Carmina Burana

A work that many have, at least heard a piece, of is Carmina Burana. Carl Orff composed this piece of music in 1936. A German, he was one of few composers that continued work during the Anti-Semitic rule of the country. Orff based his work off of a collection of poems found at the monastery of Benedikbeuren that dates back to the Twelfth Century! Carmina Burana is a set of twenty-five pieces that concern many of things going in everyone’s life today.Drinking, gambling, love, sex, fate, and fortune are just a few of the topics Orff composed of. 1 In this concert report I will go through the pieces that stood out the most to me. As mentioned, the most famous piece of this work is the opening sequence, â€Å"O Fortuna†. This glamorous piece begins with the full orchestra and chorus playing a loud, brave tone that quickly drops off into, what I hear as a loud whisper, sung by the entire chorus. Orff doesn’t let the listener take a break by coming back with same loud tone that the piece began with.Percussion instruments can be vividly heard throughout this opening piece, seemingly above the rest of the instruments. Early in this work, Orff establishes his theme of a â€Å"Wheel of Fortune†. 2 With the boldness of the opening sounds I feel that Orff is setting the tone for the whole work. Although the work is sung entirely in Latin, the translation of the first movement may surprise most people. The opening words â€Å"O Fortune† gives the listener an idea what the piece is about. As the piece goes, Orff describes fortune as oppressing and poor, in what I believe he was feeling at the time.The last words of this movement, in translation â€Å" everyone weep with me â€Å" were the biggest surprise to me because the orchestra ends the piece in carnival like melody. The second movement of Orff’s work is titled â€Å"Fortune plango vulneraâ€Å". This is personally my favorite piece of the work because of the hit or miss har mony. Different instruments take turns using the high-low rhythms, along with the chorus. The male voice is prominent at the beginning but soon after you can hear the voice of the full orchestra. Before reading the text n translation, this piece gave the idea of a rabbit jumping through to pasture or meadow to a novice listener like myself. This piece picks up from the last movement still pertaining to fortune. In the latter part of this piece Orff actually wrote in his overall theme by mentioning â€Å"the wheel of Fortune turns†. The fourth movement, â€Å"Omnia sol temperat† is sung in a completely different way. It begins with a male soloist singing, accompanied softly by violins. The way Orff chose to display this movement shows that there is no defined rhythm he is following.The soloist singing in a profound masculine voice sets the tone for this movement. The next movement discussed stands out as being one of the longest works of the cantata. â€Å"In taberna q uando sumus† opens with stringed instruments followed by percussion, and then a variety of other instruments join with the chorus. â€Å"When we are in the tavern†, the title sets this piece up for what I think would have a been a popular movement when it originated. Orff tells of drinking and gambling at the tavern, then goes on to list thirty names such as â€Å"the rich man† and â€Å"the poor man† that all drink.This stood out to me because I didn’t see this coming at all! It is also my least my favorite piece of the work. With the setting what it is, I didn’t particularly like the minor tone heard on and off in this movement. Orff could have been trying to relay a message by this of the tavern as a sometimes dark, bad place. The last movement of the cantata, â€Å"O Fortuna† begins just as the piece began with the same instruments and harmony. The last movement mirrors the first in a way that makes the listener understand the true tone of this work.I compliment Orff for doing this because I feel it is necessary. With a piece as strong and bold as this, I would think most composers would have chose to do this. After going back and re-listening to the first and last piece, there is no difference to my ear. The last movement does not lack any of the strength of the first movement; it’s a repeat that is well deserved. This theme has been used in many American movies, but sadly it is seldom recognized. Carl Orff made his mark in music history with Carmina Burana, namely the first and last movements â€Å"O Fortuna†.There are many more movements in this piece that all have uniqueness and glamour. Even though I am not the most avid Carl Orff fan, this piece surprised me with every movement. The overall performance of this piece was outstanding, with all the different melodies and tones, the use of full orchestra to solo vocalist, and an excellent job of conducting by Jeffery Thomas, I can see how this piece gained as much fame as it did. 1 â€Å" The Enjoyment of Music† Eleventh Edition, Kristine Forney and Joseph Machlis 2 http://classicalmusic. about. com/od/20thcenturymusic/a/carmina_burana. htm

Income statement

The following set of numbers represents my net operating cash flow: IQ -$339,925, Q -$108,188 Q -$42,128, Q $197,078. Based on my pro-formula cash flow which were for IQ -$339,925, Q – $108,792 Q -$109,915, Q $539,469, and going back and understanding the concept of pro-rata formula and budgets, I was not successful in implementation of these concepts. The reason being is that my projections in comparison of my results, I was if by $342,391. The first three quarters it appears that my decisions were successful as my results were beating my projections, but by making the decision to â€Å"throw all my chips in† I did not apply any decision making strategy, which proved to hurt my results.I definitely think that if I were to complete the simulation again I would be able to apply pro-formula statements and budgets successfully, with knowledge, throughout all four quarters. In successfully applying the pro-formula concept; I would have been able to take my numbers end from the previous quarter, such as inventory, accounts receivable, and fixed assets, and used my computer based so, I could make any necessary adjustments, like reduce my manufacturing costs or increase production and marketing costs to have a better bottom line at the end of that quarter. This process would have allowed me to make logical and intentional decisions had I fully understood the concept during the simulation. 2. A.The Just in Time approach was designed and first implements by the Toyota manufacturing company in Japan. It's entire purpose and concept is to optimize the production process while eliminating waste. Waste is considered to be things such as, but not limited to; cost of inventory, defective items, and the time an employee sends waiting for equipment or supplies to come in (Roy, 2005, p. 160-161). The following are the results for each quarter in regards to my ending inventory; IQ O Q 23 Q 113 Q 0. The fact that my ending inventory increased each quarter shows that I really wasn't quite sure what I was doing, but after reviewing the lessons, I realize that my increase in ending inventory ended up costing the company money.The way that I could have implemented the Just in Time approach, is to better understand what the actual demand for my product was and then to adjust my production levels based on the actual sales of the previous quarter. If I were able to implement the approach, I would have been able to set my base production level lower than what my projections were incase sales dropped, but then if I were to seeing sales pick up, I could increase my production and order supplies as necessary. This would greatly increase my operational efficiency as it would reduce my ending inventory and only be ordering and using the supplies needed, thus reducing the cost and time to the customer and increasing my profits and customer satisfaction. B.Lean Operations being externally and have a more central focus on the customer, meaning that the process can be optimized by adjusting operations and processes based on a customer perspective (Higher, Render, 2011, p 636). Unfortunately due to my confusion during the simulation I did not apply the concept. If I had been able to apply the concepts though I would have developed a system that could have allowed me to better predict my customers' wants rather than guessing as well as putting my clients' needs first. The first way that I could have been successful is Just by simply choosing the correct target audience. In doing so, I could've saved a lot of time and money on marketing and focused those resources into activities that would further support and enhance my business.Since the overall goal of lean operations is to remove all non-value add activities, if I were able to implement this strategy, I would have been much more successful as my cost would be lower as well as had higher sales results based on better customer satisfaction. All of this would in turn allow my business to be running closer to optimum operational efficiency. . Work cells allow a single product to be developed further in stage by a single machine/area and don't require movement to a separate location to continue development. This is generally an automated process done so by machines, which the newer machines can be combined with older ones, therefore reducing the company's need to replace expensive machinery more frequently. There is great benefit to this process as it eliminates the buildup of inventory at various parts to their next phase in completion.Cost would also be reduced as work cells typically require fewer workers, thus reducing labor costs. In the simulation, since my product had so many different parts and assembly requirements, work cells would greatly benefit this type of industry as the individual parts can all be assembled in separate work cells and then brought together for final assembly. While initially my cost with straight line production are lower as it requires l ess training and less accountability of the employees, work cells would end up being cheaper in the long run. The simulation also did not account for employee happiness which work cells would have a direct effect on.Due to employees being less engaged ND not being required to be accountable for the products quality in a straight line production, they would be unhappy with work and in turn be less productive. By implementing work cells, I would create a sense of pride and empowerment in the employees thus improving productivity as well as quality. I would also be able to hold the separate cells accountable for their finished products and praise where appropriate or reprimand when necessary. By using work cells, I would be completely content with paying a larger cost initially to increase productivity and quality in the Eng run; thus after a certain amount of time, work cells would actually be cheaper and save the company money and inevitably increase profits. 4.As previously stated, my decisions during the simulation were not based on any definite rational as I became lost and confused rather quickly, but I am able to look back on the simulation and consider it more as a what-if and apply the safety stock concept in theory. In the simulation, since the company was a new business, safety stock would have been a very useful concept to utilize. At the beginning all of my projections were Just hat, projections, they were not founded on historical numbers. By apply the safety stock concept; I would have given myself the appropriate safety net to allow for my projections to align with the actual demand of the product without any interruption to manufacturing.When reviewing my ending inventory for each quarter, I have come to the conclusion that I ended up with too much safety stock and incurred more carrying costs than were necessary. I could have decreased my production, thereby reducing my ending inventory, and lowering my carrying costs. 5. My preferred mutinous i mprovement program that I would have liked to implement in my company would be Six Sigma. I like this program as it provides a comprehensive, thorough investigation into all aspects of the company and focuses specifically on taking past errors and identifying how they could have been prevented. Particularly in the simulation the first area I would have evaluated and fixed would be management.The company would have fared much better had I been in partnership with an individual who had a better knowledge base and understanding of how to run a company. By applying Six Sigma though, it allows the focus to be placed on one rear of the business at a time, and then while the next area is being evaluated, the previous one is able to begin implementing the recommendations, based on the finds that came out of its own evaluation. Income statement The following set of numbers represents my net operating cash flow: IQ -$339,925, Q -$108,188 Q -$42,128, Q $197,078. Based on my pro-formula cash flow which were for IQ -$339,925, Q – $108,792 Q -$109,915, Q $539,469, and going back and understanding the concept of pro-rata formula and budgets, I was not successful in implementation of these concepts. The reason being is that my projections in comparison of my results, I was if by $342,391. The first three quarters it appears that my decisions were successful as my results were beating my projections, but by making the decision to â€Å"throw all my chips in† I did not apply any decision making strategy, which proved to hurt my results.I definitely think that if I were to complete the simulation again I would be able to apply pro-formula statements and budgets successfully, with knowledge, throughout all four quarters. In successfully applying the pro-formula concept; I would have been able to take my numbers end from the previous quarter, such as inventory, accounts receivable, and fixed assets, and used my computer based so, I could make any necessary adjustments, like reduce my manufacturing costs or increase production and marketing costs to have a better bottom line at the end of that quarter. This process would have allowed me to make logical and intentional decisions had I fully understood the concept during the simulation. 2. A.The Just in Time approach was designed and first implements by the Toyota manufacturing company in Japan. It's entire purpose and concept is to optimize the production process while eliminating waste. Waste is considered to be things such as, but not limited to; cost of inventory, defective items, and the time an employee sends waiting for equipment or supplies to come in (Roy, 2005, p. 160-161). The following are the results for each quarter in regards to my ending inventory; IQ O Q 23 Q 113 Q 0. The fact that my ending inventory increased each quarter shows that I really wasn't quite sure what I was doing, but after reviewing the lessons, I realize that my increase in ending inventory ended up costing the company money.The way that I could have implemented the Just in Time approach, is to better understand what the actual demand for my product was and then to adjust my production levels based on the actual sales of the previous quarter. If I were able to implement the approach, I would have been able to set my base production level lower than what my projections were incase sales dropped, but then if I were to seeing sales pick up, I could increase my production and order supplies as necessary. This would greatly increase my operational efficiency as it would reduce my ending inventory and only be ordering and using the supplies needed, thus reducing the cost and time to the customer and increasing my profits and customer satisfaction. B.Lean Operations being externally and have a more central focus on the customer, meaning that the process can be optimized by adjusting operations and processes based on a customer perspective (Higher, Render, 2011, p 636). Unfortunately due to my confusion during the simulation I did not apply the concept. If I had been able to apply the concepts though I would have developed a system that could have allowed me to better predict my customers' wants rather than guessing as well as putting my clients' needs first. The first way that I could have been successful is Just by simply choosing the correct target audience. In doing so, I could've saved a lot of time and money on marketing and focused those resources into activities that would further support and enhance my business.Since the overall goal of lean operations is to remove all non-value add activities, if I were able to implement this strategy, I would have been much more successful as my cost would be lower as well as had higher sales results based on better customer satisfaction. All of this would in turn allow my business to be running closer to optimum operational efficiency. . Work cells allow a single product to be developed further in stage by a single machine/area and don't require movement to a separate location to continue development. This is generally an automated process done so by machines, which the newer machines can be combined with older ones, therefore reducing the company's need to replace expensive machinery more frequently. There is great benefit to this process as it eliminates the buildup of inventory at various parts to their next phase in completion.Cost would also be reduced as work cells typically require fewer workers, thus reducing labor costs. In the simulation, since my product had so many different parts and assembly requirements, work cells would greatly benefit this type of industry as the individual parts can all be assembled in separate work cells and then brought together for final assembly. While initially my cost with straight line production are lower as it requires l ess training and less accountability of the employees, work cells would end up being cheaper in the long run. The simulation also did not account for employee happiness which work cells would have a direct effect on.Due to employees being less engaged ND not being required to be accountable for the products quality in a straight line production, they would be unhappy with work and in turn be less productive. By implementing work cells, I would create a sense of pride and empowerment in the employees thus improving productivity as well as quality. I would also be able to hold the separate cells accountable for their finished products and praise where appropriate or reprimand when necessary. By using work cells, I would be completely content with paying a larger cost initially to increase productivity and quality in the Eng run; thus after a certain amount of time, work cells would actually be cheaper and save the company money and inevitably increase profits. 4.As previously stated, my decisions during the simulation were not based on any definite rational as I became lost and confused rather quickly, but I am able to look back on the simulation and consider it more as a what-if and apply the safety stock concept in theory. In the simulation, since the company was a new business, safety stock would have been a very useful concept to utilize. At the beginning all of my projections were Just hat, projections, they were not founded on historical numbers. By apply the safety stock concept; I would have given myself the appropriate safety net to allow for my projections to align with the actual demand of the product without any interruption to manufacturing.When reviewing my ending inventory for each quarter, I have come to the conclusion that I ended up with too much safety stock and incurred more carrying costs than were necessary. I could have decreased my production, thereby reducing my ending inventory, and lowering my carrying costs. 5. My preferred mutinous i mprovement program that I would have liked to implement in my company would be Six Sigma. I like this program as it provides a comprehensive, thorough investigation into all aspects of the company and focuses specifically on taking past errors and identifying how they could have been prevented. Particularly in the simulation the first area I would have evaluated and fixed would be management.The company would have fared much better had I been in partnership with an individual who had a better knowledge base and understanding of how to run a company. By applying Six Sigma though, it allows the focus to be placed on one rear of the business at a time, and then while the next area is being evaluated, the previous one is able to begin implementing the recommendations, based on the finds that came out of its own evaluation.

Military strategist and conflict

Roman versus Medieval Armies Comparing Roman and Medieval Anglo-Saxon armies posit certain novel challenges due to evolutionary changes in military techniques and strategy and the huge time gap of around two thousand years that separated them. For the purpose of study here, we will take into account the military strategy and style deployed by Roman armies of 200 BC, at a time when they constituted most overwhelming military force in the contemporary world and compare them with strategy, styles, techniques used by 13th century Medieval armies of England, France and Saxony. The Roman military strategies of warfare were based on traditions and experience that ran since more than 500 years, evolved through countless campaigns and wars. Their beginning was humble, in form of a local armed tribe set to protect its geographical entity. However, over next centuries they acquired as they acquired skills and experience, they molded themselves in a massive invincible army that was reputed even among its enemies for its technical superiority and tenacity. Army layout: Roman army presented a fully hierarchical structure, like a modern day military, composed of various units and sub-units. Legions marked the largest and fundamental mass units of army with their strength totaling around 6000 men. Each legion was divided in cohorts   that were further subdivided in smaller units of maniples and centuries that comprised 100 soldiers on average. The legions stationed at front contained exclusively heavy infantry, comprising best and most skilled soldiers of the army. On any campaign the army moved through its legions and each of them were responsible for marching, encampment, logistics, and vigilance according to set standards of the army. Warfare strategy: Romans used numerous innovative and unique models within the scope of their traditional model of conducting warfare in triple lines. Hastati formed the first rank, placed closest to enemy lines, principes formed second line and triarii was the last rank that was typically kept as specialist reserved force. The army structure at battlefields was remarkably ordered, with frontline and rear units regularly placed in a way so as to leave no gap in the ranks. The three line system of Roman army provided it crucial maneuvering space, gave it depth and allowed it to bear initial losses to overcome them in later phase of battle. Warfare tactics: The actual combat involved hand to hand battles, shock battles and use of war machinery that threw arrows, stones and fireballs as missiles to enemy army lines. Usually the attack was initiated by Roman war machines where they barraged d opposing army with arrows, spears, and heavy stones. Subsequent to this, heavy infantry was first unit to enter main battle foray and engaged opposition soldiers through hand to hand combat. As fighting units were progressively injured and worn out, they withdrew back into the cushion of three tier structure and they were replaced by fresh units to continue battle. Cavalry was largely used for ornamental warfare, were limited in number and did not take extensive partake in warfare. Logistics: Supplying the army with food and other needs was a major challenge for Roman generals, specially on their long campaigns and given the fact that food production and methods of supplies were very nominal in ancient times. Therefore Roman troops carried most of equipment, including their lodging, clothing on animal carts. Their efficient network meanwhile ensured continued supplies of food and fuel to keep army moving. Compared to ancient Roman military system, the medieval warfare presents significant contrasts, especially in terms of military deployment, strategy and battle tactics. Use of gunpowder and missile technology identified the greatest departure from conventional and largely manual methods of conducting war. The rise of pillage warfare, where armies of one state looted and pillaged other states for purpose of supplies led rise to fortification and siege warfare Army Layout: Medieval army layout deployed long range heavy and light canons in the front line, supported by archers and heavy cavalry that formed main mass of army. Cavalry formed the main fighting force of the army, that comprised men mounted on horses, ready to give charge to enemy flanks. Knights, mounted soldiers with special military training formed an important part of cavalry ranks. Warfare Tactics: Medieval warfare tactics employed extensive use of canons and, towards later age, use of guns to start the first volley of assault. This was followed by charge of cavalry units. Use of horses had given lightening striking potentials to European armies and they used this advantage to launch rapid waves of attacks. In the medieval warfare, role of infantry had been relatively marginalized and their prime purpose was to act as support units at times of large scale siege and inundation of enemy fortification Battle of Cannae Battle of Cannae is considered one of most important ancient military events that is still widely studied and taught in military schools. The battle was part of second Punic war, and it was fought under Carthaginian Hannibal against the might of Roman Empire in 216 century BC. The Roman army was numerically much more superior and had better terrain than army of Hannibal and had enough time to prepare for the oncoming battle. Yet, Hannibal successfully overwhelmed the opposition and handed one of most comprehensive defeat to Roman army in its heydays. The combined Roman and Carthaginian forces combating in battle exceeded 1,40,000: Romans at near 850000, and Carthaginian forces totaling 55000. On the day of battle, Roman generals arranged their army in traditional three rank structure, with infantry placed in center and cavalry placed at side flanks to provide cover. The arrangement displayed traditional Roman affinity for depth, and they planned to use their deployment to cut through center of Hannibal’s forces.   However, the fact that Roman generals had opted for depth, rather than width meant that both armies same frontal appearance, negating the visual aspect of Roman numerical strength. The armies of Hannibal were also at apparent disadvantage with Aufidus River cutting off their chances of Retreat. The entire strategy of Roman generals was based on their previous experience of skirmishes and combats with Hannibal, whom they knew to be a resourceful, and cunning tactician. Hannibal was also ware of weaknesses of his army and the fact that both armies were meeting in open battlefield did not provide him to plan for any possible ambush or surprise maneuver. But Hannibal was also well aware of strengths and weaknesses of his different units and he deployed them strategically at flanks to make their best use. The Roman army moved forward en masse while Hannibal extended his army in line formation providing greater flexibility and inner movement within army flanks.Hannibal used his superior cavalry to defeat and push behind inferior Roman cavalry and then outflank them to attack Roman rear. The pincer movement created panic in Roman flanks and their front lines started to fall on back lines where Carthaginian cavaliers eliminated them. This caused the rear lines to push towards center, creating massive confusion among Roman soldiers. The combined Roman push towards their own center allowed created a situation where they got extremely densely packed, not even leaving them sufficient them to reform, regroup or maneuver their weapons. Meanwhile Carthaginian army had completely encircled Roman forces, and started cutting them down to virtually last man. The battle is still recounted as one with highest number of causalities in a single day. A number of factors contributed to victory of Hannibal, including his superior analysis of situation and his clever use of cavalry and infantry. Hannibal converted the disadvantage of having a river at back to advantage in pushing ahead his forces with full knowledge that Romans could not at least outflank his infantry. Meanwhile, Roman army could retreat through only its left flank, its other retreating chances cut off by Mountains at one side and River at other. Ultimately Romans were left with no chance to escape and Hannibal accomplished one of the greatest military feat in history. Reference Richard A. Gabriel. Donald W. Boose Jr.1994.   The Great Battles of Antiquity: A Strategic and Tactical Guide to Great Battles That Shaped the Development of War. Greenwood Press. Westport, CT. John France. 1999. Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000-1300.   . UCL Press. London. Richard A. Preston, Sydney F. Wise, Herman O. Werner. 1956. History of Warfare and Its Interrelationships with Western Society. Frederick A. Praeger.: New York. Roger Beaumont . 1994. War, Chaos and History. Praeger. Place of Publication: Westport, CT.

Probability Theory in Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Probability Theory in Decision Making - Essay Example Firstly, it must be understood that the sale of juice by coffeeTime is a move to just boost the revenues of the company in the ongoing food festival. The second row (A2) of the table just goes to show that. The nil entries in all the 3 rows signify that any decision of the company against selling fruit juice will have no impact on the sales of coffee, which of primary interest to the company rather than selling fruit juice. There is also an interesting observation from the first row (A1). This row depicts that the sales for fruit juice are expected to register figures of a mere Rs.2000-3000 in the case of the mid-high range respectively. But, if the company suffers a low turnout, then the expected loss ifs around Rs.6000. This is much more than the sales for the highest possible sales turnover as has been previously mentioned. All this goes to show that the company is less likely to benefit in any major way and more likely to incur a loss in the eventuality of selling fruit juice. Th us, it is advisable not to proceed with the proposed plan of selling fruit juice at the south-Asian food festival. b. Firstly, the company can use the Bayesian logic for making any analysis only from data collected from other countries where it has its operations currently.

The Tendency of the Firm in a Monopolistic Market Essay

The Tendency of the Firm in a Monopolistic Market - Essay Example These differences between perfect competition and monopolistic competition have social welfare implications. In perfect competition, marginal revenue is the same as price and this reflects the optimum utility of goods as the price is also equal to marginal cost. Supply also meets the demand at the most efficient level. This is illustrated in Figure 1 where supply and demand achieved equilibrium. The case is different in a monopolistic competition where there are few or no competition. The tendency of the firm in a monopolistic market is to restrict production as can be shown in Figure 1 to drive prices up as represented by P1. The market then becomes inefficient because firms are not producing at a minimum cost where price is much higher than the cost of production. This has an implication in social welfare as inefficiency would mean requiring more resources to achieve the same utility of good thereby increasing the social cost. This is not the case in a perfect competition where mar ginal revenue is the same as price. In the diagram in Figure 2, a competitive market achieves an equilibrium where demand is met with supply (MC and AR intersect). It meant that the social service can be had at its cost and is, therefore, the most optimum level where the needed service is appropriately supplied without waste. Thus comparing perfect competition with a monopolistic market, price in the monopolistic market is higher as shown in P1 compared to Price of perfect competition in P2. Production is also inefficient in the monopolistic market as shown by Q1 as it is deliberately restricted to drive the price or P1.

Working with people and organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Working with people and organisations - Essay Example Furthermore preventative strategies and dilemmas were encountered. When considering student social work one of the overarching aspects is the consideration of the welfare of the individuals involved. Indeed, Ollsen (2008) has indicated the tenuous nature of such circumstances on the children involved, â€Å"Unaccompanied minors often face severe trauma during their preflight lives as well as during the course of their migration. These traumatic experi- ences can have negative psychosocial impacts on the minors† In many instances one understands the cases and the level of support that they require, but still rely heavily on supervision for the best outcome. I have relied on supervision and have found it extremely necessary as working so closely with your cases means one must maintain an appropriate professional boundary. I have found that foster children and their birth families often in conversation slip something to you, hoping that it will not be reported. I am constantly aware of safeguarding and always advise them it must be noted. That information could be apparent later on and could put someone’s life at risk or cause personal danger. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ As a Student Social Worker I have been assigned nine foster children to support. Some foster carers currently have no placements, but still require regular support, advice and training. Unlike working with a local authority, my foster carers could be 60 miles round trip away from our offices. As a lot of our placements are from different local authorities, our foster carer’s home addresses can span all boroughs. I was trained to use social e-care and also carried out general office based duties usually carried out by a duty worker in the day to day processes of dealing with referrals from local authorities in placing looked after children with well matched foster carer’s. I was professional at all times, particularly when taking referrals

Scientific literacy questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scientific literacy questions - Essay Example Kepler developed the laws of planetary motion in 1605 CE. The laws state that the orbit of every planet is an ellipse around the Sun. In 1610 CE, Galileo published the first scientific treatise based on observations made through a telescope. When he publicly supported heliocentrism, he met with clerical opposition from the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo was warned to abandon his support for a Sun-centered cosmology, but. he later defended his views, he was tried by the Inquisition, forced to recant and spend the rest of his life under house arrest. Today, we accept that neither the sun nor the earth is the center of the Universe. The motivations of empiricists vary with the gestalt of their time. The earliest astronomers were in fact astrologers. People believed divination of the future was possible from the study of the motions of heavenly bodies. Philosophers have often viewed astrophysics as a corporeal method of simply understanding physical reality and our place in the cosmos. P hysical scientists sought answers to pressing questions based interpretations of observable data. This path from subjective to objective knowledge raises an interesting question for our egos. In 1961, Frank Drake formulated a method of estimating the likelihood of extraterrestrial life (PBS). The Drake equation states N = R* fp ne fâ„“ fi fc L; where, N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy, with which communication might be possible, and: Current estimates of the values of the variables follow. Where, R* = 7/year, fp = 0.5, ne = 2, fl = 0.33, fi = 0.01, fc = 0.01, and L = 10,000 years; N = 7 Ãâ€" 0.5 Ãâ€" 2 Ãâ€" 0.33 Ãâ€" 0.01 Ãâ€" 0.01 Ãâ€" 10,000 = 2.1. Thus, two communicative civilizations probably exist in our galaxy at any given time, on average. Furthermore, there may be up to two hundred more that are not trying to communicate, and there are billions of galaxies like ours. Based on this reasoning, it seems fallacious to believe we are perfectly unique in

Communication Career Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Communication Career - Research Paper Example Communication career requires a bachelor’s degree in Arts and other related fields. Bachelors’ degree is the relevant entry requirement for this career because the work involves design and analysis of the social aspects. The analytical work conducted by the communication professional dictates the above requirement. It is notable that design projects require adequate information, which is best covered at the bachelor’s level. In addition, the communication industry contemporary progresses in social economic aspects to develop strategies that would promote social development. Most modern trends observable today tend to demand educational qualification alongside the experience that a person has. My aspiration in the field largely depends on my ability to achieve the essential education requirement. The subject combination necessary for the bachelor degree in communication is as follows: A-level which majors in linguistics, history, and social studies. The typical starting salary for communication workers is $ 13.56 per hour. This salary is considered high owing to the fact that the employee is a fresh graduate without work experience. The demand for experience is a common trend in the labor market. However, the preferences are given to this career and the communication training at the bachelors’ level enables new recruits to serve while preparing for higher cadre. Records on the communication industry indicate that occupation practices such as job training do apply in the industry. In addition, demand for experience before assuming the job is not a major factor considered at the entry level.

Data mining does not violate the constitution Essay

Data mining does not violate the constitution - Essay Example They fall under different industry categories such as health care, finance, retail, aerospace, and manufacturing have began using data mining techniques as well as tools in a bid to take advantage of the historical information and data. Data mining has helped various analysts to acknowledge crucial facts, patterns, relationships, trends, anomalies, and exceptions that could have otherwise go unnoticed. This is usually achievable by sifting through the warehoused information primarily by using statistical, mathematical, and pattern recognition technologies. From the business organizations point of view, data mining is essentially an important tool for discovering patterns alongside relationships in the given data with a view to help make more useful decisions. Furthermore, data mining is vital for developing better marketing campaigns, predicting customer loyalty more accurately, and helping spot sales trends. Some of the specific uses of this technology include fraud detection, inter active marketing, direct marketing, market segmentation, trend analysis, and customer churn. Literature Review Different scholars have come out in strong defense of data mining with majority of them arguing that it does not violate the constitution. Nonetheless, various have also sort to prove the damning effects of data mining particularly looking at the privacy of individuals. ... Furthermore, the article elucidates how the U.S. investigators essentially advocating for the agenda on robust antiterrorism have compelled communications firms to store as well as turn over unprecedented information regarding the telephone calls of citizens, daily movements, and Internet communications. Similarly, the dual interests of the private sector intention to maximize profits and determination of the government to combat future terrorist attacks have imperiled the standards of human rights. Similarly, the article Twenty-First Century Surveillance: Dna Data Mining and the Erosion of the Fourth Amendment by Ferrell Kelly (2013) argues that every time a person visits a webpage, runs a search engine, or makes a call, text, or purchases data is collected, and analyzed in order to determine that person’s individual propensities and predict their future behavior. Corporations justify data mining technology as an efficient means of targeting interested consumers, while the go vernment boasts of national security and public safety to rationalize the surveillance technique. In essence, the corporations have constructive objectives and goals in terms of the way they intend to utilize the new technology to meet the demands of prospective customers. The government on the contrary has credited the technology owing to its capacity to handle national security as well as the safety of the public. In the article, Regulating Governmental Data Mining In The United States and Germany: Constitutional Courts, The State, And New Technology by Schwartz Paul (2011), the author looks at how the legal systems of Germany and the United States respond to the use of data mining by

Reasons for Choosing Mortuary Science Field Assignment

Reasons for Choosing Mortuary Science Field - Assignment Example Learners are trained to be morticians by learning biological science, business and social sciences. I think that the study of events relating with death, and how the society prepares for it raises questions are deep rooted in the human sociological lives. The reasons why I chose mortuary science field is because it deals with death, is a common event in the society, offers an opportunity for a well paying job and has objectives that build an individual to become a significant person in the community. Reason 1 The first reason for I chose mortuary science field is because of death factor in the society; hence, trains individuals in an area common, and part of human beings lives. I believe that death is a common occasion that man has accepted in the society and is an unremitting process. Consequently, the program is essential in building and molding skilled individuals who assist the bereaved in planning and organizing the event. The significance of learning the course is because each person has been affected directly or indirectly by death. I chose the field since it makes me an imperative person who is working for the society by acquitting me with skills necessary to assist the society. It is difficult to prepare for death occasion according to societies’ perception, because it happens at an unexpected time when individuals has little time to work on the event. I think that the fact that death is a common event in human beings’ lives, it makes the course and the program exce ptionally significant and relevant in the communal lives. People perceive apprentices working in the society as significant people in the community for the support and services to occasional event happening in our lives (Stair, 46). Reason 2 The second reason I chose the mortuary science field is that the program offers remarkable job opportunities. A person can work as a mortician in funeral homes, which are important in the society (Stair, 46). I think that the job makes individuals well heeled by earning amicable amount of money. The job that a person gets after learning the course is a great job because it acts as a means of expressing the feelings and requirements of individuals. The program provides a platform for individuals having a passion of helping people in the society who lack the skills and knowledge in arranging for emergencies especially in funerals. I agree that the course will provide an excellent platform for me to express the kindness and remorsefulness to the bereaved individuals. The course will instill skills in counseling, proper and legal completion of death certificates and preparation of the body for during burial event. Consequently, selecting Mortuary Science field gives an opportuni ty to an individual interested in getting a legitimate and substantial job that pays satisfactory. . Reason 3 The third reason I chose studying mortuary science field is the program’s objectives, which defines a person’s credibility and competence. I agree that the program enlarges the background and acquaintance of students’ profession on the funeral services (Stair, 46). The program aims at edifying individuals in every phase of funeral services. I believe that students are encouraged to participate in faculty research in funeral services and events that enable the faculty to discover new concepts. A further objective of the program is to encourage acceptable ethical conduct to an individual. I decided this because it ensures a person conducts oneself and interacts well with other individuals in the society. Lastly, a clear objective of mortuary science field is that it provides a set of courses at the post-secondary level of instructions. I believe that the o bjectives make a

Pay It Forward Essay Example for Free

Pay It Forward Essay Pay It Forward An act of kindness can develop values for both the person receiving the aid and the person offering the support as well as community development. In this summary key points are discussed on altruism. The summary stems from an act of kindness, which was conducted by the author as a student of Capstone Course in Psychology/Psy 490. I presented money to a person who needed money for his or her next meal, without expecting anything in return. A person does not realize the degree of emotions involved in experiencing need nor true concern until he or she begins to offer support with no desire of reward. Altruism, Personal and Professional Social Responsibility, and Codependency Altruism is the act of aiding another without thought of self or reward. Altruism is also the moral obligation to help others (Myers, 2008). These are selfless acts, which grant something to someone else; the ego also desires to develop a responsible identity of self. People also need to identify with personal and professional social responsibility to become mature individuals. According to Chickering and Braskamp (2009), â€Å"a civic and moral identity and sense of obligation to society are more apt to behave in ways, which fulfill individual and social responsibilities† (p. 27). When we cannot fulfill our desires of responsibility codependency can become a reactionary problem where individuals react to problems, pains, lives, and behaviors of themselves and others instead of acting in ways, which are adaptive (Morgan, 1991, p. 724). Applying Altruism to Psychology or Psychological Principles Psychological principles are designed to follow the Code of Conduct and its principles. Psychology practices ethical and humane practices within research as well as promoting mental health. The Code of Conduct is followed strictly by professionals of psychology to uphold the rights of consumers, and to offer help to many of life’s problems. Although psychological approaches are not always acts of giving with no reward, many consumers view psychological interventions as acts of moral obligation. Professionals possess personal and social responsibilities to those in need in the communities. Altruism as it Improves the Human Condition Helping others with no desire for reward is beneficial for the human condition. Performing the act of kindness of providing money for food to someone in need helped to build moral character for both parties involved. The person in need, perhaps has gained knowledge he or she is not alone and others do care about what happens to him or her. The person receiving the gift may reciprocate the act by searching for jobs or applying for social support. The person giving the gift has become responsible to help others; this act can lead to bigger acts in the community of aid to others. Many people in the community practicing altruism can be beneficial in teaching social responsibility to others. In such efforts to promote altruism limits exist in persuading others to become responsible in the plight. Personal and Professional Responsibilities Related to Altruism Altruism is a moral obligation or duty to help others. Responsible individuals are obligated to help those in need, and help provide the direction so he or she may learn independence and responsibility. Psychological professions must uphold a moral character for the reputation of psychology whereas always striving to help clients and patients with social problems. The Future of Psychology in Contemporary Society Society will become more responsible because of psychological interventions. Those individuals who have developed personal and social responsibilities will help others to learn to help themselves. Human society is full of problems, societies’ members cannot expect others not to receive help for their problems. Psychology will play the role of meeting these problems with professional attitudes and awareness. New interventions to promote stronger individual experiences will come from psychology. Altruism will help to mold a society, which eventually will be self-sufficient. Conclusion In conclusion, altruism is a selflessness motive to help others, which can promote betterment for society and lead to personal and social responsibility. Human identity formation must be enriched by experiences, knowledge, and insight or reactionary problems such as codependency can occur. Personal and professional responsibilities to altruism should be conducted without obligation and with awareness of respect and competence. The benefits of altruism to the human condition are immense. Trust and integrity can be learned from acts of kindness. Persons and professionals should always engage altruistic acts for the betterment of social avenues. Psychology’s concepts of preserving future experiences will rely on altruistic codes to promote a healthy future for each member of communities. References Chickering, A., Braskamp, L. A. (2009). Developing a global perspective for personal and social responsibility. Peer Review, 11(4), 27-30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216586612?accountid=458 Morgan, J. (1991). What is codependency? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 47(5), 720-729. Myers, D. G. (2008). Social psychology. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example for Free

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay The most significant character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is Puck who is quick-witted, fun-loving, lovely, humorous and mischievous. Puck also has an impulsive spirit, suggestive language and supernatural fancy. He appears to depict wild disparities, for instance, the unspoken evaluation of the elegant fairies and the coarse simple craftsmen. Puck is stylish, however, not as saccharine like fellow fairies. As a comedian, Puck displays some coarseness and thuds turns bottom into a fool just for enjoyment. Puck is charitable however he can perform nasty tricks. Despite the fact that majority of the elves are portrayed as ethereal and beautiful, Puck often appears as rather bizarre. One fairy states that Puck is regarded by some as some ‘hobgoblin’; this term connotes less glamour as compared to ‘fairy’. The arrogant weaver character, Nick Bottom’s comedy is amusingly overt. Being the key character within the sub-plot in which Thisbe and pyramids stories are produced by the craftsmen, Bottom controls fellow characters with some strange conviction in own capabilities as well as his humorous incompetence. Bottom regards himself as being ideal for each play part; however, he performs terribly and often makes grammatical and rhetorical speech mistakes. Bottom is humorous because he totally is not aware of his ridiculousness and hence his language is arrogant and. Such foolish pride climaxes following the transformation of Bottom’s skull into an ass’s. Following Titania’s falling in love with Bottom, Bottom Titania’s actions are not ordinary and that he deserves all this treatment. Bottom’s lack of awareness regarding the transformation of his head into an ass’s is similar to his failure to see the irrationality of the notion of Titania falling in love with him (http://www. sparknotes. com/shakespeare/msnd/themes. html). Helena the youthful woman madly smitten by Demetrius is probably the most prominent of the other actors apart from Bottom and Puck. Among Athenian devotees, Helena stands out as the individual who most considers love’s nature. This could be because as the play opens, Helena misses out on Hermia, Demetrius and Lysander’ love affair. She holds that Demetrius has some fantastic idea regarding Hermia’s prettiness that makes him not recognize Helena’s beauty. Although conscious of Demetrius’ shortcomings, and Being very faithful to him, Helena embarks on winning Demetrius’ love by informing him of Hermia and Lysander’s scheme to escape into the woods. Once inside the woods, the confusion brought in by the love portion bring out majority of Helena’s qualities. In comparison with fellow lovers, Helena is very uncertain regarding herself; she is overly concerned of her looks and she regards Lysander as scornful of her after he states that he loves her. The play removed audiences form the characters’ emotions so as to gain excitement form the afflictions and torments lovers go through. The play’s tone is very lighthearted to guarantee audiences that three will be some happy ending. Audiences may thus delight in the comedy and avoid being ensnared within the tension posed by uncertain eventualities. The subject of the complexity of love usually is analyzed through the concept of unbalanced love; romantic instances whereby an inequality or disparity obstructs harmonious relationships. A key example is the 4 youthful Athenians unbalanced love: Hermia and Lysander love each other; Helena adores Demetrius; plus Demetrius adores Hermia as opposed to Helena. This constitutes a basic numeric inequity, whereby 2 men adore a single woman thus one lady has excess lovers while the other has very few. The scheme is mainly geared towards internal equilibrium and thus a conventional happy conclusion will have been reached after the devotee’s tangle unravels into balanced pairings. Similarly, Oberon and Titania’s relationship signifies an imbalance since Oberon covets the Indian lad of Titania more that he loves Titania. Afterwards, Titania’s adoration of Bottom signifies some nature and appearance imbalance. Titania is graceful and beautiful, whereas Bottom is ugly and clumsy (http://www. sparknotes. com/shakespeare/msnd/themes. html). A Midsummer Night’s Dream employs magic to develop a strange world and also to exemplify love’s mystic power (signified by the love portion). Despite the fact that abuse of the supernatural leads to anarchy, like after Puck accidentally administers the love portion to the eyelids of Lysander, magic finally finishes the tension in the play by reinstating love’s balance among the 4 Athenian youngsters. Moreover, Puck’s ease of usage of magic to accomplish his desires, like in reshaping Bottom’s head into an ass’s and recreating Demetrius and Lysander’s voices, contrasts with the craftsmen’s gracefulness and laboriousness as they act their part. Dreams comprise a vital subject within A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the magical, bizarre events in the woods are related to dreams. Hyppolyta’s initial words signify dreams’ prevalence in the play; different other characters refer to dreams. Dreaming theme predominantly repeats itself when actors try to analyze bizarre occurrences that affect them. Bottom states that his inability to understand the supernatural occurrences affecting him is due to slumber. Shakespeare as well is concerned with dreams’ real workings; the occurrence of events with no explanation, lose of time’s usual flow sense, and the happening of the impractical. He attempts to reconstruct such an environment by fairy intervention within the magical woods. At the play’s conclusion, pluck broadens the dream theme to audiences, by informing them in case the play upsets them, they ought to bear in mind that this is nothing but some dream. Such an illusion sense plus delicate fragility proves vital to A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s atmosphere since it helps in making the play some fantastical encounter as opposed to heavy performance (http://www. sparknotes. com/shakespeare/msnd/themes. html). References SparkNotes: A midsummer night’s dream: themes, symbols, motifs. Retrieved June 2, 2009, from http://www. sparknotes. com/shakespeare/msnd/themes. html

Effect of Prefabrication Methods on Housing in the UK

Effect of Prefabrication Methods on Housing in the UK Would the Increasing Use of Prefabrication Methods in the Construction Industry Significantly Reduce the Housing Shortage Within the UK? Chapter 1 Problem Specification There is a widespread belief that a housing shortage exists in the UK. Although all regions are expected to see growth in household numbers, the greatest pressure will continue to be felt in Southern England (i.e. London, the South East, South West, and Eastern regions.) For example, the population of the South East region alone is expected to increase by 50,000 a year – about 1 million extra homes in the next twenty years or so. While 70% of population growth is in London and the south of England only about 50% of house building takes place there. The housing industry has in recent years been under severe pressure to meet the increasing population. For this reason the UK is presently suffering from a high housing shortage, which is likely to rise over the next 15 years, due to the high volumes of migrant workers from the EU and the increase in population. The total number of people living in the UK grows whenever there are more inward migrants than people leaving the country. International inward migration is a significant contributor to population growth. Recently the Government Actuary’s Department increased its figures for net inward migration to the United Kingdom from 95,000 to 135,000 people per year for the period to 2021. It is therefore necessary for the construction industry to dramatically increase production in house building in order to reduce the effect this shortage will have on the UK such as consequent impacts on house prices, conditions, overcrowding and homelessness. Despite the strong economy, housing production by both private developers and social housing providers has been falling. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the number of homes built during each of the past five years has remained static at 154,000. It is for this reason that house prices continue to soar. It is clear that the construction industry must build faster and more efficiently to meet the increasing needs of the UK housing market. The UK construction industry has been known for its lengths and costs in completing construction projects therefore leading to slower completion of developments. This is a wide spread problem that needs to be addressed for the housing demands to be met. Household projections, based on 1998 figures from the Government Actuary’s Department and past trends in household formation, suggest that between 1996 and 2021, England will need to accommodate an extra 4.3 million households. Estimates suggest that the backlog in 1996 was approximately 650,000 households. It seems likely that the figure has increased over the last five years because supply has not matched demand. There are difficulties within the UK construction industry to which attention has been drawn by the Latham and Egan reports. Structural, technical and cultural change in the years ahead may lead to a sector better able to respond to the demands upon it. With the use of better management techniques and the implementation of new technologies in new housing markets, projects lengths (i.e. Construction time) and costs could be significantly reduced. There are many ways of rapidly reducing completion time of construction. In this day and age these approaches are known as Modern Methods of Construction, such as prefabrication. A radical approach for cutting project time by using different techniques, such as off-site construction and factory conditions. Pre-fabricated homes – One area highlighted to improve the current situation by the Government and others within the industry, is that of off-site construction. Prefabrication was used to provide quick and cheap homes after the Second World War where nearly 160,000 homes were prefabricated, and is being proposed again as a solution for providing affordable homes. Off-site construction has made huge advances since the Second World War and even more over the last couple of decades, offering methods which have been proved to be quicker and cheaper than traditional house building methods. One of the major issues associated with prefabricated homes is the stigma attached to them, with many people seeing them as a poor alternative to traditional construction. A MORI poll in 2002 indicated that 90% of people would prefer to live in a traditional home rather than a prefabricated home, showing that the UK population along with the construction industry is still slightly reluctant to pl ace their faith in prefabricated homes. The benefits of prefabrication are well known, with off-site construction offering a controlled environment where building elements can be produced quicker than traditional methods, and at a supposedly lower cost. At its best, prefabrication can see some 40-week building programmes being reduced to 16 weeks, which if used on a wide scale could see rapid growth in the UK’s housing stock. There is also an advantage held within the factory environment, offering greater safety for workers than on-site and also the controlled environment makes it possible for a consistent, high quality finish to be achieved. With skills shortages on-site, the opportunity to produce standardised building elements in factories could also further improve standards and quality. Built in clean, efficient, factory conditions not in the often chaotic circumstances of construction sites, in unpredictable and inclement British weather – may make for higher standards, faster construction as well as a safer industry. Better procurement methods may mean less friction between clients, professionals and builders. Shortages of sufficiently skilled labour may also be remedied, to some extent, by factory. Therefore this method of construction could be seen as a potential solution to the housing shortage in the UK. Currently prefabrication is not a common approach for most contractors to use. The main reason for this is because off-site manufacture (OSM) of house building components currently has the capacity to produce around 40,000 homes a year, far short of the figure needed to meet official housing projections. As such, the Government is promoting pre-fabrication and off-site manufacturing techniques, looking to methods such as steel and timber frame to help solve the housing shortfall, particularly in relation to quality and site skills shortages. Even with prefabricated homes having been produced for the past 100 years, they are still relatively untested in the UK on a large scale, and therefore the verdict is still out on whether they are suited to the UK and its construction industry. There are already companies in the UK trying to build affordable housing by using off-site construction methods, such as BoKlok, Ikeas biggest idea yet. Having seized the market for affordable home furnish ings in the past decade, the Swedish retail giant is now planning to provide the homes themselves. Planning permission was approved for the first British BoKlok development: 36 flats in St James Village, Gateshead, due for completion within a year. More will follow many more, probably, since BoKlok is quick to build, energy efficient and aimed at households earning between  £15,000 and  £30,000 a year. Currently they tend to use more traditional methods, and therefore this issue has to be tackled to bring prefabricated construction further into the lime light of construction. The affordable housing sector represents a prime area of growth for the prefabricated buildings market. The benefits of rapid build times and the cost efficiencies resulting from the volume production of cellular units incorporated in the overall structure tend to result in affordable rents and value for money for the public housing sectors. A wide range of house builders such as Bellway, Westbury, Bovis, Lovell, Willmott Dixon etc, are using prefabricated buildings in affordable housing projects and their use has increased substantially during 2003-05. If every household is to have the opportunity of a decent home, some fundamental changes will be needed not just to the mechanisms we use to deliver new homes – with reforms to the effectiveness of our planning system and our house-building industry. In conclusion, the issue of housing shortage within the UK may become one of the most significant social and economical problems being faced over the next twenty years. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation is to explore whether the implementation and use of Prefabricated Construction on a wide spread scale could have a significant positive impact on the housing Shortage currently being seen in the UK. There is a concern that in a number of critical areas, the emerging policy framework is based on unrealistic assumptions. It is questionable whether it will in practice deliver the necessary supply of houses to meet the UK’s economic and social requirements over the next twenty years. Literature Review â€Å"Britain is heading for a property shortage of more than a million homes by 2022 unless the current rate of house building is dramatically increased, according to reports from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).† The UK has been known for its shortage on housing over the past 10-15 years, and therefore there are many sources of literature relevant to the study. Such sources are Government Policies, reports, articles, books, surveys and case studies that outline the scale of the problem and give statistics, such as the number of homes that need to be built in order to relinquish this status in the UK. The shortage of housing is making house prices soar from year to year, making it much harder not only for general house buyers but especially for first time buyers. This issue does not seem to be focused on in any literature as there doesn’t seem to be any long term solutions for it, making this topic an ever growing problem. Government Report The Barker Report (2003) Review sets out a series of policy recommendations to address the lack of supply and responsiveness of housing in the UK. The report further goes on to outline a number of key factors which are to blame for the housing shortage, including the lack of houses being built as well as the extra provision of land by local authorities to make it viable for developers to achieve the build targets to decrease the housing shortage. The report argues that a UK housing Shortage is having widespread economic and social consequences. The government estimates that by 2016 there will be 3 million new UK households. It recently published the Sustainable Communities plan outlining a major new house building program to help meet the growth. The government is said to be encouraging Modern Methods of Construction, which it says can achieve â€Å"a step change in the construction industry to produce the quantity and quality of housing we need.† Housing completions are expected to steadily increase in the longer term in line with proposals and initiatives to address the general housing shortage, particularly the provision of more ‘affordable’ housing in key urban areas. However, a significant increase in completions is largely dependent on the overall economic environment, consumer confidence levels etc, in addition to land availability and the planning approvals process, which remains a key barrier to growth at present. While this was focused on in the Barker Review in 2004, house builders are reporting few improvements to date in the planning process and the availability of land for development is a key long term issue. On her follow up to the 2003 report, Barker 2004 states that planning authorities and processing of applications need to be improved, whilst also the availability of land is becoming increasingly harder. She pinpoints reforms to the planning system; incentives for local authorities to support development, and a higher turn around from the construction industry, including completing site developments as quick as possible. These issues need to be focused on as they are key elements that could be contributing to the current shortage in the housing market. Barker (2004) encouraged the government to change its planning policies to allow more houses to be built on Greenfield’s, as she claims at present there is not enough land available for the housing demand to be met. Barker also called for a substantial increase in productivity from the construction industry. She states in her review that to reduce the current rate of housing inflation from 2.4% to the EU average of 1.1%, an extr a 120,000 houses will need to be built per annum on top of the current output. The overall message from both Barker reports (2003/2004) is the clear need for more houses to be built in the UK, especially the large problem areas such as the South-East and London in order to become any closer to achieving larger number of homes available in the UK. However there are no recommendations on how it might be possible to reduce programme lengths and costs. This is a key area that needs to be identified within the dissertation. Mathiason (2003), already claimed that as long as inflation continues to rise, house builders will be under no obligation to build as they will be profiting from the land that they already own, as the price is ever increasing due to shortage. Perhaps the use of MMC and faster construction times would drive the developers to building on these lands, but they will never be fully implemented unless planning policies are also reviewed. Prior to the Barker review the Government drew up a Sustainable Communities Plan (OPDM, 2003) to tackle several issues, including the urgent requirement for affordable homes. The plan aims to set out a long term programme of action for delivering sustainable communities to both urban and rural areas. One of the vehicles highlighted for delivering these sustainable communities is off-site construction, with modern methods of construction earmarked for additional investment. It also suggests heavy investment in public transport and rail links in particular, to help with the decentralisation of London, which will combat the lack of available land and high demand for housing in the South east. The Sustainable Communities Plan (OPDM, 2003) also provides the Housing Corporation with an extra  £100m for its  £200m Challenge Fund for encouraging modern methods of construction. The Challenge Fund, run by the Housing Corporation offers incentives to developers using innovative methods for building communities. It is however, one of the only initiatives running to encourage the use of modern methods of construction. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2002a) predicted that Britain was heading for a housing shortage of more than a million homes by the year 2022. As well as launching Land for Housing, the report from a JRF Inquiry, the conference is debating Britain’s housing in 2022, the first in a series of working papers examining the long-term measures needed to tackle social disadvantage. Both warn that the impending housing crisis will hit hardest in London and the South. Although these regions contribute 70 per cent of the rising demand for new homes, only 50 per cent of new homes are currently being built there. By contrast, in the Midlands and the North, there are growing problems of low demand in some areas, and of empty and abandoned property. Lord Best, Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and author of the working paper, said: â€Å"We estimate that the difference between housing demand and supply will have widened into a yawning gap of 1.1 million homes in England alone by 2022: most of it in London and the South East. This genuinely shocking statistic shows why the time has come for policy makers to recognise that a plentiful supply of new and affordable homes is of the greatest importance the nation’s future health and prosperity.† AMA Research has published the Fifth Edition of the â€Å"House building Market UK 2006†. Recent changes in the overall housing market and corporate activity amongst house builders have renewed interest in the house building market. The fifth edition of this report focuses on the recent developments in this specific sector along with the characteristics and corporate activity of the leading suppliers to the sector. The report provides information on national and regional suppliers within the house building market and provides a comprehensive review of the major aspects of the new house building sector. Off-site construction has a reputation of producing drab, uncharacteristic boxes for homes within the UK population. However, the face of prefabricated homes has changed for the better with Dyckhoff (2003) commenting that they have been transformed into the speedy, affordable loft-style saviour of Britain’s housing market. What the literature above demonstrates is that there is a clearly growing problem with the housing market. Shortage of housing is increasing and still nothing has been pinpointed as the route cause, this seems to be an ever growing problem and a clear solution has not been found. Certain claims made by authors in previous articles and reports will need to be looked into for there validity, so that a clearer understanding can be brought across as to the route cause. In conclusion to the above, this dissertation will therefore be focusing on the following Research question: Methodology It is necessary to begin the dissertation by looking into the theoretical ideas behind the emergence of the shortage in the housing market. It is important to ensure that key information and research is collected using different methods of gathering data. Collecting relevant data will continue to develop my understanding of the housing Shortage in the UK and will overall develop the strength and success of the dissertation. The data collected will also suggest whether any previous attempts have been made to tackle this problem, and if so, are there any solutions that have already been put forward. The opening chapter will focus on the time where non-traditional constructions methods were called for. Special attention is given to how the Government and Local Authorities acted at the time. This will help in developing an understanding of when Modern Methods where first used and the reasons why they came about, which will follow on into the next chapter. Acknowledging the reasons for there use, and developing a detailed background on the housing sector, Chapter 3 analyses the state of the current housing market and the scale of shortage being experienced. Taking into account the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and its perceptions for the next twenty years, I will look into how many new homes are required to be built over the next coming years so as to rectify the current issue. This section will be implemented with the use of surveys, and data collected over the years that show the current yearly house building rate, and the prospective increase needed. I will also be taking into account the population increase due to migrant influx, higher number of divorce rate, higher life expectancy, and the birth rate. This information can be compared with the projected number of houses being built so that I can get an idea of possible key issues that are contributing to housing shortage. In conclusion this dissertation will focus on comparing the findings between traditional and modern methods of construction, which in whole will then be applied to the housing Shortage and possible methods of rectifying the problem. As well as comparing these methods of construction, it is also necessary to ascertain whether or not house builders today are building at their optimum rate. Once this is identified, the potential advantages of the scheme can then be applied to the rate at which they could be working. This will identify the possible gains from using MMC, and whether or not a significant reduction in house shortage can be adapted from this approach to construction. Chapter 2 Background Research Two features dominate the history of housing in Britain in the 20th century: state intervention in the mass production of housing for the working class, and the prolific suburban expansion of towns and cities. To some extent, the two overlap, but both emerged from a situation at the beginning of the century, when housing provision and quality of life had failed to keep up with the frantic pace of Victorian industrial development. Before the 1890s, the dire state of working-class housing had been improved by trusts and societies, who produced grim but safe and sanitary tenements, and there was little direct state intervention. The 1890 Housing Act empowered local authorities to purchase and demolish slum dwellings, and re-house their inhabitants. At the end of the First World War, there was an acute housing shortage. Beginning with Lloyd Georges Homes Fit for Heroes policy, four million new homes were built during the interwar period, 1.5 million of them directly by local councils or with the aid of state subsidy. During the war construction projects came to a halt, progressively worsening the housing shortage that had already existed before the war. The government already set plans to reconstruct and renovate sub-standard housing that where out dated, this and many other projects where all affected. 1919 brought in the â€Å"Town and Country Planning Act† which imposed obligation on local authorities to plan housing provision for their local towns. During the same period, given the situation of materials and skilled labour shortage, the local government board appointed a standardisation and new methods of construction committees to consider the question of standardisation in regard to materials, structural fitting and methods of construction (BRE, 1987). Bye-laws were also modified to allow the wider use of non traditional methods and materials (Ley, 2000). As well as this many other institutes, including British Research Satiation which has now become British Research Establishments, were also founded under the governments initiative to look for and trial new alternative materials and methods (Davenport, 1990). Between the First World War and Second World War various types of housing systems (prefab) were approved by the committees. At first, pressure applied to local authorities to provide houses in such a short space of time, with no direct incentive to economies, would encourage the use of those new methods regardless of their costs. However, detailed arrangements of subsidies changed several times after 1921 (Cornish and Clark, 1989) and local authorities could no longer disregard cost factor when considering new developments. In addition, the materials and skilled labour for the traditional construction methods came back on stream sooner than the government initially expected. As a result, construction of houses using new methods had virtually ceased by 1928 (Yates, 2001). The main contribution of the attempt was, therefore, providing a small number of additional houses, probably less than 250,000, compared to the total 4,500,000 buildings erected between 1919 and 1938 (Ross, 2002). The economic depression of the 1930s slowed the pace of house building, but the Second World War caused much greater damage: by 1945 nearly half a million homes had been destroyed, a quarter of a million were seriously damaged, and another three million suffered lesser damage. The immediate crisis was partly met by the rapid construction of 125,000 cheap pre-fabricated homes, but it was followed by a housing boom that equalled and exceeded that of the 1920s. As previously discussed in Chapter 1, after the world wars had ended in the UK and between the early 1950’s and late 60’s the construction industry experienced an extreme shortage within the housing sector which led to a great need of re-building. Due to the extremities the war created, traditional build was not an efficient enough method, leading to the introduction and use of Mass Production Methods. Following the Second World War there was an even greater demand for the rapid construction of dwellings. In 1942, well before the war had ceased, the government had appointed the Burt Committee which brought together people from different parts of the building industry, government departments and building research station (Bullock, 2001). The aim of the committee was to seek alternative materials and methods of construction suitable for the building of houses and flats, having regard to efficiency, economy and build ability, to be able to make recommendations for the post -war program. Post-War, the government planned new construction projects for the redevelopment of the housing sector, one of which was the development of 500,000 new dwellings with a completion time of 2 years (Davenport 1990). In the twelve years after the war, two and a half million new dwellings were constructed, three-quarters of them by local authorities. However, the construction of new housing was outpaced by the decay of existing housing stock. By 1963, 3 million people were still living in substandard housing, and official housing policy moved once again towards slum clearance and redevelopment. Prefabricated housing has been used in the UK during periods of high demand, such as after the World Wars and during the slum clearances of the 1960s. In total about 1 million prefabricated homes were built during the 20th century, many of which were designed to be temporary. However, problems arose over the quality of building materials and poor workmanship, leading to negative public attitudes towards prefabrication. Nevertheless it has continued to be used in the UK for hospitals, hotels and schools, as well as for housing in other countries. Although this is the case, prefabrication must be used in greater quantities widely, merely to see if it can make a difference to the housing shortage currently being experienced within the UK. MMC is a new term intended to reflect technical improvements in prefabrication, encompassing a range of on and off-site construction methods. The 20th century saw an enormous improvement in everyday housing conditions. Even in the early 21st century, local authorities are demolishing remaining high-rise blocks to make way for low-rise, high-density housing. During the early 60’s the Government set up the national building agency in order to urge local authorities to take up industrial system building (Rovetz, 2001). Local Governments and the Ministry of Housing also held a series of conferences to encourage and support industrial prefabricated system building in the mid 60’s (Jones, 2000). Additionally under the Housing Subsidy Act 1956, the arrangement of subsidies was changed in order that local authorities could receive more subsidies per flat if they built higher blocks of flats. The arrangement of this progressive height subsidy was abolished in the 1969 Housing Act. By the end of the 60’s, both high-rise and industrialised system building lost ground in the construction industry. Chapter 3 The Housing Shortage at Present â€Å"Britain is heading for a property shortage of more than a million homes by 2022 unless the current rate of house building is dramatically increased† according to reports from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). There are a series of short and long-term factors playing their part. The government wants to steady the UKs runaway housing market, and end its boom and break housing cycles. House prices in the UK have almost doubled since 1995 and many people are now unable to get a footing onto the housing ladder. There is also a lack of affordable or social housing. This problem of high house prices is compounded by the shortage of houses being built. In 2001 house building fell to its lowest level since 1924 excluding the war years and its immediate aftermath. New housing accounts for less than 10% of residential property transactions in England and Wales compared to 40% in 1965. The circumstances are likely to get worse before they get better. According to estimates, there are between 220,000 and 230,000 new households being formed annually (OPDM). Yet, only 165,000 homes were built in the year of 2002. If this was the case 5-6 years ago, then how is the housing shortage coping now? The population is increasing, while the average size of households is declining. This is caused by a range of demographic factors, such as increasing life expectancy, and more divorces. All in all, it adds more pressure to housing supply. The report lays much of the blame at door of the UKs planning authorities. Many who have tried and failed to obtain planning permission in recent years may echo the reports findings that the system is complex and takes an unacceptably long time. All in all, the report calculated that refusals for planning permissions in major housing developments increased from just 15% in 1996-1999 to 25% in 2002. The report also points out that if house building was to take-off in the UK skills shortages are likely to come into play. At present more than eight out of ten construction firms report skill shortages even modest growth would require 70,000 new workers the report concludes. As a result thousands of badly needed homes are not being built. However, at this stage the report makes no recommendations as to how the planning process can be quickened up. Housing shortages are set to become one of the most significant social issues of the next 20 years. Unless we act now, shortages will lead to overcrowding and homelessness. But they will also have knock-on effects for the whole of society, driving up house prices in areas of high demand, inhibiting economic growth and making it harder for good quality public services to be delivered. Property insiders, politicians and young people looking for homes in Britains thriving cities are united on one point: the country is in the grip of a serious housing shortage. But opinions are widely divided when it comes to placing the blame for a situation where, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the number of homes built during each of the past five years has remained static at 154,000, with the number of low-cost â€Å"social† houses being built falling from 16,999 in 2000-2001 to 13,601 in 2002-2003. As the buck is passed between housing professionals, planners, builders and the government, first-time buyers are left desperately trying get on the property ladder. â€Å"Slow planning is stifling. The government says councils should decide on most planning applications for 10 or more new houses within a maximum of eight weeks. But only 16% of decisions come in that time,† (House Builders Federation, HBF), which accuses councils in the north of England of deliberately preventing new homes from being built. The councils say that they already have enough new homes under construction, but the HBF disagrees. The Barker Review of Housing Supply was commissioned by the chancellor, Gordon Brown, to discover why Britain, the world’s fourth wealthiest economy, has a housing shortage with property prices beyond the reach of many. House building is at its lowest level since 1924; the gap between supply and demand widens by 60,000 annually — an average of 219,000 new households is created each year through longer lifespan, more solo-living from choice and an increasing divorce rate — and will exceed 1.1m in England by 2020; and the number of low-cost homes being built for housing association tenants is lower than at any time since 1995. Meanwhile, the government targets for about 225,000 new homes each year until 2016. The HBF says there is excessive public consultation and claims councils want ever-higher cash payments to improve the infrastructure in return for planning permission. It also says planners want so much social housing that it threatens the economi

A Tale Of Two Cities Notes :: essays research papers

A Tale of Two Cities - Book I (Chapters 1 - 4) Summary "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . ." Dickens begins A Tale of Two Cities with this famous sentence. It describes the spirit of the era in which this novel takes place. This era is the latter part of the 1700s - a time when relations between Britain and France were strained, America declared its independence, and the peasants of France began one of the bloodiest revolutions in history. In short, it was a time of liberation and a time of terrible violence. Dickens describes the two cities at the center of the novel: Paris, a city of extravagance, aristocratic abuses, and other evils that lead to revolution and London, a city rife with crime, capital punishment, and disorder. In both cities, the capabilities of an angry mob were a dangerous thing, to be feared by all. The tale begins on a road between London and Dover (in southern England) in 1775. Three strangers in a carriage are traveling along this dangerous road. The carriage encounters a messenger on a horse who asks for one of the passengers, Jarvis Lorry of Tellson's Bank. They are wary, because the messenger could be a highwayman, robber, or other undesirable. However, Mr. Lorry ventures out into the rain to receive the message. He recognizes the messenger as a man named Jerry, who works for Tellson's Bank, as well. Jerry tells him to wait at Dover for the young lady. Lorry tells Jerry to relay to the people at the Bank this message: Recalled to Life. Jerry has no idea what it means and rides off into the rain. Dickens then ponders how the heart of a person is a true mystery. Lorry can tell who or at least of what class the two other passengers are. Traveling on, Lorry dozes in and out of dreams. His dreams reveal to the reader that his mission is to metaphorically dig a man out of the grave. He dreams of imaginary conversations with this man he is to recall to life. "Buried how long?" Lorry always asks. "Almost eighteen years," replies the man. Lorry brings the man in his dreams to see a woman (the young woman of which Jerry the messenger spoke). But the man does not know if he still wishes to live or if he can bear to see the young lady after having been "buried" for eighteen long years.

John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath :: John Steinbeck Grapes Wrath Essays

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath Throughout his book, the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck employs the principles of Foucault’s theory that power exists as a result of consent. This is particularly the case in the relations between the Joad family. Chapter ten includes specific scenes in which the family members’ assumed positions of power are focused on and explained. When Jim Casy asks if he can accompany the Joads on their migratory trip to California, Ma looks to Tom to speak, â€Å"because he [is] a man†. Ma is clearly consenting to Tom’s power over her as a male figure, not because he told her he had the right to speak first, but because she allowed him to hold that prerogative. Foucault also argues that identity perception is related to various modes of discourse that are specific to historical eras; apparently, the idea that women are subordinate to men has been established in behavior, media, or any other entity that influences the way people think. When the rest of the Joad family returns on the truck after attempting to sell the last of their belongings, Steinbeck uses three pages to describe each family member’s place on the truck and why they belong there. Al is the â€Å"proud and serious and efficient† driver of the truck, earning the family’s respect for his responsibility in manning the vehicle. This exemplifies Foucault’s idea of transaction: the family consents to Al’s power because they will be affected if the truck malfunctions. Rose of Sharon is a balanced, self-satisfied, and all-knowing woman whose husband, Connie, is alarmed by the dramatic change in her behavior since the onset of pregnancy: although he once controlled her, he now feels weakened in his power because he has let her complacency control him. Pa and Uncle John, as â€Å"heads of the clan,† sit in the â€Å"honor seats† beside Al; however, Uncle John secretly wants Rose of Sharon to take his pla ce because he is uneasy inside and knows she is surer of herself. Uncle John’s power is one of dogma, while Rose of Sharon’s is self-asserted. The entire Joad family then holds a council meeting to discuss their plans for departure. Again, everyone has his or her ordained placement: the men squat in an inner circle, while the women stand around them.

The World Needs International Accounting Standards Essay -- Accounting

Financial reporting has a responsibility to communicate the economic condition and functioning of an enterprise. This has to be accurate, reliable and comply by the accounting standards. Effective financial reporting is essential in maintaining confidence in an economy and encouraging investors to invest. Towards the end of 2008, the financial sector across the world was becoming increasingly unstable. Lehman Brothers had been declared bankrupt, Various allegations towards accounting standards have been made in relation to the financial crisis. A lot of banks worldwide valued most of their financial assets at historic cost, the cost at which the assets were initially bought at. These figures were not adjusted to the current market values, and therefore were over estimated on the financial accounts. The ‘incurred loss model,’ was also heavily criticised. This model required only those losses to be recorded which would have a damaging result on future cash flows. The damaging result would have to be reliably estimated. This model did not permit the effects of future losses to be acknowledged, which was one of the reasons why losses were being severely understated. Had these banks valued their financial assets at fair-value cost, then the accounts of the companies would have been giving a more realistic Picture of profits & losses, and maybe the crisis would have been Recognised earlier in time. Off-balance sheet standards have also been blamed for covering company losses. Off-balance sheet asset/liabilities are those which are exempt from appearing on the balance sheet. It has been put forward by the Financial Crisis Advisory Group that the off-balance sheet standards may have hidden losses, therefore... ... risk factors. In response to the financial crisis, the Boards have been advised to emphasise to business entities how crucial it is that the quality of the data recorded for financial reporting should be to a high standard. A global convergence of accounting standards is more imperative than ever, as financial markets are now global markets. A uniform set of accounting standards around the world would enhance transparency, encourage efficient allocation of resources and would allow risks to be recognised. At the moment, over 100 countries have adopted to the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). The Boards have advised that economies that have not adopted the IFRS, should set a practical timetable for adopting these standards. It is not only vital to converge, but also to maintain common solutions and interpretations between economies.

Anglogold Ashanti: Analysis of Csr Strategy

AngloGold Ashanti An Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Essay 1 By: S. BLIDI ELLIOTT Index No. : EMBA 10110042 Course: Ethics, Social Responsibility and Governance Course No. : EMBA 663 Lecturer: Dr. Judy N. Muthuri Date: September 28, 2012 Word Count: 5,709 This essay is the first of a two-part series critically examining the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and performance of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA). This first essay analyses the company’s CSR strategy and activities against the yard sticks provided by the Ghana Business Code and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).In analyzing AGA’s strategy, we explore the likely motivating factors driving the company’s CSR activities and how these drivers inform AngloGold’s responsiveness to environmental, social and other stakeholder issues. In evaluating AGA’s CSR reporting and performance, we present a background of the company followed by an overview of the company’s CSR strategy and analysis of whether that strategy conforms to accepted standards.This essay is written in partial fulfillment of the course requirements of the Ethics, Social Responsibility and Governance module (EMBA 663) of the Executive Masters in Business Administration program of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI – AN OVERVIEW AngloGold Ashanti is a multinational corporation headquartered in South Africa with various mining operations in ten countries spread across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The company’s primary activity is gold mining, though silver and uranium, among other by products, are produced in the process of extracting the gold from the ore bodies.In 2011, AngloGold reported sales of $6. 6 billion from 4. 33 million ounces of gold produced with a workforce of close to 70,000 persons across four continents. AGA is a truly global company with market capitalization of $16. 2 billion and listings on stock exchanges in A ngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 2 Johannesburg, Accra, London, Sidney and New York. The company is majority owned by shareholders in the USA (47. 9%) and South Africa (27. 9%), with the rest of the shares distributed throughout the world, including a 1. % shareholding by the Government of Ghana (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011: 5-10). AngloGold produces dore (unrefined gold bars) at its worldwide operations for sale mainly to gold refineries which sell on to bullion banks and jewelers. Like others in the industry, AGA has benefitted from recent increasing demand for gold as a store of value. This demand has been driven over the last few years by the worldwide economic downturn and banking crisis which have made investors wary of unstable currency and equity markets.This essay focuses on AGA’s operations in Ghana, where the company operates two mining properties in the west of the country at Iduapriem and Obuasi. These operations account for 11. 8 % of the company’s global production and revenues (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011: 22) Located in the Ashanti and Western Regions of Ghana, Iduapriem and Obuasi were the main targets of the merger between AngloGold Limited of South Africa and Ashanti Goldfields Limited of Ghana to form the current company, AngloGold Ashanti, in 2004.SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY AngloGold Ashanti provides extensive, publicly available information about what the company calls its â€Å"sustainability† strategy and programs. The company’s â€Å"Sustainability Report 2011 – Sustainable Gold† (www. aga-reports. com/11/sustainability-report/home) is one part of AGA’s â€Å"Integrated Report 2011 – Pure Gold† which also includes the company’s Annual Financial Statements and a Mineral Resources and Ore Reserve Report. The company says its Integrated Report is in compliance with South Africa’s King Code on Corporate AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 3Governance 2009 (http://african. ipapercms. dk/IOD/KINGIII/kingiiicode/) which mandates companies operating in South Africa to issue a triple bottom line report on financial and sustainability performance. The King III Code further encourages companies to tailor their sustainability reports according to the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (www. globalreporting. org/reporting/latest-guidelines/g3-guidelines).AngloGold Ashanti appears to have gone to great lengths to remain compliant with the intent of King III Code by presenting sustainability and financial data as an integral part of the company’s governance and business strategy with strong emphasis on the company’s responsiveness to stakeholder issues. The company’s compliant posture is also evident in its reported reliance on the GRI Guidelines, the principles of the UN Global Compact (http://www. unglobalcompact. org/), and t he Sustainable Development Framework of the industry body, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) http://www. icmm. com/our-work/sustainable-development-framework). While AGA does not specifically mention the Ghana Business Code, acceptance of the principles of the UN Global Compact amounts to acceptance of the Ghana Code which is nearly a verbatim rendition of the Global Compact. AngloGold Ashanti in its Sustainability Report 2011 expresses a mission to: To create value for our shareholders, our employees and our business and social partners through safely and responsibly exploring, mining and marketing our products.Our primary focus is gold and we will pursue value creating opportunities in other minerals where we can leverage our existing assets, skills and experience to enhance the delivery of value. This mission statement gives early insight that the company’s CSR strategy is largely driven by an instrumental motivation (Maignan & Ralston, 2002: 498) to ac hieve performance objectives – creating value. A reading of the company’s values statement enhances this impression of a firm focused on CSR as a means to achieve strategic business objectives. AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 4AngloGold’s stated values are closely aligned with the 10 principles of the Ghana Business Code (Ghana Business Code, 2006). The firm’s first value statement â€Å"Safety is our first value†1 speaks of health and safety at the workplace in alignment with the principles on human rights and labour standards of the Ghana Business Code and the UN Global Compact. The second value statement â€Å"We treat each other with dignity and respect† deals with honesty and ethical business and social practices and is aligned with the human rights, labour and anti-corruption principles of the Ghana Code.AngloGold declares its intent to respect the Global Compact (and by extension the Ghana Code) in its o ther statements concerning the company’s value for diversity and its respect for the environment. Two of the company’s value statements are particularly noteworthy as they speak directly to the company’s sustainability strategy. In value statement 4, the company declares â€Å"We are accountable for our actions and undertake to deliver on our commitments†. This statement goes to the core of what some writers (eg.Crane, Matten & Spence, 2008:5) see to be an essence of corporate social responsibility – companies being accountable for negative impacts of their actions and taking the appropriate corrective and, in the best case, preventive measures. AngloGold’s value statement 5 â€Å"The communities and societies in which we operate will be better off for AngloGold Ashanti having been there† is a powerful statement of commitment by the company to go beyond the scope of its legal and economic responsibilities into the higher realms of â⠂¬Å"Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR† (Branco & Rodrigues, 2007:10). See Appendix for full text of AngloGold Ashanti’s Mission, Vision and Values Statements AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 5 AngloGold Ashanti’s Sustainability Report 2011 is a centralized, group level report, but its supplementary sustainability data and country reports provide a localized perspective of the company’s CSR performance, with particular reference to its performance in Ghana.ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI CSR REPORTING AND THE GRI The Global Reporting Initiative was established in 1997 with a mission to provide a common framework for CSR reporting based on globally accepted principles, concepts and metrics (Hedberg & Malmborg, 2003: 155). The Guidelines give firms a template for the content and presentation of their CSR reports to enable comparison with other such reports. The Guidelines are divided into two parts covering the reporting principles and guidance and the standard disclosures (https://www. globalreporting. org/resourcelibrary/G3-Guidelines-InclTechnical-Protocol. df). Part 1 of the Guidelines give guidance to firms on how to determine the content of reports based on principles of materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context and completeness. This Part also intends to help firms maintain the quality of their reports with regard to accuracy, timeliness, reliability and clarity. The overall objective is for reports to not only present the issues affecting individual firms, but how the firms’ social, economic and environmental performance contributes to sustainable development at the global level.Part 2 of the guidelines covers standard disclosures expected of companies in terms of their strategy and profile, approach of management to CSR issues and a common set of performance indicators. Disclosures on strategy are intended to establish the link between the firm’s business strategy and its governa nce and sustainability performance. AngloGold Ashanti appears to have embraced the GRI Guidelines in an effort to communicate its adherence to widely accepted CSR principles and processes. Hedberg andAngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 6 Malmborg (2003: 153) have suggested that a firm’s use of the GRI Guidelines is often motivated by the firm’s need to â€Å"seek organizational legitimacy† by using a globally respected template that would lend credibility to the company’s reports. AngloGold gives itself an A+ rating for adherence to the GRI Guidelines, meaning the company believes that its sustainability report includes reporting on all indicators of relevance to the GRI.In closely examining the AGA report for 2011, it is clear that AngloGold has closely followed the guidelines on what content to include and how to include it in keeping with the Standard Disclosures of the GRI. The first section of the Standard Disclosures calls for presentation of a high level analysis of the company’s strategy. AngloGold’s Sustainability Report 2011 adheres to this guideline through a statement from AngloGold CEO Mark Cutifani (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011:12) outlining the company’s vision and how this vision links with the company’s business strategy and sustainability performance.He outlines key focus areas for the company’s strategy, including health and safety for employees and business stakeholders, minimizing the environmental impact of operations, protection of human rights, maintaining efficiency in production, controlling costs, maximizing returns and â€Å"delivering value† to community stakeholders. AGA believes these strategic focus areas are consistent with the company’s definition of sustainable development because they cover the social, economic and environmental issues of most concern to the company and its stakeholders (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011: 13).Stakeholder pressure from a negative duty perspective (Maignan & Ralston, 2002:498) is evident when the CEO reports that â€Å"to our key stakeholders it appears we may have taken our local communities and the various levels of government for granted† (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011:13). This pressure from local communities, particularly communities around the AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 7 ompany’s operations at Obuasi and Iduapriem in Ghana, has pushed AGA to declare that its CSR strategy is centered on the concept of â€Å"rebuilding trust with local communities, regulatory authorities and government leaders† (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011:13) through an approach of creating mutually beneficial value for the company and the communities in which it operates. In line with the GRI Standard Disclosures, the CEO statement affirms engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including the Extractive Industries Transparency I nitiative (EITI) and the United Nations Global Compact in developing its CSR strategy and performance.AngloGold further identifies the key risks and impacts on sustainability and the effects on stakeholders that would affect the company’s long term performance. Among risks and sustainability trends of concern to the company is the issue of ‘resource nationalism’ which AngloGold describes as the tendency for governments to demand more returns from companies involved in extractive industries (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011:13). This resource nationalism is expressed through mining code revisions, increased royalty ayments and taxes, and increased demand for companies’ direct contribution to development initiatives. A related risk, from AngloGold’s perspective, is the issue of increased community activism around land use and availability of water. The company commits itself, in its 2011 report, to improve its performance in the areas of water and land use, waste disposal and environmental management. In conformity with the GRI, these commitments are expressed as performance targets which the company considers to be essential for its long term survival.AngloGold’s sustainability report provides extensive information profiling the company in keeping with section two of the GRI Standard Disclosures. The profile includes key information on shareholders, production levels, net sales, number of employees, AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 8 capitalization, and breakdown of all indicators by region and country operations, among other performance indicators. The company, in conformity with EITI, reports all payments to the Government of Ghana and local administrations (http://www. aga- reports. om/11/pdf/ghana. pdf). GRI guidelines provide specific environmental indicators required to be reported on by firms. AngloGold provides detailed data on reportable environmental incidents, energy efficiency, wa ter use efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and cyanide certification (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011: 6-7). The issue of water is of critical concern at AngloGold’s Ghana operations, because of what the company describes as Ghana’s high levels of rainfall and water run-off which make implementation of ‘closed loop’ systems for recycling water unfeasible.Gold mining operations require huge quantities of water which brings these operations into competition with community agricultural programs for this often scarce resource. AngloGold admits that mismanagement of water supply and quality can have severe impacts on gold production as well as on the health of mining communities. In its Ghana Fact Sheet, the company says â€Å"water quality and usage are of concern globally, but are particularly significant for operations in Ghana, where there is significant potential environmental and social impact and a high level of stakeholder scrutiny† (http://www . ga-reports. com/11/pdf/ghana. pdf). The company agrees, in its 2011 report, that its suboptimal management of water in Ghana has led to disputes with local communities, and that greater efforts are being put into place to address these shortcomings through what AGA calls its Global Strategy for Water Security. The GRI guidelines also encourage companies to report on a range of social performance indicators regarding labour practices, human rights and other societal concerns.The guidelines make reference to several internationally recognized standards and protocols, AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 9 particularly the International Labour Organization (ILO) Tripartite Declaration Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Conventions on Civil, Human, Politi cal, Social and Cultural Rights.AngloGold’s close adherence to the GRI Guidelines may be laudable, but leaves questions as to the company’s motivations. Hedberg & Malmborg in their work on the use of the GRI guidelines among companies in Sweden, suggest that companies are motivated to use the guidelines to â€Å"provide a good and established structure for their reports† (2003:159) in order to seek societal legitimacy, and that a main reason the guidelines are used is to get a proper design for their reports.Because the Guidelines give firms leeway to choose the level and depth of their reporting, and that little if any verification of reports is done by GRI, Hedberg and Malmborg suggest the Guidelines may lack a certain credibility which may negatively impact the company in the long term (2003: 163). Given the above perception of the credibility challenges of the GRI Guidelines, AngloGold’s CSR strategy needs to be subjected to closer scrutiny, beginning with an analysis of the company’s stakeholders and the stakeholder issues that drive AGA’s CSR strategy and activities.STAKEHOLDERS Branco and Rodrigues in their paper on stakeholder theory and CSR remark that stakeholder theory is â€Å"inescapable if one wants to discuss and analyze CSR† (2007: 5). Maignan & Ralston, in discussing CSR motivations, speak of a negative duty approach by which companies engage in CSR activities because of legitimacy issues and stakeholder pressure (2002: 498). Woods (1991:703-705) in her corporate social performance model, emphasizes AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 10 he vital role of stakeholder management in a firm’s processes of social responsiveness. Stakeholder theory makes the case that CSR performance is driven by a firm’s need to respond to and satisfy the interests of its stakeholders. Branco and Rodrigues point further to the tendency of firms to pay greater attention to thei r primary stakeholders as opposed to the issues of secondary stakeholders who are not necessarily â€Å"essential for a firm’s survival† (2007:7).As a multinational company operating labor-intensive operations on four continents, and with listings on multiple stock exchanges, AngloGold Ashanti must tread carefully in order to be responsive to conflicting stakeholder issues while maintaining its focus on its fiduciary responsibility to primary stakeholders, particularly the company’s shareholders. The company’s stakeholder management strategy appears to be based on what the company describes as the â€Å"risks and drivers† that allow its operations to be successful and create mutual value for its shareholders and communities.The company says its stakeholder engagement policy intends to assure that its operations continue to meet performance targets while generating returns for its shareholders and community stakeholders. This approach speaks directl y to the â€Å"instrumental† dimension of CSR as explained by Maignan & Ralston (2002:498). An instrumental approach from a negative duty perspective implies that AngloGold pursues stakeholder engagement, and indeed its entire CSR strategy, because it is compelled to do so by stakeholder expectations and pressure, and not out of any altruistic principles.This explains the strong motivation for the company to manage stakeholders to avoid negative impacts and risks to its operations that would be detrimental to its financial performance. This is an approach that can be observed in all aspects of the company’s stated CSR strategy, which may prompt cynics, as Ghillyer notes, to â€Å"see these initiatives as public AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 11 elations exercises with no real evidence of dramatic changes in the core operating philosophies†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2008:62). AngloGold Chairman Tito Mboweni, in a sustainability statement in the comp any’s Integrated Report (2011:8) says â€Å"being a good corporate citizen, as we seek to be, is a prerequisite for being a successful miner† and that â€Å"governments and their citizens are entitled to expect not only a fair fiscal return but also a mutually respectful and beneficial relationship between them and the companies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ .He however goes on to caution that â€Å"pushed too far, though, raised taxes and royalty rates will begin to discourage investment and reduce the overall value of the industry to both societies and shareholders. The regulatory environment is becoming increasingly complex and onerous. † The influence of stakeholders can be observed in the key issues driving AngloGold’s CSR strategy and emphasized in its Sustainability Report 2011. One such issue is what the company calls the trend toward greater â€Å"resource nationalism† among its stakeholder governments in the jurisdictions in which the company operates.Th e risk of resource nationalism impacts the company in terms of the increased community pressure on AngloGold to make explicit the benefits of its mining activities for communities and national economies, the increased community activism about access to and fair value received for scarce natural resources, and increased demand for higher tax and royalty payments to governments. AngloGold reports that it is responding to this stakeholder issue by developing a general framework to approach development in a more organized and systematic way.The company reports that it has increased its community investments in partnership with communities and local government administrations in an effort to demonstrate the benefits of what the company calls â€Å"responsible mining†. These measures can be seen as the company’s attempt to secure and maintain its legitimacy and social license to operate. AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 12 Artisanal and small-sc ale mining is another issue that has driven AGA’s corporate social response. This issue has particular resonance in Ghana where AGA mines properties which have for a great many years been mined by community members.The conflicts that have resulted from small-scale mining encroachments on AngloGold concession areas have led to charges of human rights violations against the company. These violations have included allegations of deaths resulting from AngloGold security interventions in â€Å"illegal† mining activities on the company’s concession area. In response to this stakeholder issue, AngloGold reports that it has become involved with initiatives in Ghana and at other operations to â€Å"formalize artisanal and small-scale mining in a way which will benefit local economies and create sustainable livelihoods† (AGA Sustainability Report 2011:16).The company says it is also cooperating with host governments to address the economic causes of illegal mining, and with international and industry organizations to develop common approaches. Of concern to AngloGold is the Dodd-Frank Act of the United States which requires the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish rules requiring certain companies to disclose their involvement with conflict minerals, particularly from the Democratic Republic of Congo where AngloGold maintains gold mining operations http://www. sec. gov/news/press/2012/2012-163. htm). The activities of illegal miners near AGA operations has the potential, the company believes, to taint the gold legally mined by AGA, especially in light of the global trend among consumers for â€Å"responsible gold† (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011:19) that does not contribute to conflict and human rights violations. AGA’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange makes it accountable to conform to the SEC’s rulings. AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & PerformancePage 13 Health and safety is anoth er multi-stakeholder issue emphasized by AngloGold in its 2011 report. The company reports that â€Å"safety and health are not only business imperatives, but are part of our obligation to operate with respect for human rights†. The health and safety of the company’s employees and the communities in which it operates is a pressing issue for nongovernmental organizations (NGO), governments and multilateral institutions interested in protecting the rights and preventing the exploitation of workers.AngloGold says it respects and values the ten principles of the UN Global Compact and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR) in the development of a â€Å"safety transformation framework† to address its less than adequate health and safety performance. The company lists safety as its first value and has set firm targets for reducing work related accident, injury and health frequency rates by 2015 (AGA Sustainability Report, 2011:11).The companyâ₠¬â„¢s malaria control program at Obuasi, Ghana, has received commendation from Ghana’s malaria control program and a $138 million grant from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria to enable the company step up intervention across Ghana. Ghana’s Daily Graphic newspaper reported in September 2012 (http://www. ghana. gov. gh/index. php/news/features/16095-anglogold-malaria-control-projectbenefits-40-districts) that AngloGold’s malaria program was set to benefit 40 communities in the Upper West, Upper East, Northern, Central and Ashanti regions of the country.Environmental and natural resource management is a prominent part of AngloGold’s CSR reporting in response to stakeholder interest, especially in Ghana where the company’s contamination of community water resources has been a contentious issue for many years. The company has accepted its liability for polluting the rivers around its Obuasi and Iduapriem operations in Ghana. The dr astic situation resulted in the suspension of the company’s operations by the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency in 2007. The companyAngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 14 claims these environmental issues are legacy problems which are being addressed through the implementation of more technologically advanced water management techniques (AGA Ghana Fact Sheet, 2011:4). AngloGold claims to have made extensive efforts to improve its CSR performance in Ghana particularly regarding land and water use, environmental protection and community investment. In 2011, the company commissioned an â€Å"independent† sustainability review panel to assess its performance in Ghana.The panel reported, in part, that â€Å"success at Obuasi requires that the company address Obuasi systematically in its planning, its engagement and communications, its investments, its governance and its development of capabilities† (AGA Sustainability Report 2011: 23). The challenges faced by the company in CSR performance in Ghana were highlighted in 2011 when the company was given the dishonor of receiving the Public Eye Award for 2011 for the company’s â€Å"irresponsible corporate behavior† (Public Eye Awards, 2011).The Public Eye Awards are run by Berne Foundation and Greenpeace to coincide with the annual World Economic Forum at Davos and call attention to CSR issues by naming and shaming multinationals seen to be culpable in environmental and social issues. The citation for the ‘award’ claimed that: The South African mining company AngloGold Ashanti contaminates land and people with its gold mining in Ghana. To extract 30 kg (66 lb) of gold, 6,000 tons of rock are mined every day, then ground up and mixed with cyanide in tanks.The highly-toxic mining waste is kept in large storage ponds that contaminate rivers and wells, as well as all those who (must) drink from them. Where there was once cultivated land, now the ground is contaminated and can no longer be farmed. In addition, in the company’s own guard houses, several suspects were tortured, and dogs were set on people; there have been fatalities as a result. Although the ecological and social problems in the mines – some mines are up to 100 years old – have been documented by authorities, NGOs and the company itself – and even AngloGold Ashanti committed itself in 2004 to improveAngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 15 the situation – things have in fact worsened since then. No wonder AngloGold Ashanti received the worst possible rating for social and environmental protection from the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency in a recent industry comparison. AngloGold has responded by claiming that its Public Eye award was â€Å"undeserved† and that its environmental and human rights record in Ghana should be seen in the context of the over 100 years of mining in Ghana usin g methods which are not acceptable by today’s standards.The company claims that it has invested heavily to improve the infrastructure and processes at its Ghana mines and that resolving all legacy issues would require more time (www. ghanachamberofmines. org/site/news/details. php? id=33). The company says it has worked closely with Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remedy environmental concerns, but the EPA’s AKOBEN Programme (http://www. epaghanaakoben. org/) in 2010 gave AngloGold AKOBEN’s lowest overall rating of â€Å"Red†, indicating poor performance in environmental management.AKOBEN is an initiative of the Ghana EPA to monitor, evaluate and disclose environmental and social performance. The AKOBEN rating appears to buttress a 2011 report by Ghana’s Centre for Environmental Impact Assessment (CEIA) which alleged that discharge from AngloGold operations in Obuasi and Tarkwa had polluted some 262 streams with resulting hi gh incidence of keratosis, other skin diseases and type II diabetes (http://environmentalwatchman. blogspot. com/2011/08/mining-activities†¦ ). This report has not been independently confirmed.The negative impact of AngloGold’s gold mining on the environment, agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of Ghanaian communities has been extensively researched by Aragon and Rud who have reported that â€Å"†¦we find that mining has reduced agricultural productivity by almost 40%. This result is driven by polluting mines, not by input availability†¦ we find that the mining activity is associated with an increase in poverty, child AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 16 malnutrition and respiratory diseases†¦the actual fiscal contribution of ining would not have been enough to compensate affected populations† (2012:1). These negative reports tend to give credence to a criticism of CSR reporting as being window dressing far rem oved from actual performance. Haigh and Jones argue that there are â€Å"inherent contradictions between the pursuit of economic growth and goals of ecological maintenance and social justice† (2006:1) and that managers would not expend resources on CSR if they do not expect CSR to maximize â€Å"the gap between revenues and relevant costs† (2006:2).Haigh and Jones contend that companies have a â€Å"Business first (profit and market share) and Society second (other stakeholders in line after stockholders)† (2006:3) approach, suggesting that a firm’s CSR performance is a reaction to â€Å"first mover CSR strategies of competitors† out of fear of losing market position (2006:2). The Haigh and Jones argument does not detract from Woods who asserts that corporate social performance (CSP) is not â€Å"completely distinct from business performance† (1991:693).In Woods’ model of CSP, a company’s performance should be evaluated on the basis of the social responsibility principles motivating the company, the extent to which that company uses CSP processes and the societal impact of that company’s programs and activities (1991:693). AngloGold’s CSR reporting appears to be fairly consistent with the Woods CSP model. The company seeks to secure its license to operate and establish its legitimacy through its stated compliance with legal, economic and regulatory requirements.This is the expected behavior of a firm in line with the institutional principle of Woods’ model (1991:695). Woods’ organizational principle of public responsibility is expressed in AngloGold’s acceptance of responsibility for the negative outcomes of the company’s activities, as indicated, for AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 17 example, in AngloGold’s actions to clean up and prevent continued pollution of waterways in Ghana.Woods’ managerial discretion principle is articulated in the statements of AngloGold’s CEO and Chairman reaffirming the company’s commitment to be a good corporate citizen as expressed in the company’s philanthropic contributions to communities and the company’s community investments in feeder road repairs, health programs, youth apprenticeship programs, sustainable alternative livelihoods programs and other activities intended to improve the communities’ quality of life, above and beyond the company’s legal obligations.The second facet of Woods’ CSP model concerns a company’s use of processes of corporate social responsiveness. Woods says that â€Å"responsiveness complements but does not replace responsibility† and that â€Å"responsiveness provides an action counterpoint to the principled reflection of social responsibility† (1991:703). AngloGold appears to fulfill the three conditions Woods identifies as being characteristic of a socially responsi ve firm: 1) The company monitors and assesses environmental conditions 2) it actively manages its stakeholders and 3) manages the resultant stakeholder issues.AngloGold’s Sustainability Report 2011 is a testament to the depth of environmental scanning engaged in by the company in determining the risks and opportunities impacting the company. An extensive appraisal was done earlier in this paper of the company’s management of its stakeholders and stakeholder issues. It can safely be concluded, based on the company’s reporting, that AngloGold is a socially responsive firm.The third facet of Woods’ model involves the observable impacts of a company’s programs and policies (1991:708). The impacts of AngloGold’s CSR activities may be evaluated through the company’s reporting against social indicators such as that contained in the GRI AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 18 Guidelines mentioned above and can be obs erved in the positive results seen in AngloGold’s programs such as its highly commended malaria control activities in Ghana.Outcomes can also be observed, according to Woods, in the company’s institutionalization of policies to address stakeholder issues. CONCLUSION It is an easy conclusion to reach that AngloGold Ashanti is very adept, from the evidence of its CSR reporting, at hitting all the right notes in its effort to be seen as a socially responsible company. The company’s instrumental motivation in strong alignment with a negative duty motivation, far outweighs other factors as the driver of AngloGold’s CSR strategy and activities.The company’s diverse stakeholders – from shareholders in London and Johannesburg, and the SEC in New York, to the villagers of Iduapriem and Obuasi in Ghana and all others in between – present a multitude of issues that the company tries to address, using the GRI Guidelines and other international st andards, in its Sustainability Report 2011. The universal principles expressed in the Ghana Business Code are those the company professes to be the bedrock of its corporate value system, and against which the company reports its performance.AngloGold’s CSR performance in Ghana is far from adequate, but the company is transparent in publicly reporting these shortcomings. 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Global Compact. http://www. unglobalcompact. org/, first accessed September 2012 AngloGold Ashanti: Analysis of CSR Strategy & Performance Page 22 APPENDIX AngloGold Mission To create value for our shareholders, our employees and our business and social partners through safely and responsibly exploring, mining and marketing our products. Our primary focus is gold and we will pursue value creating opportunities in other minerals where we can leverage our existing assets, skills and experience to enhance the delivery of value. AngloGold Values