Analysis of Compensation Philosophy Research Paper

Analysis of Compensation Philosophy - Research Paper Example The policies and underlying philosophy governing the company’s compensation program are designed to accomplish the following objectives: Maintain a compensation program that is equitable in a competitive marketplace. Provide opportunities that integrate pay with the company's annual and long?term performance goals. Maintain an appropriate balance between base salary and short and long-term incentive opportunities. Recognize and reward individual initiative and achievements. Provide a clear focus and measurement on key objectives with a meaningful link to rewards. Achieve a performance-driven work culture that generates the company’s growth Provide compensation and benefits levels within our company’s financial ability to pay. Encourage competency building by better linking career development, performance management, and rewards. Provide a non-discriminatory merit-based compensation program. At the same time, the compensation program of Excel Consulting Company is designed to attract, motivate and retain talented employees. This is evident through working towards the company’s success, attracting and retaining the highest performers. According to Martocchio (2011), base pay is set by a formal job hierarchy. The author states that pay rewards should be obtained by merit or seniority, meeting specific goals or completing a specific project or as a result of acquiring new job skills or knowledge. That is why the author states that Excel Consulting strives to provide a competitive base salary that meets the market at the 50th percentile for fully proficient employees who meet expectations. Also, it is evident between the 60th and 75th percentile for employees who consistently perform above expectations and are highly proficient in their roles. New employees that do not meet expectations will be paid below the 50th percentile target (Martocchio,2011). The competitiveness of employees' base salaries will be reviewed on an annual basis and a djustments made when market conditions and financial performance allows. The size of the adjustment will be based on the employee’s experience, performance, and contribution to Excel Consulting Company’s performance as well as the employee’s salary within the marketplace. Also, Excel Consulting will use both annual incentives and long-term incentives to enhance its ability to achieve its mission and its employee compensation objectives. In this case, long-term incentives will be performance-based and will provide equity compensation at the 50th percentile when target goals are met with the potential for awards. However, it will be between the 60th and 75th percentile when long-term goals are exceeded. The payment of an incentive award to an employee will be subject to the employee’s achievement of pre-established targets. Excel consulting compensation programs will also ensure internal equity by considering differences among employees in skills, efforts, responsibilities and working conditions. This implies that visible effective commitment to the Excel consulting Company will also be rewarded. The company will also ensure that its compensation structure is linked to an effective performance management system (Daft et al, 2010).  Ã‚  

Training Staff for Criminal Justice Essay Example for Free

Training Staff for Criminal Justice Essay The three key issues intricate with correctional staff are corruption, staff safety, gender and staffing. Correction officers are people that tried to become cops but failed. So their morals take a huge hit because they are upset about not being able to become a police officer. So it is easier for them to be corrupted because that’s their way of getting back at the system. Another way of corruption is by force and fear; maybe a prison gang is threatening the correctional officer family. Either way I believe that in order to prevent officers of becoming corrupted there should be more cameras and have a better ethics-training program. One effective management policies and procedures is to start a code of ethics program for correctional officers, a program that makes correctional officers comprehend the code of standards of morality since they are involved in greater demands than just being a decent person. They need to understand that without their morals people get hurt or even killed. Second key issue is staff safety there has been horrific situations were inmates murder correctional officers and thus people are afraid to work in prisons. While inmate populations go up, correctional officers are going down because the things you read and hear on the news. For example â€Å" (1) the savage murder of Correctional Officer Jose Rivera on June 20, 2008, by two prison inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Atwater, CA. ; (2) the brutal stabbing of a correctional officer on April 23, 2009, by a prison inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, IN. (3) the brutal stabbing of a correctional officer on November 1, 2009, by a prison inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA; and (4) the more than 350 vicious inmate-on-staff assaults that have occurred at various BOP institutions since the murder of Correctional Officer Rivera. † (By Joe Davidson,October 15, 2012) Correctional officers deal with murders, rapists, and mentally ill the refore their job can be very difficult. If failing to protect your staff, visitors and detainees then there can be major implications for your institute. Second effective management policies and procedures for recruiting and training are to set up an investigative committee to search for and punish instances of staff getting hurt. Internal policing should be balanced carefully. There should be more correctional officers at prisons that carry the most notorious criminals. Maybe have more K9s to help prevent attacks from inmates. The third key issues involved with correctional staff is gender and staffing. I don’t believe there should be females in male facilities because most girls love the attention and that’s unprofessional when its in male prisons. You hear on the news about female guards getting impregnated by inmates and that’s very immoral of them. These correctional officers should be in jail because these inmates are people that committed horrible crimes and is in prison to be punished! â€Å"Four female correction officers were impregnated by the reported leader of a Maryland prison gang, which used a network of female prison guards to help launder money, run drugs and smuggle contraband into state detention facilities, according to a federal indictment. (By RUSSELL GOLDMAN, April 24, 2013) These female guards were smuggling contraband and gifts for the black guerrilla family. If we had only male correctional officers in male prisons then there will be less temptation to giving in. Third effective management policies and procedures for recruiting is to watch officers tattoos, these female guards in MD that got pregnant from gang leader of the black guerrilla family had gotten tattooed â€Å"Tevon† on their bodies. Therefore we need to identify and monitor officers suspected of dishonesty. Officers with tattoos such as symbols of gangs on their wrists or necks may be indicating an affiliation or rank in a prison gang. Background checks on correctional officers also may be an effective way of uncovering gang ties and a history of unethical behavior. I think in order to have a good correctional officer you need to find one that’s not affiliated with gangs, try to find a candidate that has no history with gang activity. â€Å"Good officers come from a good environment. They enjoy supportive, two-parent families with siblings, quality education and at least a modicum of financial affluence. They are free of prejudice and abnormal training in arts that no human has any business practicing, such as torture and murder. They feel honest compassion for man, animals and our ecology. They are subject to guidance, oversight, quality control, censure, and feedback loops from moral individuals and real punishment for deliberate acts of abuse. They will know what it feels like to be abused. The scientific application of all these principals will make good corrections officers. †(James Bauhaus, what makes a good prison guard) Plan to Improve Correctional Facilities I believe need to help people stay out of the system. So many are in for minor offenses and come out ten times worse when they arrived inside. I’ve seen friends that came back more violent and more streets smart. So I think there should be a lot more programs and support from the government to help individuals to learn a profession so that they can have a chance to fly straight. â€Å"Once were in jail, theres no point sending us back out to do it all again. Incarceration is the punishment of someone that did something illegal; incarceration is to make someone change for the better. Youve got us locked up, so use the time to help us change. Dont turn out the same person who went in (or a worse person the party bag were sent away with usually includes a nice new line in bullying, violence, manipulation and drug use) because well carry on committing crime, as we dont know any other way to live. If prisons did nothing more than run effective drugs programs, the crime rate over the next five years would be slashed. We advocate therapy, talent recognition initiatives, training, education, and drug and alcohol programs. Some of these already exist, but there arent enough programs, and not enough of them work. In fact, a lot are expensive disasters. (Mark Johnson, The Guardian, 2008) One major target population is women in jail. Female inmates live in the same surroundings as men do however female inmates face more problems because I think they get more emotional then men do thus their issues start growing more and more eventually blowing up their anger amongst women inmates. Overall, the population of women in the criminal justice system is the fastest growing. Women in prison have gone up over twenty percent and over fifteen percent in probation. â€Å"The growth in the female incarcerated population was 2. 2 percent since 2,000. (Leonard Sipes, Statistics on Women Offenders) While the population of women in prison has been going up, there has not been a rise of women prisons. Women are more likely to be in a prison that is far away from their families. Which will hurt their family and even worse their children. With not a lot of contact with their children, I think stress levels get high among women in jail. When you put women into these situations then they look for an alternative to ease the pain and anger. That’s when drugs come into play. â€Å"In Maryland, half the women reported daily heroin use in the six months leading up to their arrest compared to lightly more than a third of men. Half the women reported daily cocaine use compared to 22 percent of men. † (Leonard Sipes, Statistics on Women Offenders) Our budget spending on facilities is ridiculous because the system is not doing what they are supposing so do. They don’t help rehabilitate inmates as much as they should. Pretty much we tax payers are not getting our moneys worth. â€Å"Ten years ago, the correctional healthcare market was $4. 5 billion in annual spending, with approximately 40% outsourced to private vendors. Today, the share of the mar ket served by outsourcing is growing alongside a rising inmate population. As a corollary, the rising costs of healthcare due to a graying correctional population and other factors have doubled the market to over $10 billion. † (Marc Baudry, 2012) There are three major keys to help issues in corrections†¦ the first one is education programs. EVERYONE knows education is very important to succeed in life. Therefore there should be more educational programs and it should be mandatory to attend. I know at first its going to be hard but once inmates get out the system and find a decent job then the word will spread and then inmates will take advantage of these programs. They should capitalize on inmates that have a family. â€Å"McElrath-Bey argues that investment can’t be limited to higher education. Though GED programs exist in most prisons, many inmates are still unable to take advantage. Typically, inmates who have financial support from the outside—from family or friends—are the ones who earn their degrees. Inmates with no help are forced to take prison work, to pay for the food, clothes and toiletries—like soap and toothpaste—that make life bearable inside prison walls. You can either go to school, or you can work to earn the basic necessities you need to survive. (Mathew Fleischer, 2013) Probation and parole is my second major key to help issues in corrections. Sometimes the probation officer gets burnt out and stops caring for inmates. I think there should be more contact and communication with the probation officer and parole. The inmate needs as much help as he can get so probation officers should do as much as he or she can to make sure that the offender does not return to prison. I know there are so many inmates that don’t care and end up coming back to prison but that still shouldn’t stop the probation officer from doing his or her job. My third one is a faith-based program. I’ve seen people change because of their new beliefs and I think that’s what most inmates need. A faith-based program is a good idea because it teaches inmates the way of believing something such as god or whatever religion. People sometimes don’t want to understand the ways of god but when you read and think about the sins you committed then you start to feel some remorse. I’ve seen this happen with two of my cousins. Both were in jail and while reading the bible it helped them understand their need to change for the better. One of them is out working at Sprint as a sales consultant doing very well for himself now. The other is still waiting for his trial in September. Whatever the outcome may be I believe with faith based programs it’ll turn inmates to a better person. One way to improve target population is better social skills for inmates. Prisons need a greater unity between warden, prisoners and staff. Also stop having a race thing. There should be a group of people that are different race put in each cell. Second way to improve population is stop the overcrowding. People that are on edge are more likely to blow up on someone when they are always around. Sometimes an inmate needs some space to try to deal with their issues. My third suggestion to improve target population is to upgrade the prisons and jails because some facilities are rundown and rotting so this could possibly present health and safety hazards for inmates. No one would like to live in poor conditions so its time to have a modernization in correctional facilities. I think with these ideas, inmate issues will decrees and that inmates frustration/problems will be resolved more quickly. Philosophy and Goals of Punishment and Reformation The goals of punishment and reformation are to rehabilitate people that commit crimes and to protect our citizens. History has taught us the nature of corrections, People need to be punished for their actions however sometimes there are some people that are sick and not know what they are doing. Times are changing so there are new tactics/programs to help criminals get back on their feet. â€Å"How criminals were punished and the methods behind the punishment changed throughout the times. Standards of punishment moved from banishment and fines to torture and blood feuds (Siegel Senna, 2005). A more organized system of punishment came forth with the formation of Common Law, which was brought over to the United States from England. With the development of a system, there was a move away from physical punishment toward methods more acceptably used yet today in the United States. † (Elizabeth Renter, 2008) With that said, there are three major challenges to corrections, using an evidence based approach can help determine the best way to deal with different offenders to attempt to achieve the different goals of the criminal justice system. Reformation is to make people fear being punished and to correct peoples behavior. Unfortunately you can go to jail for something minor like possession of drugs, traffic violations, and misdemeanor offences. The first major issue of discussion is prison and jail overcrowding. Numerous reports and television indicate that even down to the local city and county jail, overcrowding has affected the small town as well. The overcrowding of prisons and jails appears to be result of the growing number of offenders of petty crime, who ultimately end up incarcerated for short periods of time. It is hard on correction officers when they have to deal with a large number of population. The second major issue facing corrections is gangs. You always hear it from the guards and inmates that â€Å"numbers is power†. Gangs make it hard for an individual to come in and try to fly straight. Gangs will either make you suffer by selling you to other inmates or your going to have you do illegal actions that might add time to your original sentencing. They are very manipulative and real quick to kill anyone even officers just to make a point. Its all about money and power for prison gangs such as the Mexican Mafia, they make millions working the cartels and making their street gangs to move/sell drugs around the United Sates. There are lots of reasons why convicts go back to jail. They might have gotten use to being locked up and would rather stick to what they know because the real world can be scary, finding a decent job is very hard now, the digital age might be intimidating to the older criminals, and sometimes the system forces you back in. For example if you are from Florida and committed a crime in Virginia when you get out, you have to find a way back home. Sometimes you can’t leave the state till Florida reviews your case and allows you to come back. My third major issue is the increased imprisonment of crimes caused there to be a larger population in facilities, now more then ever there is more hazardous conditions for everyone because correctional officers have to deal with transmissible diseases in their facilities. One of the scariest things is dealing with prisoners with HIV and other catchable diseases. Not all of these individuals catch these diseases by sexual stuff but some of the offenders may have gotten it by sharing needles (drug use). This presents a situation where other prisoners and guards may be at risk for coming into contact with these sick people. My philosophy of corrections that includes using an evidence based approach is to not place every offender in the same category/cell as it would be very hard to deal with certain people that have the same offense. I just think that drug dealers should be all in one prison unless they committed other crimes like murder. White collard criminals should still be in the same prison with blue collard criminals. Blue collard criminals represent a more heinous level of crime however they both stole money even though one did it over the Internet and the other had a gun. Todays correctional policies appear to be unsuccessful in dealing with crime and offenders but in order to work towards a better system, research and development is necessary to understand how to correct these flaws and to build a more improve system for turning offenders into law abiding citizens. Rehabilitation and reformation are still a goal of punishment today in the United States but due to the reoffending criminals it is hard to believe it is possible to get a criminal to change their conduct. This method may work well with drug users that are ready to get clean. In conclusion corrections can be a challenging field today with obstacles in the way of finding the perfect method of dealing with crime and offenders. My philosophy of corrections using evidenced based approach is to limit the penalty for minor offenders. Have them work hard cleaning our country and building homes for poor families. This might reduce people in jail/prisons and improving the way that criminals live by not going for the easy cash. They will have learned a new skill before the leave. â€Å"The truth is, of course, that punishment practices of the recent past have, for the most part, been strikingly lenient. Thoughtful and considered public opinion is capable of recognizing when criminals are not receiving the punishments they deserve. † (Ronald Pestritto, 1996) Three goals of punishment and reformation, prison is an effective form of punishment for bad offenders such as killers and rapists. It serves a purpose to deter criminals from committing their crimes again as well as being a form of retributive justice for the victims. Second is a question, what is reformation? It is a goal of rehabilitation for many offenders, the goal for a prison to punish people instead of death. The loss of freedom to go anywhere, to drive, eat your avorite meal, and to see your friends and family. Third one is I believe a good prison should be an adequate retribution for the crime but also focus on rehabilitating the criminals that committed a minor offence such as steeling something small, people with small amounts of drugs, and young kids. The thing people need to know is that most of these folks in prison are eventually going to come out again. So we think its smart policy to try to change them while theyre locked up, so that when they return to society there will be fewer victims on the street. (Fox Butterfield, Inmate Rehabilitation Returns as Prison Goal, 2001)

Old Man And The Sea - One Finds In Life Exactly What One Contributes :: essays research papers

Life is a dramatic subject that many writers choose as a topic. Life is not only an ocean of melancholy but also offers real joy. Earnest Hemingway successfully won a Nobel Prize on this theme by writing The Old Man and the Sea. The old man, Santiago, was the main character of the story. During his lonely journey out at sea, he learned that life offered him an undeniable joy, plus frustration. Honor, heroism, and struggle were obstacles Santiago encountered which provided him courage and faith. For instance, Santiago’s life was filled with honor. The past and the present were memories for which the old man was most proud. The old man endured tremendous physical pain and leading him to almost give up. To encourage himself, the old man remembered the time when he was El Campeon, which mean The Champion in Spanish. â€Å"For a long time after that everyone had called him The Champion† (pg. 70). The memory of being a victor revived Santiago’s stamina, encouraging him to seek another goal. His next goal, the Marlin, ultimately challenged him. â€Å"Fish†¦I’ll stay with you until I am dead.† (pg. 52). At the moment when Santiago harpooned the Marlin through the heart, he knew that he was victorious. This act realistically sobered Santiago; he gained more honor and self-confidence. As a result, Santiago’s life was filled with a feeling of nobility. Furthermore, Santiago often talked about his hero. It was Joe DiMaggio, a famous and eminent baseball player. Joe DiMaggio directly and indirectly affected the old man. His actions and his attitudes contributed to the old man’s life. â€Å"But I must have the confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio.† (Pg. 68). Thinking about DiMaggio showed the old man the way to victory. His worship of DiMaggio woke the courage that was within the old man’s heart. As Santiago thought the ultimate challenge was over, the worse was yet to come. The shark had sensed the Marlin’s blood and moved after it. It approached and ate the Marlin. The old man had to fight back with them. â€Å"Fight them. I’ll fight them until I die.† (Pg. 115). Santiago used all of his supplies to fight with the shark: harpoon, tiller, etc. By the time Santiago came back to Havana, the Marlin now was just a carcass bone. The sharks played an important role in the story.

Coyote Blue Chapter 23~24

Part 3 Quest CHAPTER 23 Pavlov's Dogs and the Rhinestone Turd Las Vegas The only distractions from the noise of his own mind were desert-dried roadkills, thrown retreads, and road signs reflecting desolation. Sam drove, smoked, and fought drowsiness by worrying about how he would find the girl. The trickster slept in the passenger seat. Sam had been to Las Vegas three times before – with Aaron – to see championship boxing at Caesar's Palace. Two hundred dollars bought them seats at nosebleed altitude, closer to the moon than the ring, but Aaron insisted that there was nothing like being there. Without binoculars, following the progress of the fight was like tracking down a rumor. Sam usually watched the women and did his best to keep Aaron calmed down. As soon as they walked into a casino Aaron started. â€Å"This is my town! The lights, the excitement, the women – I was born for this place.† Then Aaron would drop a couple thousand at the tables and suck free gin and tonics until he staggered. In the morning Sam would drag Aaron out of a tangle of satin sheets and hookers, throw him in the shower, and listen to his long lament of remorse and hangover as he lay in the backseat of the car with a jacket over his head, whining the whole way home about how he would never return. Aaron never failed to fuel the greed machine and was always dumbfounded when it juiced him of his hope. It was the machine that fascinated Sam. While Aaron ground himself through the velvet gears, Sam watched the workings of the most elaborate Skinner box on the face of the Earth. Drop the coin, hear the bell, see the lights, eat the food, see the women, hear the bell, see the lights, drop the coin again. The ostentation of the casinos did not create desire for money; it made money meaningless. There were no mortgages in a casino, no children needing food, no car needing repairs, no work, no time, no day, no night; those things – the context of money – were someplace else. A place where people returned before they realized that a turd rolled in rhinestones is a turd nonetheless. Sam saw the glow from Las Vegas rising over the desert from thirty miles out. He poked Coyote in the leg and the trickster woke up. â€Å"Hold the wheel,† Sam said. â€Å"Let me drive. You can sleep.† â€Å"You're not driving my car. Just hold the wheel.† Coyote held the wheel while Sam punched buttons on the console. The screen of the navigation system flickered on. Sam punched a few more buttons and a street map of Las Vegas lit up green on the screen. A blip representing the Merecedes blinked along Highway 15 toward the city. â€Å"Okay,† Sam said, taking the wheel again. Coyote studied the screen. â€Å"How do you win?† â€Å"It's not a game, it's a map. The blip is us.† â€Å"The car knows where it is going, like a horse?† â€Å"It doesn't know, it just tells us where we are.† â€Å"Like looking out the window?† â€Å"Look, I'm going to have to sleep when we get to Vegas. I don't even know where to start looking for Calliope.† â€Å"Why don't you ask the car?† Sam ignored the question. â€Å"I'm going to get us a room.† He dialed information on the cellular phone, got the number of a casino hotel, then called and reserved a room. The exits off the highway were marked by names of casinos they led to, not by the names of streets or roads. Sam took the exit marked Camelot. He followed the signs down the surface streets lined with pawnshops, convenience stores, and low-slung cinder-block buildings under neon signs that proclaimed, CASH FOR YOUR CAR, CHECKS CASHED HERE, MARRIAGES AND DIVORCES – TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR DRIVE-THRU WINDOW. Coyote said, â€Å"What are these places?† Sam tried to think of a quick explanation, but was too weary from lack of sleep to tackle the concept of Las Vegas in twenty-five words or less. Finally he said, â€Å"These are places where you go if you want to fuck up your life and you don't have a lot of time to do it in.† â€Å"Are we going to stop?† â€Å"No, I seem to be fucking up at a fine rate of speed, thank you.† Sam spotted the pseudomedieval towers of Camelot rising above the strip, multi-colored pennons flying from standards tipped with aircraft warning lights. He wondered what the real King Arthur (if there was a King Arthur, and who was he to question the truth behind myth?) would have thought about the casino named after his legendary city. Would he recognize anything? Would he cower in fear at the sight of his first electric light? Flush toilet? Automobile? Would he be reduced to a pathetic Quixote attacking this place where chivalry was a quaint marketing idea? Or would the Once and Future King lay eyes on a leggy keno girl and raise another lance to lead the knights of the Round Table in a charge? The women, Sam decided, would be Arthur's touchstone, and his downfall. He shot a glance at Coyote. â€Å"When we get there you're going to see a lot of women without a lot of clothes on. Stay away from them.† Coyote looked surprised. â€Å"I never touch a woman who does not want it-â€Å" â€Å"Don't touch!† Sam interrupted. Coyote slouched in his seat. â€Å"Or need it,† he whispered. Sam drove the Mercedes over a giant drawbridge and stopped at the valet parking station where a dozen young men dressed like squires were scrambling around unloading cars, filling out slips, and driving cars away. â€Å"This is it,† Sam said. He popped the trunk and got out, leaving the engine running. A warm desert wind washed over him at the same time a young man ran around the car and held out a numbered slip of paper. â€Å"Your ticket, milord.† Sam dug in his pocket for a bill to tip the kid, but found nothing. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. â€Å"I don't have any cash on me. I'll get your name and leave a tip at the desk.† The kid tried to force a smile and failed. â€Å"Very good, milord.† He jumped in the car and slammed the door. Sam cringed and tapped on the window. The window whirred down; the kid waited. Sam leaned in and read the kid's plastic badge. â€Å"Look, uh, Squire Tom, I really will leave a tip at the desk for you. We left in a hurry and I forgot to get cash.† The kid waited, gunning the engine. â€Å"There's an alarm remote on the keys. Could you turn it on after you park it? One chirp is armed.† Squire Tom nodded and pulled away. Sam heard him say, â€Å"The pox on you, Moorish pig,† over the squeal of the tires. How authentic, Sam thought. He watched the Mercedes disappear around the corner and wondered why valet parking always made him feel as if he had seen his car for the last time. Coyote stood across the lane waving to the car. He looked over. â€Å"Moorish pig?† â€Å"The dark skin, I guess,† said Sam. He led Coyote past a half-dozen squires and an overweight guy in a purple-and-yellow jester's outfit with a radio on his belt and a badge that read, Lord Larry, over another drawbridge, and into the casino. Trumpets played a fanfare as they crossed the threshold under a brace of huge broadswords. A jolly electronic voice welcomed them to Camelot. Sam spotted a woman in a peasant dress by a sign reading, Ye Olde Information. The badge she wore, next to a magnificent display of cleavage, read, Lusty Wench Wendy. Sam pulled Coyote back and approached the girl. â€Å"Excuse me, er, Wendy. I have a room reserved and I need to find a cash machine.† The girl spoke in a whining fake-English-over-true-Brooklyn accent.  «Well » – she threw out a hip, struck a pose – â€Å"if milords proceed through the casino to the left to the second arch, ye will find the registration desk. There's cash machines by every arch, milord.† â€Å"Thanks,† Sam said. He started to walk away, then turned back to the girl. â€Å"Excuse me, but I've been here before and I thought everyone was a lord or a lady. Lusty wench is a new one.† The English accent had overheated and failed. â€Å"Yeah. About three months ago they said it was getting sorta confusing. You know, six Lord Steves, ten Lady Debbies. They use a bunch of other medieval titles now. The bellboys are serfs. Lusty wenches, alchemists, stuff like that.† â€Å"Oh, thanks,† Sam said as if he understood. He led Coyote into the chaos of the casino, looking for a cash machine while trying to move quickly. Coyote's appearance was attracting attention, and when people looked up from a slot machine or blackjack table, Sam knew they were truly distracted. As they passed a carousel of slot machines, a middle-aged woman who was pumping quarters into a machine by the handful leaned so far back to get a look at the trickster that she nearly toppled off her stool. Sam caught her and steadied her. â€Å"He works at the Frontier, up the strip,† Sam said. Coyote peeked over Sam's shoulder, winked at the woman, then licked his eyebrows. The woman's jaw dropped. â€Å"Exotic dancer,† Sam explained. The woman nodded, a little stunned, and returned her attention to the slot machine. â€Å"I wish you wouldn't do that,† Sam said to Coyote. â€Å"And don't you have any other clothes? Something a little more conservative?† â€Å"Wool?† Coyote made an incredibly realistic sheep noise. A pit boss at the blackjack tables raised an eyebrow and two security jesters fell in behind Sam and Coyote. â€Å"Be cool,† Sam said. He turned under a hanging tapestry of a unicorn and stopped by a cash machine, checking over his shoulder for the security jesters. They waited and watched, standing a few feet away, while Sam took a deck of credit cards from his wallet and shuffled through them. When he inserted one of the cards in the machine and punched his identification number the jesters moved off. â€Å"They're gone,† Coyote said. â€Å"Yeah, as long as it looks like you're going to spend money I guess it doesn't matter what you look like.† Coyote watched as the cash machine spit a stack of twenties into the tray. â€Å"You win,† he said. â€Å"You picked the right numbers the first time.† â€Å"Yeah, I'm lucky that way.† â€Å"Try again, see if you win.† Sam grinned. â€Å"I'm very good at this game.† He put a different card into the machine and punched the same PIN number while Coyote watched. The machine whirred and another stack of twenties shot into the tray. â€Å"You won! Play again.† â€Å"No. We need to check in.† Sam picked up the money and walked to a registration desk that was long enough to land planes on. At this hour of the morning there were only two people on the desk, a lusty wench named Chantel and a very tall, thin, very black man in a business suit and wraparound sunglasses who stood back from the desk and watched, unmoving. â€Å"Hunter, Samuel,† Sam said. â€Å"I have a reservation.† He placed a credit card on the desk. The girl typed for a second. The computer beeped and the girl looked over her shoulder at the black man, who moved like liquid to her side. He consulted the screen for a moment. What now? Sam thought. The black man looked down at Sam and a crescent moon of a smile appeared on the night sky of his face. He picked up Sam's credit card and handed it back. â€Å"Mr. Hunter, thank you for joining us again. The room's on Camelot, sir. And if there's anything I can get you, please don't hesitate to call down and ask.† Sam was dumbfounded. Then he remembered. The last time he had stayed here Aaron had lost almost twenty thousand dollars and billed it to their suite of rooms. The suite had been registered in Sam's name. Vegas loves a loser. â€Å"Thank you† – Sam read the man's nameplate, which was pinned at Sam's eye level – â€Å"M.F.† No Lord, no Squire, no title at all – just M.F. â€Å"The second elevator on your left, Mr. Hunter,† the lusty wench said. â€Å"Twenty-seventh floor.† â€Å"Thanks,† Sam said. Coyote grinned at the girl and Sam dragged him away to the elevator, where the trickster immediately punched in four floor numbers and stood back. â€Å"This time, I will win.† â€Å"It's a fucking elevator,† Sam said. â€Å"Just push twenty-seven.† â€Å"But that is not the lucky number.† Sam sighed and pushed the floor number, then waited while they stopped at all the floors Coyote had pushed on their way to twenty-seven. Once in the room, Sam stripped to his shorts and fell onto one of the king-size beds. â€Å"Get some sleep if you can. I'll try and figure out how to find Calliope in the morning. I'm too tired to think now.† â€Å"You sleep,† Coyote said. â€Å"I will think of a plan.† Sam didn't answer. He was already asleep. Coyote Loses His Ass Coyote and his friend Beaver had been hunting all day, but neither had found any game. After a while they sat down on some rocks and began talking. â€Å"This is your fault,† Coyote said. â€Å"I can always find game.† â€Å"I don't think so,† Beaver said. â€Å"If you are such a good hunter, why is your wife so skinny?† Coyote thought about his skinny wife and Beaver's fat little wife and he was jealous. â€Å"Well, how about a bet?† he said. â€Å"Tomorrow we will each go out hunting. If you get more rabbits, you can come to my lodge and sleep with my wife so you can see that my skinny wife is better. But if I get more rabbits, I get to sleep with your wife.† â€Å"Sounds fair,† Beaver said. The next day, after the hunt, Coyote came to Beaver's lodge carrying his one scrawny rabbit. â€Å"Oh, Mrs. Beaver,† he called. â€Å"I've come to collect on my bet.† Mrs. Beaver called from inside the lodge. â€Å"Oh, Coyote, you are a great hunter. Mr. Beaver just stopped by with twenty rabbits on his way to your lodge. You better go stop him and tell him that you got more.† â€Å"Right,† Coyote said. â€Å"I'll be right back.† He slunk off to his lodge dragging his rabbit. His wife was waiting outside. â€Å"Nice rabbit,† she said. â€Å"Beaver is inside. I'll see you in the morning.† Coyote's wife went into the lodge and pulled down the door flap. All night Coyote sat outside his lodge shivering and listening. At one point he heard his wife cry out. â€Å"Beaver!† Coyote shouted. â€Å"Don't you hurt my wife.† â€Å"He's not hurting me,† Mrs. Coyote said. â€Å"I like it!† â€Å"Swell,† Coyote said. The next morning Beaver came out of Coyote's lodge singing and grinning. â€Å"No hard feelings, right?† â€Å"A bet is a bet,† Coyote said. Mrs. Coyote peeked out and said, â€Å"Maybe this will teach you not to gamble.† â€Å"Right,† Coyote said. Then he called to Beaver, â€Å"Hey, how about playing the hand game with me – double or nothing?† â€Å"Sounds good,† Beaver said. â€Å"Let's go down to the river.† At the river Coyote said, â€Å"This is for a night with your wife.† Then he picked the wrong hand. â€Å"You really shouldn't gamble,† Beaver said. â€Å"I'll bet you my best horse for a night with your wife,† Coyote said. After a while, Coyote had lost all his horses, his lodge, his wife, and his clothes. â€Å"One more time,† he said. â€Å"But you don't have anything left,† Beaver said. â€Å"I'll bet you my ass against everything else.† â€Å"I don't want your ass,† Beaver said. â€Å"I thought you were my friend.† â€Å"Okay,† Beaver said. He hid the stone behind his back. Coyote picked the wrong hand. â€Å"Can I borrow your knife?† Coyote said. â€Å"I don't want your ass,† Beaver said. â€Å"A bet is a bet,† Coyote said. He took Beaver's knife and cut off his ass. â€Å"Boy, that stings.† â€Å"I've got to go,† Beaver said. â€Å"I'll tell your wife she can come and sleep in my lodge if she wants to.† He picked up all of Coyote's things and went home. When Coyote got home his wife was waiting. â€Å"Beaver took the lodge,† she said. â€Å"Yep,† Coyote said. â€Å"Where's your ass?† she asked. â€Å"Beaver got that too.† â€Å"You know,† she said, â€Å"there's a twelve-step program for gambling. You should look into it.† â€Å"Twelve steps.† Coyote laughed. â€Å"I'll bet I can do it in six.† CHAPTER 24 Coyote in Trickster Town Las Vegas Coyote had been a long time in the Spirit World, where everyone knew him, so no one would gamble with him. Now that he was in Trickster Town, he wanted to make up for lost time. He waited for Sam to fall asleep, then he took the salesman's wallet and went down the elevator to the casino. Coyote saw hundreds of shiny machines blinking, and ringing, and clanking big coins into hollow metal bowls. He saw green tables where people traded money for colorful chips and a woman in a cage who paid money for the chips. He saw a wheel with a ball that went around and around. When the ball stopped a man took everyone's chips. The key to that one, Coyote thought, is to grab your chips when you see the ball slowing down. At one green table, a shaman with a stick chanted while players threw bones. There was much shouting and moaning after each throw and the shaman took many chips from the players. That is a game of magic, Coyote thought. I will be very good at that one. But first I must use Sam's cheating medicine on this machine. The trickster stood by a machine that he had seen Sam win from two times. He took one of the gold cards from Sam's wallet and slipped it into the machine, then he pressed the number that he had seen Sam use. The machine beeped and spit the card out. â€Å"Panther piss!† Coyote swore. â€Å"I've lost.† He pounded on the machine, then stepped back and drew another card from Sam's wallet. He put it in the machine and pressed the number. The machine beeped and spit out the card. â€Å"Balls!† Coyote said. â€Å"This cheating medicine is no good.† A round woman in pink stretch pants who was standing behind Coyote cleared her throat and made an impatient humphing noise. Coyote turned to her. â€Å"Get your own machine. This one is mine.† The woman glared at the trickster and tapped her foot. â€Å"Go, go, go,† Coyote said, waving her away. â€Å"There are many machines to play on. I was here first. Go away.† He put another card into the machine and hunched over the keyboard so the woman would not steal his cheating medicine. He looked back over his shoulder. She was trying to see what he was doing. â€Å"Go away, woman. My cheating medicine will not help you. Even if you win you will still be ugly.† The woman wrapped the strap of her pocketbook around her wrist and wound up to swing it at Coyote. Coyote was going to turn into a flea and disappear into the carpet, but he would have had to drop Sam's wallet to do it, so he hesitated and the woman let fly. Coyote ducked and covered his head, but the blow didn't come. Instead he heard a solid thud above his head and looked up to see a huge black hand holding the pocketbook in the air, the woman dangling from the strap at the other end. Coyote looked up further, craning his neck, until he saw a dazzling crescent moon of a smile in the face like night sky. â€Å"Is there a problem?† said the crescent moon in a soft, calm, deep voice. The giant lowered the woman, who stood stunned, staring up at what looked like a living late-afternoon shadow in sunglasses. The giant was used to shocking people – white people anyway; a seven-foot black man anywhere off a basketball court nonplussed most. He squeezed the woman's shoulder gently to bring her back to her senses. â€Å"Are you all right, ma'am?† Again the smile. â€Å"Fine. I'm fine,† the woman said, and she tottered off into the casino to tell her husband that, by God, they would spend their next vacation in Hawaii where natives and giants – if they were there at all – were part of the entertainment. The giant turned his attention to Coyote. â€Å"And you, sir, can I help you with anything?† â€Å"You look like Raven,† Coyote said. â€Å"Do you always wear sunglasses?† â€Å"Always, sir,† the giant said with a slight bow. He pointed to the brass nameplate on his black suit jacket. â€Å"I'm M.F., customer service, at your service, sir.† â€Å"What's the M.F. stand for?† Coyote asked. â€Å"Just M.F., sir. I am the youngest of nine children. I suppose my mother was too tired to come up with a full name.† This was not entirely true, nor entirely false. The giant's mother had, indeed, been weary by the time he was born, but she had also developed an unnatural obsession with dental hygiene as a child, after she was chosen to be one of the first students ever to participate in a Crest toothpaste test. It had been her single moment of glory, her fifteen minutes of fame (and her best checkup ever). When she grew up she married a navy man named Nathan Fresh, and as she bore her children she christened them in remembrance of her day in the dental sun. The first of the Fresh children, a boy, was named Fluoristat. Then came three more boys: Tartar, Plaque, and Molar. Then two girls: Gingivitis and Flossie (the latter after the famous dental hygiene cow). After normal deliveries of two more sons, Bicuspid and Incisor, she had a long, difficult labor with her largest and last son, Minty. Later, Mother Fresh swore that had the child taken one more minute to come into the world, she would have nam ed him Mr. Tooth Decay out of spite – a fact that gave little solace to the man named Minty Fresh. Coyote said, â€Å"People think that it stands for motherfucker, don't they?† â€Å"No,† Minty said. â€Å"No one has ever mentioned it.† â€Å"Oh,† Coyote said. â€Å"Can you fix this machine? When I give it the cheating number it just beeps.† Minty Fresh looked at the cash machine, which was still blinking the message INSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, OR JAPANESE. CHOOSE ONE. â€Å"You'll need to choose a language, sir.† He reached down and pushed the English button. â€Å"It should be fine now.† Coyote inserted a card and punched two numbers on the keyboard, then looked at Minty. â€Å"This is my secret number.† â€Å"Yes,† Minty said. â€Å"If you need anything at all, please ask for me personally.† He turned and walked away. Coyote finished punching the PIN number. When the machine prompted him for an amount he punched in $9999.99, the maximum allowed by the six-figure field. The machine whirred and spit five hundred dollars into the tray, then flashed a message saying that this was the card's transaction limit. Coyote tried the card again and got another five hundred. The third time the machine refused the transaction so Coyote tried another card. After running all of Sam's cards to their limit he walked away from the machine with twenty thousand dollars in cash. Coyote went to the roulette table and held the four-inch brick of twenties out to the croupier, a slight Oriental woman in a red-and-purple silk doublet with a name badge that read, Lady Lihn. The croupier said, â€Å"On the table.† She gestured for Coyote to put the money down. She nodded to a pit boss. â€Å"Watch count, please,† she said mechanically. The pit boss, a sharp-faced, slick-haired Italian man wearing a polyester suit and a ten-thousand-dollar Rolex, moved to her side and watched as she counted the bills out on the table. â€Å"Changing twenty thousand,† Lady Lihn said. â€Å"How would you like this, sir?† â€Å"Red ones,† Coyote said. The pit boss raised an eyebrow and smirked. Lady Lihn looked irritated. â€Å"Red is five dollar. No room on table.† The pit boss addressed Coyote. â€Å"Perhaps you'd like two hundred in fives and the rest in hundreds, sir.† â€Å"What color are the hundreds?† Coyote said. â€Å"Black,† Lady Lihn said. â€Å"Yellows,† Coyote said. â€Å"Yellows are two dollars.† â€Å"You pick,† Coyote said. Lady Lihn counted out racks of chips and pushed them in front of Coyote. The pit boss nodded to a cocktail waitress, then to the stack of chips in front of Coyote, which the cocktail waitress interpreted as â€Å"Take the order.† The cocktail waitress would bring strong drinks until Coyote started to get drunk, then she would bring watered drinks until he looked tired, when she would offer coffee and disappear until the caffeine kicked in. â€Å"Can I bring you something to drink?† Coyote turned to the cocktail waitress and stared into her cleavage. â€Å"Yes,† he said. The waitress held a pen ready over a cocktail napkin. â€Å"What can I bring you?† Coyote shot a glance to a woman at the table who was drinking a mai tai, resplendent with paper parasols and sword-skewered tropical fruit. He grabbed the woman's drink and downed half of it, nearly taking his eye out with the plastic broadsword. â€Å"One of these,† Coyote said. He replaced the drink in front of the woman, who didn't seem to notice that it had been missing. She'd been riding the alcohol-and-caffeine roller coaster for hours and was absorbed in winning back her children's college fund. â€Å"Bets down,† Lady Lihn said. Coyote put a single red chip on black and the ball was dropped. Coyote watched the ball race around the outside of the wheel. When it slowed and dropped to the numbers he reached for his bet. â€Å"No touch bet,† Lady Lihn snapped. In an instant the pit boss, the cocktail waitress, and two security jesters in steel-toed elf shoes were at Coyote's side. The trickster pulled his hand back. It will be hard to trick these people, Coyote thought. They talk like wolves, all twitches and gestures and smells. The ball dropped into a red slot and Lady Lihn placed another red chip next to Coyote's. â€Å"I win, I win, I win,† Coyote chanted. He did a skipping dance around the table and sang a victory song. Above the casino, in a mirrored dome, a video camera picked up Coyote's dancing image and sent it to a deck of monitors where three men watched and, in turn, watched each other watch. One pressed a button and picked up a telephone. â€Å"M.F.,† he said. â€Å"This is God. Customer service on table fifty-nine. The Indian you were talking to a few minutes ago. Watch him.† â€Å"I'm on it,† Minty Fresh said. He turned to the girl who was working behind the computer. â€Å"God wants me on the floor.† The girl nodded. As Minty walked by her she sang softly, â€Å"He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake†¦.† Minty Fresh smiled. He really didn't mind being watched. Because of his size, people had always watched him. He had never blended into any background, never entered a room unnoticed, never been able to sneak up on someone. Attracting attention was as natural to him as being. And for every original-thinking dolt who asked him how the weather was up there, there was a woman who wanted to research the wives' tale of proportional hand-foot-penis size. (A tale, Minty thought, dreamed up by the unsatisfied wives of small-footed men.) Minty spotted the Indian at the roulette table. The two security jesters had moved off a few feet but were still watching, as was the pit boss. When Minty came to the table they nodded in acknowledgment and moved off. The croupier looked at Minty and immediately looked back to the bets on the table. Minty Fresh put her on edge. It wasn't his size that rattled her, but the fact that no one was exactly sure what his job was, only that when there was a problem, he was there. He handled things. Lady Lihn dropped the ball into the wheel. It raced, then rattled into a slot, and she raked all the bets off the table. Coyote cursed and let out a howl. The woman playing next to him staggered back and wandered away, carrying visions of her children wearing paper hats and saying, â€Å"I was going to go to college, but my mother went to Vegas instead. Would you like fries with that?† Coyote looked at Minty Fresh. â€Å"She was bad luck. I lost half of my chips because of her.† â€Å"Perhaps you should move to a different table,† Minty said. â€Å"We can open a private table just for you.† Coyote grinned at Minty. â€Å"You think you have a table where you can trick me?† â€Å"No, sir,† Minty said, a little embarrassed. â€Å"We don't wish to trick you.† â€Å"There's nothing wrong with tricking people. They pay you to be tricked.† â€Å"We like to think of it as entertainment.† Coyote laughed. â€Å"Like movie stars and magicians? Tricksters. People want to be tricked. But you know that, don't you?† He picked up his chips and walked to a crap table. Minty thought for a moment before following the Indian. He prided himself on being able to handle any situation with complete calm, but he found dealing with this Indian made him nervous, and a little afraid. But of what? Something in the eyes. He moved in behind Coyote, who was throwing chips on the crap table. â€Å"You can't bet the numbers until the point has been made, sir,† said the stickman, a thin, balding man in his forties. He pushed Coyote's chips back across the table. The stickman looked over Coyote's head and nodded to Minty Fresh before pushing the dice to the shooter. â€Å"Place your bets,† he said, and the dealers working at either end of the table checked the bets on the felt. â€Å"New shooter coming out,† the stickman said. A blond woman in a business suit and perfect newswoman makeup picked up the dice and blew on them. â€Å"Come on, seven,† she said. â€Å"Baby needs new shoes.† Coyote twisted his neck to look at Minty Fresh. â€Å"Does talking to them work?† Minty nodded to the table as the woman let fly with the dice, rolling a two. â€Å"Snake eyes!† the croupier said. â€Å"Lizard dick!† Coyote shouted back. The blond woman cursed and walked away from the table. The stickman shot a glance to Minty, then continued. â€Å"Two. Craps. No pass. No come. Place your bets. New shooter coming out.† He pushed the dice to Coyote, who threw a handful of black chips on the table and picked up the dice. â€Å"You are small, but I am your friend,† Coyote said to the dice. â€Å"You have beautiful spots.† He pulled the rawhide pouch from his belt and poured a fine powder on the dice. â€Å"You can't do that, sir,† the stickman said. Minty Fresh gently took the dice from Coyote and handed them to the boxman, who sat across from the stickman watching an enormous rack of chips that was the table's bank. He inspected the dice, then gave them to the stickman, who dropped them in his tray and pushed a fresh pair to the trickster. â€Å"What is this, shade?† Coyote said. â€Å"The shaman gets to use his power stick but I can't use my cheating powder?† â€Å"I'm afraid not,† Minty said. Coyote picked up the new dice and chucked them to the end of the table. â€Å"Eight! Easy,† the stickman said. â€Å"Did I win?† Coyote asked Minty. â€Å"No, now you have to roll another eight before you roll a seven or eleven.† Coyote rolled again. The dice showed a pair of fours. â€Å"Eight. Winner. Hard way,† the stickman chanted. The dealer placed a stack of black chips next to Coyote's bet. â€Å"Ha,† Coyote said, taunting Minty Fresh. â€Å"See, I am good at this game.† â€Å"Very good,† Minty said with a smile. â€Å"You roll again.† Coyote placed the remainder of his chips on the table. The dealer immediately shot a glance to the boxman, who looked to Minty Fresh. Minty nodded. The boxman nodded. The dealer counted Coyote's chips and stacked them on the pass line. â€Å"Playing twenty-one thousand.† Coyote threw the dice. â€Å"Two!† the stickman said. The dealer raked in Coyote's chips and handed them to the boxman, who stacked the racks in the table bank. â€Å"I lost?† Coyote said incredulously. â€Å"Sorry,† Minty said. â€Å"But you didn't crap out. You can shoot again.† â€Å"I'll be back,† Coyote said. He walked away and Minty followed him through the casino, into the lobby, and out the door. Coyote handed the valet ticket to a kid named Squire Jeff, then turned to Minty, who stood by the valet counter. â€Å"I'll be back with more money.† â€Å"We'll hold a place for you, sir,† Minty said, relieved that the Indian was leaving. â€Å"I was just learning your game, shade. You didn't trick me.† â€Å"Of course not, sir.† Squire Jeff pulled up in the Mercedes, got out, and waited with his hand out. Coyote started to get into the car, then stopped and looked at the valet. He took the pouch from his belt and poured a bit of powder into the kid's hand, then got in the car and drove away. Minty felt a wave of relief wash over him as he watched the Mercedes cross the drawbridge. Squire Jeff, still holding his palm out, turned to Minty Fresh. â€Å"What am I supposed to do with this?† â€Å"You could snort it.† Squire Jeff sniffed at the powder, then wrinkled his nose and brushed the powder from his hand. â€Å"Fucking Indian. You work inside, right?† Minty nodded. Squire Jeff looked Minty up and down. â€Å"You play any ball?† â€Å"One year, UNLV.† â€Å"Injury?† â€Å"Attitude,† Minty said. He walked back into the casino.

Changes in Immigration at Canada on 20th Century

Immigration has had a strong effect on Canada’s historical development, from countryside in the early part of the 20th century to the building of Canada’s largest cities. Immigration itself has changed greatly during the 19th and 20th centuries and continues to do so. During the first sixty years of the 20th century, the majority of immigrants to Canada came either from Europe or the United States.This has since changed much with entry based on a points system and the introduction of human’s benefit. At present Canada is known as a country with a wide immigration policy which is reflected in Canada's variety of races of mankind. According to the 2001 survey by  Statistics Canada, Canada has 34 national groups with at least one hundred thousand members each, of which 10 have over 1,000,000 people and numerous others represented in smaller amounts. 13. % of the population belonged to  visible minorities: most numerous among these are  Chinese  (3. 5% of the population),  South Asian  (3. 1%),  Black  (2. 2%), and  Filipino  (1. 0%). In 2004, Canada received 235,824 immigrants. The top ten sending countries, by state of origin, were Peoples Republic of China  (37,280),  India  (28,183),  Philippines  (13,900), Pakistan  (13,011),  Iran (6,491),  United States  (6,470),  Romania  (5,816),  United Kingdom (5,353), South Korea  (5,351), and  Colombia  (4,600).By 2006, the most numbered of immigrants coming to Canada originated in Asia, most especially in China and India. Immigration has been, and continues to be, a very important source of population growth in Canada. Given the ageing of the Canadian population and the gradual lessening birth rate, research shows that immigration could be the largest provider to population growth in the future.Therefore, it would not be amazing if Canada one day is the best country in the world economically, socially and culturally if immigration keeps on happenin g regularly. Combining different cultures in the world is a very big achievement because not many countries are successful in maintaining their cultural mixture and keeping peace at the same time is a tough challenge for any country. http://www. worldlingo. com/ma/enwiki/en/Immigration_to_Canada http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Immigration_to_Canada

Become a Marketable Medical Transcriptionist

Become a Marketable Medical Transcriptionist Whether you’re just starting along the path to a career in medical transcription or are looking to sharpen your skills, you need to be in top of your game at all times. Here are a few ways you can thrive in this important position. You will likely have to learn how to generate your own clients.  Always be in the lookout for opportunities to network. Keep your name active in industry forums and maintain consistent relationships with industry professionals: teachers from your certification program, former classmates and colleagues, and anyone you’ve worked for in the past. You want to remain fresh in the minds of people who might be looking to hire someone.Organization is key, especially because many positions will require that you work from home and maintain your own schedule. First, set up a professional space for yourself–make sure it’s clean, quiet, and equipped with the latest gear. You will definitely need a sturdy set of headphones and a quality sou nd card for your computer. Then, set up (and stick to!) an administration plan that works for you–paper or electronic files are fine, so long as you keep meticulous track of your assignments, due dates, and invoices.Finally, grow and hone your skills regularly. Practice is key to success, especially on real-life medical dictations. In this profession, time is money and efficiency is vital.Aim to stay at the top of your game in all professional and personal avenues and you’ll be primed to become a sought-after and marketable medical transcriptionist!5 Ways to Maximize Your Effectiveness as a Medical TranscriptionistRead More at www.careerstep.com

An English Language Dialogue About Prescriptions

An English Language Dialogue About Prescriptions Students and teachers can use the following short description of prescriptions in order to expand and check common English usage of terms relating to medical prescriptions, as well as treatments.   A prescription is written by a doctor to give patients medicine needed to alleviate symptoms or stabilize a medical condition that might be chronic in nature. The prescription is written by a physician in order to tell the pharmacist which medication is required. These often include a number of prescription abbreviations. Prescriptions vs. Recommendations Prescriptions are used for medications that a doctor feels is necessary for treatment. These are legal documents that are required in order to receive medicine which is prepared by the pharmacist in a pharmacy. Recommendations, on the other hand, are courses of action that a doctor feels will be helpful for the patient. These could include simple daily tasks such as taking a walk or eating more fruits and vegetables.   Dialogue: Giving A Prescription Patient: †¦ what about the problems Ive been having sleeping?Doctor: Im going to give you a prescription for some medicine to help you get a better nights sleep. Patient: Thank you doctor.Doctor: Here, you can get this prescription at any pharmacy. Patient: How often should I take the medicine?Doctor: Just take one pill about 30 minutes before you go to bed. Patient: How long should I take them?Doctor: The prescription is for thirty days. If youre not sleeping well after thirty days, Id like you to come back in. Patient: Is there anything else I can do to help me sleep at night?Doctor: Dont worry so much about things at work. I know, I know... easier said than done. Patient: Should I stay home from work?Doctor: No, I dont think thats necessary. Just remember to stay calm. Understanding Prescriptions Prescriptions Include: Patient identifier: first and last name of the patient, as well as the date of birth (DOB)Medication (also named drug): The medicine that is prescribed  Strength: How strong the medication prescribed is (50 mg, 100 mg, etc.)Amount: How often the patient should take the medicineHow much: Number of pills, tablets, etc. provided  Frequency: How often the patient should take the medicine  Route: How the patient should take the medicine (by mouth, topical, sublingual, etc.).  Refills: How often the prescription should be renewed  Signature: Signature of the physician writing the prescriptionDate: The day on which the prescription was written Key Vocabulary amount how muchchronic recurring, happening again and againdrug idiomatic term used to refer to medicineeasier said than done not easy to dofrequency how often something is done  medical condition illness, sickness, diseasemedication medicinepatient identifier information that identifies a patientpharmacist person who has a license to prepare medications for patientspharmacy licensed store which sells medicine that requires a prescriptionphysician doctorprescription order from a doctor for medicineto refill to provide medicine again based on a prescription  route how medicine should be takenstrength how strong the medicine issublingual under the tongueto alleviate to make easier, to relieveto get a good nights sleep to sleep enough to feel restedtopical placed on the skinto stabilize to make regular  to stay calm to be relaxed  to take a pill to take medicine by mouth

The American Liberty Elm - Overview

The American Liberty Elm - Overview American Liberty Elm : The state tree of both Massachusetts and North Dakota, American elm is a beautiful tree but subject to getting a serious disease called Dutch elm disease or DED. The good news is that resistant tree strains are starting to improve the American elms situation. Elm Research Institute (ERI) has developed on of the best, called the American Liberty Elm, and offers matching grants to groups who want to plant the tree. Habit and Range: American elm is one of the most popular of urban shade trees. This tree was planted along downtown city streets for decades. The tree has had major problems with Dutch elm disease and has until now been out of favor when considered for urban tree planting. In North America, American elm attains medium to large tree status and grows 60 to 80 tall. American elm occupies one of the largest north-south ranges in North America - from Canada to Florida. Enter Elm Research Institute (ERI): A new matching tree grant program has been announced by Elm Research Institute (ERI), a nonprofit organization based in Keene, NH. This unique, community-oriented promotion features disease-resistant American Liberty Elms which are the only street proven, purebred, native American elms with a lifetime warranty against Dutch elm disease. This warrenty is backed by ERI. About ERIs American Liberty Elm Grant: How the Matching Tree Grant Program works:For every inch of caliper purchased in trees 3 inch caliper and larger, ERI will donate one 1 inch or 2 inch caliper tree for planting on public property.Your Options:(A) For every inch of caliper purchased in trees Size No. 3 or larger ERI will donate an equal total in Sizes No. 1 or No. 2 trees to be presented as a gift to your municipality for planting on public property.(B) You purchase (4)trees of any size and get {1) tree free. Says the Founder of ERI: “Liberty elms have become extremely popular with new home owners, builders, landscape architects, developers and contractors” says John P. Hansel, Founder of ERI. “We will extend the Matching Tree Grant Program to those who are specifying and planting American Liberty Elms.” Why Plant American Liberty Elms?: The American Liberty Elm has shown superior resistance to disease fungus inoculations over successive years, says ERI. The elm has had more than 20 years of street testing, growing in communities where Dutch elm disease is present. In an ultimate field test, losses among the over 300,000 trees planted have been less than 1 per cent. With more elms now on the market claiming resistance, you need to inquire about the origin and track record of any elm you are considering says Hansel. Why Plant an American Elm?: The American Elm displays a classic elm form, and is perfect for many landscape designs, including elm-lined drives, elm groves and specimen elms. As an elms matures, it displays wide canopies to heights that afford clear views of the architectural details of buildings and deep shade for people to enjoy.A favorite of Fredrick Law Olmsted, the American elm was included in his plans for the U.S. Capitol grounds, New York Citys Central Park and other projects. More on the Matching Tree Grant Program: For more information about the Matching Tree Grant Program, phone Elm Research Institute at 1-800-367-3567 (FOR-ELMS), online at www.landscapeelms.com or write Elm Research Institute, 11 Kit St, Keene, NH 03431. Individuals may also get a free 2-3 ft. tree with a $45 membership. Expert Comments on Elms: It is massive, long lived, tough, easy to grow, adaptable and blessed with an arching, wine-glass-like silhouette, making it the perfect street tree. - Guy Sternberg, Native Trees for North American LandscapesMost trees find life an ongoing struggle, but elms have been through a singular hell.- Arthur Plotnik, The Urban Tree BookFrom a pragmatic viewpoint, it is difficult to recommend this species because of the disease problem. If the newer, resistant selections prove successful, then I would consider planting...- Michael Dirr, Dirrs Hardy Trees and Shrubs

Incest and Exogamy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Incest and Exogamy - Essay Example The ambiguity of the incest taboo that has for so long confused anthropologists is still not reveled whilst it is seen as establishing a structure of exchanges among separate groups. As it is practically universal---some constraints on marriage are found in each and every society---the incest taboo has the impulsiveness of a natural desire. However since it is not a biological need (and Lvi-Strauss demonstrates this extremely convincingly via the case of cross-cousin marriage, which is a desire and not a need, while parallel-cousin marriage is better choice as that could be done to fulfill need and just a desire ) it partakes of a law, of a cultural obligation. The incest taboo is not so much a harmful restriction on the pool of marriage partners as a assurance that one group will gives its daughters to another group to fulfill the needs , as long as that the other group does the same. For Lvi-Strauss---and this is for the most part vital for family theory --the incest taboo prevents the marital family from dying in on itself as well as gives assurance to the fact that the wider society will definitely take preference over the family by means of marrying out side the family this group could be called non-family groups. Philosophically, incest asks a essential question of our changing mores: not just what is normal as well as what is deviant, it also asks if such a thing as deviance really exists at all in the r

International trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

International trade - Essay Example Finally, it comments on the validity of the model and its implications in today’s world. Before discussing the content of the model, it is important to know the assumptionson which the model is based. As already discussed this model assumes that there are two countries producing two goods, having two homogeneous factors of production. It is also assumed that technologies prevailing in the two countries are identical. Production of the two commodities abides by the conditions of constant returns to scale. One of the two commodities uses one of the two factors of production more intensively in comparison to the other. The existence of perfect competition is assumed in both commodities and factor markets. Factor mobility prevails within the same country but not among different countries. Tastes are also considered to be similar between the two countries. Finally, it is assumed that there are no trade barriers and no costs incurred for transportation. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory states that a capital abundant country exports commodities which are capital intensive and the co untry which is labour abundant exports commodities exports labour intensive commodities. This model has been explained with the help of a diagram. The country which is exporting is referred as the foreign country and the country importing is referred to as the home country. It is assumed that the home country and the foreign country is exporting commodity 1 and 2 respectively. Then, according to the assumption, the home country exports good 1, while the good 2 is exported by the foreign country. To prove this, a particular case of factor endowment difference is considered, L/K > L*/K*, and it is also assumed that labour endowments in both countries remain identical. Thus, L = L*. The capital endowment in the foreign country exceeds that in the home country, i.e. K > K*. In order to determine the

Cloning (Argument Synthesis) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cloning (Argument Synthesis) - Essay Example With the advent of Dolly, cloning became the major topic in debates. Liberal scientists suppose that: "cloning gives an opportunity to remake mankind in an image of health, it is the ultimate expression of man's unlimited potential" (Human Reproduction and therapeutic cloning, 2005). In reality, while the cloning of animals, for commercial as well as scientific purposes, is now fairly widespread, the cloning of a developed human being (with predicted dates that regularly recede) has yet to take place. Cloning helps scientists to investigate and understand functions of stem cells and invent new medical treatment methods for such diseases as cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, etc. "Therapeutic cloning will allow them to create organs that are a perfect match for those in need of a transplant" (Human Reproduction and therapeutic cloning, 2005). The use of cloning for therapeutic purposes is important to creating one person solely for the sake of another. Stem cells have a special property - they are undifferentiated. That is to say, stem cells have not taken on the special properties and functions of liver cells, heart cells, skin cells, and so on. But they can become differentiated, and take on these properties. This makes them useful. Stem cells can thus be used to repair organic damage, to recreate parts of the human body that are diseased or malfunctioning. Thus they present people with new therapeutic possibilities, several of which have already been im pressively demonstrated - bone marrow transplants to regenerate a healthy blood system in patients with leukaemia, for instance ('Seeing double: the cloning conundrum' 4). Another argument "for" cloning is that animal cloning is succeed, and it means that the technique of animal cloning becomes far more precise and effective and its extension to human beings very much less likely to go wrong. The cloning of humans is an extension of techniques developed for the cloning of animals, and whereas the cloning of plants is simple, the cloning of animals is not. Nevertheless, the inefficiency argument rests on contingent facts, and it is in the nature of contingent facts that they can change. "If they are successful, engineered stem cells may eventually provide a way of permanently curing most, if not all genetically determined diseases of the blood and circulatory system" (Grace 40). Opponents of cloning state that everything turns on the potential impact, for good or ill, on human beings. The result of cloning is often the creation of animals with radical defects and deformities, many of which emerge only as the animal grows. In short, suffering creatures are brought into existence. For this created suffering, as for suffering inflicted, morally responsible behavior requires a justification. The form of this justification is clear - the suffering is outweighed by the benefits. The main problem with cloning is that results are often unstable. It is not always appreciated that even yet the actual business of producing laboratory generated animals is very much a hit and miss affair. Of course it can be said, that

Review of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle - Essay Example Multiple jobs, and long hours "And, for this, at the end of the week, he will carry home three dollars to his family, being his pay at the rate of five cents per hour-just about his proper share of the million and three quarters of children who are now engaged in earning their livings in the United States." (85). His wife and children are forced to find jobs of their own. They continue to barely survive. These initial American experiences take their toll on the Rudkus family, and they lose the hope they brought with them from Lithuania. Jurgis and his family learn that hard way that justice dos not exist in a capitalist society where only corruption is rewarded. The trials of the Rudkus family continue. Jurgis is injured at his work and is forced to spend two months healing. When he returns to work he has been replaced and finds work at a glue factory. Bills continues to pile up, his wife is expecting another child, and he to drinks. The family continues to spiral into poverty as Jur gis learns that his wife was forced to sleep with her boss. This symbolizes and demonstrates Sinclair sole message with in the novel - corrupt and merciless capitalists are screwing over immigrant families. Jurgis seeks his revenge an confronts the man who raped his wife.

Human Resource Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Information Systems - Essay Example In this industry, there is need for the employees to work in a friendly and comfortable environment. Their working environment can only be comfortable if they have things to do with their health looked into; if they get their salaries effectively and other things related to work made easier for them. This will definitely boost the morale of the employees and they do their work effectively (Gupta & Chhabra, 2004). When Mr. Morgan approached me regarding all this for advice as a HR Consultant, I decided to introduce him to the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). Since he would like to travel less due to the cost of fuel, the HRIS should be able to help him execute most of his work effectively and at cheaper costs. This will save him time, energy, and money. IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS: The HR problems Mr. Morgan is facing will be no more as soon as the use of HRIS is put in place. The main problem was travelling every week, which wasted so much time and was expensive in terms of fuel. The manner in which he made the payroll checks and the use of Excel spread sheet to prepare them would greatly be improved through HRIS. Some of the HR functions, which will be efficient, in this case are: Salary determination is one of the most important functions in this business. The work of HRIS in this field acts as the software for clarifying for data entry, data information, and data tracking. It helps the Human Resources to manage accounting functions and payrolls within the company or business. It is the most efficient and effective way of transacting accounting calculations. It will provide data, which is very accurate. It can also keep and retrieve big amounts of data making work much easier (Gupta & Chhabra, 2004). HRIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT: The computerization used in the HRIS might create more effective process in the functions above, due to the fact that it has the ability to perform very heavy tasks within a short time. For instance, if the HR

Case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Case study - Assignment Example Finally, I will have to evaluate the decision once a diet program is adopted to ascertain the satisfaction it is intended (Chater 15). In a business, value is created through performing actions, which increase its worth of services and goods. Weight Watchers have created value employ the use of the Internet in enabling members to check meals at popular restaurants, point values for food, as well as add meals or snacks to their daily food journals online (Brazin 34). They have also created similar cell phone applications and services for training on fitness. Jenny Craig has created value through offering additional one-on-one counseling services to members and customizing diet programs to fit various social groups like men, women, or teenagers (Fayolle 30). The determinant attributes that set Jenny Craig’s and Weight Watchers’ programs apart include diet program, cost, average weight loss, support, the percentage of participants still in the program after four weeks, as well as long term assistance. The two diet companies through several ways such as building realistic expectations, which are neither too high nor too low, can enhance customer satisfaction. It will be prudent for them to note that unrealistically high expectations from consumers of their services set through personal selling or advertisement may initially lead to higher sales, but in the result in dissatisfaction if the diet programs do not meet the expectations (Randall 54). They can also do this by demonstrating correct implementation of their diet programs through actual recordings of success in previous cases. This will enable them to sell more by standing behind their services and products through provision of money-back warranties and guarantees. Customer satisfaction can also be improved through encouraging feedback from them. This will help in cutting down on negative word of mouth as well as

Human Resource Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Information Systems - Essay Example In this industry, there is need for the employees to work in a friendly and comfortable environment. Their working environment can only be comfortable if they have things to do with their health looked into; if they get their salaries effectively and other things related to work made easier for them. This will definitely boost the morale of the employees and they do their work effectively (Gupta & Chhabra, 2004). When Mr. Morgan approached me regarding all this for advice as a HR Consultant, I decided to introduce him to the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). Since he would like to travel less due to the cost of fuel, the HRIS should be able to help him execute most of his work effectively and at cheaper costs. This will save him time, energy, and money. IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS: The HR problems Mr. Morgan is facing will be no more as soon as the use of HRIS is put in place. The main problem was travelling every week, which wasted so much time and was expensive in terms of fuel. The manner in which he made the payroll checks and the use of Excel spread sheet to prepare them would greatly be improved through HRIS. Some of the HR functions, which will be efficient, in this case are: Salary determination is one of the most important functions in this business. The work of HRIS in this field acts as the software for clarifying for data entry, data information, and data tracking. It helps the Human Resources to manage accounting functions and payrolls within the company or business. It is the most efficient and effective way of transacting accounting calculations. It will provide data, which is very accurate. It can also keep and retrieve big amounts of data making work much easier (Gupta & Chhabra, 2004). HRIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT: The computerization used in the HRIS might create more effective process in the functions above, due to the fact that it has the ability to perform very heavy tasks within a short time. For instance, if the HR

Fiscal Policy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fiscal Policy Paper - Essay Example The huge deficits and debts the US is experiencing are attributable to the increased unbudgeted spending in diverse sectors that include Social security and insurance scheme for the disabled. The increased expenses in the sectors have made the nation face serious financial challenges due to the increasing deficits and debts with minimal surpluses (Whitehouse, 2010). The extreme economic conditions explain why the future social security and Medicare users should embrace themselves to challenging times ahead. Indeed, taxpayers in US that include Medicare and social security users have been feeling the pinch of the US economic situation. The increase in overspending has created an imbalance in the economy that in turn is leading to the utilization of the available resources in the sectors in financing other activities. The use of the resources has reduced the amount of money available to facilitate effective service delivery. The unfolding events have resulted in inferior service delivery in the sectors, lack of medical equipments in hospitals, unemployment, and reduced social cover (Whitehouse, 2010). In particular, the taxpayers no longer receive standardized services as before in a timely manner. The level of responsiveness to their issues is also worrying lately. Variably, the meltdown has forced job cuts in various institutions providing Medicare and social security services thereby compromising service delivery. Is because there is limited finance that can be used in sustaining qual ity service delivery as expected in the sectors. The surplus amount obtained can be used to support the ailing sectors in a bid to bridge the gap created by the deficit, as the government may deem necessary. The move can help in correcting the financial imbalance that may lead to the economic recession if not

Psychological Portraiture Essay Example for Free

Psychological Portraiture Essay Another distingished legacy that Halsman left behind was essentially a product of a probing psychologist in him who could treat his subjects with a deep insight and empathy and could make them reveal their characters in profound and extraordinary shades, which he eventually employed superbly in his works of photography. Also, with courteous manners, sauve witticism and stylish European accents, Halsman could establish an immediate connect with his American subjects (who, incidentally, dealt with psychology with an amused cynicism, of sorts) which greatly facilitated him to extricate the very best out of his subjects with rare aplomb and liveliness. In fact, he employed an extremely innovative technique, when he worked on a photography session with Marilyn Monroe, on an important assignment from Life. He made her stand in a corner and took around 40 –50 snapshots, as encircled by few admiring men, Monroe could put her spontaneous and effortless best as she ‘smiled, flirted, giggled and wriggled with delight† and enjoyed herself superbly, there-by, almost unknowingly, giving a large number of photo-opportunities to Halsman, who utilised the same to rare perfection. (Jones, 2001) While Halsman could craftily avoid any livid or lurid references of any â€Å"physical assests† of his character (an off-shoot of his somewhat traditional disposition? ), he was a modernist enough in his approach to employ all his subtle finery and sophistication to provoke his subjects into actually emoting the best reactions which, in effect, constituted the very staple of his subject of portraiture photography, bringing him world-wide recognition and acclaim.

Geotechnical Structure For Basement Car Park

Geotechnical Structure For Basement Car Park Abstract The aim of this design/investigate project is to design a geotechnical structure for a basement car park. The objective of the project is to maximize the parking area available by designing a permanent retaining structure for a basement car park during construction excavation. The various types of retaining structure will be compared and considered first by logical and engineering point of view which includes several aspect includes durability, cost, sustainability and environmental impact. For design purposes, BS EN 1997 -1 :2004 Eurocode 7 is used to design the main retaining structure and temporary works necessary. The design considered Ultimate Limit State of a structure which takes structure stability into accounts. Chapter 1 Introduction Brief Introduction A hotel chain wishes to use land previously serving as a car park for a new accommodation block. Car parking space to service this is to be constructed beneath the new structure. Therefore, a geotechnical retaining structure needed to be design to support the soil during construction and after construction. A plan view and elevation view of the site is given and also list of requirement for this project are given too. Project Design Design of the main retaining walls Design of any temporary work necessary Detail of the Project Site This is an urban Brown Field site. The previous use was known to be low rise domestic structures followed by conversion to a car parking space. The site is flanked on three sides by public highway and a desk study reveals services as indicated in (Figure 1.1) Site Plan. Extensive site investigation has been undertaken in the past. The interpreted geological profile is indicated in Figure 1 too. The interpreted geotechnical design parameters are summarized in Table 1.1. General Arrangement The proposed scheme is shown in plan and sectional elevation in Figure 1. The new extension is to be developed on the existing car parking area and includes an extended basement as indicated. Construction Restraint One of the key constraints concerns the noise and vibration limits imposed. The project requirement is to keep the existing hotel buildings around the proposed structure in full operation throughout the construction period. The limits proposed by the local authority are given in Table 1.2 below. It is also clear that the basement excavation will affect the rafted foundation to the original hotel wing. To ensure that the serviceability of this structure is assured it has been deemed necessary to limit the lateral deflections of the new basement walls at 20 mm into the excavation. The construction site is very close to a public sewer which runs in the highway footpath near one site boundary. Therefore, this aspect had been considered in the final decision for choosing types of retaining structure. Construction Time Rates And Costs As in many construction projects the speed of construction influences overall cost. In this case it is essential that the new hotel is operational in the minimum possible of time. Notional construction costs and time rates are indicated in Table 3. These figures have been given for the purposes of the project. The overhead rate for possession of the site, fixed costs for establishment and use of site area are shown in the Table 3 too. The construction sequences is to be assumed that activities above and below ground can be run in parallel but above and below ground activities are sequential. Chapter 2 Site/Soil Profile 2.1 Soil Description and Classification To understand the soil profile and the behavior of every single type of soil is an important step for a geotechnical engineer before starting any design works. In general, soil is kind of mineral particles formed by the weathering of rocks which weakly cemented or uncemented [1]. The void space between the particles contain water and/or air [1]. Weak cementation are due to carbonates or oxides precipitated between the particles or due to organic matter [1]. There is several type of soil. Every type of soil is classified in different categories by their particle size. The three main type of soil are Sands/Gravel, Silts, and Clays. Particle sizes in soils can vary from over 100mm to less than 0.001mm. The particle size distribution of a coarse-grained soil is to be determined by the method of sieving [1]. The typical size of soil ranges is shown in Figure 2.1 below.figure 2.1.jpg Basically, the terms clay , silt , sand or gravel are used to differ the sizes of soil and type of soils. Two or more size usually consists in a graded mixture of particles [1]. For example, it is not necessarily all clay size particles are clay mineral particles because clay normally consist of particles in both the clay size and silt size ranges where clay is type of soil possessing cohesion and plasticity [1]. In general, a cohesive soil is said that if the particles adhere after wetting and subsequent drying and if significant force is then required to crumble the soil [1]. 2.2 Borehole Data A set of borehole data (Figure 2.4) is given for design purposes.Figure 2.4.jpg From the borehole data given shows that water table on the site is 1m below the ground level. From top level to 3m below is a kind of coarse gravel. It is then followed by soft to firm grey brown slightly sandy clay (alluvium) and mixture of soft brown very silty clay down to 6m below ground level. From 6m below ground level to 7.5m, the soil is covered by loose brown clayey silt. It is then followed by loose to medium dense red brown silty clayey sand with a 4.5m depth. From 12m to 16m below ground level the soil is covered by large amount of gravel. A simplify table of soil in the site is shown in table 2.1 below for better and clearler understanding. Borehole Data Depth 0 0.2 Tarmacadam surfacing ( MADE GROUND) 0.2 3.0 Dark grey angular to sub-rounded coarse gravel with ash, concrete and rubble fragments (FILL) 3.0 6.0 Soft to firm grey brown slightly sandy CLAY with some organic matter (alluvium) Very soft to soft brown very silty CLAY 6.0 7.50 Loose brown clayey SILT (alluvium) 7.50 12.0 Loose to medium dense red-brown silty clayey SAND with occasional sub-angular fine to medium gravel of sandstone (alluvium) 12.0 16.0 Loose to medium dense, becoming dense red grey silty very sandy, sub rounded GRAVEL (alluvium) 16.0 22.95 Weathered MARL Reddy brown and grey green weathered (iii iv) weak MUDSTONE Chapter 3 Types of Retaining Structure There are several factors that influence the difficulty of basement design and construction. These factors normally are existing problems on the site and cannot be easily changed. Engineers somehow need to go for different option when designing structure to overcome the constraints. For example, the location of the proposed structure, proposed use of the structure, groundwater, the site surrounding existing structure and services. The type of basement wall will be then selected to support soils and groundwater of the basement and also to design as economically as possible. The walling or sheeting selected for this project is to provide temporary soil support for permanent substructure construction, or it may also serve as soil retention. The walling or sheeting will be selected after comparison in terms of cost and time, constructability and etc. Several methods include the following. Plate and anchor wall King post wall Contigous bored piling Secant piling Steel sheet piling Diaphragm walls Reinforced concrete cast in situ Reinforced concrete precast Post-tensioned Soldier piling 3.1 Brief Introduction for each Options i) Plate and Anchor Wall by underpining The total excavation depth of basement work is typically fall in the range 8 to 12m and also the ground conditions are dry and able to support 1.5 2m face deep[2]. The anchored plate method is an economical temporary wall support. Pre-grouting is to be used in granular soils where the soils were unable to stand unsupported to this modest depth [2]. Figure 4.2.jpg ii ) King Post Wall King Post method is usually popular for two following factor which is cheapness of materials by using timber and economy method of boring by using power augers. This method require boring holes on wall line at 2 3m centre depending on soil strength, depth of excavation and surcharges loads. The hole is then placed with vertical beam and to be concreted with lean mix concrete at the base of each joist below final formation level [2]. King post wall usually used as a temporary soil support and to be used in dry or dewatered soils. Vertical settlements of wall is one of the disadvantages where failure of vertical force transferring to the base of pile. iii ) Contigous Bored Pile Wall Bored pile wall is usually used as an economic and efficient method for retaining structure. This techniques is very suitable for deep basements excavation and underground structure where working space is limited. This method prevent large amount of soil excavation and also help to control ground movements. Piles are usually drills into ground by using continuous flight auger (CFA) with a certain gap distance between piles. A maximum length of piles is usually around 20m depending on ground condition. Contiguous bored pile wall is not suitable for site with high water level due to the gaps between piles. Advantages of contiguous pile walls are : Comparative low cost and speed of construction Low level of sound pollution ( low level of vibration) Pile can be drill in limited spaces Has the ability to minimize the distance between bored pile wall and existing wall for small excavation depthcontiguous bored pile wall.jpg iv ) Secant Piles Disadvantages of contiguous bored pile are overcome by using secant piles where interlocking method is introduced. Secant pile walls are constructed by concreting primary (female) piles first then secondary (piles) are bored through female piles before concrete reach full strength [2]. By this the piles forms overlapping between each other. Advantages : a)Can be installed in hard ground (cobbles /boulders) b)Low noise pollution c) Better wall stiffness compare to sheet piles secant-pilingBig.jpg v ) Sheet Pile Wall Sheet Pile wall are made up from a group of piles that interlock each other and is driven into the soil. Most sheet pile wall nowadays is using steel sheet which fabricated in factory. The use of sheet pile for temporary soil support for basement at urban area is not that popular where noise is the main constraint. Sheet pile may be installed using hydraulic can reduce the noise pollution. Sheet pile wall can be design as cantilever wall or anchored wall depends on the basement depth and soil condition that vary. Advantages : a) High resistance to driving stresses. b) Sheet can be reuse c) Easy to install Disadvantages : a) Sheet pile can hardly be use as permanent structure. b) Installation of piles are hard where soil contain boulders and cobblers c) Noise pollution (High vibration) vi ) Diaphragm walls Diaphragm walls are reinforced concrete wall constructed in slurry supported by machine digging a trench in panels of certain length. This slurry can be bentonite slurry where has thixotropic properties [8]. The wall is first constructed in short panels length, by installing reinforced cages and concreting, then later intermediate panels are excavated to complete the whole wall. There is 3 type of diaphragm walls in use in industry, which is cast in-situ diaphragm wall, precast reinforced diaphragm wall and post-tensioned diaphragm wall. Advantages : a) Allow effective transfer of vertical load from the building to subsoil b) Minimum noise and vibration disturbance c) Allow construction on limited site area. 3.2 Comparison of each option A table (table 3.2) of matrix below is to compare the advantages and disadvantages of several retaining structure. This comparison results will shows the most suitable retaining wall to design and construct for this project. Durability Durability is not usually a problem for a temporary wall depending on the soil condition. But when wall is to be design as a permanent structure, the wall should satisfy the durability requirement where wall should reach design life. For example, durability requirement for concrete wall depends on the design life, cement content, water cement ratio, cover of reinforcement and also quality of workmanship. Rigidity Rigidity means a structure property that does not bend under an applied force in vertical or horizontal load [10]. Different type of retaining walls could sustain different loading. Some walls are good in resisting vertical loading and does not bend but some walls can only sustain horizontal force. For example, reinforced diaphragm wall is much more rigid than a sheet pile wall. Reinforced concrete diaphragm wall can be design as a permanent structure that carry load from superstructure above and does not bend in any way. Comparing 6 types of retaining structure above, Diaphragm walls, contiguous pile wall and secant pile walls are three best on rigidity. Constructability on Site Constructability of a structure means a structure to be constructed on site easily from start to finish by fulfilling clients requirement. Constructability also means ease of construction. A constructability review must be done before starting any construction process to prevent error, construction delay or cost overrun [11]. The space to construct the proposed structure is limited. Figure 1.1 shows that a existing sewer pipe line is 1m beside the proposed structure on the right and also a existing structure 2m far from the proposed building on the left. One of the project requirement is to minimize the sound of construction in urban area. Choice of excavation is limited to prevent any damage to the existing properties. Trench excavation is ideal for this project. Therefore, constructing diaphragm wall is the best solution where diaphragm wall can be constructed in limited space by using trench excavation, low noise produce and machinery is not big. Soil Condition The soil profile is needed to take into consideration when designing retaining structure. Some structures construction is hardly to process when the soil contains cobbles or boulders. Most of the structure is suitable to be constructs on this project site because of the clayey soil from ground level to a minimum depth of 12m. Only when initial design for retaining structure with required depth over 12m into gravel layer, retaining structure like diaphragm wall is not that suitable due to the stability of wall. Water Table Ground water on site are mainly from rainfall or groundwater flow through soil from rivers and seas [2]. By reducing the groundwater within the excavation depth and structure depth by dewatering process will increase the strength of soil as the pore water pressure is reduced. Groundwater control is crucial to prevent any leakage of water into the basement car park or cause instability of structure, for example, ground heave. Retaining wall usually acts as a groundwater cut off. Several alternative ways of groundwater cut-off are: To lower the groundwater by temporary dewatering process where ground movement is to be considered. Temporary sump pumping is to be done is ground is sufficiently impermeable Excavation is to be done under water and so permanent wall is to be construct under water by tremie concreting techniques. Diaphragm wall serves as a good water barrier compare to sheet pile or secant piles where sheet pile might corrode and water will flow through the gap between secant pile. Depth of wall Designer needs to consider the depth of a retaining structure can be construct. Some structure is cheaper to be built in deeper depth compare to shallow depth. Table 3.1 shows the different type of retaining structure that can be construct up to the maximum height of wall in order for the structure to stay stable and safe. Storage of Materials Proper storage of raw materials is very important for a construction. Raw materials like reinforcement cages, cement, sand, and etc. needed to be on site on time to prevent any delay of construction. For example, steel sheet and reinforcement cages both are made in large size and needed large space to store up. Therefore, it is worth to consider this problem when choosing a retaining structure. Environmental Impact Environmental impact is one designer to be consider when structure is construct in urban area. The choice of wall can affect the environmental during construction, during in use and demolition [12]. Three main causes to environmental impacts:- During Installation Noise and vibration when boring pile. (sheet piling) Number of vehicle used. Use of sustainable materials (Guidewall construction for diaphragm wall) When used Effects on groundwater around the wall. End of life Ease of removal Ability of material to be reused 3.3 Final Decision Diaphragm wall is to be used for my design project. FUCK WHAT TO WRITE o0o Chapter 4 Diaphragm Wall 4.1 Preplanning and Design For designing purposes and construction of diaphragm walls, a number of item require to be considered in preplanning and design of diaphragm wall. Excavation Sequence The sequence of excavation from ground level to the basement walls is to be well planned to minimize rig movement and to avoid changing places and moving of pipework from panel to panel of panel excavation. Soil dump truck, slurry removal vehicle, cranes and concrete mixing trucks, and to allow curing of concrete in completed panels are all parts of construction and excavation sequence that needed to be well planned. Guide Trench Construction The successful of trench excavation for diaphragm wall depends on the temporary guide wall. The guide walls must be design and construct to be robust to avoid any movement due to extreme loads from excavation rig service cranes or placement of reinforcement cages and reaction from stop end jacking systems. In some construction, reuseable precast concrete guide wall had been used and be interlocked each other by bolted to ensure the same standard of rigidity as in-situ cast concrete wall [2]. Panel Size Diaphragm wall is to be constructed by a panel trench excavation first. The panel length typically will vary from a minimum of one grab bite (trench excavation machine grab width) to a multiple of grab bites which will extend to 7m. A grab bites vary between 2.3 and 2.8m depending on machine used. The panel length include two stop ends for the primary panels (Stop ends will be discussed on following pages). Secondary panels are those panels dug between two concreted panels. The panel length is limited to a certain length, and therefore panel volume, this is to ensure that sufficient concrete can be fill up the whole panel within concreting period in a day. This takes maximum daily working hours and concrete supply into account. Panel size more depends on designer and contractor decision. Wall-Slab Construction Joints Joints between basement floors slabs and wall is to be design carefully because the joints can transmit vertical shear and bending moment which could cause instability of structure and basement. Bend out bars and Threaded-end couplers are both used in the joints. Reinforcement cage The depth of diaphragm wall has led to the size of reinforcement cages. These cages are usually fix off-site and delivered to site when is needed. The maximum length of cages is restricted because of transportation of long and large cages. Slot for Tremie Tubes A tremie tube is used to ensure concrete is placed in correct position and that no separation of aggregate occurs during concreting pouring concrete from top to bottom of walls. Therefore, reinforcement cage is to be designed to allow sufficient access for tremie tubes. For some construction of diaphragm with large panels, two tremie is to be used to maintain the concreting rate of 60 to 80m3 per hour. 4.2 Construction Sequence End Of Construction Site Clearing Top Down Basement Construction Diaphragm Wall Construction Site Preparation 4.3 Work to be Done 4.3.1 Site Preparation Basement and retaining wall construction methods involve a high degree of mechanization. A clear working space give maximum mobility for machinery, materials and workers, hence optimize the working speeds increasing construction period. Therefore, several steps are needed to be done before any construction work progress. For example, temporary road should be provided to achieve a rapid tempo of construction in wet or dry weather. Traffic Management Local authorities are highly concern on the traffic management especially in urban area. Construction in central of urban area could cause serious traffic congestion due to slow moving construction vehicles and parts of road are occupied by machinery. A slightly highway direction will be changed on A marked in figure 4.2 below to provide access for construction vehicle into the site. On road marked A in figure 4.2, the road is to be assumed that is a typical single lane carriageway. Therefore, the road length will be slightly reduced nearby the construction site. An alternative road for vehicle towards junction is to be proposed to local authorities to prevent any traffic congestion. Clear barricades and road sign will be provided along the road closure. Location of Underground Services Site preparation in urban area includes tracing and clear marking of existing services includes underground telephone, power cables, water and sewer pipe, gas pipe, etc. Underground services is to be assumed to present in any circumstances. Trench excavation is more likely to encounter underground service in the face of excavation parallel to the line of excavation [13]. Many serious accidents have been caused by men or machines when underground services are struck, penetrated or during excavation. Electric shock may result from striking electricity cables during excavation. On this project, it is clearly shown on figure 1.1 that a 1200mm diameter concrete sewer pipeline is just 1m away from the side of proposed structure. A sewer pipeline bursting could cause contamination of the ground and odour smell to nearby citizens. Many sewer pipes are under high pressure too. As a solution, first, a confirmation of sewer pipe location is to be done on site. Once the records are obtained, it will be kept on site and be accessible to workers. Furthermore, construction of diaphragm wall uses trench excavation techniques, which highly reduce the chance of striking the sewer pipe. Any other services includes telecommunication cables, gas pipe and electric pipe which are not shown in figure 1.1 given will be examine on site before excavation. Existing Building Building located around the site are needed to be protected from damage and dirt-staining. Cleaning and maintaining existing building in the end of construction can be costly. In figure 1.1 shows that there is existing 3 storey with raft foundation building 2m away from basement wall. Before any excavation start, careful inspection is to be done to the existing building to determine whether there are any existing cracks due to settlement or any damage on external wall of building. Cracks and damage is to be recorded down and photographed as a proof to prevent any claims from property owner. Overhead Obstruction The most common overhead obstruction is high tension electricity cables nearby the site. Most construction vehicle are high. There is a danger when tall vehicle pass by those overhead cables and cause unwanted accident. Therefore, a clearance is to be done between the overhead cables and ground. For example, a typical goal post protection will be erect along the entry to the site. Figure 4.3 below shows typical goal post protection. figure 4.3.jpg Public Safety It is important to taking care about public safety. Any pedestrian is not allowed to enter construction site. A warning sign is to be displayed around the boundary site and barriers is to be set up along perimeter of construction. 4.3.2 Diaphragm Wall Construction Construction of diaphragm wall uses trench excavation supported by slurry. The slurry is typically bentonite and water. Diaphragm walls are constructed in the following steps : 1) Pretrenching to remove obstruction 2) Guidewall construction 3) Trench excavation (panel excavation) 4) Endstop placement 5) Panel desanding 6) Reinforcement cages placement 7) Concreting work (Tremie technique) 8) End Stop removal 9) Excavation of Intermediate Panel 10) Reinforcement cages placement 11) Concreting work for remaining panels (Tremie technique) 12) End of Diaphragm wall construction 4.3.2.1Detail steps Pretrenching to remove obstruction Pretrenching is a process to remove soil by open excavation to a certain depth, typically 1-2 m depth for guidewall construction. It is also a purpose for removing shallow obstruction and provide stable support for the guidewall. GuideWall Construction Guide wall is to be constructed after pre-trenching process. There are several purpose of constructing guidewall, these include: To prevent the collapsing of soil near trench excavation surface. As a template for wall excavation and panel layout To provide a temporary supports for reinforcement cage. (by holding down the cage during concreting work) To provide support for end-stop joint. (restrain end-stop) To support Tremie Pipe To provide a reference elevation for inserting props, slabs, etc. For this project, the guidewall is to be constructed with reinforce concrete and be made from grade M20 grade reinforced concrete. The distance between both guidewall will be thickness of diaphragm wall plus a tolerance of 50mm. The dimension of guidewall (one side) will be 300mm(w) x 1000mm(d). Trench Excavation (Panel excavation) Construction of diaphragm wall uses trench excavation method which produce a vertical strip in soil that can collapse easily. Special excavation machinery are used to excavate the soil. Several type of machinery is used in construction field nowadays. These machinery can be cable hug or Kelly mounted and the digging mechanics can be cable or hydraulic operated. figure 4.7 2.pdf The excavation is to be excavated in panels. The panel length varies typically from a minimum of one grab bite (trench excavation machine grab width) to a multiple of grab bites which will extend to 7m. A grab bites vary between 2.3 and 3m depending on machine used. figure 4.8.jpg The trench excavated is to be supported by bentonite slurry. Bentonite is basically clay of montmorillonite group, and when added with water it forms an impervious slurry with large viscosity. The slurry will produce large lateral pressure to retain the vertical soil. In case of granular soils, the bentonite slurry will penetrates into the sides under positive pressure and forms jelly. When bentonite slurry is fills in impervious clay, it will not penetrate into the soil but form a layer of thin film to gives strength supporting vertical soils. The bentonite slurry is to be placed continuously into the trench throughout excavation. For this project, Kelly Grab is to be used for excavation. The depth and width of excavation will be discussed in following chapters. The panel length and bentonite slurry density is to be designed and results will be shown in following chapter too. End stop Placement Endstops are placed in both panel fronts to provide the concrete at each vertical edge of panels with a predetermined shape. The shape of stop ends can be a pipe or special keyway end stops. End stop can be place in to be permanent or temporary. For this project, a temporary cylinder end stop is to be used. The end stops will be removed by vertical extraction shortly after the concrete has been poured. Somehow, a delay of few hours is allowed in order to enable the concrete to gain some early strength and able to stay vertical. The timing and removal of end stops will be judge by the site contractor and to be carefully observed. If end stops is extract out before the concrete is stable (gained sufficient strength to stay vertical), there is a risk that the concrete will slump.