Definition of Literature Essay Example for Free

Definition of Literature Essay Literature is an outlet of escape from reality. At the end of the day, I open a book and allow the story to take me to a world where my own fades into a distant memory. With every turn of a page, my imagination is free to reinvent a narrative that is better than the reality I live. Literature can be non-fiction and based on facts surrounding real events, people, and places. Examples include history books, memoirs, biographies, newspapers, self-help, devotionals, and textbooks. Literature can also be writings based not on truth, but on the imagination and creativity of the author. This includes fiction novels and children story books. A lot of times authors of fiction will get their idea from a real life event and then they allow their imagination to recreate the characters and plot. Aside from being fiction or non-fiction, literature can also fall into different categories according to the genre, purpose, and style. Some genres include romance, science fiction, Christian, suspense, and western. The authors purpose for writing will likely determine what style and genre they will use. Poetry and drama are forms of literature that are stylistically different from other writings. Every writer wants to engage their audience and capture their attention in order to convey a message. The meaning of the text may hold differing messages within the audience, but it is the goal of the author to captivate the reader and keep them wanting to read more. John Smith wrote historical accounts of life while he was living. His writings brought insight and hope regarding English settlement during the early 1600s. The General History of Virginia is difficult to comprehend in areas because I am unfamiliar with his use and style of language, but nonetheless it is a beautifully written piece of literature. John Smith’s targeted audience was most likely the people of his time, with the goal of informing them of recent events. I appreciate the way he portrays the struggles of daily life realistically and in a way that inspires and intrigues. William Bradford was not formally educauted, yet he was a wise and well-read man. His writings spread throughout the world and have been studied and quoted by many. As with most of the literature from his time period, Bradford’s style is simple, but he writes with such conviction that demands the attention and respect of the reader. Bradford was a man of faith and often expressed this in his writing. In Of Plymouth Plantation he often refers to God’s providence and makes continuous references to God. Bradford may refer to God more than any other author in this colonial unit. Anne Bradstreet was a powerful force in literature during the 1960s because she was one of the first recognized women poets. Centuries later she is a revered writer and her poetry remains enchanting. â€Å"Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is the opening line to her poem The Author of Her Book and illustrates just how feeble her brain is not. She has the unique capacity to use words to express herself so creatively and with so much emotion. To My Dear and Loving Husband is a great romantic poem that I admire. Bradstreet’s style reminds me slightly of my own. However I need more experience and practice to become nearly as talented as she. Upon the Burning of Our House reminds of my own experience of a house fire and has inspired me to attempt to capture my experience through poetry. Through all Anne Bradstreet’s work, she inspires others to recognize the beauty and power in writing. Edward Taylor was a highly educated, well respected, and devout religious man who used poetry as a private expression of his faith. He did not seek fame or recognition for his writing, rather just the pleasure it brought him. Taylor writes of God beautifully and is a master of creating moving and emotional works of art without intending to. As with most poets, Taylor and Bradstreet used metaphors and had a personal style unique from others. There is also an overflowing of emotion from both Taylor and Bradstreet within all their writings. William Byrd was a very accomplished man of his time. He was well educated, respected, and prosperous. His most famous writings are the journals that he wrote to describe day to day life. In The History of the Dividing Line I was able to pick up on the humor that has lead Byrd to be one of the first distinct comedic writers. The humor is not â€Å"pee your pants funny† rather it is more light-hearted humor that makes the reader smile. It is evident in his writing that Byrd was indeed well-read. A writer is capable of learning a great deal about language, word usage, and style through reading. Byrd’s style is simple, yet he articulates his message very well and although he wrote for himself, he managed to write in a way that would capture an audience’s attention. Jonathan Edwards was an intelligent man of God who served as a preacher. As an author, he wrote popular sermons and other serious works on religion, metaphysics, and philosophy. Edwards’ style of writing is quite different from other authors in this unit because unlike the others he gives the reader an array of possible positions for the topic he is presenting. In the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards develops his view on destruction and punishment from verses in Deuteronomy. Not only does he explain how he interprets the scripture, he also gives other possible views. St. Jean De Crevecoeur wrote about religion but he did not profess or maintain that he believed in God. He was a well-educated humanitarian who served his people and country. I found Letters from an American Farmer difficult to get through because his style of writing is unexciting. I was also turned off by the way he wrote about certain topics particularly African American issues. Crevecoeur was not a racist man, but he lacked some sensitivity in discussing his unique view on negroes and parenting. He believed that negroes should not continue having children because if they did misery would undeniably result for themselves and their offspring. I understand that he is referring to slaves and perhaps even slaves may have wished to not have children in order to save future generations from being forced into slavery. Crevecoeur surprised me with the boldness in his writing. The progression of writing from Smith to Crevecoeur is interesting to track and there are noticeable changes in language and word usage. As defined earlier, literature to me is written art that engages my imagination and takes my mind away from reality. Not every piece of literature will bring me the pleasure of leaving my own world for a moment and that does not mean the author has failed. Genre plays an important role in this element of the definition. For example the writings from the colonies unit are primarily non-fiction history writings that are meant to inform more than entertain. Anne Bradstreet is an exception. As the writer of poetry, her style is most obviously different from the more serious and constructed essays of the other writers. Every writer has a style that is unique, however one similarity in the colonial writings is the purpose of the author’s writing. Many of the writers were writing for the sake of recording daily life and making historical accounts of slavery, war, and developing colony life. Centuries later, authors such as Smith, Bradford, Bradstreet, Taylor, Edwards, and Crevecoeur are recognized as masters in the field of writing. Writers during the establishment of the colonies wrote simple, yet serious and powerful pieces of art. They have a style of writing and voice that still captures the hearts of readers.

Factors Affecting Multinational Corporations Cost Of Capital Finance Essay

Factors Affecting Multinational Corporations Cost Of Capital Finance Essay This essay will consider the key factors which affect a companys cost of capital. The essay will analyse firstly the key components which contribute towards a companys cost of capital before going to consider how these factors differ for a multinational company as opposed to those operating within a single national market. In the first instance, the essay will consider the issue of the cost of capital with specific reference to multinational organisations, as such the research will use the definition of a multinational organisation as provided by Johnson et al (2008). Here the definition given is a multinational company is simply one which operates in several diversified geographic markets which spans the borders of more than national boundary. Every business is subject to the cost of capital, the cost of capital in essence represents the cost to a business of making use of the resources for which investors in various forms put into the business in the first place. The cost of capital is incurred through a variety of methods and includes interest payments and dividends, which an investor receives as a reward for investment within a business. For pragmatic purposes the cost of capital is usual expressed as a percentage, the most common expression being that of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). WACC is a useful way of analysing a companys cost of capital. Essentially WACC considers the relative costs of each of the component elements of the companys capital structure and then takes an average of those costs, based upon the relative weights of each component (Tennent 2008). Whilst companys may have many sources of finance, each of which have there own costs and nuances the cost of capital may be broken down into two major sources, namely debt and equity. Debt In a companys capital structure debt is usually one of the major components and consists of long term borrowings such as bank loans and other financial instruments such as bonds and debentures (Arnold 2007). The principal cost of capital with regards to the debt component of the capital structure is the payment of interest upon the capital borrowed in the first instance. In the case of a bond, interest rates are fixed at the issue of point of the bond with the company receiving a lump sum investment on issue in return for regular repayments of a fixed interest rate. On the other hand long term borrowing may have slightly more flexible approach to the cost of capital. The principal cost of long term borrowing is still an interest rate however, the borrower may opt to negotiate a fixed or floating rate of interest. Where a fixed rate of interest is agreed, then the cost of capital is also fixed for the duration and will operate like that of a bond or debenture. However, where the inter est rate is a floating one, then the parties will negotiate an initial rate but this will then be amended to reflect changes in the underlying interest rates issued by central banks. The question in relation to a multinational companies cost of capital which relates to debt is what interest rate will be paid. The answer would be a combination of the concepts of risk and central bank interest rates. A companys capital structure in itself also has an impact upon the companys cost of capital. In general terms, whilst debt funding is seen as a lower cost source of capital than that of equity (Bringham and Ehrhardt 2005) the cost of debt however, in its self is not fixed. Bringham and Ehrhardt (2005) indicate that as a company takes on a greater level of debt within its capital structure, future borrowings become more expensive. This is due to the fact that investors consider that as a company increases its levels of leverage, the company becomes a more risky investment and thus a higher rate of interest is required to secure future funding. In essence, one may consider that the cost of capital for a company will increase, where the company chooses to increase its leverage by obtaining that capital through debt. Equity Equity represents the component of the capital structure of a company which relates to those who have a direct ownership of a company, in other words stocks and shares and their derivatives (Arnold 2004). Shareholders are rewarded through firstly the payment of dividends which represents a direct cost to a business. Secondly shareholders will also expect to see capital gains in the share price representing a further non-financial cost of the cost of capital. As with the debt element of the capital structure, the cost of equity varies from company to company and from industry to industry. Bringham and Ehrhardt (2005) indicate that the relevant factors which will affect the cost of equity are risk, the risk free rate of interest and the return obtainable from alternative investment with a similar risk profile. In general terms, the cost of financing a business via equity is considered to be a more expensive option than financing a business through debt. This is due to the fact that in effect equity represents a permanent source of capital, once issued shares remain in circulation in perpetuity unless a special action is taken to buy back the shares. On the other hand all forms of long term debt have a redemption date, even if that date is at a point far into the future. Risk As has been identified one of the central contributing factors towards consider what affects a companys cost of capital is the concept of risk. At the general level risk is simply defined as concept of uncertainty (Business Link 2009), more specifically risk is usually associated with the concept of uncertainly manifesting itself in a negative format. The basic relationship between risk and reward for investors and companys alike is the consideration that in order to justify the taking of a higher level of risk, there must be the prospect of an increased level of reward. This may be seen as manifested on both the debt and equity side of the cost of capital of a companys capital structure. On the debt side of the capital structure, those companys that have high level of risk will be charged a higher rate of interest by banks or have to offer a higher rate of interest on bonds in order to obtain funding. As such, this pushes up the companys overall cost of capital. Bonds for instance are often given a credit rating, these range from government bonds which are often used as the risk free rate and those attract low interest rates through to low quality corporate bonds often referred to as junk bonds (Brealey et al 2006) and attract a much higher coupon rate for the risk taken. Risk is similarly incorporated into the cost of capital on the equity portion of a companys capital structure. Where a shareholder invests in what they perceive to be a riskier share then in return the shareholder will expect a greater level of return in the form of higher dividends and greater capital growth. The concept of risk is often incorporated in the cost of equity by considering what analysts refer to as a risk beta. Betas are in effect an expression of the perceived risk of a sector or specific company, 1 represents a risk which is no greater or lower than that of the average whilst a positive figure represents a company with a greater risk and a negative figure as one with a lower risk. As such those industries and companies which are associated with long term profitability and stability will have a low beta and thus a lower cost of capital. Whilst those operating in a riskier sector, or with a shorter record of performance will have a higher beta and thus a higher cost of capital. This can be demonstrated by comparing the relative betas of Coca-Cola, a long established and profitable company with a beta of just 0.6 (Reuters 2010 a) and Apple Inc a fashionable growth based company which thus has a beta of 1.41 Reuters 2010 b). As such one the essay has thus far identified that risk is probably the most important factor in determining the relative cost of capital for a specific company. The question now for those operating in the international business environment is what constitutes risk and how can risk be managed to affect the cost of capital. One key consideration is that of diversification. Diversification is a strategic decision and can take on numerous forms from product diversification (Jobber 2007) through to market and geographic diversification (De Wit and Meyer 2004). In general terms, investors usually consider that businesses which have a greater level of diversification have a lower level of risk than those who have a smaller level of diversification. The consideration is that diversified firms are protected against a fall in any single market or geographic region. The down side of this of course is that a firm trades of its ability to make a large profit where a single market experiences a surge or growth spurt. Empirical evidence would seem to support this theory, well diversified firms such as Unilever and PG having risk betas of 0.73 and 0.51 respectively (Digital Look 2010, Reuters 2010 d). National ratings may also be seen as a key consideration for risk where multinational corporations are concerned. Whilst on the whole geographic diversification may be seen as a way of reducing risk, this is not always the case. In many cases companies have chosen to invest in emergent markets such as China, Indian and South America. Whilst these may be seen as areas of key growth which generate the possibility of high rates of return. National ratings would also suggest that investments in such countries also pose significant risks and thus raise the cost of capital. For instance those doing business in China face significant risks over issues related to the protection of intellectual property (Panitchpakdi and Clifford 2002), whilst on the other hand other countries suffer from problems relating to political stability or other such areas of conflict. Interest rates Interest rates may be seen as one of the other key elements which affect the cost of capital for those operating in the multination business environment. At its most basic level one may consider that the relative cost of borrowing will reflect that of the base rate of central banks around the world. Thus when interest rates are on the whole low as they are at present in the UK (BoE 2010) the cost of capital will also be lower due to lower interest rates from long term borrowings. On the other hand were interest rates rise, then the cost of capital will also risk as banks and long term lenders beginning to require a higher rate of interest than previously. The multinational corporation does however, have a special consideration when it comes to the issue of interest rates and the companys cost of capital. Whilst a domestic company is wholly subject to interest rate fluctuations within their national market. There is the consideration that on a global scale interest rates are set locally to reflect national and regional interests. As such for the multinational corporation there is the consideration that the company can take advantage of such a divergence of interests by looking borrow or issue instruments in the countries which are exhibiting the lowest rate of interest on the behalf of central banks. For instance at present, many companies may be attracted either to conduct their business within the UK or to take out loans and issue financial instrument in the UK due to the low interest rate at just 0.5% which would have a positive impact upon the cost of capital. Alternative Investments The final consideration which will affect the cost of capital for a multinational company is the consideration of the yield that investors can achieve elsewhere. In general terms investors will choose to invest in an investment which yields the highest return for the given risk profile of the investment. As such a companys cost of capital will also fluctuate dependent on the performance of others within the sector, where the market as a whole has performed well then one would expect that the cost of capital on the equity side of the equation would increase. This is due to the fact that the stated company must be able to offer a similar return to those operating in the sector. Conversely where the performance of the market as a whole or of the sector is poor, then a companys cost of capital will decrease based upon falling expectations of investors in equities. Alternative investments must also be considered in the form of the risk free rate, the risk free rate being the rate one can obtain from investment in a high quality government bond. In general risking risk free rates will see risking costs of capital as investors are able to gain increasing levels of return at a lower risk elsewhere. Having considered the research posed in this paper, one may conclude that there are a wide range of issues which contribute to the overall cost of capital for a company. Despite these considerations, one conclusion is that the single biggest factor which contributes towards the cost of capital is the consideration of the level of risk for which a company is seen as exposing its investors capital too. As such the management of the cost of capital may in effect be seen as an exercises in the discipline of risk management first and foremost. In considering the cost of capital, one may also conclude that the multinational organisation has the ability to benefit from a lower level of the cost of capital through greater diversification and other risk reducing factors, which allow a company to reduce its risks.

Developing Energy Efficient Building Design

Developing Energy Efficient Building Design Introduction Aims and Objectives The following five points are the key aims and objectives of the proposed building design: To provide the client with an energy efficient building design. To utilise renewable energy systems to reduce the buildings carbon footprint. To use materials in the construction of the building fabric that minimise heat losses/gains so as to reduce the loads on the services systems, and therefore the energy consumption. To provide a flexible, let able HVAC system solution for the landlord/tenant. To provide a design solution in accordance with current Building Regulations. Building summary Heron Tower is an office block located in Central London near to Liverpool Street train station. The site is situated on a traffic island bordered by Camomile Street, Outwich Street and Bishopsgate. The building has a footprint of approximately 1610m2. Site Location Heron Tower is a lightweight steel frame construction, with a concrete structural slab. The external faà §ade of the building is predominantly glazed. The building consists of a basement level, Ground Floor and 2 Floors above ground. The basement will predominantly be used for plant and storage. The ground floor comprises an entrance lobby / reception area, retail area and a loading bay. Each of the floors above ground will be broken down into two distinct areas, the office area and the core area. The building has a flat roof that is available for use for plant and equipment. The office area is to be let to tenants and will be open plan, with a floor area of approximately 1270m2. The core area will be under the control of the building landlord and will house the lifts, stairs, toilets, service risers and will have an allowance for space for tenants plant. The core area has a floor area of approximately 340m2. The total floor area is therefore approximately 6440m2, of which 3900m2 is designated landlords space (i.e. plant, storage, services, retail etc.), and 2540m2 to be let. Occupancy Design Criteria Alert the reading where youre getting the information to design each room of the building, what standards you are trying to meet / exceed. From experience, this is best presented as a cut down of an Excel in the appendix in the form of a table. This sheet should have criteria for every room. Cut it down to every type of room, so it fits on one page, usually rotated, tricky. Environmental data from CIBSE Guide A  [2]   Lighting data from CIBSE LG7 -Lighting for Offices  [3]   Ventilation Cooling Heating Domestic Cold Water The domestic cold water service will be provided via a cold water booster set, taking water from a mains fed storage tank. This service will provide water for drinking, toilets, cleaning, mechanical pressurisation units, and will also feed the domestic hot water system via an unvented storage calorifier. The cold water service will be sized as follows: Occupancy: Cold water demand: Hot water demand: Domestic Hot Water The domestic hot water service will be provided via a two-pipe system fed from a central unvented storage calorifier, with a system pump to circulate the water to maintain the temperature. It is proposed that the primary method of heating the water is produced using an indirect solar hot water heating system. The system will comprise a solar array on the roof of the building that will heat the domestic hot water via a coil in the storage calorifier. The system water will be circulated through the solar panels and coil using a pump. The calorifier provided will have dual coils to allow the solar heating system to be supplemented by the main building heating system. This secondary coil will be used to heat the water if the solar system fails to meet hot water demand. Both coils will be controlled using automatic 3-port control valves For more detailed information about the solar hot water heating system see section 6.1. Acoustics Lighting Electrical Services Supplemented by wind turbines on roof Distribution of Services Landlord Areas Mechanical Electrical Tenants / Public Areas Mechanical LTHW and CHW pipework to air conditioning units will be housed in the ceiling void. Electrical Distribution of small power to the office area will be via floor boxes fed from a raised floor. Power for air conditioning units and lighting will be distributed via the ceiling void. Energy Metering Metering will be provided on both incoming service mains to the site and on sub-circuits within the building for monitoring by the building energy manager. Metering provisions will enable the energy manager to attribute at least 90% of the energy usage to specific systems, e.g. lighting, heating etc. in accordance with The Building Regulations Part L2A  [4]  . The meters provided shall be BMS compatible to allow for automatic data collection. The metering strategy for the building is as follows: Mains Metering Electricity Electricity will be metered on the incoming mains to monitor the buildings overall electrical energy usage and for billing purposes (in accordance with ) Water Water will be metered on the incoming mains to monitor the overall water usage and for billing purposes (in accordance with water bylaws). Gas Gas will be metered on the incoming mains to monitor the overall gas usage and for billing purposes (in accordance with ) Sub-Metering Sub-metering will be provided to monitor energy usage on sub-systems so that the overall energy usage of the building can be broken down into the various systems and analysed by the building energy manager. Sub-metering will also be used to differentiate between energy usage by the landlord and tenants for billing purposes. The sub-metering strategy has been devised in accordance with CIBSE TM39  [5]  . The sub-metering strategy for the building is as follows: Electricity The landlords and tenants supplies will be fed from separate distribution boards to allow differentiation between energy usages. The feeds to these distribution boards will be metered at the L.V switchgear. Metering will also be provided at the local distribution boards to monitor energy usage across the main categories of electricity usage. The categories that will be monitored are: Lighting Office small power (including computer equipment etc.) Ventilation plant Heating plant Cooling plant Air conditioning units Heating/Air Conditioning Heating and air conditioning in the landlord and tenant areas will be fed by separate sub-circuits. The energy used by each of these circuits will be monitored by using in line pipe heat meters located in the service risers. Water Domestic hot and cold water usage at the toilets on levels 1 2, and in the staff areas in the basement will be monitored using water meters located in the service risers. Gas Gas is only used for the gas fired boiler plant. As the gas is metered at the incoming main no sub-metering is required. Solar Domestic Hot Water System The output of the solar hot water generation system will be measured by installing a heat meter inline to the feed from the solar array to the storage calorifier. This heat meter will measure the flow rate of the water as well as its temperature in order to gauge system output. A meter will also be installed in the sub-circuit feed from the LTHW system to ascertain how much LTHW has to be used when the solar hot water generation system fails to satisfy demand. Wind Power System Energy produced by the wind turbines located on the roof of the building will be metered to provide the building energy manager with data on the actual output of the wind turbines. This will be metered on the common feed from the turbines to the storage battery. The consultation on changes to the technical  guidance for Part L issued in June 2009 proposes: The output of any renewable energy system  provided as part of the works must be  separately monitored. Safety Benchmarking This section is to give the reader an idea of the minimum standard to be achieved by your proposed design. Usually BSRIA Rule of Thumb gives you a starting point in W/m2. There is usually guidance in the form of Best Practice for a particular type of building: school, hospital, office, leisure centre etc. CIBSE guide A Table 6.2 Benchmark allowances for internal heat gains in typical buildings BSRIA Rules of thumb 4th ed Heat Calculations You will need to calculate the current baseline design using typical construction materials. This could be done using Hevacomp  [6]  , IES  [7]  or Excel. Then you could consider orientation, shading and construction materials to recalculate heat loss /gains. Typically, improved U values for windows are considered, but then you must justify the decision based on costs / environmental pollution etc. Could include the unoptimised design, if the building is a refurbishment. You should include any restrictions, listed building, planning constraints etc. Heat losses You should make the calculations, say in Hevacomp, but only include a summary in the text. This includes the U values for the building elements: wall, floor, roof, door, windows, these could be calculated from scratch, taken from the CIBSE guide, Hevacomp database or manufacturers data. Literature Review (In-depth investigation) The literature review should consider one or two particular areas. You should use a selection matrix to highlight two or three potential solutions depending on your criteria (your client usually wants the cheapest construction- low capital cost) usually you want either low C02, low energy bills, low maintenance, highest safety etc. You must be able to defend your selection. Now investigate the options based on the selection matrix, you dont need to supply manufacture information, but you may need to hassle manufacturers for cost information, or size information (e.g bore hole depths for ground source heat pumps, GSHP) Heating supply for example You could select gas or electric or CHP or GSHP or ASHP or oil, liquefied gas etc. Select two or three and investigate options in-depth Heating systems You could decide between radiators, under-floor heating, electric storage heaters etc. Ventilation Requirements Ventilation is a means of changing the air within a space in order to: Provide fresh air for respiration Preserve oxygen levels in the air in enclosed spaces Control carbon dioxide Control moisture/humidity Remove heat from processes carried out within a space Remove atmospheric contaminants such as odours, smoke and dust Maintain comfort conditions Provide oxygen for combustion Types of Ventilation Ventilation may take many forms and the method of ventilating buildings will vary from project to project. Whatever the specific design for ventilating a building may be, it can always be divided into three categories- natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation and air conditioning. Designers may decide to focus the design of the buildings ventilation system solely on one of these three methods, or to use a combination of the three. Natural Ventilation Natural ventilation is the most economic method of ventilating a building as it uses components of the buildings structure, such as windows, louvres, trickle vents and air bricks to provide the buildings ventilation, therefore requiring little or no energy to operate (although it can contribute to the buildings energy losses). When deciding to use natural ventilation in a building design the following factors should be taken into consideration: Location: is the building situated in an area where having windows open for the purpose of ventilation is going to allow high noise levels or smells into the building? Size: how big is the building? If the building is large are there internal rooms that are not close to external walls/windows and could therefore be insufficiently ventilated naturally? Temperature maintenance: what measures will be used to maintain a comfortable internal temperature if the external temperatures are fluctuating? Energy consumption: although utilising natural ventilation will reduce energy consumption by not requiring any mechanical plant to operate, constantly having windows open will lead to larger heat losses than would be expected from an identical sealed building. This will increase the energy use of any heating systems in place. Seasonal weather: will natural ventilation provide enough cooling on hot summers days to maintain comfortable conditions? Will it still be practical to have windows open on particularly cold days? If natural ventilation is used as a buildings sole means of ventilation then it can be very difficult to maintain comfortable conditions all year round, as you are depending on an unknown and uncontrollable factor i.e. the weather. The only control that is really available is to open or close windows or other building components. Mechanical Ventilation Mechanical ventilation systems are installed where natural ventilation is impractical or there is a necessity to achieve a specific number of air changes per hour in order to comply with legislation and regulations. Mechanical ventilation systems can take three forms: Mechanical intake with natural extract Mechanical extract with natural intake Mechanical intake and extract Whilst both the capital and running costs of a mechanical system are higher than that of a natural system, mechanical systems will provide a reliable and controllable air change rate that is required in some circumstances, and is simply not achievable via natural ventilation. When deciding to use mechanical ventilation in a building design the following factors should be taken into consideration: Size: is the building big enough to warrant the installation of a mechanical ventilation system? Location/use of rooms: does the building have internal rooms that have no other means of smell/heat extraction such as toilets or kitchens, therefore requiring a mechanical ventilation system? Cost: does the buildings need for ventilation warrant the cost of installing, running and maintaining a mechanical ventilation system? Maintenance: is maintenance of the system going to be easy and affordable? Space: is there going to be enough space in the building for the plant/distribution systems required for a mechanical ventilation system? A mechanical ventilation system provides the occupants of the building with a higher level of control over comfort conditions than would be provided when relying solely on natural ventilation. It would not however provide the level of controllability that can be achieved by an air conditioning system. Air Conditioning Air conditioning is the process of controlling condition of the air supplied to a space by subjecting the air to a number of processes including heating, cooling, humidification and dehumidification. Air conditioning is used where close control of comfort conditions is required, or where acceptable internal conditions cannot be achieved using either natural or mechanical ventilation. When deciding to use an air conditioning system in a building design the following factors should be taken into consideration: Size: is the building big enough to warrant the installation of an air conditioning system? Location/use of rooms: does the building have internal rooms that have no other means of smell/heat extraction such as toilets or kitchens, therefore requiring the installation of a mechanical ventilation system as well as the air conditioning system? Cost: is the need to maintain comfort conditions and temperatures great enough to warrant the cost of installing, running and maintaining an air-conditioning system? Maintenance: is maintenance of the system going to be easy and affordable? Space: is there going to be enough space in the building for the plant/distribution systems required for an air conditioning system? Efficiency: is the plant that is going to be installed going to be energy efficient? An air conditioning system gives by far the greatest level of control over comfort conditions. Temperatures can be controlled locally and accurately, meaning that people in different areas of the building can decide on the conditions that they feel most comfortable. The installation of an air conditioning system can also remove the requirement for a separate heating system, if a multi-functional fan coil unit system, or equivalent, were to be installed, therefore allowing conditions to be maintained comfortably all year round. Renewables Now the Mayor of London has put his backing into renewables, it must be included as a potential measure. Typically students investigate hydrogen, solar heated water, PV, tidal, wind or biomass. You need to decide which one is appropriate then make some calculations. Please learn to use equation editor (its under Insert -> Object). Unfortunately, its not installed by default by Word, but you can add it in by a add/remove option in Office Setup. From your decisions you should be able to calculate the CO2 and energy savings, based this upon a standard condensing boiler and the current price of gas and electricity. Include grants / tax breaks into the calculation. Finally, financials including simple pay back period should be included, but you should rerun the calculation based on future energy prices as well.

Hawksmoor :: English Literature

Hawksmoor - There are many puzzling features in this novel - Discuss three in detail, looking at the way they are communicated. 'Hawksmoor' as a novel is on the whole, puzzling. As it is a detective story, Peter Ackroyd uses different techniques of involving the reader in his plot so that even if the beginning is not fully understood, we have to go on reading it just to see what happens next. These different features, for example, the juxtaposition of the time periods between the chapters; the post-modernistic aspects of Ackroyd's writing; and the conflicts between reality and fiction all make the novel puzzling. Time in this novel is very confused, with two time periods (the modern day and the eighteenth century) being juxtaposed in alternate chapters throughout the novel. The theme of time is continued on this premise and there are many references to time by the characters themselves. For example at one point, Nicolas Dyer says: "..how do we conclude what time is our own." Nicolas Hawksmoor also asks: " 'Well, Walter, what do you make of that timing?' 'It's impossible, sir.' 'Nothing is impossible. The impossible does not exist'" Not only are there direct referrals to time, like this but also there are tenuous links and suggestions to it as a dominant theme. For example, Hawksmoor is looking for the zero meridian when he is in Greenwich and there are many others. The changes in time are highlighted by the interesting use of language for the chapters narrated by Nick Dyer. Many spellings are different from modern English, for example, corpse is spelt 'corse'. Ackroyd also uses capital letters for nouns in these chapters. The eighteenth century writing is a constant reminder to the reader of which time period is being read about and is particularly prominent when the chapter and therefore the time period changes. Furthermore, it means that the reader has to concentrate more and because of the different formation of sentences it is difficult for the reader to follow at times, which is consistent with the detective story theme. Ackroyd wants the reader to be actively involved in the plot and they need to pick up on any small threads that he drops. As the novel progresses, there is an increasing confusion with time, so much so that at points it seems barley present. Ackroyd highlights this with the abundance of flashbacks that both the main characters have and because of this the time is changing not only between the chapters but also within them. Dyer has many flashbacks to his past and they often come without warning or relevance to what was previously talked about.

Gender and Equality in the Workforce in the USSR Essay -- Equality Emp

Gender and Equality in the Workforce in the USSR For every person, different reasons exist to go out and seek employment. These reasons, however, stem from the type of government that people are ruled by. In Russia, during the period that will be discussed, a Socialist government ruled the USSR. It was under this government, that everyone was to have a job and unemployment was to be kept at a minimum. During this socialist regime, the attitudes to working will be taken from the perspectives of three related women. The first woman, Mela Krul, was born in 1932 and is the mother of Alla Veitsman and Helen Krul Zlatkin. Alla Veitsman is the oldest sister and was born in 1954. Although her work experience under the socialist government is brief, it shows signs of the progress that women made during the middle to late 1900s. Helen Zlatkin, born in 1962, had no work experience in the former USSR, but her personal account demonstrates the types of choices that women made in order to have both family and work. Mela Krul was the only one who had extensive work experience in the USSR, but she was able to see the changes and progress that women underwent through the daily activities and choices that both of her daughters made. As these three women came to the United States of America, along with their families, they faced a democratic government where employment was not guaranteed and women did have to face the hardships of unemployment, and more importantly, inequality. It would be the values and traditions that both Alla and Helen believed in that allowed them to be successful and relatively unaffected by inequality. In the time period that the three women lived in the USSR, society was ruled by socialism (communists did exist, but were not the majority). Under this theory of government, everyone worked; it was believed to be a disgrace if a person simply sat at home and did not participate in the labor force. The goal was to have every citizen in the USSR working; there was little focus on quality or productivity, "Early Soviet policies rested on the assumption that genuine equality and independence for women depended on full economics participation." (Lapidus 168) People were encouraged to work, not to meet their potential in the workplace. In order to receive their monthly pay in rubles, the workers had a quota to meet. The workers rarely met this quota --... ...to a certain age group desire these things -- but she did not take into account immigrants. No matter when a certain immigrant woman is born, once she has arrived into the United States she wants a job and a family -- a career comes later. For an immigrant woman, it is never a question between a family or a job, you have both -- you must have a job to keep the family healthy and in need of nothing. For an immigrant woman coming from a socialist government where benefits were nonexistent, jobs in America that do offer benefits do not advocate inequality, but advocate progress and an opportunity to support one's family by fully participating in the labor market. Immigrant families never lose sight of the importance of family and the support that they can offer you. Society is constantly changing and new and better things are always improving, but the help of one's family members can never be overlooked -- some traditions promote modernization and progress. The authors of the econom ic models discussed try to fit people into categories without taking into account very important exceptions -- personal values will never fit into categories and will always promote equality and progress.

The Jealous and Selfish Characters of Shakespeares Othello :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Jealous and Selfish Characters of Othello  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the play Othello, there are many jealous and selfish characters. Each of the characters at one point or another let their jealousy take over. It seems like they all have these plots and plans on how to hurt another character in the play either physically or emotionally, as an act of selfishness, so that they can feel better about themselves. One main character who seems extremely jealous in this play is Iago. Infact, probably the most jealous. Many bad things happen because of Iago. The first bad thing that Iago did, was tell Barbantio (Desdamona's father) that Desdemona has married Othello, the Moore. Iago was mad at Othello, because Cassio had made Othello a higher position and not Iago. Iago thought that he was the one who qualified for the position as general, not Othello. Iago was jealous because of this, so he decided to tell Barbantio about Desdemona and Othello. This was bad, because Barbantio did not know yet, and something like that should have been said by his own daugh ter, not someone who was not part of the family. The way Iago went about telling him was also bad. He called to his house in the middle of the night. He yelled it to Barbantio from downstairs into his window in a rude manner. " quote from Othello here." He wanted Barbantio to be upset about what had happened, and most of all, he wanted Barbantio to be mad at Othello and do something bad to him. This was an act of selfishness on Iago's side. Iago's main reason for doing all this, was not to inform Barbantio, but to make everyone dislike Othello so that he could become general. Roderigo also helped out with telling Barbantio about Othello and Desdamona's eloping. The reason Roderigo did this, was not to let Barbantio know for his purposes, but merely for his own selfish reasons. Just as Iago did. Roderigo was in love with Desdemona and wanted to marry her. When he found out that Othello had already married her, he wanted to get rid of him so that he would still have a chance with her. I think that Roderigo may have known that he did not have a chance with Desdemona and that she really did love Othello, and that made him very jealous. He did not like Othello because of this, and that's why he wanted to destroy his reputation.

F.Scott Fitzgerald Essay

East versus WestThe Midwestern states and the Eastern states of America are very different and marked by specific values and attitudes. While in the Mid West you find more traditional values (American values), for example living on one’s own, not needing anyone else and being self-supporting, the East has a closer connection to Europe and orientates itself by European values and qualities. The West is described as the country of â€Å"wide lawns and friendly trees† (p. 7,5 ), â€Å"prairies† and â€Å"lost Swede towns† (p. 125,19). There, agriculture is the major economic factor and the landscape is marked by long wheat and corn fields. During winter, the land freezes, they get â€Å"real snow† (p. 125,13) and the temperatures drops far below 0 ° C. When you look inside the houses, you see holy wreaths hanging in the windows pointing out the traditions that are followed by the westerners. The people living in the West tend to have a very strict and conservative attitude and not to be open for most changes. It was there, where  prohibition  started. | | On the other side of the Ohio, the major eastern side stream of the Mississippi, the Eastern states begin. They represent the modern America where the immigrants first arrived in order to start a better life (American Dream). Also, the East is much more densely populated and you find more big cities like New York. The Easterners are said to be open-minded and sophisticated. In the book  The Great Gatsby, East Egg and West Egg are used as metaphors for the East and the Middle West. While the â€Å"aristocrats† Tom and Daisy live in East Egg, the newly rich Gatsby lives in West Egg. Even though Gatsby shows off with his wealth and tries to fit in the â€Å"aristocratic† society, the fact that he is living in West Egg, shows that the distance between East and West does not become smaller, ecause West Egg stays the â€Å"less fashionable of the two† (p. 9, 9). Most of the settlers, who explored the western country, were Finnish. For that, the â€Å"Finnish woman† (p. 7, 10) who works for Nick, is another example of the connection between West Egg and the Middle West. | In the Great Gatsby, there are two cities, East Egg and West Egg, which are separated by the Valley of Ashes. Wh at city you live in between the two, shows if you are from a wealthy family (East Egg) or if you are new to wealth (West Egg). People in East Egg come from families that always had money. They’re more snobby, greedy, and mean than people from West Egg, as those from East Egg are generally less-sophisticated, and a more innocent type of people, as they haven’t been consumed by material possessions, money, and greed their whole lives. The Buchanans, for example, are a family of East Egg, which Tom Buchanan was born of a wealthy family, and the greedy Daisy, who married into this money. They have a very large mansion for a home, and are a somewhat of a stuck up family. East Egg is portrayed as corrupt in the novel, and and is moral-less, compared to the more humble West Egg. According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the West Egg is â€Å"less fashionable† with â€Å"wide lawns and friendly trees. † Most of the people that live in the West Egg have morals and ethics to live by, rather than their own money, such as Nick Carraway. After Nick does Gatsby the favor of reuniting him with Daisy, he offers Nick the chance to take part in Gatsby’s business and earn more money. Even though Nick struggles to sell bonds, he politely declines, realizing that Gatsby was only returning the favor. This shows that Nick has dignity, and doesn’t live off the image portrayed by how much money he has or makes. In the book The Great Gatsby, East Egg and West Egg are used as metaphors for the East and the Middle West. While the â€Å"aristocrats† Tom and Daisy live in East Egg, the newly rich Gatsby lives in West Egg. Even though Gatsby shows off with his wealth and tries to fit in the â€Å"aristocratic† society, the fact that he is living in West Egg, shows that the distance between East and West does not become smaller, because West Egg stays the â€Å"less fashionable of the two† http://thegreatjaygatsby. logspot. be/2010/06/east-egg-vs-west-egg. html http://hcchonorsamericanliterature. edublogs. org/2012/03/20/east-egg-vs-west-egg/ http://answers. yahoo. com/question/index? qid=20090210150630AAg7YIw http://www. ovtg. de/3_arbeit/englisch/gatsby/minut_03. html http://www. ovtg. de/3_arbeit/englisch/gatsby/eastwest. html http://metatfios. tumblr. com/po st/17549510984/the-epigraph-and-the-great-gatsby