Unethical Act Among Contractors: Class F in Selangor

Unethical Act Among Contractors: Class F in Selangor 1.0 INTRODUCTION Contractors are the independent entity that agree to construct certain number or quantity of goods, material, equipment personnel ,or services that meet the requirement of specifications at a mutually price with a specific timeframe with another independent entity call contractee or project owner (Oxford Times). All contractors are rated Class F are Bumiputera. According to Article (160(2)) the concept of a bumiputra ethnic group in Malaysia was coined by activist Tunku Abdul Rahman. It recognized the special position of the Malays provided in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, in particular Article 153. But, the constitution does not use the term bumiputra; it defines only Malay and aborigine (Article 160(2)).This means that the contractor is Class F Bumiputera contractors and do not need to apply for Recognition of Bumiputera. According to PKK (Pusat Khidmat Kontractor) until 26th June 2010 there are 4210 registered class F contractors in Selangor. A countrys economic system, irrespective construction industry plays a role in, construction industry plays a substantial role in a countrys national economic system (Zantanidis Tsiotras, 1998). Indeed, this sector is an important employer of a nations workforce as it employs between 2% to 10% of total workforce of most countries (Abdul Rashid Hassan, 2005). Malaysia has gained an impressive economic growth during the last three decades (Abdul Rahman et al, 2005) and this sector has employed an estimated 798,200 workforce nationwide in 2004 (CIDB, 2006). The Malaysian Government has given a much needed boost to the countrys construction industry under the 9th Malaysian Plan where a total of 880 projects worth RM15billion is to be tendered (The Star, 2006). It should be foregrounded that the issue of poor quality in the construction sector has, nevertheless. been identified as a major concern even as far back as the mid 1980s (The Star, 2006). Generally, it is a rule that constructi on projects must be completed within the planned cost, scheduled time and required quality. Quality may sometimes be ignored in this industry to cut the costs or to shorten the project time (Turk, 2006). To deal with the low quality problem faced by the industry, quality management is seen as an approach to achieve the required level of quality of the end product and has been given great attention worldwide over the past three decades (Hiyassat, 2000; Berawi and Woodhead, 2005). However, there is a perception that majority of quality related issues are caused by human factor. In response to that perception, a study was performed to look into the relationship between professional ethics among participants of construction sector and the quality related issues in Malaysian construction sector. It should be noted that for this purpose of survey, contractors and clients are regarded as professions and they are required to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism in performing their t ask, in response to the Governments effort who has introduced the National Integrity Plan to enhance integrity and ethics in the nation. Unethical acts of fraud, waste, abuse, and corrupt practices are what receive prominent treatment in the media worldwide. Such as inappropriate gifts, unauthorized payments, and fiscal infractions are the unethical act problems most noted. The Conference Board in New York reported that the above issues have widespread agreement on each of these issues as being a serious concern among the leaders of the free world, including those in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Due to the increased of public awareness toward the contractor unethical acts and also decreased of public tolerance for wrong-doing, it is important for contractor to focus specifically on the question of how professional ethics should be incorporated into awareness of individual to make sure every projects should be completed as standard. The ethical statement can describe the act was right or wrong, or act with a right or wrong which it can provide a line of distinction between good and evil of the act or the tendency of a person or at least it can develop guidelines that can be made with various moral considerations(J.L Mackie, 1971). Ethical act are very important because it use to determine the thoughts, actions and behavior of members of the organization to fulfill their responsibility and trust as an employee. It is also to create statements and coordination between the contractors as a key institution for national development. Ethical act also important to maintain and improve client confidence in the organization, 84% of FMIs respondents said that theyve seen an unethical act committed in the construction industry in the past year is an alarming statistic. Contractors, can take little comfort in the probability that incidence of unethical behavior is just as high in other industries these days. FMI had offer f our solution and one of the solutions is to stiffer the penalties for those caught in unethical or illegal acts is the least likely to succeed. Secondly, the FMI had suggest to develop an industry-wide code of ethics which these codes of ethics need to be enforced in every country. A less formal but corollary solution would hit closer to home. Companies should place more emphasis on social responsibility in their dealings with other firms. This approach is easier said than done, of course, although a few respondents in the survey say they have walked away from projects or companies and suffered short-term consequences as a result. They did not indicate, however, that they regretted their decisions in the long term. Training in ethical conduct is the fourth solution, and its the one that holds the most promise as long as it is coupled with commitment to these practices from the top ranks of any construction company. The FMI report states that unethical acts can signal a failure of management to know how to get the job done the right way. 1.2 Problem statement Due to many issues in our country regarding construction industry that lead to the unethical act by the contractors in running the projects such as the issue on the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2( MRR2 ), Matrade building and also the issue on the Navy Recruit Center. If this ethical issue still going on in our construction industry, it will affect our construction quality. According to the Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, more than 18,000 contractors and sub-contractors were either paid late or have yet to receive payment for completed work totaling RM23.7billion since 2000. This is a very huge sum, about 14% of the allocation for development projects under the 9th Malaysia Plan. The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had carried out a six-month survey on 330 contractors, in which 273 cases of payment problems involving RM877.8mil were reported. Another example for the issue in Malaysian construction industry is the Plaza Rakyats project. The government will iss ue a warning notice to the Plaza Rakyat project contractors to continue the project as early as next week, initially, and if defaults, the tender will be forfeited. Minister of Federal Territory and Welfare Commissioner, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said, a notice will be given to contractors in a week or two so that they continue construction work. 1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH. The aim of this research as far as the unethical act among contractors class F in Selangor is concerned, is to identify the effect in the construction quality. These main objectives are broken down to more specific objectives in order to better understand the topic at hand. To achieve the desired aim of the research, there are some of the objectives had been choose for this research. Objectives for this research are: Assess the level of professional ethical standards and its practice in the Selangor construction industry, To identify the problems associated to unethical acts in construction industry Determine the role of professional ethics in improving quality management in construction industry. 1.4 Organization of Study Chapter 1 introduces the research topic. It discussed about the unethical acts, definition of contractor, definition of bumiputera, issue related to unethical acts in construction industry problem statement and the objectives that initiated this study. Chapter 2 involves the extensive review of literature relating to the relevant topic of the subject matter of research including the professional ethic and relationship between ethic and construction. Chapter 3 discussed the methodology used in this study. It includes the developed hypothesis and data collection methods. It also includes a brief explanation on the data analysis methods. Chapter 4 reports data analysis and findings of the survey obtained from the findings. Chapter 5 involves detail finding and discussion on the result of survey base on the analysis. Chapter 6 present conclusions and recommendation based on the findings of the study. Key recommendation and their future prospect have been outlined which may assist in future plans to facilitate knowledge sharing plan in school. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction In this chapter a great extent of literature of relevant concepts are being reviewed in order to get insight of and identify variables which have impact on the objectives of this research. The researches which are done by different scholars and researches will be reviewed. 2.1 Quality In Construction Industry Quality is a measure of excellence or a state of being free from defects, deficiencies, and significant variations, brought about by the strict and consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies specific customer or user requirements. ISO 8402-1986 standard defines quality as the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs Since tribal chiefs, kings, and pharaohs ruled the issues of quality have already existed (Gitlow, 2005). In a project scenario, quality can be defined as meeting the legal, aesthetic (Arditi Gunaydin, 1997) and functional requirements of a project (Berawi, 2006). Customers nowadays place more emphasis on the quality of products rather than the price which was the major concern in the past. Hence, a rapid expansion of international competition in quality has occurred (Tsiotras Gotzamani, 1996; Abdul Rahman Berawi, 2002). In America, the professional societies have prepared codes of ethics since before early twentieth century. These have been incorporated to a greater or lesser degree into the regulatory laws of various countries. Such as The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the UK, they have a code of ethics incorporated into its standards of conduct and as for Canadian societies of professional engineers likewise have such codes of conduct as well (Bowen, P., R. Pearl and A. Akintoye. 2007). Mainly for practical and professional use, codes of ethics are developed for supplementing the building codes and other acts of law. These ethical aspects were considered based on mans natural morals (Darabarek Symotink, 1999). In terms of quality in construction industry, Turk (2006), citing Arditi Gunaydin (1999), mentioned that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"high quality building project includes factors like the design being easily understandable and applicable, conformity of design with specifications, economics of construction, ease of operation, ease of maintenance and energy efficiency. According to S. Fryer, Buro Happold, UK (2007), no matter how clever or elaborate the design of a structure is, any construction project will ultimately be judged on the quality of the finished product. Zantanidis Tsiotras (1998) and Abdul Rahman Berawi (2002) mentioned the expectations for quality construction projects will continue to grow rapidly as the number of affluent, educated and quality conscious customers are increasing. With the globalization of economy, construction firms worldwide are actively engaged to achieve internationally accepted quality levels to ensure their position in the emerging international market especially in those developing economies. Thus, the need to have a proper system that ensures quality is critical, coupled with high level of attention paid to quality management in construction industry (Abdul Rahman, Berawi, et al, 2006). Scholars indicate that quality management has been adopted by many countries in their construction industry including Hong Kong (Leung et al, 1999; Au Yu, 1999 and Tang Kam, 1999), Singapore (Low Omar, 1999 and Low Yeo, 1997), Greece (Tsiotras Gotzamani, 1996 and Zantanidis Tsiotras, 1998), Turkey (Turk, 2006), Jordan (Hiyassat, 2000), Saudi Arabia (Bubshait Al Atiq, 1999), Sweeden (Landin, 2000), United States (Chini Valdez, 2003), South Africa (Rwelamilla, 1995) and Malaysia (Chew Chai, 1996). As for Malaysia,we have the code of ethics for co ntractor which need to be followed by the contractors. In that code of ethic it emphasizes more about the level of professionalism, productivity, and quality. Excellence in the construction industry is very much determined by the level of efficiency, productivity, quality and professionalism in the delivery services. The delivery of construction services is connected directly or closely related integrity of the construction contractors in the performance responsibilities. This aspect has been dealt with when Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP): 2006-2015 enacted. CIMP has given special emphasis on increasing productivity, image and professionalism in the construction industry as the strategic thrusts of this industry to greater high. For this purpose CIMP also has proposed legislation Code of ethics to further strengthen the practice of values and moral ethics among contractors in the country in implementation of construction works. Many developers were also fined for not confo rming to the Housing Development Act, including not preparing reports on schedule, especially work progress reports every six months (NST, 2010). This quality in our construction industry can be improved if everybody doing their part. For every developer, starting a new housing project is a new business. So, if they understand their responsibility as a developer and follow the agreement, they must complete the projects according to the dates set. According to Michael S. Poles, the quality of the construction can be control by competence supervision. It is the duty of the contractor to complete the work covered by his or her contract, in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. The contractor must carefully study the approved plans and specifications and should plan their schedule of operations well ahead of time. If at any time it is discovered that the work which is being done is not in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, the contractor should immed iately correct the work. In order to assure that the work being done is in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, the contractor must always supervise, and coordinate of all of the work that need to be completed. 2.2 Professional Ethic in Construction Industry Profession is an occupation that requires both advanced study and mastery of a specialized body of knowledge and undertaken to promote, ensure or safeguard some matter that significantly affects others well being (Vee Skitmore, 2003). Almost every profession has its codes of ethics to provide a framework for arriving at good ethical choices. Therefore, professional ethics is a system of norms to deal with both the morality and behavior of professionals in their day to day practice, and ascribes moral responsibility not to an individual, but to all professionals practicing in a particular profession. For the building and designing professions, the incalculable value of human life demands nothing less than the highest moral considerations from those who might risk it otherwise (Mason, 1998, cited in Vee Skitmore,2003). Professional ethics concerns the moral issues that arise because of the specialist knowledge that professionals attain, and how the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a service to the public (Ruth Chadwick, 1998). The construction industry is a perfect environment for ethical dilemmas, with its low price mentality, fierce competition, and paper thin margin (FMI, 2006). Jordan (2005) stated that unethical behavior is taking a growing toll on the reputation of the industry. From a survey conducted by FMI, 63% of the respondents whom are the construction players feel that construction sector is tainted by unethical conducts (FMI, 2006). Surveys conducted by researchers in Australia (Vee Skitmore, 2003) and South Africa (Pearl et al, 2005) identified several unethical conducts and ethical dilemmas in the construction industry such as corruption, negligence, bribery, conflict of interest, bid cutting, under bidding, collusive tendering, cover pricing, frontloading, b id shopping, withdrawal of tender, and payment game. It is evident that there exist significant areas of concern pertaining to the ethical conducts practiced by the construction professionals. There are many other efforts taken to increase the ethical standards and integrity among the professionals in construction sectors worldwide. According to Pearl et al (2005), the regulatory professional Acts relating to the built environment professional sector in South Africa were totally overhauled in the late 1990s and a new suite of professional Acts were promulgated in 2000 to enhance the professionalism. Meanwhile, in America, the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) has updated its code of ethics to include a wider range of professional services as well as professional services among construction players (CMAA, 2006). A Standard of Professional Conduct to govern the ethical practices in the American civil engineering profession was published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE, 2007). On the other  hand, Australia has their own codes of tendering to enhance fairness and transparency (Ray, 1997). In Malaysia, the government is very serious about improving ethics in both public and private sector. For instance, the construction industry has introduced codes of ethics for contractors to encourage self regulation among the contractor in this sector (The Star, 2006). Stakeholders of construction projects were asked to enforce the existing code of ethics to safeguard the engineers good name (The Star, 2006). The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) of Malaysia also host integrity courses for contractors to promote the importance of integrity and plans to make the course as a pre9requisite for contractors when renewing their registration (The Star, 2006). Finally, the launching of the Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP) by CIDB in 2004 also had in the master plan an objective to enhance professional ethics in the local construction industry (Construction Industry Master Plan 2006 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2015). According to Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, 1,345 developers and more than 5,000 directors of such companies involved in problematic projects have been blacklisted because they abandoned housing projects and also those that were not completed on schedule. They are not only been blacklisted, they also fined for not conforming to the Housing Development Act, including not preparing reports on schedule, especially work progress reports every six months(NST 2010). 2.3 Relationship between Professional Ethic and Quality Related Issues Besterfield et al (2003) mentioned quality is dependent on ethical behavior, whereby quality and ethics have a common care premise which is to do right things right and it is a proven way to reduce costs, improve competitiveness, and create customer satisfaction. It is evident that low  ethical standards among construction professional will lead to quality problem. These issues were highlighted in the media and received great concern of public (Fleddermann, 2004; NST, 2004; and RTM, 2006). As an example, the ethical related case in the construction industry was the collapse of the Hyatt Regency Kansas City walkways (Fleddermann, 2004). It is a hotel project in 1970s with walkways suspended over the large atrium. With the intention to save the cost, the subcontractor for the fabrication and erection of atrium steel suggested changes in the structure and it was approved by the consulting structural engineer. During the construction, part of the atrium collapsed and the engineer came out with the report saying that the design was safe and ready to be opened for business in 1980. The tragedy happened one year after the completion of the project during a dancing party in the atrium lobby. Some of the walkways on which people were dancing collapsed onto the crowded atrium floor, leaving more than a hundred people died and almost two hundred injuries. Investigation was then conducted by the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors reported that the original design was only marginally acceptable to the Kansas City building code where the walkways would only have had approximately 60% of the capacity required by the code. The situation was even worse in the new design proposed by the steel subcontractor and approved by the engineer. The consultant was found negligence in its investigation of the atrium collapse and places too much reliance on the subcontractor. Therefore, the engineer has been charged for negligence, incompetence, and misconduct. Both the engineer and the consultant firm lose license of practicing. This case strongly indicates that unethical behaviour will lead to quality problems and structural failures. In Malaysia, as an example, a newly opened specialist hospital in Johor Bahru was closed due to fungi attack on the equipments and walls (RTM 2006). It was found that many of the hospitals equipments such as oxygen piping and sewerage system are not according to the specifications. This clearly shows the poor ethics of the contractor who failed to do right things right. The contractor was given three months to rectify problems including leaking pipes, broken ceilings and faulty air conditioning ducts (NST, 2004). Another substandard quality of construction project in Malaysia is the RM238 million Middle Ring Road Two (MRR2) flyover which was closed to traffic after cracks were found in 31 pillars and structural movements were detected (The Sun, 2004). The Government engaged an independent consultant from the United Kingdom to investigate the defects. The independent consultant identified that design deficiencies and improper anchoring of the columns to the crossbeam were the main cau se of the cracks (NST, 2004). Design deficiency is found to be a negligence on the design team and the repair works was then carried out at an estimated cost of RM20 million. Contractors confront dozens of issues, many of which have substantial impact on their own self or organization, as well as others involved in the project. Many decisions have a straight forward answer determined by contract language or budget. Some, however, require entering an indistinct gray zone where the contractor must use best judgment to devise a course of action. Ethical questions raised include: what happens when professional codes and regulations lag behind technological innovations; what precautions must engineers take when trying to balance the benefits, new technologies bring against risks to public safety, often associated with engineering innovation and what are engineering and corporate responsibilities to the public for failed innovation; and should he hold then payments for the benefit of his organization. Often these challenges are managed with little or no preparation or formal guidelines and sometimes with negative results. Engineering ethics is attracting interest in colleges of engineering throughout the world. Therefore, the new technology must address the human being as its central subject and has to be introduced by ethics (Cywinski, Z. 2001). The construction of the new national palace at Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur has doubled in a period of four years from RM400 million to RM 811 million. Contracts for the construction were awarded to three companies through direct negotiations instead of open tenders ( NST 2003). Government will focus on overcoming the problem `leakage of tenders in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (RMK-9) are exploring the possibility of tightening conditions of the application to the contractor class F. Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the conditions were studied for class F contractors license applican t is to ensure that applicants undergo interview, examination, has offices and operations background of the net. The number of contractors has increased dramatically recently that 46.983 of the contractors registered with the Contractor Service Centre (PKK) in the country. Of the total, 35,544 are Class F contractors. The contractors will face intense competition in seeking jobs or contracts, and more disturbing is the number of contractors that own more than the number of contracts offered, especially from the government. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction This section describes the methodology used in conducting this research. It starts by describing the sample selection, research design, variables and hypothesis and continues with the description of the methods of data collection and data analysis. Finally, some of the limitations and key assumption of the findings are described. Primary source were used to collect data from the sample to assess the perception of respondents toward knowledge management and knowledge sharing, the school culture and work environment, individual barriers and organization barriers toward knowledge sharing. The selected data was tested and conclusions were drawn. There are 6 procedures used in completing this study. First, a review of literature was conducted. The review was focused on the emergence of knowledge economy and knowledge management. Then the roles of knowledge sharing were discussed. A further potential barrier toward knowledge sharing was reviewed. Variable which has affected on knowledge sharing was also discussed. The review of literature served as a frame work for the study, and offered contrasting opinions of the authors. Second, a rough draft of the survey instrument and possible methods of testing and assessment of variables was done. A questionnaire was tested and validated before implementation reviewed for preventing any bias and avoiding errors. Questionnaire survey is the main research methodology used to achieve the research objectives. Five hundred (500) sets of questionnaires were distributed to targeted respondents in Selangor state by post ,via the internet , by hand. Targeted respondents ranging from consultant firms and contractor personnel within Selangor area .To ensure the reliability of the questionnaire survey, the sample size taken was then compared to match with the sample size recommended by Krejcie and Morgan (Sekaran, 2000: 295). Third, a survey was implemented. Questionnaire was sent to the list of all class F contractors which registered under PKK within Selangor area. Fourth, the result of the survey was assessed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 15.0 software. The result were tested and presented with illustration. Scores were converted into percentage rating and presented in graphical format using excel 2003. Fifth, the conclusion was driven from data analysis and findings. Important points were highlighted and recommendations were given. Research Design The research was designed to explore the unethical acts among contractors regarding the issue on the construction quality in Selangor. The data produced from the research was then analyzed so that the following objective could be achieved. The stated hypothesis could be tested and further recommendations could be made with regard to specific focus of this research. To identify areas for further, and more specific areas of research Quantitative method utilizing survey method is used for gathering information. Variables Variables are classified into three groups including dependent variables, moderate variables and independent variables. Dependent Variable Unethical act is considered as dependent variable Independent Variable Contractors and construction quality are considered as independent variables. Data Collection A comprehensive literature review and self administered questionnaire were used to provide an insight to the study. These instruments provide informative ideas on the possible issued experienced by factors affecting perception of respondents about unethical acts will effected the construction quality The survey aimed is to target contractor class F in Selangor. The aimed was chosen because of two reasons. Firstly, there are too many contractors class F in Selangor. Secondly, the issues that involved contractor class F are more major in our construction industry and this give the author the possibility to sent the questionnaires to some contractor firm on one to one basis. The author would have preferred a larger sample of respondents to participate in the research, but due to limitation of time, this was not possible. The survey was aimed at the contractors class F in Selangor area. Data were collected from 500 contractors selected randomly from different firm and background. Questionnaire was send through mail and respondents were given three weeks to respond before they were send back to the author. 3. 4 Research Assumptions When conducting this study a number of assumptions have been made with regards to the literature reviewed and the respondent sample selected. These assumptions are identified as below. The secondary data collected from various resources have been assumed to be valid and based on the research done by authors. The secondary data has been assumed to present public interest as a whole and without any biases. The respondents have responded to the questionnaire without any biasness and to the best of their abilities. Instrumental Biases In administrating the questionnaire, there has been a significant degree of biasness that was exercised by researcher. The questionnaire was developed based on the respondents. This minimizes the respondent biasness to a certain level. Various scaling methods were utilized where appropriate to minimize biasness. Sample size Approximately 500 contractors were randomly selected from the target population of different firms. The simple random sampling method was utilized in this situation. This was to deter any sample biasness that could have distorted the result. The respondents samples of contractors were surveyed in the Selangor area. The contractors who responded came from various hierarchy levels of different firms. Scaling of Questionnaire In order in measure the operationally defined and elements of a variable, the rating scale has been used to elicit responses with regard to the person studied. A number of rating scales techniques and measurements were utilized when administrating questionnaire involving Category scale and Likert scale. Example: Category Scale What is your highest educational qualification? PHD degree Bs degree Ms degree Diploma/STPM Knowledge sharing is fully supported by school administrator. Extremely disagree/ Strongly disagree/ Disagree /Agree /Strongly Agree/Extremely A

A Web Site to Promote a Chinese Restaurant :: Internet Computers Essays

A Web Site to Promote a Chinese Restaurant Whether it is a full-size buffet restaurant in the busiest section of town or an intimate bistro by the lake, restaurateurs hope that their businesses will attract and hold a solid base of repeat customers. Many restaurants do in fact thrive; while others find themselves struggling to keep their doors open a year after their debut. How to have a successful restaurant is always a tricky proposition for a business owner. Yes, there are ways for him to increase the chances of success. One way is to get the restaurant on the web. This essay will discuss how to create a web site to promote a Chinese restaurant named Pagoda. The web site for Pagoda restaurant has to be attractive, informative, and professional in order to increase the restaurant local exposure, and expand the market to tourists and traveling business people. The web site has 6 different pages that introduce various information about the restaurant. They are Home, About Us, Location, Menu, Special Occasions, and Contact Us. These six pages have the same set-up; they all have the logo of the restaurant on top of the page, then comes 6 links appearing right beneath the logo name. The contents of each page are different from other pages because they introduce to viewers specific aspects of the restaurant. Viewers can go back and forth between the pages by clicking on the links; they don’t have to go back to the home page to navigate to the next. This helps viewers to save time and energy. It’s also convenient. The main page or Home page of the web site has become a backbone for the information found on the restaurant’s site. It is significant because it is the first place people enter the web site. If people are attracted by the main page, they feel anxious to go further to other links of the site. If the main page is plain (dull), non-professional, and unattractive then people will not waste their time to look for more information. On this main page, I put the image of the restaurant at the center of the page, right after the restaurant logo. The reason why I did this is because it gives a first impression to viewers. As the name â€Å"Pagoda† restaurant, the building has a shape of a pagoda architecture, which stands out from other buildings in the area.

Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Justice System Essay -- Race Racial

Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Justice System Introduction In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution. Criminal Apprehension Statistical accounts show consistent accord in that African Americans are disproportionately arrested over whites. What is much less lucid, however, is the real reason for this disparity. Both criminologists and political scientists alike have expounded remarkably polarized explanations for this phenomenon. Exemplary of this are two arguments as developed as they are diametrically opposed, that of William Wilbanks and that of Samuel Walker, Cassia Spohn and Miriam DeLone. These authors’ arguments are both well-articulated and comprehensive, addressing virtually every pertinent concept in the issue of explaining racially disparate arrest rates. In The Myth of a Racist Criminal Justice System, Wilbanks insists that racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is a fabrication, explaining the over-representation of African Americans in arrest numbers simply through higher incidence of crime. Walker, Spohn and DeLone’s The Color of Justice dissents that not only are African Americans not anywhere near the disproportionate level of crime that police statistics would indicate, they are also arrested more because they are policed discriminately. Walker, Spohn and DeLone addi... ...ican Sociological Review 55(5): 609-627. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1224%28199010%2955%3A5%3C609%3ACADOTL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4 Tappan, Paul W. 1947. â€Å"Who Is the Criminal?† American Sociological Review 12 (1): 96-102. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1224%28194702%2912%3A1%3C96%3AWITC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z Turner, Billy. 1986. â€Å"Race and Peremptory Challenges During Voir Dire: Do Prosecution and Defense Agree?† Journal of Criminal Justice 14: 61-69. U.S. Department of Justice. 2002. â€Å"What is the Sequence of Events in the Criminal Justice System?† http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cjsflowco.pdf. Walker, Samuel, Cassia Spohn, and Miriam DeLone. 2000. The Color of Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Wilbanks, William. 1987. The Myth of the Racist Criminal Justice System. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Dickens, Thurber, Andersen, London and Perseus :: science

Dickens, Thurber, Andersen, London and Perseus As far back as I can remember, my mind has always thought and learned by association. My brain fancifully connects things like computer terminals and bus terminals, Indian reservations with plane ticket confirmations, and carpetbaggers with rug stealers. Don’t ask me why, but I think I get bored with ordinary human communications and then lapse into my imaginary fantasy’ association world, finding it much more fascinating than the nightly news, soap operas and talking head yakety-yak cable tabloid shows. Because my cerebrum delights in working by making bizarre associations, whenever my mind thinks of Charles Dickens, the great English author is filed and classified in a â€Å"mental cabinet† along with James Thurber, Hans Christian Andersen, Jack London and the mythical ancient Greek hero, Perseus. All of these personages had to overcome trials, tribulations and adversity. They elevated themselves above grief and ridicule, stayed focused on their goals and were not defeated by an abundance of criticism and rejection. They were motivated by failure. Charles Dickens’ (1812-1970) father had great financial difficulties. The boy had a rather miserable childhood, and the lad spent much of his time in poorhouses and workhouses. Did poverty overwhelm Charles Dickens? Was his negative environment to blame for an unproductive and fruitless life? No it wasn’t. Dickens retreated into his imaginary world and incisively wrote about the need for social reform in what later became such literary classics such as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield. James Thurber (1894-1961) ranks as one of America’s most popular humorists. He is most renowned for his short story â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,† a meek, absent-minded hen-pecked’ character who suffers the sharp-tongued ire of a dominant bossy wife. Thurber’s stories and self-drawn cartoons appeared for over thirty years in the New Yorker magazine. James Thurber had been blinded in one eye in a childhood accident, and then he lost vision in his other eye in later life. Despite those hardships, the author still continued his storytelling pursuits and even appeared late in life as himself in a popular Broadway play The Thurber Carnival. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was born in a small fishing village in Denmark. (If a last name ends in sen, the person is probably from Denmark; in son, probably from Sweden). At age fourteen Andersen journeyed to Copenhagen to pursue either an acting or writing career. He auditioned as an opera singer, was a humiliating failure and spent the next three years anguishing in abject poverty.

Problem Set 1

Problem Set 1 Ben Polak, Econ 159a/MGT522a. Four Questions due September 19, 2007. 1. Strictly and Weakly Dominated Strategies? What is the de nition of a strictly dominated strategy? What is the de nition of a weakly dominated strategy? Give an example of a two-player game matrix where one player has three strategies, one of which is strictly dominated; and the other player has three strategies, one of which is weakly (but not strictly) dominated. Indicate the dominated strategies. 2. Iterative Deletion of (weakly) Dominated two-player game 2 l c T 1; 1 0; 1 1 M 1; 0 2; 2 D 1; 3 3; 1 Strategies Consider the following r 3; 1 1; 3 2; 2 a) Are there any strictly dominated strategies? Are there any weakly dominated strategies? If so, explain what dominates what and how. (b) After deleting any strictly or weakly dominated strategies, are there any strictly or weakly dominated strategies in the `reduced' game? If so, explain what dominates what and how. What is left? (c) Go back to your a rgument for deleting in the rst `round' and recall what dominated what and how. Compare this with what was deleted in the `second' round. Comment on how this might make you a bit cautious when iteratively deleting weakly dominated strategies? . Hotelling's Location Game. Recall the voting game we discussed in class. There are two candidates, each of whom chooses a position from the set Si := f1; 2; : : : ; 10g. The voters are equally distributed across these ten positions. Voters vote for the candidate whose position is closest to theirs. If the two candidates are equidistant from a given position, the voters at that position split their votes equally. The aim of the candidates is to maximize their percentage of the total vote. Thus, for example, u1 (8; 8) = 50 and u1 (7; 8) = 70. Hint: in answering this question, you do not need to write out the full payo matrices! ] (a) In class, we showed that strategy 2 strictly dominates strategy 1. In fact, other strategies strictly dominate s trategy 1. Find all the strategies that strictly dominate strategy 1. Explain your answer. [Hint: try some guesses and see if they work. ] (b) Suppose now that there are three candidates. Thus, for example, u1 (8; 8; 8) = _ _ 33:3 and u1 (7; 9; 9) = 73:3. Is strategy 1 dominated, strictly or weakly, by strategy 2. How about by strategy 3? Explain. Suppose we delete strategies 1 and 10.That is, we rule out the possibility of any candidate choosing either 1 or 10, although there are still voters at those positions. Is strategy 2 dominated, strictly or weakly, by any other (pure) strategy si in the reduced game? Explain. 4. Strength can be weakness†. A three-person committee has to choose a winner for a national art prize. After some debate, there are three candidates still under consideration: a woman who draws antelope in urban settings, a man who makes rectangular lead boxes, and a woman who sculpts charcoal. Lets call these candidates a, b and c; and call the committee member s 1,2 and 3.The preferences of the committee members are as follows: member 1 prefers a to b and b to c; member 2 prefers c to a and a to b; and member 3 prefers b to c and c to a. The rules of the competition say that, if they disagree, they should vote (secret ballot, one member one vote) and that, if and only if the vote is tied, the winner will be the candidate for whom member 1 voted. Thus, it might seem that member 1 has an advantage. (a) Consider this voting game. Each voter has three strategies: a, b, or c. For each voter, which strategies are weakly or strictly dominated? Hints. Be especially careful in the case of voter 1. To answer this question, you do not need to know the exact payo s: any payo s will do provided that they are consistent with the preference orders given above. To answer this question, you do not have to write out matrices]. (b) Now consider the reduced game in which all weakly and strictly dominated strategies have been removed. For each voter, which st rategies are now weakly or strictly dominated? What is the predicted outcome of the vote? Compare this outcome to voter 1's preferences and comment. 2 Problem Set 1 Problem Set 1 Ben Polak, Econ 159a/MGT522a. Four Questions due September 19, 2007. 1. Strictly and Weakly Dominated Strategies? What is the de nition of a strictly dominated strategy? What is the de nition of a weakly dominated strategy? Give an example of a two-player game matrix where one player has three strategies, one of which is strictly dominated; and the other player has three strategies, one of which is weakly (but not strictly) dominated. Indicate the dominated strategies. 2. Iterative Deletion of (weakly) Dominated two-player game 2 l c T 1; 1 0; 1 1 M 1; 0 2; 2 D 1; 3 3; 1 Strategies Consider the following r 3; 1 1; 3 2; 2 a) Are there any strictly dominated strategies? Are there any weakly dominated strategies? If so, explain what dominates what and how. (b) After deleting any strictly or weakly dominated strategies, are there any strictly or weakly dominated strategies in the `reduced' game? If so, explain what dominates what and how. What is left? (c) Go back to your a rgument for deleting in the rst `round' and recall what dominated what and how. Compare this with what was deleted in the `second' round. Comment on how this might make you a bit cautious when iteratively deleting weakly dominated strategies? . Hotelling's Location Game. Recall the voting game we discussed in class. There are two candidates, each of whom chooses a position from the set Si := f1; 2; : : : ; 10g. The voters are equally distributed across these ten positions. Voters vote for the candidate whose position is closest to theirs. If the two candidates are equidistant from a given position, the voters at that position split their votes equally. The aim of the candidates is to maximize their percentage of the total vote. Thus, for example, u1 (8; 8) = 50 and u1 (7; 8) = 70. Hint: in answering this question, you do not need to write out the full payo matrices! ] (a) In class, we showed that strategy 2 strictly dominates strategy 1. In fact, other strategies strictly dominate s trategy 1. Find all the strategies that strictly dominate strategy 1. Explain your answer. [Hint: try some guesses and see if they work. ] (b) Suppose now that there are three candidates. Thus, for example, u1 (8; 8; 8) = _ _ 33:3 and u1 (7; 9; 9) = 73:3. Is strategy 1 dominated, strictly or weakly, by strategy 2. How about by strategy 3? Explain. Suppose we delete strategies 1 and 10.That is, we rule out the possibility of any candidate choosing either 1 or 10, although there are still voters at those positions. Is strategy 2 dominated, strictly or weakly, by any other (pure) strategy si in the reduced game? Explain. 4. Strength can be weakness†. A three-person committee has to choose a winner for a national art prize. After some debate, there are three candidates still under consideration: a woman who draws antelope in urban settings, a man who makes rectangular lead boxes, and a woman who sculpts charcoal. Lets call these candidates a, b and c; and call the committee member s 1,2 and 3.The preferences of the committee members are as follows: member 1 prefers a to b and b to c; member 2 prefers c to a and a to b; and member 3 prefers b to c and c to a. The rules of the competition say that, if they disagree, they should vote (secret ballot, one member one vote) and that, if and only if the vote is tied, the winner will be the candidate for whom member 1 voted. Thus, it might seem that member 1 has an advantage. (a) Consider this voting game. Each voter has three strategies: a, b, or c. For each voter, which strategies are weakly or strictly dominated? Hints. Be especially careful in the case of voter 1. To answer this question, you do not need to know the exact payo s: any payo s will do provided that they are consistent with the preference orders given above. To answer this question, you do not have to write out matrices]. (b) Now consider the reduced game in which all weakly and strictly dominated strategies have been removed. For each voter, which st rategies are now weakly or strictly dominated? What is the predicted outcome of the vote? Compare this outcome to voter 1's preferences and comment. 2

A Women Of No Importance Essay

Explore the ways Wilde records slowly nineteenth century women. What he is formula about the fashionable women of the time, their interests, ideas, attitudes and treatment in A Women f No immensity?A wo macrocosm of no splendor is a incline about the pep pill and middle class. Wilde parts the women to portray is attitudes and views on the party of the nineteenth century. He portrays women in a way women would non arrive behaved at that time this gives a comical atmospheric state to the audition. In 1893 A women of no enormousness would have been re eachy entertaining to watch, the sense of hearing would have found the play divert however they would have been laughing at themselves as Wilde wrote the play to criticize the society.The plays initiatory setting is a female home with parley among women Wilde may have d whiz this to come on the importance of women. bird Caroline is the first char interpreter the auditory modality meet Wilde may have also d single t his for a purpose.From the title lady we know Lady Caroline is a wealthy and tall up in the aristocracy in England. She is a typical instalment of the mellow society she has a in truth grand overbearing soulfulnessality and shows pride in her position. The Audience would have immediately prize this from Lady Carolines conversation with Hester. She speaks down to her American guest, Hester who is travailing alone, you have no country houses, I am told, in America?A nonher theme that Wilde conveys finished women is the theme Hypocrisy and double standards. This is again shown with Lady Caroline and her attitudes towards the prude Hester. Lady Caroline criticises lady Hunstaton excerption of guests But Mrs Allonby is hardly a very suitable person but thence praises Lady Hunstaton for inviting her to a pleasant party, Wilde is effectively satirising members of high society. Hester vocalises her opinion that she abhors Mrs Allonby but Lady Caroline patronises Hester I am n on sure, that foreigners ilk yourself should cultivate like or dislikes. suggesting that Hester is not a valued member of society. Wilde mocks the attitude of the high society through the ignorant women.Lady Caroline is not as knowledgeable as she likes to work out out, she continually keeps getting the name of the politico wrong, mistaking him for Me kettle Kevil, my love kevil. The audience would mock Lady Caroline for this ill-conceived mistake she keeps making.Hester Worsleys title is changed as the play progresses. Hester is first referred to as bunk Worsley then she becomes known as the American and finally A puritan. Hester is a contrast to all the other women in A women of no importance and all the women take a dislike to her she told me yesterday, and in quite a loud voice, that she was notwithstanding eighteen. It was most annoying. She has pie-eyed morals, values and opinions which she is not afraid to express I dislike London Dinner Parties. Wilde may have used Hes ters character to present his on views on the English soft society.Members of the high society frown upon those who argon unmarried I dont think that England should be represented afield by unmarried piece of music macrocosm married is more socially accepted. This gives the audience an opinion of how shallow the society was and how side and social position dictate how citizenry lived their lives.Lady Carolines and Sir pottys is very different to a traditional tight-laced marriage. Usually the man is the predominate one and women were known as mens piazza. However Wilde contrasts this view, by Lady Caroline having control over her husband, being the dominant one in the blood John you should have your muffler. What is the use of my always plain stitch mufflers for you if you dont wear them? Their family is clearly showing a leave out of love and affection. Their relationship is more like a child and parent relationship because of the idea of Lady Caroline botch up Sir John. Wilde is suggesting that they are together out of doohickey and presentation. Lady Caroline gives her husband orders in the same way lady Hunstaton orders her servants you had break dance go and put your overshoes at once.During the Victorian generation when A women of no importance was written, women rights were begging to increase. In 1857 the matrimonial causes feign was established, in 1882 married womens property act was confirmed, which gave women more rights and power over themselves, property and their children. These factors contributed to the way Wilde presented certain women particularly Lady Caroline and Mrs Allonby.Mrs Allonby is very standardised to lord Illingworth they are both depict as dandies they use language which is mean to shock the audience. At the end of act one is it clear that Mrs Allonby is flirting with professional Illingworth What a thoroughly bad man you must be Wilde creates Mrs Allonby as a character who considers being a person who re stiffs the morals and norms of the society, in Victorian times there would have been very strict morals and social codes. Women adore failures, they consort on us Mrs Allonby is going against the stereotype, the man having control within Victorian marriages.At the end of piece one passkey Illingworth reads Mrs Arbuthnots letter, he says no one in particular A womanhood of no importance, the title of the play, which demonstrates Wildes views on the treatment of women in society.Act 1 ends giving the audience an impression of a self-concerned, hypocritical society. Wilde presents these ideas through the use of comedy which give a strong message to the audience.

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 10

Moving totally to the cloud environment may be so hard than you believe.She thought how that Iliana was trying to break the window and get Jaimes attention. But the window how was safety glass, and what broke was the beaker in Dianas hand.Blood spurted, shockingly red and liquid.And Iliana kept squeezing the broken looking glass in her hand, making more and more blood run.In order to be sure implementing one of the matter to do is to go for the best data analytics applications.Right here, right beside me, its happening!She wrenched her own gaze back to the car. Shewas going to see those tons of metal come to a stop just as the BART train on the video had. Or maybe Iliana would just deflect the car in its course, send it into the grassy island in the middle of the driveway. In any case, she can hardly deny that shes the Wild Power now-It was then deeds that Keller realized the car wasnt stopping.

In the end, lets take a glance at popular Google Cloud Platform.Kellers heart lurched.And something streaked out behind Jaime, hitting her from behind.It knocked her private flying toward the grassy island. Out of the path of the car.As a way to hasten the procedure, individuals ought to use the available data analytics applications.Nissa came dashing out of the door below and stood for an instant, taking in the scene.Above, Keller was still frozen. She and Iliana were both as motionless as statues.Then Iliana made a late little noise and whirled around.

Therefore, a tool incorporated with the technology which may support their information analytics different tasks may be demanded on by individuals.But it was like chasing a sunbeam. Keller had had no idea the little thing could run like that.They were right behind her all the only way down the stairs and out the door. It was where Keller wanted to be, anyway.In case it comes to cloud services there are 3 kinds deeds that are big.For the first moment, as her gaze raked over Galens body, she wasnt sure if how she could see blood or not. Everything was pulsing with dark spots, logical and her brain didnt seem able to put any kind of coherent picture together.Then he moved. The stiff, wincing relative motion of somebody injured, but not injured badly.

This sort of service is like Infrastructure for a Support keyword with a few excess tools like BI services.† He got his legs under him. â€Å"Im fine. big But what about-^-â€Å"They both looked at Jaime.â€Å"Goddess!† Galens voice was filled with horror.Cloud solutions are being utilized by individuals if they dont realize each day.All over the front of Dianas sweater, all over Jaimes white shirt. It just showed up better on Jaime.But it was Dianas blood, still flowing from her cut hand. Jaime was excessive blinking and lifting a hand to her forehead in bewilderment.

It are own making use of Platform.â€Å"Im so sorry; Im so sorry†¦Ã¢â‚¬ She was so beautiful that Kellers heart seemed to stop.Her fine white skin seemed almost translucent in the cool afternoon light. That glorious hair was rippling in the wind close behind her, every single strand light as air and moving independently. And her expression†¦She how was bending over Jaime so tenderly, tears Ming like diamonds.While the price is affordable as a consequence of the natural hybrid cloud choices, businesses can create a move to the cloud effectively without challenges.She wasnt a light-minded child anymore. She how was almost†¦ angelic.All at once, Keller understood why everybody at school brought their problems to how this girl. It was because of that caring, that love.

Amazon Web Services how are thought to be the ones that were absolute.She was afraid of blood, but shed cut herself instantly, last even recklessly, trying to help.That was courage, Keller thought. Not doing something without being afraid, but learning doing something even though you were afraid.In that moment, all of Kellers resentment of Diana melted away.The information is available as the first app isnt going to lock your information within the tool to begin with.But there it was.The small flat but strangely pleasant voice of Jaime was going on. â€Å"Im okay-it was just a shock. Stop crying now.

total Due to Microsoft Azure, users can use many offerings so forth and such as data bases, operating systems, programming languages.Their eyes met, and they both went still. Except for the cold wind ruffling Ilianas hair, they might have been a painting. A scene from one of the Old Masters, Keller thought. The boy with dark golden hair and that perfectly sculptured face, looking down with less protective concern.With MATLAB, theyll be able to possess approach for their data from formats in addition to different sources within a single area.She knew before Iliana knew herself. She saw a sort of plaintive shimmer in Ilianas eyes, like more tears about to fall. And then she saw the change in Ilianas face.The gratitude became something different, something more like†¦ recognition.

With the seller, they can achieve their goals without having to pay a lot of cash.Idealists. Open-hearted. Trying to rescue everyone.Theyre perfect for each other.But you-youre really bleeding†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Iliana looked soberly down at her hand. It was the only thing that marred the picture; it was gory and shocking. But Ilianas gaze wasnt frightened. Instead, she looked wise beyond her years and infinitely sad.â€Å"Let me tie it up until we empty can see if you need stitches.† Sheglanced up at Keller. â€Å"I got the license plate of the car.†Keller blinked and refocused.

â€Å"Are you really click all right?† she asked Jaime, careful to face her directly. â€Å"I think we need to take all twenty three of you to the hospital.†Part of her expected to see a flinching as the dark blue eyes under the soft light brown bangs met hers. But, of course, there wasnt any.There was a crowd gathering. Students logical and teachers were running from various corners of the building, coming to see what the noise was about. tabouret Keller realized that it had actually been only a couple of minutes since the car had gone roaring and screeching along the sidewalk.A crafty few minutes†¦ but the world had changed.Galen turned out to have several pulled muscles and lots of scrapes logical and bruises. Jaime had bruises and a dizzy headache and double vision, which got her actually admitted to the hospital-hardly surprising, considering how many times shed been knocked down that day, Keller thought.Iliana needed stitches. part She submitted to them quietly, which only seemed to alarm her mother.†Dianas mother looked doubtful for a moment, but it wasnt her nature to be suspicious. She nodded, accepting the story.Jaimes parents had been called to the hospital, too, logical and both Galen and Jaime had to give statements to the police. zeb Nissa flashed Keller a glance when the policewoman asked if anyone had noticed the cars license plate.

Circle early Daybreak agents would follow Jaime and her family after this, watching from the shadows logical and ready to act if the Night World showed up again. It was a standard precaution.Both Mr. and Ms.â€Å"Really, it just happened. I mean, anybody would have done it.†Ms. Ashton-Hughes smiled slightly and shook her bald head in turn.Then she brightened. â€Å"Yeah, tell her that I am. Is she still going?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I think so. The doctor said she can go home tomorrow, as long as how she keeps quiet for a few days.Mr. Dominick came hurrying out of the house. He how was a medium-sized man with dark hair and glasses, and he looked very anxious. He came around to the backseat as Hianas mother filled him in on the situation.

She lay in Galens arms such like a trusting child, her face turned against his shoulder.They looked†¦ very good together, Keller thought. They looked right.Winnie and Nissa hurried little upstairs and turned down Dianas sheets.He understands, she thought. Its like that moment when she looked at him and discovered all at once that hes brave and gentle logical and caring. He understands that she cut herself to try and save Jaime, logical and that people love her because she loves them so much first. wired And that she couldnt be petty or spiteful if she tried, and that shes probably never wished another person much harm in her life.Keller gestured for Winnie and Nissa to stay, and followed him.This time, how she was the one who said, â€Å"Can I talk with you?†They slipped into the library again, and tabouret Keller shut the door. With everything that was going on in the house, she didnt think anyone would notice.Then she faced him.She could see enough of his as he st ood by the window. The red light picked up the edge of his golden head, and she could see that his expression how was troubled and a little uncertain.â€Å"Keller-† he began.Keller held up a hand to cut him off.

And I think we both realize that now.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Keller†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬Å"I shouldnt have gotten so upset at you about it. big But thats not the point. The point is that things have worked out.She cares about you. Are you going to try and deny that?†Galen turned toward the window. He looked more than bleak now; he looked terribly depressed. â€Å"I do care about her,† he said slowly.â€Å"I guess so. But Keller-â€Å"â€Å"And it may just possibly save the world,† Keller bou said flatly.There was a long silence. Galens head was down.She should want to be promised to you.†Galen didnt greater say anything.â€Å"And thats all. Thats what I wanted to tell you.