homozygous c.470T>G (p.V157G) alteration in the DLAT (Dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (PDHC E2) gene suggesting the diagnosis of pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 deficiency, a rare cause of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency. Both parents and one brother were heterozygous carriers and another brother was homozygous normal. The p.V157G alteration (c.470T>G), is in coding exon 3 of the DLAT gene, results from a T to G substitution at nucleotide position 470. The valine at codon 157 is replaced by glycine, an amino acid with dissimilar properties. The V157 amino acid position is highly conserved in all available vertebrate species. The p.V157G alteration is predicted to be probably damaging by Polyphen and deleterious by SIFT in silico analyses. The V157 amino acid is located within the biotin/lipoyl attachment domain of the DHAT protein. The DLAT c.470T>G alteration was n ot observed in healthy cohort databases such as NHLBI Exome Sequencing Project (ESP) or the 1000 Genomes Project or the Database of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (dbSNP). Based on data from the HGMD, only the four alterations reported by Head et al. (2005) and McWilliam et al. (2010) have been observed within the DLAT gene to date (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). These include one missense alteration, two splice alterations, and one small in-frame deletion. Based on the above evidence, the homozygous c.470T>G (p.V157G) alteration was considered pathogenic. Her parents refused treatment with the ketogenic diet. When carbamazepine was weaned off due to parental concerns of side effects, within few weeks, patient developed hallucinations. Parents reported resolution of symptoms after carbamazepine was restarted. Discussion: The Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex functions in the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A. The complex contains three subunits: E1, E2 and E3 (Patel and Roche, 1990). The most common form of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency is due to mutations affecting the E1 subunit, and results in a variety of clinical manifestations depending upon the residual function of the enzyme (Huq et al., 1991;Patel et al., 2012). E1 subunit is encoded by PDHA1 gene of X chromosome. Most patients present in infancy with lactic acidosis, ataxia and hypotonia, either chronically or episodically (Huq et al., 1991;Patel et al., 2012). The mutation in our patient is in the E2 subunit (dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase), which forms the structural core of the enzyme and functions in accepting the acetyl groups and transferring them to coenzyme A, an essential step preceding the entrance of glucose into the TCA cycle (Head et al., 2005;Patel and Roche, 1990). E2 subunit is encoded by DLAT g ene located on chromosome 11q23.1. To date, however, there are only four reported cases of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency caused by alterations in the DLAT gene, making it a very rare cause of the condition (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). In addition, Robinson et al reported an additional patient with reduced E2 dihydrolipoyl transacetylase enzyme activity (32% of the control and undetectable E2 immunoreactive protein (Robinson et al., 1990). For this patient, no gene mutation data is available (Robinson et al., 1990). The patient reported by Robinson et al. had a different phenotype compared to our patient and four other genetically confirmed DLAT mutation cases and had profound retardation and microcephaly (Robinson et al., 1990). Head et al. (2005) first described two unrelated individuals with PDH deficiency caused by homozygous non-protein truncating mutations in the DLAT gene (Head et al., 2005). One patient demonstrated a deletion of glutamic acid in the outer lipoyl domain of the protein, whereas the second expressed a missense mutation in the catalytic site, leading to a substitution of leucine for phenylalanine. Both patients were male children born of first-cousin parents. These patients presented with a less severe phenotype compared to individuals with the more common type of PDH caused by alterations in the PDHA1 gene encoding the E1 subunit, and their common features included episodic dystonia, hypotonia, ataxia, and developmental delay(Head et al., 2005). Episodes of dystonia were often triggered by stress or fever, and developmental progress appeared to slow after the episodes as well. Additional reported features included inconsolable crying, nystagmus and abnormal eye movements, ptosis, drooli ng, jerky head movements, arching of the body, bottom shuffling, stiffening of the limbs, episodic clenching of the hands, head lag and hypotonia. Brain MRI findings in each patient included focal signal abnormality in the basal ganglia with high T2 signal and low T1 signal in the globus pallidus which was compatible with an abnormality of energy metabolism (Head et al., 2005). The authors concluded that mutations in the DLAT gene are an extremely rare cause of PDH deficiency and that patients with this type of PDH may be more likely to respond to a ketogenic diet (Head et al., 2005). McWilliam et al. (2010) also described two sisters born of non-consanguineous parents affected with pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 deficiency caused by compound heterozygous splice mutations in the DLAT gene (McWilliam et al., 2010). Clinical features were like those described in Head et al. (2005), including progressive episodic dystonia, cognitive impairment, and globus pallidus hyperintensity on brain MR I. Both patients were treated with a modified ketogenic diet and the parents reported improvements in concentration, fine motor control, and decreased fatigue (McWilliam et al., 2010). Previous reports noted the phenotypic overlap to patients with PKAN, and suggested investigation for PDH E2 deficiency in patients suspected to have atypical PKAN with negative genetic testing (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). PKAN is one of several diseases classified under the umbrella of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). It is caused by a mutation in the pentothenate kinase 2 gene, an abnormality of coenzyme A metabolism (Zhou et al., 2001). CoPAN (Coenzyme A synthetase protein-associated neurodegeneration) is another NBIA that affects the synthesis of coenzyme A. It is caused by a mutation in coenzyme A synthetase (COASY) gene (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). Clinical features of PKAN and CoPAN also include ataxia, dystonia, chorea and Parkinsonism, cognitive decline and psychiatric manifestations (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). In NBIA, whether iron accumulation is a cause or an effect of the disease pro cess is still not known (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). In our patient, the pattern of MRI changes in the bilateral globus pallidus is remarkably like that seen in PKAN and CoPAN, revealing the eye-of-the-tiger sign . On brain MRIs of patients with PKAN and CoPAN, the central hyperintensity of the eye-of-the-tiger sign is thought to be due to the tissue necrosis, while the surrounding hypointensity is attributed to the iron accumulation (Dusi et al., 2014;Kumar et al., 2006). Other diseases including cortical basal degeneration, multisystem atrophy, multiple sclerosis and neurofibromatosis may have similar neuro-radiological findings. However, these diseases differ from PKAN in their clinical behavior and pattern of MR abnormalities (Kruer et al., 2012). PKAN and CoPAN also affect the substantia nigra (Kruer et al., 2012); however, the involvement of the substantia nigra has not yet been reported in cases of PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations. Out of the four previously reported cases of PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutation, only t wo patients had serial MRI scans. In one patient, the brain MRI was normal at one year of age but follow up at 6 years-old showed an abnormal hyperintense T2 signal in the bilateral globus pallidus. In the other patient, similar lesions were noticed at 15 months-old that remained unchanged on follow up at 2 and 6 years of age (Head et al., 2005). As opposed to the eye-of-the-tiger sign seen in our patient, all the previously reported cases showed homogenous basal ganglia hyperintensities (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). As discussed above, PKAN and CoPAN result from a defect in coenzyme A synthesis (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations, on the other hand, affects the transfer of acetyl group formed by decarboxylation of pyruvate to coenzyme A (Kumar et al., 2006;McWilliam et al., 2010;Patel and Roche, 1990). It is possible that the clinical and radiological similarities of PKAN, CoPAN and PDH E2 deficiency are due t o shared abnormalities in the acetyl-CoA metabolism. Like our patient, the 4 previously reported DLAT mutation cases presented with dystonia and intellectual disability, with a more benign course than those affected with the PDH E1 subunit deficiency (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010) . In this regard, PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutation is like PDH deficiency due E3 binding protein deficiency (Head et al., 2005). Serum and CSF lactate were elevated in only one patient, but all demonstrated characteristic hyperintense T2 and hypointense T1 signal in the bilateral globus pallidi on brain MRI. In 3 out of the 4 patients, ketogenic diet was helpful in alleviation of the disease symptomology(Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). Our patients had hallucination, which was not described in other 4 reported patients. Her dystonia and hallucinations responded to low dose carbamazepine. Our case thus expands upon the phenotype for PDH E2 deficiency associated with the DLAT gene mutation. Reference List Dusi, S., Valletta, L., Haack, T.B., Tsuchiya, Y., Venco, P., Pasqualato, S., Goffrini, P., Tigano, M., Demchenko, N., Wieland, T., Schwarzmayr, T., Strom, T.M., Invernizzi, F., Garavaglia, B., Gregory, A., Sanford, L., Hamada, J., Bettencourt, C., Houlden, H., Chiapparini, L., Zorzi, G., Kurian, M.A., Nardocci, N., Prokisch, H., Hayflick, S., Gout, I., and Tiranti, V. (2014). Exome sequence reveals mutations in CoA synthase as a cause of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 94, 11-22. Head, R.A., Brown, R.M., Zolkipli, Z., Shahdadpuri, R., King, M.D., Clayton, P.T., and Brown, G.K. (2005). Clinical and genetic spectrum of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency: dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2) deficiency. Ann. Neurol. 58, 234-241. Huq, A.H., Ito, M., Naito, E., Saijo, T., Takeda, E., and Kuroda, Y. (1991). Demonstration of an unstable variant of pyruvate dehydrogenase protein (E1) in cultured fibroblasts from a patient with congenital lactic acidemia. Pediatr. Res. 30, 11-14. Kruer, M.C., Boddaert, N., Schneider, S.A., Houlden, H., Bhatia, K.P., Gregory, A., Anderson, J.C., Rooney, W.D., Hogarth, P., and Hayflick, S.J. (2012). Neuroimaging features of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation. AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol. 33, 407-414. Kumar, N., Boes, C.J., Babovic-Vuksanovic, D., and Boeve, B.F. (2006). The eye-of-the-tiger sign is not pathognomonic of the PANK2 mutation. Arch. Neurol. 63, 292-293. McWilliam, C.A., Ridout, C.K., Brown, R.M., McWilliam, R.C., Tolmie, J., and Brown, G.K. (2010). Pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 deficiency: a potentially treatable cause of episodic dystonia. Eur. J. Paediatr. Neurol. 14, 349-353. Patel, K.P., OBrien, T.W., Subramony, S.H., Shuster, J., and Stacpoole, P.W. (2012). The spectrum of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency: clinical, biochemical and genetic features in 371 patients. Mol. Genet. Metab 105, 34-43. Patel, M.S., and Roche, T.E. (1990). Molecular biology and biochemistry of pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes. FASEB J. 4, 3224-3233. Robinson, B.H., MacKay, N., Petrova-Benedict, R., Ozalp, I., Coskun, T., and Stacpoole, P.W. (1990). Defects in the E2 lipoyl transacetylase and the X-lipoyl containing component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in patients with lactic acidemia. J. Clin. Invest 85, 1821-1824. Schneider, S.A. (2016). Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation. Curr. Neurol. Neurosci. Rep. 16, 9. Serajee, F.J., and Huq, A.M. (2015). Homozygous Mutation in Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A Gene Results in Intractable Epilepsy, Involuntary Movements, Microcephaly, and Developmental and Growth Retardation. Pediatr. Neurol. 52, 642-646. Tonekaboni, S.H., and Mollamohammadi, M. (2014). Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation: an overview. Iran J. Child Neurol. 8, 1-8. Zhou, B., Westaway, S.K., Levinson, B., Johnson, M.A., Gitschier, J., and Hayflick, S.J. (2001). A novel pantothenate kinase gene (PANK2) is defective in Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome. Nat. Genet. 28, 345-349. Figure 1 Legend:   Ã‚   MRI of the brain: A. Axial T2 image showing hyperintensity in bilateral globus pallidus, which is surrounded by a hypointense signal B. Axial T1 image showing hypointensity in bilateral globus pallidus C. Coronal T2 FLAIR image showing hyperintensity in bilateral globus pallidus, which is surrounded by a ring of hypointense signal (eye-of-the-tiger sign)

Tender Reports in Construction

Tender Reports in Construction Tender report is an analysis or evaluation report that was prepared by a quantity surveyor about the tenders which submitted by the tenderers. This report was prepared to give suggestions to the public sector client, i.e. the government or the private sector employer about the best contractor for the project through evaluating the submitted tender documents in various aspects and to establish a price for the ensuing contract. After taking the recommendations from tender report and advice from the consultants into consideration, the client or employer will select his or her preferable choice of contractor. The throughout process and results of the tender evaluation are keep confidential. Upon the submission of tenders from the tenderers, a Tender Board or a Tender Assessment Panel will be formed. Tender Board or Tender Assessment Panel is a group of independent officers which included the quantity surveyor, to carry out a tender receipt process for competitive tenders, revise and confirm best and final offers. The tender board meets on a set date at a specified time to open and process tender documents submitted which they then forwarded to acquisition teams for commercial, technical and financial evaluation. The Tender Board will ensure that tenders are opened and processed in an open and transparent way. In addition, the tenders will be evaluated and recommendations will be made to the the client and the Tender Board. The approval and acceptance of a tender is made within the validity period of tender, which is normally 60 days as set in the tender document. To avoid the extension of one tender, tender should be evaluated and recommendation made within 30days from the date set in the handing over of tender. In case tender has to be extended due to unavoidable circumstances, agreement from the recommended tendering party should be obtained at least two weeks before the expiry of validity date. Generally, the tender evaluation process can be divided into two stages, i.e. preliminary stage evaluation and final stage evaluation. The preliminary stage of tender evaluation or also known as Preliminary Analysis, comprises of analysis on completeness of tender, analysis on compulsory documents and analysis on minimum capital required for the project, whereas the final stage of tender evaluation comprises of analyses on technical and financial capabilities of the tenderers. Besides that, arithmetical check will also be carried out on the tenders along the tender evaluation process. Before the tenders to be taken into consideration, the precondition of tender evaluation is the tender must be submitted before the tender closing date and time set out in the Letter of Invitation to Tender, i.e. usually before 12.00pm noon of the tender closing date. If the tender was submitted later than that, it is fall under the category of late tender. Late tender will not be accepted or of submitted, not opened for further consideration due to reasons of fairness and accountability. This is normally applied to public sector projects where the standards pertaining to transparency and accountability are especially high. However, the decision whether to open and consider such a tender is purely at the discretion of Tender Board and the private sector employer. Furthermore, tender amended by the tenderer on his or her own initiative whether in writing or other forms, without consent from the project client or employer will also be rejected for consideration. After that, the Quantity Surveyor will conduct the preliminary or first stage of tender evaluation process, i.e. Preliminary Analysis. It is an assessment system based on a few precondition set to determine whether the tenderers are qualified to be considered for the next stage evaluation. Purposes of this assessment system are to ensure that the tenderers to be considered are reasonable in term of tender price, complete of required documents and have sufficient capital to commence works. Firstly, the Quantity Surveyor will analyse the tenders whether the tenderers have offered the reasonable tender price. For government projects, if the number of tenderers is less than 10 persons, the department estimate or consultants estimate will be used for the comparison of tender prices. Usually, a variation price of 15% of department estimate or consultants estimate for tender prices offered by tenderers is assumed reasonable. If the number of tenderers is 10 persons or more than that, the Public Works Department will adopt the cut-off method to shortlist the tenderers for further evaluation. A cut-off price is established as the minimum tender price which is assumed feasible and reasonable to be accepted in accordance to market price through a statistical method. This is to avoid project implementation failure due to the contractors inability to undertake or complete the works caused by awarding contract to a tenderers with too low or unrealistic tender price. Therefore, usua lly only tenderers with tender price above or equal to the cut-off price will be considered and evaluated. In addition, completion period proposed must not exceed the range of estimated completion period. Then, the Quantity Surveyor will check the aspect of Completeness of Offer or Tender submitted by the tenderers. Some elements of Completeness of Tender which taken into consideration are the Form of Tender must be signed, the signature must be the authorized person, tender price must be stated in the Form of Tender, registration with Contractor Services Center (PKK) or Construction Industry Development Board(CIDB) must be valid and have stated the proposed completion period. Only tenders that complete and free from any deficiency or mistakes which may affect the current contract practices in legal aspects, are qualified to be considered. Tenderers which failed to do so, their tenders will be mentioned as INCOMPLETE to the client and stated the reasons. The following process is to check the aspect of Sufficiency of Compulsory Documents. All tenderers are obliged to submit all compulsory documents needed which stated in the Instructions to Tenderers for the tender evaluation purpose. The compulsory documents are the company auditors report, bank accounts monthly statement, banks report on company financial status and report on current project by resident architect or resident engineer or project manager. These documents are needed to prove whether the tenderers have sufficient financial capability, i.e. possess minimum sufficient capital to start the works. Without submitted the compulsory documents, especially for company financial documents, tender evaluation cannot be carried out and that tender is not qualify to be considered and can be rejected. Besides, an analysis on minimum capital required for the project will be conducted. The analysis will be done on the companys current assets, current liability, bank account statement, fixed deposit, bonds, credit facilities from bankers or suppliers, overdraft and bank loan. Hence, the company financial documents submitted by the tenderers will form a basis or proof for this evaluation aspect. For government projects, the minimum capital analysis is made through calculation of 3% of the Builder Works value based on department estimate. Along the tender evaluation process, the Quantity Surveyor will carry out the arithmetical checks on the tender documents. It comprises of correcting arithmetical errors in extensions, casting, etc and isolating palpable errors on pricing, but the tender amount remains unaltered. This measure is to correct mistakes for the purpose of future variation. A detailed examination of Bills of Quantities including comparison of prices will also be carried out on all tenders submitted. If the tenderers have fulfilled all the requirements in the preliminary stages evaluation, then the tenderers are considered or qualified for the final stages evaluation. The final stages evaluation is carried out based on a marking or scoring system which the marking are made objectively and quantitatively for each criterion assessed. Firstly, it will analyse the tenderers first aspect of technical capability, i.e. experience. Assessment is made based on the total value of same and similar nature of tendered works completed in the past five years. This is to get know that whether the tenderer is capable or have similar nature of works experiences for the tendered project. Next, it will analyse the tenderers second aspect of technical capability, i.e. financial. It is based on the total annum value of project predicted to be provided from the tenderers various sources of finance. It is important to prove that the tenderer has the financial capability to execute the project. Marks are given according to their financial capability. After this, it followed by the third aspect of tenderers technical capability assessment, i.e. the technical workers and possession of basic plant and machinery. Assessment is made based on their technical workers, such as architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, technician, and polytechnic and technical works assistants. The tenderers need to submit the KWSP statement and photocopies of Certificates of Workers Qualification to prove that they have qualified and enough number of technical workers to execute the tendered works. The lists of plant and machinery with supporting documents are also required to submit for the evaluation. Lastly, it will analyse the tenderers current works performance. This analysis is aimed to ensure that the tenderers do not have projek sakit, i.e. projects lagged behind 30% or more from the schedule of works or works programme. In addition, it is important to ensure that the tenderers do not have problems of employments determination by other client or employers. After the both preliminary and final stages of tender evaluation have completed, the results, justification, recommendation, and tenderers necessary detail information and facts will arrange and compiled together in a systematically way to form a tender report and submit to the client or employer. In conclusion, tender report is produced to assist the client or employer in decision making process in order to select most suitable and capable contractor to complete the project within specified time and quality.

Growth in the U.K. Economy :: Economics Britain Essays

Growth in the U.K. Economy After the Second World War, Britain enjoyed the longest boom in its history until the 1973-74 oil crisis. There are many, though, who do not view this as a successful period of Britain's history. Although Britain experienced unprecedented growth, its rate of growth was slower than that for many other countries. It is therefore debatable as to whether this was a successful period of Britain's history or not. This essay will examine the statistics of Britain's growth after the Second World War and compare this to statistics for other countries as well as statistics from Britain's past. This will provide evidence to accurately assess Britain's growth performance during this period. The essay will also examine possible reasons for Britain's relative decline such as demand management Government policies, balance of payments problems, an over reliance on traditional manufacturing industries, low investment in capital stock, Trade Union power, poor management, poor business structure and a poor education system. The 25 years from 1948 to 1973 produced growth faster than had been seen in any previous period of equivalent length. During this period, real gross domestic product doubled. The increase in the average growth rate from 2% to 2.8% shows that UK productivity increased considerably. During the 1950s, there were no concerns about the UK growth rate. The standard of living was still higher than that of any other EEC country except Belgium and higher than it had ever been in Britain's history. It was twice as high as Italy and 50% higher than West Germany. When compared to the performance of other countries, though, UK growth rates are less impressive. Other EEC countries had growth rates roughly double that of the UK, between 5% and 6%. This caused great concern amongst many politicians and economists at the time. Most economists look back on the period as a failure. Elbaum and Lazonick, two North American economists say: "If there is much to be learned from the Japanese success, it is our conviction that the United States may have even more to learn from the decline of Britain The significance of a difference of 3% in the growth rate is that, if two countries have a level start, the faster growing country will have twice the output of the slower country in 25 years. This showed that Britain was in relative decline and justified some of the fears of

Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games Essay -- Papers Children

Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games The video game technology, like most technologies, has changed drastically in the last few years. Arcades may look much the same on the surface as they did a decade or two ago, but the games have become far more violent, sophisticated and addictive. When one visits the video arcade it is not surprising to see children pointing and shooting something that looks suspiciously like a real weapon. If Pong – or, for that matter, Pac-Man and Super Mario Brothers – is one’s point of reference, one needs to think again. What one assumes about the benign, outdated games of the 1970s and the 1980s, even of the early 1990s, the research regarding them cannot be considered valid as video games put in the market in the last five years. It is a whole new world, and it is evolving at a rate that is hard for parents to keep pace with (Funk. Jeanne 1993). How fast a rate? Consider this: During the last two decades interactive video games have emerged as one of the most popular forms of entertainment, particularly among teens. According to the non-profit organization, Mediascope, â€Å"Globally, annual video games revenues now exceed $18 billion. In the United States alone, video game revenues now exceed $10 billion annually, nearly double the amount Americans spend going to the movies. On average, American children who have home video game systems play with them about ninety minutes a day. The kids are changing with the technology – how could they not be? They are riding technology curve in a way we are not and never can. On many levels, it’s wonderful to have them exposed to this brav... ...tors in Computing Systems CHI '04 Abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. ACM Press New York, NY , USA p. 1375-1378 Provenzo, Eugene. Video Kids. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991 47-48. Schmitt, B.D. (2004). Disadvantages of Video Games. Clinical Reference Systems. Jan 1, 2004 p 3356. Behavioral Health Advisor 2004.1 McKesson Health Solutions LLC Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Pres, New York, USA The First Fighting Game That Let You Just Be Friends. Take Greatest Games of All Times. Mortal Kombat II. Midway 1993. Accessed 2 Sept 2005 at: http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/p-17.html Videogame- mind control? Accessed 2 Sept 2005 at: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread37141/pg1

APUSH Extra Credit

In the United State s of America . From 1998 to the present, this country has strayed away from the ideals pre sensed within the Declaration of Independence. Three major ideas expressed in the Declared ion were the natural laws giving the people the right to assert political independence as long as the e reason for doing so is Justified, the Inalienable rights of people to life liberty and the pursuit of h peppiness, and the purpose of government to protect these rights and In case of failure to do so e abolished.These three examples, the Republic of Lookout, the excellently Issue, and the numb ere of militias around the united States give evidence to the claim that the united States ha s moved further away from the main ideas within the Declaration of Independence. The Republic of Lookout claims to exist today in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming. It is the supposed homeland of the Alack a Native American tribe.It is not recognized by the feder al government of the United States. I n 2007, the Lookout Freedom delegation, led by Russell Means, traveled to Washington where he submitted statement declaring Independence from the U. S. The reason professed by the Alack ah Is that they were never a part of the country and were being ruled by force. From a legal sat endpoint the Lookout claim to have always been a sovereign nation under Article Six of the Consist caution.The Lookout have provided legitimate reasons to exercise their right to secede from the U. S. Claims made by the Lookout have not been taken seriously by Congress. By seemingly ignoring Eng the pleas of the Lookout, Congress Is Ignoring the natural law outlined In the Declaration of Independence thus making it's way further from the ideals held sacred in the dotcom