Lecture Week

Find the stress in the same elastic plate under the combined loading. Solution: Known the stress functions in the two different loading cases. Thus the stress functions can be added directly as per the â€Å"superposition principle†. 4. 7 Solution Approaches and Skills Introduction After define the B. C. , one should solve for three groups of unknowns: Displacement: u,v,w Strain Stress It is however impossible to solve for these unknowns altogether. We often have to solve one or two groups first. As such we have four different methods: displacement teeth, strain method, stress method and mixed method.Fig. 4. 8 Flowchart of displacement method (replace stress and strain by displacement). Displacement Method Unknowns: u, v, w Procedure: Other two sets of the unknown variables must be eliminated from the equations. Thus we replace strain and stress in displacements, which can be done as follows: We derive (refer to Tutorial Question #3, Week 5) where Lovelace operator: and After obtain u, v, w, one can calculate strain by using strain-displacement equation and then calculate the stress by using Hooker's law.Note that the solution must satisfy the boundary conditions. Stress Method Unknowns: Procedure: Solve for stress component first and then strains and displacements. Strain Method 4. 8 Problem 1: Solution to Cylinder under Internal and External Pressure Introduction It is convenient to use cylindrical coordinate system for many engineering problem which involves in circular geometry (e. G. Fig. 4. 8). Cylindrical coordinate system Similar to Cartesian coordinate system, cylindrical system consists of 3 independent coordinates: (r, 0, z) as shown in Fig. 4. 9.Equilibrium equations in AD cylindrical system (can be derived by replacing coordinate): Strain-Displacement relations: Normal: Hooker's Law in AD: Displacement Method Step 1: Check the Boundary conditions: At:Ã'› Shear: Step 2 Analysis: The deformation is asymmetric and under plane strain. So the d eformation is independent of coordinate z and 0. Thus the circumferential and axial displacement v and w vanish, and displacements can be expressed as: Step 3 Strain – Displacement relation: Step 4 Apply Hooker's law: Step 5: Equilibrium Equations The second and third equations are satisfied automatically.The first equation is: Substitution of Hooker's law into the above equation of Thus Step 6: Solve for this linear and static ordinary differential equation Thus its solution an be assumed as (Displacement Method) (in which CLC and co are constants to be determined by using B. C. ) Step 7: plug this trial function (solution) into the Strain – Displacement equations Similarly, we can have: where . Now the question is how to determine A and B. Equations. Step 8: Apply B. C. O determine the constants which leads to: and From A and B we can calculate CLC and co: Step 9: Calculate all the functions Displacements: Strains: Stresses: Plane Stress Problem: Replacing E and 0 by and , we can further obtain the solution to the corresponding plane stress problems. Plant stress Fig. 4. 0 Pressurized cylinder with plane strain and plane stress Displacement: Remarks: are independent on material properties. The cylinder made of any materials will have the same stress values and thus if strength is the major concern, one should select the highest strength material.However, the displacement and strains are dependent on material properties. If the stiffness is the main concern, a higher E modulus material should be chosen. When , one have Since , the radial stress (always negative) and (always positive). Thus: . As all shear stresses are zero, thus the principal stresses are: 4. 9 Saint-Vents Principle In the cantilever beam problem, some observed some difference of stress contours as shown in Fig. 4. 11.Saint Vents observed that in pure bending of a beam conforms a rigorous solution only when the external forces applied at the ends of beams are distributed over th e end is the same as internal stress distribution, I. E. Linear distribution. Saint Vents Principle: If the force acting on a small portion of the surface of an elastic body are replaced by another statically equivalent system of forces acting on the same portion of the surface, such redistribution of loading produces substantial change in stress locally tit a linear dimensions of the surface on which the force are changed†.Two key assumptions: (1) very small loading area compared with the whole dimension. The affected area will be much smaller than the unaffected area Unaffected>>Affected. E. G in the tensile bar as shown in Fig 4. 12, L>>a, in which the affected area will take roughly: Aziza. (2) Force replaced must be statically equivalent. The replacement must not change either the resultant force or resultant couple. For example the slender bar is stretched in different ways as below, where one can approximately define the effected and unaffected areas.Tensile test In the tensile test, the way of holding a specimen has no effect on the stress and deformation in the middle region of the specimen. In test code requires a sufficient length of the specimen to avoid the end effect on the testing result. It is an application of Saint-Pennant's principle. Four-point bending The better positioning of strain gauge should be in a far field as shown below to get more stable and reliable testing result. Cantilever beam in FEE The end force can be applied in different way, which only affects a small area as shown.

American International Competitiveness

Since the beginning of the 1970s, the United States has experienced a virtual trade revolution. Trade has increased much faster than the economy as a whole. Both imports and exports expanded during the past 15 years. In the late 1970s, imports started outstripping exports by historically large margins. A merchandise trade deficit has been present every year since 1976. Moreover, this deficit has increased dramatically in the 1980s. What economic changes underlie the shift in U. S. competitiveness evidenced by the recent trade deficits?While economists who have addressed this question have employed different approaches, most have examined changes in macroeconomic variables to see if they generated the economic pressures that led to the recent trade deficits. Economists who have employed this approach have generally concluded that macroeconomic changes probably are the cause of the recent deficits. Although macroeconomic theory suggests that trade deficits may be associated with a wide variety of factors, two events in the late 1970s and early 1980s have received particular attention: the rise in U. S.aggregate demand relative to foreign aggregate demand and the increase in U. S. interest rates relative to foreign interest rates. Both may have been spurred by the U. S. government's budget deficit. The excess of spending over income provided a powerful expansionary fiscal policy while higher interest rates had to be used to attract foreign and domestic investors to finance the growth in debt. A relative increase in aggregate demand, whatever its source, is expected to lead to a trade deficit because a country's demand for imports is positively associated with the level of its aggregate demand.In this instance, the theory predicts that U. S. demand for imports will rise relative to foreign demand for U. S. exports as U. S. aggregate demand grows relative to foreign aggregate demand. A relative increase in U. S. interest rates can also lead to trade deficits by incr easing foreign demand for U. S. financial assets. The link between financial flows that respond to interest rate changes and trade deficits is evident in standard balance of payments accounting relationships.The accounting relationships used in defining trade deficits require that a nation's current account (comprised of the merchandise trade balance, the balance of trade on services, and net unilateral transfers) equals in size, but with opposite sign, the capital account. In other words, if there are capital inflows, then there must be a trade deficit. Given this accounting relationship, the inflow of foreign capital that is attracted by relatively high U. S. interest rates must lead to a trade deficit to satisfy the fundamental accounting identities that underlie balance of payments accounting (McCulloch, 1978).While explanations of recent trade deficits that are based on fundamental macroeconomic relationships are attractive to economists, many commentators have advanced alterna tive explanations that are rooted in microeconomic relationships. These commentators believe that the microeconomic characteristics have changed in ways that explain the relatively sudden substantial increases in imports and net imports. In addition, public opinion, for one reason or another, has not fully accepted the power of the macroeconomic explanations for the trade deficits.We shall therefore investigate these explanations that have been offered by various sources. The logical connections between these microeconomic changes and trade deficits have not been clearly drawn. In particular, supporters of these microeconomic-based hypotheses have ignored the fact that (absent macroeconomic adjustments) changes in the exchange rate could compensate for shifts in microeconomic relationships, leaving trade flows in balance (Tarr, 1985). While the link between alleged microeconomic changes and trade deficits is unclear, empirical analysis of the microeconomic explanations can still be very useful.Specifically, if we find that the alleged microeconomic changes in the structure of trade have not occurred, then we will be in a position to reject the microeconomic explanations directly. For advocates of the microeconomic explanations, this approach may be more convincing than one that evaluates the microeconomic explanations indirectly through the use of general equilibrium or macroeconomic models. The microeconomic explanations have focused on identifying three types of microeconomic changes. First, there may be technological changes that alter trade flows.For example, changes in an industry's technology may alter factor intensities so that particular inputs are less important to successful international competition. Second, policy changes may alter trade flows through their effect on the openness of U. S. or other economies or through their effect on the relative cost structure of U. S. manufacturers. Changes in tariff, quotas, or government subsidies clearly can h ave this effect, but other government policies may also be important. Third, the availability of needed inputs may change so that the competitive position of U.S. firms is altered. For example, when abundant mineral resources continue to be key for production, the U. S. position will change as the United States exhausts its relative supply of these needed resources. According to some commentators, any or all of these types of microeconomic changes might lead to growth in the manufacturing trade deficit. As a result, they have received substantial public attention. If changes in microeconomic factors are the source of recent trade deficits, we should observe a recent and major shift in the pattern of U. S.trade, since some industries will be more sensitive to changes in particular microeconomic factors than other industries or experience bigger changes in these factors. For instance, if relative U. S. wage rates have become more important in international competition, we should obser ve a particularly large rise in net imports in industries that employ relatively large amounts of high-cost labor or have experienced particularly large increases in labor costs. In contrast, if macroeconomic variables underlie the recent deficits, this type of structural shift in trade flows is less likely to be present (Drucker, 1985).As a result, we can reject many of the microeconomic explanations of recent trade deficits that have been advanced if we observe that economic relationships that traditionally have advantaged some industries over others in international trade have been stable and that key industry characteristics, such as labor intensity, have also been stable. In the case of U. S. wage rates, if the relationship between wage rates and imports has not changed over time, and U. S. wage rates relative to those in other countries have not changed significantly, then wage rates are unlikely to have contributed to the increased trade deficit.Of course, if we do find that the alleged microeconomic changes have occurred, the growth in the trade deficit can not be attributed to them unless logical causal relationships can be identified that are consistent with international trade accounting identities. Factors associated with U. S. competitiveness in trade appear to have been relatively stable throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Manufacturing operations located in the States retain their traditional competitive advantage in production that requires sophisticated know-how and continue to experience a competitive disadvantage in production that uses unskilled labour intensively.Moreover, it appears that, to the extent change has occurred, these relationships have strengthened over time (Marston 1986). Yet, as others have pointed out, the competitive performance of many U. S. industries appears to have declined (Landau and Rosenberg, 1986). Can these two observations be consistent? The competitive performance of U. S. industries can decline because of c hanges that do not affect the relationships between trade flows and the industry characteristics. First, the characteristics of particular industries, such as their factor intensities, may have changed so that net imports increased.The higher unionization is associated with more imports, thus if unionization increased and this relationship remained stable, then unionization could be one cause of increased imports. Shifts in the relative competitiveness of an individual industry may reflect adjustments in the characteristics of the industry, within the context of stable comparative advantage relationships. For example, if strong R&D efforts are associated with strong exports, but industries reduce their R&D expenditures, export performance would be expected to decline even though the relationship between exports and R&D was stable.Put slightly differently, when relative factor abundancies are stable, changes in industrial input requirements will be reflected in shifts in the trade ba lance of particular U. S. industries. The rankings of industries with respect to their trade flows have been quite stable. While there have been some shifts in position during the last decade, statistical tests indicate that the shifting has not been substantial. The rank order of manufacturing industries by the level of net imports in 1975 is highly correlated with the rank order that existed in 1984.Industry characteristics available in time series have also been quite stable. The values for industry characteristics in 1975 are highly correlated with their values in 1981. Moreover, the changes in mean values for these variables are relatively small, especially for the variables that are most directly related to the seven proposed explanations of the trade deficits that we analyze. The variables available in time series include the primary variables used in traditional trade models. Simple macroeconomic relationships suggest that the rise in the trade deficit is likely to be associ ated with changes in macroeconomic variables.If this is true, then one would expect that many industries experienced a rise in their trade deficits (Benvignati, 1985). Consistent with this prediction, nearly all U. S. industries experienced declining international competitiveness to some degree between 1981 and 1984. In addition to this general confirmation of the macroeconomic explanations for trade deficits, there is direct support for the view that recent inflows of foreign capital, attracted by relatively high U. S. interest rates, and increases in U. S.aggregate demand relative to foreign aggregate demand are responsible for recent trade deficits. Specifically, exchange rates rose during the period studied and this led to an increase in net imports, as the macroeconomic theory of international financial flows predicts. Also there appears to be a positive association between recent increases in relative U. S. aggregate demand and net imports, as the aggregate demand theory sugge sts. According to the macroeconomic theory of international financial flows, higher U. S. interest rates will attract foreign capital. Since U. S.financial assets are denominated in dollars, this will lead to an increase in the demand for dollars. Because increases in the value of the dollar make U. S. goods more expensive relative to foreign goods, there will be a reduction in the international competitiveness of U. S. manufacturers. This decrease in competitiveness is expected to be reflected in higher net imports, causing the trade deficit to equal the surplus on the capital account. There is empirical support for this argument. U. S. industries appear to have been under severe competitive pressure because of the relatively high value of the dollar.For example, in the automobile industry, it has been argued that about $700 of the roughly $2,000 cost disadvantage of U. S. automobile manufacturers in 1983 was due to the unusually high exchange rate (Detroit Battle, 1983). Similarly , in steel, machine tools, textiles, and many other industries, analysts have pointed to exchange rates as an important source of the U. S. competitive disadvantage. As a result, it is not too surprising that the increase in the value of the dollar between 1980 and 1985 was associated with a decline in the U. S. trade balance.While the adverse effect of the increased value of the dollar on the competitive position of U. S. industries seems to have been quite widespread, the effect has been larger in some industries than others. In particular, it appears likely that the effect will be largest for products where the demand for U. S. exports and imports was quite elastic, since these products are most sensitive to changes in relative prices. For example, estimates of price elasticities by Baldwin (1976) indicate that these elasticities are particularly large (between 3. 20 and 4.4) in the case of metal working machinery and office/computing machines. According to macroeconomic theory, imports are likely to vary positively with the level of aggregate demand, other things being equal. Specifically, as U. S. incomes rise, the U. S. demand for imports is likely to rise. Moreover, if U. S. incomes rise relative to foreign incomes, the U. S. demand for imports should rise relative to the foreign demand for U. S. exports. As a result, macroeconomic theory predicts that, during these periods, U. S. demand for imports will rise relative to foreign demand for U. S.exports and growing trade deficits are more likely. At the end of 1982, the U. S. balance of payments deficit appears to have been reduced by aggregate demand effects, since the U. S. demand was falling relative to foreign demand. However, in 1983 and 1984 the U. S. economy grew relative to the economies of its trading partners (Economic Report of the President 1986). The relatively strong U. S. recovery and the general worldwide recession were associated with a sharp rise in the U. S. trade deficit (Economic Rep ort of the President 1985). There is no conflict between the observation that U.S. trade deficits have risen and the finding that U. S. comparative advantage relationships have been relatively stable over the last decade. Evidently, there have been shifts in macroeconomic variables that have increased the level of imports in most industries, without shifting trade patterns across industries significantly. While other types of changes, such as shifts in omitted microeconomic variables or changes in the magnitudes of included variables, would also make the two observations consistent, these alternative explanations are not nearly as important.Moreover, simple macroeconomic theories and available empirical evidence suggest strongly that macroeconomic forces underlie the growth of recent trade deficits. Changes in most microeconomic variables have either been gradual or narrowly focused. As a result, they are unlikely to generate the large trade deficits that are observed. Only the chan ges in international capital flows (with associated changes in exchange rates) and, for part of the period, changes in the relative levels of aggregate demand, have been large enough and sharp enough to explain the sudden rise in net imports. The growth of direct foreign investment by U.S. firms during the last decade reflects, in part, the exploitation of their advanced technological and organizational know-how. This stability in the fundamental comparative advantage relationships is inconsistent with widely held views linking microeconomic changes to the growth in the trade deficit during the 1980s. Macroeconomic models provide explanations that are much more consistent with empirical observations. We conclude, as have macroeconomists, that changes in macroeconomic factors, rather than any of the many microeconomic explanations that have been advanced, underlie recent U.S. trade deficits. The comparative advantage structure that determines a country's trade patterns changes only s lowly. For the United States, comparative advantage forces have meant, and still mean, that the country is a net importer of commodities that are efficiently produced with relatively large amounts of unskilled labour and a net exporter of commodities that require the relatively intensive use of skilled labour. These basic relationships have not changed significantly during the 1970s or early 1980s.Similarly, the United States continues to be disadvantaged in industries that are energy-intensive, use depleting natural resources, or are heavily unionized. Higher minimum efficient scale requirements and higher R&D intensity continue to be associated with both higher imports and higher exports. Only weak relationships exist between capital intensity or industry concentration and the strength of the U. S. trade position. The relationships between industry characteristics and trade flows are evident despite the presence of tariff and nontariff barriers and other government trade policies. Moreover, the effects of trade policies appear to be weak relative to the economic forces that result from differences in comparative advantage. Nonetheless, trade policies do have identifiable effects. As one would expect, U. S. tariff and nontariff barriers are associated with lower net import levels. However, the statistical findings for foreign trade barriers are less clear. We attribute this to the fact that U. S. exporters face different trade barriers in different countries. It may be the case that strong U. S.exports continue in many countries although these exports face substantial barriers in other countries. In addition, foreign trade barriers and industrial targeting efforts may arise as a reaction to U. S. export successes, yet not be strong enough to make a substantial reduction in U. S. exports in foreign markets generally. Analyses of U. S. imports and exports test the competitiveness of the States as a geographical unit. However, these analyses do not capture fully the competitiveness of U. S. -controlled firms, since many U. S.firms are multinationals. To measure the competitiveness of U. S. -controlled firms, output manufactured abroad using U. S. know-how must be considered (Marston, 1986). Similarly, U. S. output must be adjusted for output produced by foreign-controlled multinationals in the United States. To a large extent, the additional perspective offered by the analysis of the adjusted trade flow data simply confirms the findings based on the unadjusted data. The United States remains relatively strong in the same industries where it was strong in the previous decade.However, when the trade flow data are adjusted to reflect the presence of multinational corporations, some structural changes in trade patterns become evident. Basically, these changes evidence a strengthening of the relationships that have traditionally shaped U. S. trade flows. Apparently U. S. firms have increasingly exploited their more mobile competitive strengths b y investing abroad. There is some evidence that this effort has been undertaken to overcome historical comparative disadvantages associated with producing in the States.Most notably, there is some evidence that this foreign investment is increasingly prominent in industries that are heavily unionized. Together, the analyses of adjusted and unadjusted trade flow data indicate that U. S. firms are not losing their relative competitive strengths. The adjusted data suggest that some changes are occurring in international direct investment, but these changes have not been echoed in changes in the composition of U. S. net imports. The gradual nature of any changes that are occurring highlights the basic stability of the structure of U. S. trade flows.The structural stability that we observe is consistent with the view that shifts in microeconomic relationships are not an important source of recent trade deficits. Absent evidence of changes, there is no reason to believe that these potenti al microeconomic issues contend with macroeconomic factors as the real explanations for the large observed increases in the U. S. trade deficit. Turning to the first two microeconomic explanations (high labor cost explanation and union work rule explanation), traditional relationships between labor market variables and trade patterns still hold.The United States continues to be at a comparative disadvantage in labor-intensive industries. To the extent there has been change, it has been gradual and statistically insignificant. Moreover, the United States appears to be doing well, and has slightly improved its performance, in high-wage industries. Evidently, the advantage continues in industries where human capital is important. While union activities have affected the structure of U. S. manufacturing industries, this impact has been different from that suggested in the second explanation.No change in the relationship between unionization and U. S. trade flows has taken place. However , various studies do suggest that multinational corporations in unionized industries have shifted larger and larger shares of their output overseas. Apparently, this direct investment has added to U. S. -controlled output, rather than entirely substituting for exports from unionized industries located in the States. The third and fourth explanations (foreign government trade practices explanation and OPEC cartel explanation) involve actions taken by foreign governments.Foreign governments do not appear to have uniformly targeted â€Å"U. S. industries†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthat is, industries where the United States has had a competitive advantage. While foreign government interventions are evident, these efforts vary from country to country and do not appear to have a significant effect on overall U. S. trade patterns. This does not mean that particular foreign tariffs, nontariff barriers, or targeting subsidies could not disrupt natural trade flows. However, it does mean that currently t hese effects are limited among our major trading partners (Maskus 1981).Actions by foreign governments that may have supported OPEC's efforts to raise energy prices did not significantly alter the structure of U. S. manufacturing trade, as the fourth proposition contends. The increases in world energy prices during the 1970s were dramatic and clearly had a significant effect on the overall balance of payments. However, only when trade flows are adjusted to recognize the presence of multinationals is there a significant change in the comparative advantage structure across manufacturing industries. Turning to the fifth microeconomic explanation (declining R&D explanation), U. S.firms have not lost their comparative advantage in R&D-intensive products. While U. S. imports of high-technology products have increased over time, so have exports. Moreover, the overall structural relationships that determine U. S. comparative advantages with respect to R&D do not appear to have changed signi ficantly. To the extent change is evident; it appears that the growth of U. S. multinational firms has allowed them to exploit their comparative advantages in high technology through their foreign affiliates. The remaining explanations (inadequate investment explanation and antitrust explanation) involve policies of the U.S. government. According to these two explanations, high taxes on capital formation and overly aggressive antitrust enforcement efforts have undermined the competitiveness of U. S. firms. The notion that relatively high taxes on capital, and resulting lower U. S. investment rates, have led to a growing U. S. disadvantage in capital-intensive industries is not confirmed by the statistical tests. While some earlier studies using 1958 to 1976 data found that the United States had a growing comparative disadvantage in capital-intensive industries, this trend did not continue in the late 1970s and early 1980s (Maskus 1981).The United States was a strong exporter in indu stries where economies of scale (MES) are important. Moreover, we did not find substantial advantages of concentration beyond the levels associated with these plant- level scale economies. There also was no sign of significant changes in the comparative advantage relationships with respect to scalerelated or concentration-related variables. Conclusion Given the stability of U. S. comparative advantage relationships over time, why has the U. S. trade deficit increased by so much?For some industries, the rise in net imports may simply reflect the fact that the characteristics of the industry have changed, so U. S. firms no longer have a comparative advantage. In particular, when the know-how needed to produce a commodity becomes standardized and cheap labour becomes a relatively more important input, we should expect that U. S. manufacturers will lose share to foreign manufacturers. As is suggested by simple macroeconomic models, much of the rise in net imports appears to be attributa ble to macroeconomic forces that have more than offset the advantages that U.S. firms have traditionally had in some industries. In fact, most industries have experienced increased levels of imports, suggesting that economy-wide changes underlie the problem. Examination of macroeconomic variables that could produce this type of shift in trade flows confirms that the rise in interest rates with the associated increase in the value of the dollar and, during some recent periods, the relatively rapid growth of U. S. aggregate demand appear to have stimulated net imports generally.Generally, there has been relatively little shifting in either comparative advantage relationships or in industry characteristics that affect imports and exports. Indeed, the growth in direct foreign investment, which appears to support the most dramatic changes that have occurred, has been associated with the exploitation of traditional U. S. advantages. Moreover, the shift in the overall position of the Unite d States relative to its trading partners has been fairly general, which is consistent with the argument that individual microeconomic explanations are unlikely to explain much of the recent rise in U.S. trade deficits. Given this finding, it is probable that the U. S. recent loss in competitive position is largely attributable to macroeconomic forces. In particular, it appears likely that changes in relative interest rates and levels of aggregate demand best explain most of the recent increases in the U. S. trade deficit. Both of these may be related to large increases in the government's budget deficit. The rise in trade deficits during the 1970s and 1980s led to substantial concern about the competitiveness of U. S. firms.Many of the microeconomic explanations that have been advanced to explain the recent deficits do not appear to be supported by available empirical evidence. Because these microeconomic explanations do not explain the recent trade deficits, policy prescriptions b ased on shifting microeconomic variables are a poor bet to change trade flows fundamentally. In particular, wage restrictions, trade restrictions, subsidization programs, and policies that promote market concentration are unlikely to alter the trade deficit substantially. Indeed, efforts to implement these policies are likely to hurt U. S.competitiveness, as interest groups attach riders to legislation that promotes their special interests at the expense of the broader economy. Focusing the public debate on microeconomic factors rather than macroeconomic factors seems to be, at best, ill-advised. It tends to distract the public from the real, difficult issues of government deficits, international investment, and economic growth. More likely, it provides a convenient cloak in which to wrap the costly protections so fervently sought by special interest groups that ultimately increase costs, retard productivity growth, and harm consumers.Since the strategic use of trade policies can di sadvantage one country at the expense of another, it is better to view findings as indicating that care must be taken in responding to recent trade deficits. Specifically, policy makers must be careful that they are not so caught up in the dramatic deficits that they accede to special interest groups that have inappropriately linked their troubles to those of the economy as a whole (Krugman, 1986). History provides very little reason to believe that such objectivity is possible in trade policy. Failure to exercise caution has its risks.Not only can the improper protectionist policies cause sizeable immediate losses, but they may also lead to longer term losses as well. For example, it may be short-sighted to impose import restraints on products that are key inputs into subsequent production activities, since this can have adverse effects on domestic producers that use these inputs. Indeed, protectionist policies of this type may have long-run adverse effects on the protected industr y, since potential customers may choose to locate abroad and, as a result, not be well-positioned to purchase the input from U. S.suppliers even after protection is no longer necessary. In addition, poorly designed protectionist efforts can trigger trade wars, as foreign governments retaliate to unjustifiable U. S. trade restraints. Indeed, the threat of spiraling beggar-thy-neighbor policies continues to be a key reason for supporting free trade, even in a world that offers strategic opportunities. Reference: â€Å"Detroit Battle: The Cost Gap,† New York Times, May 28, 1983, pp. 35, 37. Baldwin R. , U. S. Tariff Policy: Formation and Effects,† study prepared for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U. S.Department of Labor, June 1976. Benvignati A. , â€Å"The Commodity Composition of U. S. Intra-firm Exports,† FTC, unpublished, 1985. Drucker P. , â€Å"Where Union Flexibility's Now a Must,† Wall Street Journal, September 23, 1985, p. 30. Economic R eport of the President, U. S. Council of Economic Advisers. Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office, annual editions from 1972 to 1987. Landau R. , and N. Rosenberg (eds. ), The Positive Sum Strategy, Washington, D. C. : National Academy Press, 1986. Landau R. , and N. Rosenberg (eds. ), The Positive Sum Strategy, Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1986. Marston R. , â€Å"Assessing Japanese Competitiveness,† NBER Reporter, Winter 1986/ 1987, pp. 12-16. Maskus K. , The Changing Structure of Comparative Advantage in American Manufacturing, Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Research Press, 1981. McCulloch R. , â€Å"Research and Development as a Determinant of U. S. International Competitiveness,† Harvard Economic Research Discussion Paper 609, March 1978. Tarr D. , â€Å"Trade Deficits, Trade Policy and the Value of the Dollar,† paper for conference, Trade Policy: Free or Fair? , November 19, 1985.

Electro Learning Essay

In the recent years, technology continues to evolve and improves its capability affecting every individual’s daily routines. Technology has impacted the different facets of life and certainly changed and redefined the way we live (Oak, 2011). One of the most common technologies used by people around the globe is computer. According to International Telecommunications Union or ITU, in 2010, the ratio of Filipino computer users over the Philippines’ population results in 29,700,000 over 99,900,177 or 29. 7% of our population. The users of computers vastly increased and prospered since it was invented. Nowadays, computers in any form become an integral part of our lives due to its functionality. The purpose of computers has engaged into complexity which made everything possible beyond our thoughts. Since there was a wide-range of computer usability, one of the emerging areas of computing is software development. Software varies with application depending on the contents and purpose. One way to implement good software amongst series of development is electronic learning or simply e-Learning. Rapid e-Learning is an ongoing trend which enables flexible and cost-effective creation of learning materials (Pforte & Stolzenberg, 2007). One of such obvious transformation and enhancement that will greatly affect the living standard in the future is the revolutionized technology being implemented in the education section (StudyUp, 2010). Technological development in the 1990s and 2000s appears to be beneficial to education. Currently, technology improvement follows Moore’s law which states that computers become twice as efficient approximately every two years (Lebedev, 2010). Education has changed significantly in the last twenty years. One of the main reasons education has undergone so many changes is because of technological development (Lebedev, 2010). Learning across the world is changing and bringing about this change is the use of information and communications technology (ICT) or simply, computer, which has advanced the access to information and is providing a richer, more immediate and relevant opportunities for those who have embraced it (Famor, 2011). The use of ICT for education is revolutionizing the traditional classroom and encourages learners to progress outside of the four walls of classroom, is more personalized and has become powerful motivational tool; the use of ICT in education is greatly helping developing countries to catch up with the education race becoming a great equalizer and providing access (Famor, 2011). E-Learning develops into different phases which targets not just higher education and adults but also children. The case of collaborative learning becomes available for children as a computer user (Crook, 1998). Kids and computers are nearly inseparable these days (Heiting, 2011). A recent study on Internet Access and Use by Filipino School children showed 74 percent of the children respondents use the computer or internet and 34 percent started between 2-9 years of age (Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, 2009). The statistics showed that computer becomes more popular not only for adults but also for children. Our children’s lives are already influenced by the technology (Indian Child, 2011). Computers are an important (and virtually unavoidable) part of your child’s life and education (Heiting, 2011). The introduction of technology in the educational field has made the process of learning and knowledge sharing, an interactive and fun-filled activity (Oak, 2010). A positive and effective combination of education for children and technology could be a good impact on the advancement and preparation on Filipino children’s learning process providing with parental guidance. PROJECT CONTEXT According to the human capital theory, the economic development of a nation is a correlation of the quality and quantity of its education (Okemakinde & Olaniyan, 2008). Economic development of a nation corresponds with the number of educated people. â€Å"The modern world in which we live is often termed a â€Å"knowledge society†; education and information have become production factors potentially more valuable than labor and capital. Thus, in a globalized setting, investment in human capital has become a condition for international competitiveness (Meinardus, 2003)† The Philippines education system faces different problems causes for the quality of education in the Philippines to take risks. As Cruz stated, our country needs 10,549 new classrooms, 1. 22 million additional seats, 67. 03 million new text books, and 12,131 more teachers for 2006 and summing up to 11. 30 billion in Philippine currency which is impossible to solve (2006, January 22). Another potential problem reported from DepEd Fact Sheet for Academic Year 2002 to 2007 gives the following education data: Teacher : Pupil (Elementary Students) Average Ratio is 1:36 while Teacher : Student (High School Students) Average Ratio is 1:41 ( Jobo, 26 March 2009). Population growth in the country is 2. 3 percent annually which results to 1. 7 millions of babies born every year and probably claims their educational provision but as a conflict with gargantuan problem, our country only has few resources, lack of facilities and too many students (Meinardus, 2003). With what reality reflects, Mainardus states that the quality of Philippine education has been declining continuously for 25 years agreed with the statement from senior department of education that schools are failing to teach the competence the average citizens need to become responsible, productive and self-fulfilling (2003). The mission of DepEd is to provide quality basic education that is equitably accessible to all and lays the foundation for life-long learning and service for the common good (Department of Education [DepEd], 2011). Ironically, the problems stated and the mission of DepEd seems to contradict with each other. Since the computers continue to grow and the users continue patronizing it, e-Learning could be a complement in eliminating problems concern with the education issues. The problem in education remained unsolved for years but through technology, the problems might be reduced. New technology can support learning; in particular, computers can be a medium in which material can be rendered accessible through creating visible and manipulative representations (Crook, 1998). I-Turo is an electronic learning tutorial software application especially made to nurture minds of young generation. I-Turo provides teaching and tutorial methodologies for young learners between 3-6 years of age. It responds with the need of our society in terms of early education and parental tutoring both accessible at home and based on Philippine context. It answers the needs of e-Learning software for a child which is purely based on the standardized Philippine curriculum. The Software application satisfies the interaction between parents and children in a convenient and educational way. From the software title itself, I-Turo, a Filipino word meant to teach and to give knowledge is the main concern of the aforesaid software. From manual teaching, I-Turo requires the integration of teaching electronically through computers. I-Turo centers contents based upon Philippine curriculum for pre-school education while contextualizing the Philippine culture and environment. As differ with e-Learning, the software is not intended to be learned alone or even distance learning but to be a medium for educating children with the guidance of the parents. PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION A. PURPOSE The primary purpose of I-Turo is to enrich the knowledge of young Filipinos on the pre-school level which is the foundation of fundamental knowledge combining different elements of teaching from the creative interfacing that captures the interest of the child into the valuable contents. Cognitive development is the focus of the software to help young learners to cope up from the possible impact of education crisis. Cognitive development includes development of communication skills, sensory-perceptual and numeracy concepts and skills. Communication skills refer to competencies in expressing ideas and feelings both in English and Filipino such as oral expression and basic readiness skills of listening, pre-reading and writing (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization [SEAMEO], 2003). Sensory-perceptual and numeracy skills refer to the ability to observe, discriminate, compare and classify, and to understand, count, read and write numbers (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization [SEAMEO], 2003). Pre-school services in the country is 19. 5 % over 11. 5 million children aged 0 to 6 years (Education Encyclopedia, n. d). As concluded, pre-schools in the country only served few children under the aforesaid ages. It shows that more than half of Filipino children doesn’t go to school for nursery and kindergarten which logically results to more than half of children population spend their pre-primary learning at home or might not experience this level of learning. Since pre-school level is compulsory, I-Turo provides an alternative way to experience early childhood education which is important to child’s cognitive development. Early childhood education showed benefit and positive outcome on child’s intellectual Quotient (IQ) development and fewer social or behavioral problems (Ellis-Christensen, 2011). Some long-term benefits of early education in pre-school learners are greater parental involvement, fewer referrals to special education or remedial services, higher grades, better social skills, greater ability to focus and even less likely to commit illegal acts (Ellis-Christensen, 2011). Computers and software titles increases in numbers and targets young children progressively (Indian Child, 2011). Nowadays, children learns to read and write with computer games becoming a child’s learning tool instead of traditional flash cards and other materials (Indian Child, 2011). With the following computer usage, pre-school children today spend hours in front of computer everyday (Heiting, 2011). These evidences purposely support what the software aims which is to apply information technology into education that can lessen some problems. Pre-school education consists of nurseries and kindergartens that cater children under the age of 3-6 (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization [SEAMEO], 2003). Children 3-5 year of age are developmentally ready to use computers and a best opportunity to let them control and explore computer and software (Education Encyclopedia, 2011). On the other hand, children ages 5-7 are ready to begin using computers for more directed purposes, which includes communication, information gathering and skills development (Education Encyclopedia, 2011). Research suggests computer use among pre-school children might actually improve their readiness and academic achievement (Heiting, 2011). In a study, children who worked on computer at home and at school using educational software performed better on measures of school readiness and cognitive development rather than children without computers (Heiting, 2011). I-Turo aims to provide a quality early education with the help of parental tutorial. The software application does not intend to replace the pedagogical and traditional approaches but to be a supportive education to add up on the learning experience of a child. Since numerous problems were discussed in the Philippines quality of education, it is the time to make necessary action of both parents and child. Parental involvement is a great factor influencing child development which benefits positively into child’s growth. The Importance of parental involvement is reinforced with the increase of effectiveness of the education the child receives (Hornby, 2000). Parent involvement at pre-school was a major component and tends for more success and achievements of a child. As Hornby states that greatest gains are made when parents are more directly involved such as when they act as tutors with their children (2000). Perry preschool project in the USA concluded that children who had undergone with parental tutorial had significantly higher IQs, increased academic achievement, decreased need for special education placement, and less unemployment (Hornby, 2000). Some parents rely with computer for learning process of their children applicable for interaction, which is one important learning step (Indian Child, 2011). As a part of I-Turo, parental involvement would help in shaping child’s intellectual growth with tutorial system. Early childhood education is general term that describes a diverse range of programs (Ellis-Christensen, 2011). Since preprimary education is not compulsory, the software can provide the needs for education in convenient way with unlimited access (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization [SEAMEO], 2003). Software can provide compilation of programs for early childhood education and tutorial in less expense with more parental bonding, peer interaction while learning. Parents who commit to an â€Å"at home† education, need to commit to being creative and engage in raising their children (Ellis-Christensen, 2011). The software could enhance child’s progress through different methods of learning and new form of material for teaching. Most experts agree that early childhood education works best in low pressure, social and very friendly environments (Ellis-Christensen, 2011). Another purpose of the software application is to support collaborative learning with multi-users. Through different set of knowledge and activities, the software could inform children with knowledge according to their need, from basic up to moral values. The software also intends to uplift and popularize the values and Philippines-based knowledge to the eye of Filipino youth at an early stage. I-Turo pursues to educate the children as a home learning experience with the parents since the ratio of teacher and students continues to increase and the focus for each student directly lessen affecting the learners progress. The pre-school level of education is not a requirement to basic education, through the software application children could learn providing with guidance and interaction between parents and child or with other users. Through considerations on different factors influencing learning, the purpose of the software could successfully integrate technology in form of education. Thorough explanation of I-Turo is provided in the description. B. DESCRIPTION B. 1 What is I-Turo? I-Turo is an electronic learning tutorial software application primarily intends to support pre-school learners and provides basic knowledge for cognitive development. The software caters early childhood education and parental involvement through tutoring system. The software is designed base on the needs, interests and applicability for child’s knowledge progress. The software is a supplement for educational tools and another medium to impart basic information in a new set of material that would match the interest of the children today. It will not be a new form of technological invention but an enhancement and upgrade on the existing educational software across the globe. It will add innovative and interactive ways of implementing tutorial software to the child by the parents and new input device depending on the child’s capability. It will also include multiple users on a single computer for parental tutorial interaction and even parent to children tutorial which means of tutoring children simultaneously and interactively. Cooperative work skills and language skills develop through working with others on computer through cooperative activities (Education Encyclopedia, 2011). B. 2 The Software users Since I-turo is designed for children at age of three (3) to six (6) years, parents and child are the target users of the software. Children at these stages enjoy interacting with active links and areas on the screen, discovering the effects of clicking different choices (Education Encyclopedia, 2011). At an early stage of 3-6, children need guidance from an adult. Parents play an important role into the child development process that will depend on the proper way they interact and support their children on their cognitive progress as a part of growth. The software requires minimum of two users, one would be the tutor and another would be the child. The tutor will be the master educator, most probably the parent to work with the child at early stage who will guide the child on the over-all process of tutorial and education with the help of the software. The tutor does not need to be professional, as long as he or she knows basic knowledge o ncomputer literacy, the software will guide user in the flow of tutorial process. The second user will be the child who acts as the preprimary learner. The child should be at 3 to 6 to appropriately imbibe the information on the software. The tutor could also handle simultaneous users with maximum of 4. The software could accept additional children users each time ranges up to 4, while additional new mouse is compulsory every time new child user is associated with the group. B. 3 Multi-pointing Technology The software applied one of the latest innovations technology to date which is Multi-pointing. Multi-pointing technology can handle multiple mice synchronously without any error or confusion on the computer. Every input mouse on the software has its own identity and does not affect the cursor movement of another. Multi-pointing improves the interaction for multi-users in the software which mainly a subject in providing parental involvement in tutorial software such as I-Turo. This technology helps the software to establish advancement on early education and parental tutoring software with the increase on access of possible users and reduction on the cost for additional personal computers. It supports collaborative learning between children and reduces time framework on the tutorial session of different child which can be done in one certain time concurrently with the children. Through the use of this technology, the objective to handle 5 users in one software application could be implied successfully. According to Crook, technology could be used in collaborative learning effectively (1998). B. 4 The Software contents The contents of the software are the most important aspects in an effective learning experience for pre-school learners through technology. The software development is intended for children under 3 to 6 years of age. This supplement or tool for early education and tutorial is base on the contents suitable for the children. From the top approach, the design of I-Turo is graphically friendly into children’s eye view. It combines good color combination and intermediate graphics resolution to hinge on children’s visual capability. The color scheme of the software consists of primary colors, soft textured colors, and light and bright variety of color combination to introduce children to different colors. The appearance of the  software targets to accommodate the appropriate design for children’s interest and attention which affect learning through visual implications. The software is also composed of sounds and music to boost the enjoyment and to carry on children’s focus. It also shows graphic images such as different objects to reflect the reality into the software. The category of knowledge for tutorial is divided into different subjects such as English (language and reading) and Filipino (Wika and Pagbasa) based on the curriculum. Each â€Å"Unit† included in the software’s contents covers knowledge for cognitive development of a child. Each â€Å"Unit† also consists of lectures, activities and assessments. Lectures are managed by the parents, tutor to be precise to educate children from the software contents. Lectures are purposely designed for exiguous interaction to inform the child relaxingly by the tutor little by little. Lectures acquire small mice movements from the tutor and child/children to embark the knowledge into their minds. Activities follow variety of methods to enrich their minds actively on what have they learned and as a practice and application. Activities might be done interactively with peers and tutor or a choice of alone depending on the preference of the tutor or the child. Assessment is done through testing and examinations in a friendly environment. Every assessment is graded right after to see the progress and can be easily evaluated. The lectures and activities are fixed in format while assessments come randomly for the number of mice involved in a session. All the contents can handle 1 tutor and children up to 4 users as long as the tutor can work smoothly with these children. Each level also has sub category of subjects to organize certain information accordingly. The subjects of each all level are similar on the field but differ in scope and difficulty. The subjects of the system are based on the Philippine curriculum prescribed by the Department of Education for preschool students or pre-primary learners. All information is based upon books referred and preferred by the Department of Education, educators, and other professionals. All the contents are assured to be relevant, related, and accurate. The methods of implementing information undergo with psychological approvals and referrals from the child psychologists and come also from researches and documentations by the professionals. I-Turo is contextualized from Philippine based context. It adds moral values and guidance tutorial for childhood good manners and right conducts. Since the software is designed for Filipino children, it promotes Philippines not just graphically but also some lectures and activities which mainly involve Philippine literature, culture, values, and other country based facts. The design of the software such as objects is mainly a part reflected by the Philippine’s context and reality applicable for kids. B. 5 The Hardware The hardware of I-Turo is composed of any computer as the main that can install software based on software requirements. The Compact Disc would be the default storage of the software installer for computers. The I-Turo is designed for kids hence, the input device of the software should respond with children’s capability in interacting with computers. Handling normal mouse is an issue on ease of use for children under 6 years old below. One way to solve difficulty in handling interaction with computer is to produce a child-friendly mouse which can accommodate children’s capability in convenient manner. The design of USB (Universal Serial Bus) cabled mouse is bigger than the normal size and shaped circularly to easily and comfortably hold it. The mouse has equal and proportional shape to easily notice the middle button by the users. The design is proportional to cater not only right-handed but also left-handed. The mouse is big enough to support children’s hand and navigate the mouse through optical sensors. Since children took a hard time to understand the dissimilarities in clicking the left click and right click, a new design of mouse is implemented to handle software application for kids. The mouse only has a one click functions as the usual left click of ordinary mouse. The right click is not necessary to be a part of input device of the software so; right click is removed to eliminate confusion of children between left and right click. The left click is placed at the center as one and only press button for inputting or clicking. In terms of physical design, the color of the five mice varies with different colors such as blue, yellow, green, pink, and purple to showcase variation of colors. The mouse is rounded, soft edged, and lighted with simple yet creative designs to capture the attention of children. Since computers is limited with a few number of USB ports, the mouse will include USB port hub to provide access on the five mice simultaneously. The hub has 6 ports, 5 for the mice and 1 as an extra. The hub is designed with soft color and child-friendly structure. The computer, installer, hub and mice work together as one to be a medium of tutorial and education through the use of technology today. The proposed design of the mouse without the hub is shown in the figure 1. Figure 1: Sample computer mouse proposal without the hub (actual size and design may change). B. 6 Implementation Numerous computers spread out in different places, with different forms and versions but, most of it functions exactly the same. Since computers are everywhere, the implementation of the software would be easy. After completing the hardware requirements, the software should be compatible to the operating system of the computer also based on the system requirements set by the software developers. Installation of the software to the computer would come next. Possible implementation of the software works with only 1 tutor, 1 computer and differs on the number of children and mice depending on the number of users. Different implementations are shown in the following figures. a. Figure 2: 1 child, 1 computer, 1 tutor, and 2 mice b. Figure 3: 2 children, 1 computer, 1 tutor, 3 mice c. Figure 4: 3 children, 1 computer, 1 tutor, 4 mice d. Figure 5: 4 children, 1 computer, 1 tutor, 5 mice I-Turo does not influence young learners to concentrate on computers which pessimistically affect and ruin the normal life of a child. On the other hand, I-Turo lends technology to be an aid and tool for educating children without affecting the bond between parents and child. Through a good foundation of education, Filipinos could be highly competent around the world. Providing good sources for education, students can be highly knowledgeable even at early stage. OBJECTIVES GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES I-Turo entailed development on an electronic learning tutorial software application for childhood cognitive development containing effective lessons based on Philippine context. The primary objectives of the project beyond accuracy, reliability and effectiveness were: (1) To develop a computer-based software application engaging into maximum usability solving problems related in education focusing on childhood cognitive development and moral guidance stages between 3-6 years of age through e-Learning technology and based on Philippine educational curriculum; Specific objective as follows: †¢to design a software application catering its usability and applicability for more numbers of people in the society †¢to create software concerning with Philippine based context such as traditions, history, values, Filipino language, epics and etc. †¢to include information from basic level into kindergarten level lessons (English (language and reading) and Filipino (Wika and Pagbasa) ) for home study purposes and thorough understanding †¢to focus on the information intended to be learned during the childhood mental development stage as a good foundation of knowledge †¢to integrate good manners and right conduct in the software contents †¢to categorize subject content into different level of learning and understanding depending on the applicable knowledge for each age based upon the curriculum. (2) To improve and enhance the knowledge of young Filipinos through introductory and exploratory learning with computers as a positive, effective and easier way of collaborative learning experience; Specific objective as follows: †¢to introduce a well constructed graphics for early education that could interest young learners †¢to provide an accurate and efficient information and software contents applicable for young learners (3) To implement a new form of input device and interactive tutorial medium responding on the needs for parental tutoring, early education preparation and assistance for child’s progress and knowledge updates. Specific objective as follows: †¢to implement the breakthrough on Multi-pointing Technology supporting on multi-users for mouse control handling †¢to create an application satisfying parenthood guidance for young learners †¢to support interaction between multiple user such as parent-child, parent-children, parents-child and parents-children †¢to ease the use and access of educational medium such as cards, posters, books, charts, and other more and transfer it in a computer-based software as one tool. †¢to engage young learners into early education with the use of technology corresponding with parent-child bonding while learning at a convenient manner †¢to maximize the use of computers for teaching young learners with different methods †¢to guide every progress on children’s accumulated knowledge through testing and examination †¢to implement new form of input device under children’s capability for ease of use SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS This project will focus on implementation of computer-based software application designed for childhood tutorial and early education for cognitive development and integrating moral values guidance. The project will mainly cover Philippine based curriculum corresponding on the knowledge needed by young Filipino learners approved by professionals such as psychologists, educators, guidance councilors and government agencies and its officials. The contents would be guided by accurate information which undergoes with studies and supported by certified books applicable for young learners referred by professionals. The project will target learners under the age of three (3) and up to age of six (6), to be general, pre-school learners. Even though the application will be designed for normal learners, special cases of learners with disability or disorder might be also guided by the software but it does not assure that the software could give an effective feedback on the user’s learning process since it does not undergoes with a study for special cases. Moreover, the application efficiently caters relevant knowledge based upon studies for tutoring and early education for pre-school. Fundamental information regarding on different subjects and context will be applied as a further investment on child’s cognitive development. The application will include school subject’s references such as Language, Reading, Wika, and Pagbasa with integration on Values Education. Other information related on Philippine history, culture, traditions, tales, epics and other important facts are also included for exemplifications or activities. All the contents are limited only the curriculum provided by Department of Education for pre-school. Thus, different levels of learning will be categorized based on subjects and ages for understandability and different type of strategic teaching and learning methods will be featured. Every subject on each category covers lecture, activity and assessment or testing and examinations. As a part of child’s improvement, the application will address a progress status of a child and analysis of performance during the assessment period done after lecture and activities. The application will adopt the latest Multi-pointing Technology which utilizes its function for handling multi-users. Through Multi-pointing Technology, the application can support parent and child tutorial interactively. It does not just provide a single human –computer interaction but can also be used by more than one (1) user up to five (5) and may also be depend on computer mouse availability. In the process of learning, parents will participate in tutorial with the computer and child. The parent will be the tutor, the child will be the student and the application will be the medium and source of education. The software recommends parents to guide their child for electronic learning tutorial. It also encloses collaborative learning with parent and with peers or other students simultaneously and interactively. One (1) tutor and one (1) child are the basic user requirements and can add up limited into four children (4). In terms of the software development, the contents of the software is limited on the information provided by professionals, study or research and from pre-school books which is fixed on the system. Since the application will contain Philippine based-curriculum, the subject would only be effective for young learners in the Philippines. The application will be limited on usage because it is not accessible on the internet and works only with a computer and software installer. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE/SYSTEM EARLY CHILDHOOD The developmental period that extends from the end of infancy (3 years old) to about 5 to 6 years of age.

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Tension between Analysis informing and analysis setting policy Essay

Tension between Analysis informing and analysis setting policy - Essay Example Every aspect of the issue has to be looked in to so that the policy becomes efficient and successful once implemented. While forming policy the practicability of the same should not be ignored otherwise setting up of the policy becomes invalid. However, once the policy is being formed and setting is under way, there can rose conflicts as to the people, budget, and time factors involved in the policy setting. Policy analysis helps in explaining, why are there so many differences in the way we organize productive activity. When a policy is about to be set the scope of the problem has to be evaluated well. Moreover, in analysis of setting policy an analyst must look in to more of practice and applying side rather than just projecting certain actions to achieve a goal. When analyzing a setting up of a policy, certain factors like cost effectiveness, people involved, time frame etc.,are also to be considered. If there is any discrepancy in the analyzing in forming policy it can very well reflect in the setting up process. According to Torjman(2005)â€Å"The actual formulation of policy involves the identification and analysis of a range of actions that respond to these concerns. Each possible solution is assessed against a number of factors such as probable effectiveness, potential cost, resources required for implementation, political context and community support†. Should analytical products be purely "informative? Analytical products are tools which are used for assessing the viability and utility of a policy in an organization. These products are used by organization while they formulate and set policies so as to give policy makers a wider spectrum of actions to choose from to achieving a specific goal. It is very essential for an analytical product to be purely informative as it allows the organizations to choose the right product suitable for them. In order to improve the policy forming and setting process utilization of analytical products is a key asp ect. They help in the appropriate evaluation and measuring of policies so as to give proper results. Analytical products are used primarily as a qualitative approach to evaluate the policy forming and setting. Process. Munger states that â€Å"Your evaluation of the major policy that was enacted to deal with the problem involves your assessment of how well that policy addressed the problem†. Analytical products set various bench marks to follow, so that the goal of the policies does not distract from the goal. It is very essential for the analytical products to be purely informative, so as to make the analysis process efficient. Decision and policy makers always make sure that the future policies and strategies have a solid ability to achieve the set goals. To obtain a quality analysis a very refined analytical product is required; otherwise the whole process of policy forming and setting becomes worthless. Most officials encourage the analytical products to be clearly inform ative to know what the product has to offer. The policy makers want their policies to be analyzed with a product which is transparent. They

Music Listening Session #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Music Listening Session #1 - Essay Example It was as if a particular story were being weaved movement upon movement like an act in a play, while the tempo brought indications where tragedy must come in, the point to remain as such or otherwise jolt-free as if there were magical winds. With its unique style, the sound of antiquity became special that I suddenly felt the ease to span out of my modern musical inclination and reconcile with it each aspect of distortion and fluidity therein. As a consequence of a well-arranged composition, it seemed there was automatic connection somewhere with the perfectly climatic lute instrumentation. I could sense that others watching with me were being made repeatedly optimistic in the process, not initially expecting to have tuned the symphonies in as eventful as it’s wonderfully tragic along the transformation of tamed notes to voracious ones, worthy of encore. In the process, it was particularly captivating to have experienced the detailed rhythmic approach of the Passamezzo della Battaglia  which splendidly attempted to be classic in every way effecting a pitch very much congruous with good-humored facial expressions of the musicians. Having studied European history, I could imagine how lute dynamics had been deemed necessary in the type of secular culture between the medieval and renaissance periods. It was such a momentous performance for the celebrated lute players assuredly filled with inspiration that in my entrancement brought across invisible waves of tunes in fluid rush marked by certain jest. I came snapping back to reality every time as if from subconsciously stepping onto a whole new dimension where imaginings just soared and spirits were lifted to cosmic heights. It was I suppose all about each musician’s craft with his lute that defines and sets his style apart from a traditional player no matter how rare. The ensemble can be deeply felt to possess characteristics of a native musical genius flowing or

Time Delay Disputes in Construction Contracts Assignment

Time Delay Disputes in Construction Contracts - Assignment Example Internal environments usually consist of scheduling issues; i.e. if the construction process was poorly scheduled. Additionally, it may comprise of certain financial problems or changed orders. Exogenous factors largely consist of external elements such poor weather or government laws and regulations. Inputs factors that may lead to delays in construction are largely related to the issue of manpower shortage. (Sweis, 2008) In other words, delays may either be non excusable or excusable. For instance, when a delay is caused by labour disputes, unusual deliveries, and transportation deals that had not been foreseen or other causes that could not be predicted, then the affected party can consider forgiving the offending party. However, in other instances, then delays cannot be excused by the offending party. For example, when delays occurred during ordinary weather or when the subcontractor failed to meet his/her end of the bargain. It is also inexcusable to delay a construction if the project site was poorly coordinated. This may also be a problem when the contractor fails to finance the project properly or when there was poor workmanship, delays in material acquisition among others things. When a delay is caused by any of the latter factors, then it is likely that that person found guilty of the offense will be liable to pay damages. (Fewings & Jones, 2005) The first aspect that is involved in dealing with the disputes is mitigation of its effect. It is likely that the construction process may still be underway. Consequently, the affected parties have to look for ways in which they can minimise the distractions that would lead to further delay or that would cause ultimate project failure. (Kamara, 2002) The next thing that needs to be done is to determine the root cause of the problem. One must be able to determine whether the causes of these delays are actually excusable or not. This is usually done by conducting a detailed evaluation and analysis of the construction site, the contractors, the subcontractor, workers, materials and all other interests groups required to make the project complete. It is usually plausible to break down all the disputes involved in the process little by little. This is because certain events may have caused different delays. Additionally, to effectively solve disputes, it is necessary to assess the overall liability involved and the actual damage caused to the affected party. Thereafter, the two parties in the construction process are usually required to take part in a settlement agreement. This will require legal consultants who will be able to voice the concerns of each of the affected parties. At that time, it may be also be necessary to consider the legal representatives for each party as there is a whole team involved in the dispute resolution mechanisms. The assembly of this team may usually be necessary in mediation cases rather than in settlement arrangements. (Iyer, Chaphalkar & Joshi, 2008) However, in the event that a dispute is quite severe or when the affected parties have failed to reach a compromise, then these two parties will be required to take their case to court. This usually occurs when the dispute has resulted in litigation in the part of the affected party. Usually, judges will listen to their respective cases and then come up with possible explanations about what could have caused

Cognitive Design Essay Example for Free

Cognitive Design Essay A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini is seen through the eyes of two young female protagonists, who have a strong and well-developed character. In the novel, the author shows their hardship, their lives in a hopeless society, Afghanistan, and how throughout their life they face cruelty and vulnerability. The author portrays the experiences of the two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, who live in a society where women are mistreated. Mariam’s character is described as a quiet and thoughtful girl who questions the society and dreams of a luxurious life. She experiences physical and mental abuse from almost every person in her life and is brought up in an isolated environment by a bitter mother who puts her down. For instance, in the beginning of the novel Nana, Mariam’s mother, says: â€Å"You are a clumsy little harami† (Hosseini, 4). This very word â€Å"harami† helps the reader to analyze the struggles of an illegitimate child. Nana also prepares Mariam to expect nothing from men: â€Å"Like a compass needle that always point north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always . Mariam† (Hosseini, 7). This is also used to foreshadow Mariam’s husband, Rasheed, a cruel, abusive and hot tempered man, who physically and verbally abuses Mariam after marriage. Although Laila was also brought up in the same society as Mariam, her character is stronger as compared to Mariam’s. She has a strong desire to use her intelligence and education to improve the society and as her father, tells her: â€Å"Marriage can wait, education cannot You can be anything you want Because a society has no change of success if its women are uneducated No chance† (Hosseini, 114). The characters personality evolves over time, and this helps to analyze the tragic themes of the novel which are oppression, hope, and internal strength of women. The ability for any individual to imagine to endure the pain and sacrifices that Mariam and Laila endured are overwhelming. Yet the authors’ description of the characters makes it easy to analyze them to a great depth.

The Properties And Uses Of Bricks Construction Essay

The Properties And Uses Of Bricks Construction Essay Brick is a core material that is commonly used to build the wall of a building. Clay bricks are the most common brick type. It is made from sand and clay and uniformly burnt at temperatures between 800 °C and 1200 °C. Surface finishes are sometimes applied, e.g. glazed bricks. Glazed bricks are still being produced in large quantity and can be obtained from major English brick manufacturers and suppliers. Calcium Silicate bricks is manufactured from sand-lime (calcium silicate). The bricks are pressed under great pressure and steamed in an autoclave. The bricks are smooth, fine textured and light in colour. The colour of the brick is produced from material source, composition and firing temperature. The size of bricks over time has changed considerably. Some early medieval bricks were 13 inches by 6 inches by 2 inches. By the late 15th century a brick 9.5 inches by 4.5 inches by 2 inches became the norm and a charter in 1571 stipulated bricks by the measurement of 9 inches by 4.5 inches by 2.25 inches. By the 18th century, 8.25 inches by 4 inches by 2.5 inches brick was introduced. Modern bricks are 8.5 inches by 4 inches by 2.5 inches which is following metrication translated to 215mm by 102.5mm by 65mm. Modern bricks are the bricks that are most used in buildings nowadays. 2.1.2 Defect of Size Poor material selection and preparation or underfiring is the main problem of oversized bricks. Undersized bricks are caused mainly by poor material preparation, faulty moulds and overfiring. 2.1.3 Defect of Shape There are many grounds which contribute to defects in shape. These are including poor preparation of moulds or moulding technique, faults in stacking, rough handling and uneven drying. If the bricks are considerably over burnt, incipient fusion takes place and the bricks, called burrs, will come out of the kiln or clamp and get stuck together. Burrs are suitable only for hardcore purposes. 2.1.4 Defects of Body Faults in the raw material can give rise to defects such as cracking, bloating and laminations. Cracking and warping of bricks, causing incipient weakness, may be due to exposure of green bricks to direct sunlight or rapid drying winds. Similar effects will be produced by putting green bricks into the kiln too soon. Large cracks maybe caused by rain getting onto hot bricks. 2.1.5 Defect of Appearance These defects are caused primarily by faulty wires in the case of wire-cut bricks. Dark spots are caused by the presence of unevenly distributed iron sulphide in the clay. 2.2 Types of Brickwork Defects 2.2.1 Introduction Most parts of a building are built using bricks. Nowadays, brickwork defects are commonly found in buildings. This problem is getting more serious as days go by. Brickwork defects may cause a lot of problems to the occupants. The main problem encountered in building with traditional outside bearing wall of brickwork and concrete inside bearing structure is caused by differences in the temperature and moisture-induced movement. Cracks may be discovered in walls and solutions have to be found to alleviate this problem. (Verhoef, 2001) Brickwork defect which occurs in buildings has a variety of reasons. This is perhaps not surprising when one considers the wide range of different bricks and techniques in the construction of building, differences in the construction sites and the varied occupational or owner usage of the completed building. Brickwork will deteriorate and decay if not properly maintained. Such deterioration can be caused by a number of factors and can take various forms. The main signs that the brickwork is afflicted are surface growth and staining, efflorescence, loosed brick becoming dislodged, cracks appear through the bricks or mortar and etc. (Moses Jenkins, 2007) In this sub chapter, the different types of the brickwork defect will be determined. This chapter gives an overview of various types of brickwork defects and understanding the brickwork defects. By identifying the different types of the brickwork defects, it will be easy for the occupants or owners to find out the causes of the defects and subsequently take the suitable remedy methods to address the problem. 2.2.2 Brick Wall Settlement Any movement in a structural  brick wall will risk having the bond courses in the wall broken. Any movement in a  brick veneer wall which has broken or loosened the connections between the veneers to the underlying structure is potentially dangerous and risk collapsing the masonry. 2.2.3 Bulging Brick Wall This is likely to be a bond-brick or bond-course failure. This defect is potentially extremely dangerous and immediate action must be taken. If not, it will cause the building to suddenly collapse. 2.2.4 Cracks and Bulges in Brick Walls Frost and earth loading can push a below-grade brick foundation wall inwards. The wall is often bulged inwards as well as showing horizontal and step cracking and loose bricks will surface over the bulged area. The damage occurs from slightly above ground level to roughly the frost line. 2.2.5 Cracks and Loose Bricks Normally, crack and loose bricks are caused by frost, settlement, expansion, diagonal and stair-stepped. These defects often happen at building corners where the roof spillage is concentrated. 2.2.6 Loose Bricks and Missing or Lost Mortar This is the movement where the mortar is severely washed-out by roof spillage or other water movement against the foundation. Loose and lost bricks may also occur where wood blocks, originally set into a wall to permit nailing of interior components, is damaged by insects or decay. Similarly, if the wood joists are damaged and bent excessively or collapsed (insect damage, rot, fire), the collapsing joist can, as its in-wall end moves, damage the foundation or building wall. Fire cuts on wood joists in brick walls were intended to minimize this damage source by angling the end of the joist where it was set into the wall pocket. 2.2.7 Spalling Bricks Spalling is caused by water and frost, such as water leaking into a brick structure at any entry point: a crack, a brick which has lost its hard surface, or at openings by window and door penetrations. It is best to also beware of caulking bricks. 2.2.8 Exfoliating-Rust Damage to Bricks Masonry wall will have these defects when brick walls have been improperly caulked where caulking should have been omitted. The most common example of this defect is the damage that occurs to a brick wall when a steel lintel over a window or door is caulked tightly between the brick and the steel. Moisture penetrating the brick wall through cracks or mortar joints is trapped around the steel lintel. Rust developing on steel lintels has tremendous lifting power as the rusting exfoliating metal expands, sufficient to crack and damage bricks around the lintel. Improper Repair Mortar  on Brickwork During repair works, tuck pointing or re-pointing bricks can cause surface spalling of bricks if the mason uses a too hard mortar with high portland content or mortar on soft bricks in a climate exposed to freezing weather. The high portland content means that the mortar will be not only harder, but more waterproof than the surrounding bricks. Water trapped around the hard mortar can freeze leading to surface spalling of the bricks. This is particularly likely to be seen when a wall has been tuck pointed using hard high-portland mortar where originally a soft high-lime mortar was used and where the original bricks were soft. Salts on Brickwork Salts are a major cause of deterioration. Salt can enter bricks through contaminated water ingress. In coastal areas, salt can come from the sea and, in winter, the nearby application of road salt is a constant threat. Salt is damaging because it creates a steady expansion of crystals within the bricks. This can eventually force the structure of the brick apart. The source of salt can occur from within the bricks themselves or from the application of contaminated mortars or renders. Brick lined chimney flues are also vulnerable as sulphates can be introduced when flu gasses condense. This is a common defect where a chimney has been sealed without adequate ventilation. 2.2.11 Efflorescence on brickwork Efflorescence appears as a white powdery deposit on the brick. It is a phenomenon that soluble salt dissolved in water are carried, deposited and gradually accumulated on brick surfaces to form an unsightly scum. Without water, efflorescence cannot occur. The soluble salts may be originated from the raw material of bricks. But in most cases, efflorescence is caused by salts from the external sources such as ground water, contaminated atmosphere, mortar ingredients and other materials in contacts with the bricks. To minimize the risk, (it can never be completely avoided in brickwork exposed to weathering) the building detail should be designed, as far as is possible, to avoid saturation. In other words, good overhangs, copings and sills with drips, need to be considered. Efflorescence can be helped on its way by sponging down the wall with clean water (avoiding substantial wetting) or dry brushing with soft brushes. Any other treatment should be avoided as it may disfigure the bricks.    2.2.12 Thermal Movement on Brickwork Every materials expand or contracts as the temperature of the material changes, typically expanding as its temperature increases and contracting as its temperature decreases. Different materials expand and contract at different rates when they undergo similar changes in their temperatures. Brick veneer can expand and contract approximately. When determining the expansion or contraction of a brick veneer, it is important to remember the effects of the sun on materials. The energy from the suns rays raises the temperature of a material well above the air temperature. On a day when the air temperature is 32 ° F, the energy from the sun can raise a walls temperature to above 100 ° F. 2.2.12.1 Thermal expansion failures in Structural or Veneer Brick Walls A separate factor that can cause very large movements and extensive damage to brick structures or brick veneer walls is the thermal expansion which occurs across a long or tall brick wall when that wall is heated by intense sun exposure. The photographs show significant thermal expansion damage in a long brick structure. Significant breaks and gaps  at vertical brick mortar joints due to thermal expansion and perhaps some frost and water damage. Figure1: Significant breaks in mortar Horizontal sliding breaks  in brick mortar joints,  exposing reinforcing wire to rust, exfoliation, and additional damage from those forces as the exfoliating wire produced still more pressure on the mortar joint. Figure2: Horizontal breaks in mortar Step cracking  following mortar joints near the building corners and where the wall movement was resisted by first story intersecting brick walls abutting at right angles the middle section of the long brick wall. Figure3: Step cracking in mortar Cracks and broken bricks at the intersections of brick walls and openings. Figure 4: Cracks and broken bricks (InspectApedia, 2007) 2.2.13 Moisture Movement on Brickwork Moisture affects all porous masonry materials, including bricks, mortars and concrete masonry units but in very different ways. These effects must be considered when a combination of these materials is used, such as when bricks rest on a concrete foundation, brick veneer units are used with block back up, and when brick and architectural concrete products are used in the same Wythe bands of precast concrete or architectural concrete block in a brick veneer. After their initial mixing or casting, mortar, poured-in-place concrete and concrete masonry units shrink as the curing of the Portland cement proceeds. This is an unavoidable consequence of the curing of concrete products and is accommodated in design. 2.2.14 Sulphate Attack on Brickwork Most ordinary clay bricks contain sulphates of sodium, magnesium or calcium. These salts are soluble in water, calcium sulphate being less soluble than the other two. Normally, these sulphates are seen as the harmless efflorescence which affect appearance only and need simply to be brushed away. In theory, most brick walls with mortars based on OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement) are liable to sulphate attack. The most vulnerable walls are earth-retaining walls and parapet walls but sulphate attack is a problem also on rendered, and facing brickwork. On rendered brickwork, sulphate attack is manifested by cracking of the rendering, the cracks being mainly horizontal and corresponding to the mortar joints below. The rendering may adhere quite well to the bricks early in the attack but areas are likely to become detached as the expansion of the underlying brickwork causes severance of the bond between the two materials. (Eldridge, 1976) 2.2.15 Lime Staining on Brickwork Lime staining occurs when calcium hydroxide is deposited on the face of brickwork. Lime staining will quickly absorb carbon dioxide from the air and becomes calcium carbonate. It is virtually insoluble and can only be removed by expert which is a costly treatment. The calcium hydroxide can come from three main sources: calcium hydroxide caused by the hydration of Portland cement from hydrated lime added to mortar from brickwork in contact with wet concrete 2.2.16 Porosity on Brick Porosity is an important characteristic of bricks. In contrast to other moulded or pre-cast building materials, the porosity of bricks is attributed to its fine capillaries. By virtue of the capillary effect, the rate of moisture transport in the brick is ten times faster than in other building materials. Moisture is released during day-time and re-absorbed during night-time. The ability to release and re-absorb moisture by capillary effect is one of the most useful properties of brick that helps to regulate the temperature and humidity of atmosphere in a building. This distinctive property makes bricks an admirable building material, particularly suitable for buildings in the tropics. On the other hand, all porous materials are susceptible to chemical attacks and liable to contamination from weathering agents like rain, running water and polluted air. 2.2.17 Crack in Brick Faces / Firecracks The finished appearance of clay brick can vary greatly; this is because it is dependent on clay and the manufacturing process. Some products contain cracks of varying degree (sometimes referred to as firecracks) as an inherent feature. Firecracks are usually visible on the product as delivered. However, firecracks can be masked by the texture and surface sands used in the manufacturing process which becomes visible after the bricks are laid as a result of natural weathering of exposed brickwork. 2.2.18 Dampness of the Brick Wall More or less permanent dampness showing more clearly on the internal wall surface from ground level up to a height of about 750mm, but may be higher in severe cases or if the outer face is covered with a non-porous finish. The decorations may be damp, blistered or discoloured, or, if dry, may have been pushed off the wall by a film or salts which will often be seen as a fluffy crystalline growth. The possible causes of dampness in the brick wall are lack of DPC (damp proof course), by-passing of the DPC, and failure of the DPC material. 2.2.19 Brick Growth and Expansion Gaps in Brickwork Bricks undergo long-term permanent expansion over time. This expansion continues for the life of the brick, but the majority of the growth occurs early in its life. Most general purpose bricks have a coefficient of expansion in the range of 0.5-1.5mm/m (millimeters per meter) over fifteen years. Designers can use the values of the coefficient of expansion to accommodate for the growth of bricks by the size and spacing of the control joints. The provision of control gaps or articulation joints between parts of the structure during construction will accommodate movements within the structure over time. Numerous sources of movement exist and include: The change in size of building materials with temperature, loading conditions and moisture content The differential change in size of building materials (for example, cement products shrink over time, whilst clay bricks expand slowly over time) Foundation and footings movement Frame movement Frame shortening Temperature movement Internal horizontal and vertical movement 2.3 Causes of the brickwork defects 2.3.1 Introduction Brickworks are used primarily in the construction of walls. To construct the brick wall required many skills, design, experience, selection of material, and technique. Lack of all expertise may cause the brickwork defects or failure of the building. The defects that occur in brickwork maybe the result of inherent faults, deficiencies in production, design, materials or workmanship, and attack by environmental agents. After the brickwork has been constructed, it maybe meets of various requirements, climate, loading, and occupational in use. It is not surprising that defects happened or occurs frequently. In this sub chapter, the causes of the brickwork defects will be list out. To find out the actual causes of the brickwork defects will be easily for the occupational to take the right remedies immediately and reduces the brickwork defects happen. 2.3.2 Selection of bricks The choice of bricks is often influenced by the price but the quality required must also be carefully considered in order to avoid defects developing during the service life of the material. Therefore, the selection of suitable bricks for any particular purpose has often to be a trade-off between appearance and durability requirements on the one hand, and cost on the other. This is not always possible to assess the quality of bricks by the colour, variability of colour of bricks of the same source and method of production can often be an indication of strength and durability variations. 2.3.3 Storage of bricks Bricks on site are rarely kept under adequate cover. Defects in the bricks resulting from the lack of adequate protection on the site are rarely apparent before use. However, bad weather conditions can be detrimental to bricks in that saturation by rain can be responsible for both subsequent efflorescence and decoration defects. 2.3.4 Soluble Salts in Bricks Under burnt bricks contain a high salt content. The salts come from the raw clay from which the bricks are made, or are formed in the burning process. Most clay bricks contain some soluble salts, but the types and amounts vary appreciably. The effect of the soluble salts on both efflorescence and the more serious problem of disintegration of bricks themselves are largely governed by the strength and pores structure of the bricks. 2.3.5 Sulphate attack Sulphates are salts which are naturally present in industrial waste, gypsum product, clay bricks, flue condensates and in some ground waters. In persistently damp conditions, sulphate will react slowly with tricalcium aluminate forming a compound called calcium sulphoaluminate. This reaction causes the cement mortar or render of the brickwork to expend and eventually disintegrate. 2.3.6 Solar Radiation While drying out of soil by trees is the most common reason for cracking in brickwork, some clay are also very susceptible to drying out by direct solar radiation. The northern facing wall is the most likely to be affected and stepped diagonal cracking is the most common symptom, usually occurring at the north east and north west corner of the building. (Loveder, 2000) 2.3.7 Migration of moisture The movement of moisture beneath a building can produce the phenomenon known as long term dome and saucer effect. The dome effect is a slow heaving of the soil caused by movement of moisture from the perimeter of the house to its centre, and the saucer effect is moisture moving in the opposite direction, from the centre towards the perimeter. The dome effect causes the walls to tilt outwards and the restraining influence of the roof produces horizontal cracks on the outside wall. These will be wider on the outside surface rather than the inner. 2.3.8 Planting of tree Some of the brickwork defects may cause by big trees roots that plant nearby the building area. When planning to plant trees, the idea to be considering is the strength of the footings under the house. If lack of strength, the roots of the trees maybe grow into the ground under the building and cause the brick wall settlement and cracking. 2.3.9 Uneven settlement of foundations Where a particular heavy load is placed on the foundation such as a large column, movement may occur as moisture is squeezed out of the soil or the soil readjusts itself. This consolidation will stop when the soil has finally compacted enough to support the load. Brick wall or masonry wall may crack which may result from movement during compaction. 2.3.10 Excessive vibration Damage caused by vibration from earth tremors, heavy traffic or pile driving is fairly rare, however if the vibration is great enough to actually cause the foundation to move, brickwork cracking or defect can occur. The crack will show up irregularly if the sources of the vibration cannot be removed. (Loveder, 2000) 2.3.11 Additional building Building an addition building onto a house or add more storey of houses can impose a load intensity on the soil different that which is there already and so cause differential settlement. Even if the loading intensities are similar, the difference in time between when the two settlements occurred can be enough to create the brick wall cracks. 2.3.12 Approach of design Design of brick wall is very important. The designer must have the knowledge about the brick experience in chosen the types of brick to be used. The designer must be fully aware of the clients needs. Defects often occur because of a lack of understanding of the different types of bricks and the method of construct the brick wall. 2.3.13 Lack experience of worker Workers in the masonry construction is not in strict accordance with the construction and standards, masonry mortar is not full, especially in vertical mortar joints are not full, and even produce dense seam, seam permeability. In addition, the dry brick on the wall, mortar in the brick water was absorbed, causing low strength of mortar, brick and mortar separation, so that the overall stiffness of masonry fell, gray mortar joints crack. 2.3.14 Overloading Cracks of brickwork may result from overloading of the ground on which the building rests, or of the building itself or parts of it. Releasing the load does not necessary allow the masonry wall to revert to its original state since the overloading may have been partially accommodated by a permanent compaction of the bricks. The forces responsible for the overloading may be of external origin, such as excessive wind, or may be internal, such as those arising from the installation of excessively heavy equipment for which the masonry wall was not designed. A change of occupational may have same results. 2.3.15 Lack of maintenance Maintenance must be taken for all the building to minimize the cost of repair work for seriously defects happen. Lack of maintenance will make a small cracks or defects on brickwork change to more serious and serious. 2.3.16 Improper soil analysis and preparation When a builder chooses an area of land to build on, it is important to do some sort of soil analysis and preparation. The analysis will provide the developer and/or builder with enough information to choose the adequate soil preparation and construction strategy that should be used to develop the land. Improper soil analysis and preparations can be very damaging to a housing development. For example, a builder can discover that the land soil is made up of expansive soil. If this is the case, houses need to have a foundation that will be able to support the changing pressure and consistency of the soil. This is because expansive soil will swell when wet and then shrink once it dries. If one builds on this type of soil and is not aware of it, there will inevitably be issues to handle. There will be crack in the brick wall or masonry wall. The repair of this is very costly and very intrusive. Unfortunately, the reality is improper soil analysis and preparations happen all the time. 2.3.17 Negligence of construction Negligent construction is an unfortunately common occurrence. A builder has to be very careful when choosing a contractor or subcontractor. A builder will sometimes use one contactor for various projects. A contractor may have skills to install floor tiles but not the know how to build a brick wall. The responsibility can fall on several parties when there is a defect, and thats up to your attorney to determine. 2.3.18 Movement of the ground Mining subsidence, landslips, earthquakes, or moisture changes of shrinkable clay soil may cause the movement of the ground. The brick wall of the building will be crack because the wall of building has become displaced from the rest without any change in actual size of the materials. In theory, this is possible to reconnect the displace parts to bring the building back to its original condition but in practice this seldom can be done. 2.3.19 Acid rain Acid rain is precipitation that is much more acidic than normal rainfall, and the acid rain is usually caused by pollution such as sulfur and nitrogen emissions. Several different mechanisms are operant in the deterioration of brick masonry through the action of acid rain. The bricks are susceptible to acid rain through the selective dissolution of their glassy phase. The mortar is affected mainly by the reaction of the calcareous components. The soluble salts resulting from these reactions, in solution with rain water or condensed moisture, will migrate through the porous matrix of the masonry. In the places where the water evaporates the salts will be deposited. Repeated dissolution and re-crystallization of these salts leads to the mechanical disruption of the masonry structure. Since the salts will concentrate in the more porous material, either the brick or the mortar will be more seriously affected, depending on their relative porosity. 2.3.20 Environment Two aspects of the environment have been considerably which is wind and temperature. This is because they cause loading to be applied to the structure. The strong wind may cause the brick wall or the whole building move, this may cause cracking to the part of the building. The high temperature applied to the brickwork may cause spalling and brick prolong to high temperature can lead to surface vitrification. (Swoden, 1990) Table 1: Causes of the brickwork defect and the preventive method to avoid it happen No. Causes of brickwork defects Preventive method 1. Selection of bricks Use the bricks that are strength and durability 2 Storage of bricks Keep the bricks under dry place 3. Soluble Salts in Bricks Use the bricks that are less contain of soluble salts 4. Sulphate attack Ensuring the wall does not get and stay in unduly wetted. Use cement low in tricalcium aluminate 5. Solar radiation Make sure trees plant far away from the brick wall 6. Migration of moisture Use of damp proof course below the brick wall 7. Planting of tree Make sure there have no big tree nearby the brick wall 8. Uneven settlement of foundations Make sure the foundation is strong enough 9. Excessive vibration Make sure the foundation is strong enough 10. Additional building Do not build additional building of brick wall after a long period finish of brick wall 11. Approach of design Designer must be experienced and knowledgeable 12. Unskilled worker Make sure the brick wall is built by skilled worker 13. Overloading Brick wall must be design according to building use 14. Lack of maintenance Must me maintenance the brickwork annually 15. Improper soil analysis and preparation Check the soil properly and make sure the design of brick wall is strong enough 16. Negligence of construction Careful when choose the contractor 17. Movement of the ground Make sure the foundation is strong enough 18. Acid rain Wash or clean the brickwork before it decay or surface treatment 19. Environment Use the brick that are strength and durability 2.4 Remedies method of the brickwork defects in building 2.4.1 Introduction As known early, brickwork is one of the largest parts of most of the building. The strength, stability, and durability of brickwork are very important. If lack of all those factor, the brick wall or masonry wall maybe fall down or collapse suddenly. If the brickwork occurs any cracking or defects, the right method of remedies must be taken immediately. This is to ensure that the occupational or owner use the building under safety and healthy purposes. Brickwork will deteriorate and decay if not properly maintained. Such deterioration can be caused by a number of factors and can take various forms. The main signs that brickwork is suffering are surface growth and staining, efflorescence, loosed brick becoming dislodged, crack appears throw the bricks or mortar and etc. So, the right remedy must be taken to ensure the brickwork do not decay and deteriorate. (Moses Jenkins, 2007) In this sub chapter, the remedies method for various types of defects will be list out. This is to avoid the brickwork defect getting serious in building in construction industry. The defects of brickwork must be repair immediately, if not the defects will be more serious. For example, cracking can be due to expansion or shrinkage the clay brickwork itself. 2.4.2 Remedies of efflorescence Efflorescence can be minimized by laying dry bricks and by speeding up the drying process after the bricks have been laid by providing good ventilation. The salts that cause efflorescence are soluble in water. Hosing with water will cause the salts to dissolve and be re-absorbed into the brickwork, and then reappear when the brick wall dries out again. Acid or alkaline treatments are not recommended as they increase the salt content of the wall. The best method is simply brush off the deposit with a stiff dry bristle brush after the wall has dried out. Then sponge the surface with a damp synthetic chamois or high suction sponge. Use very little water and rinse sponge frequently in fresh water. 2.4.3 Sand-Blasted Bricks   Which have been cleaned of old paint, algae, or stains using high pressure sand blasting or possibly even v