Monday, January 27, 2020

Glass Squash Court Analysis Engineering Essay

Glass Squash Court Analysis Engineering Essay The intention of this proposal was to testing the trinquete for Prospec LTD. The trinquete is a special court for indoor ball games and games played in trinquete are very similar to squash. This testing assess whether the product is structurally suitable for use in ball game courts. Their critical failure modes were to be established in order to assess and improve upon the design. World squash federation recommends using of safety glass in situations where a risk of human impact can result. Around 30 years ago, in Sheffield the glass company by name Ellis Pearson produced the first glass back wall for a squash court. But in the 80s along came chemical giant ICI and produced a Perspex (plastic) court and suddenly glass was too heavy and uneconomical. So Ellis Pearson (now going under the name of Prospec) forgot their roots and started using Perspex. (Ref: GLOBAL GALLERY June 2003, Martin Bronsteins astigmatic view of the world of squash) Prospec Ltd offers a complete range of squash court packages including wet plaster and dry panelled surfaces, flooring and the Ellis Pearson Glasswall system. Prospec is considered to be the market leader in the UK for the supply and installation of World Squash Federation (WSF) approved squash courts and Glasswalls. Prospec have installed more than 30,000 Ellis Pearson Glasswalls round the world for Squash, Racquetball and Pelota. Prospec LTD manufactures toughened glass squash courts that meet the stringent specifications of the World Squash Federation. This glass carries WSF certification for both two and four panel backwall systems. Prospec Toughened Safety Glass meets the performance requirements of all national building regulations, based on test requirements of local authorities as well as the WSF. Installation of these glass walls is carried out by operatives trained by Prospec Court Systems Ltd., either direct or through Contractors who specialise in fitting out squash courts. Installation will be done according to the world squash federation technical standards. Introduction For centuries people have played games that involve hitting balls with racquets against wall or back and forth to each other across a net. The most common example is tennis. In 19th century the prisoners were exercised by making them hit small and hard ball around the walls of a large room in the Fleet prison in London, England. A trinquete is a special court for various indoor versions of Pelota (Spanish for ball). It has the same characteristic feature of a squash court. The Pelota is a traditional sport played in more than 52 countries. Pelota is a name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using ones hand, a racquets, a wooden bat or a basket against a wall. These game is played by two or four players, with two team face to face separated by a line on a ground or a net. Today,  Pelota  is widely played in several countries: in the  Basque Country  and their neighbours; in  Valencia  where it is considered the national sport; and in rural areas of Ireland, Belgium, North of Italy, Mexico, Argentina and other American countries. The reason for the dramatic growth of these type games is because these sports combine fitness, fun and competition. This is an international sport played between two or four players in a four walled court with a small hollow rubber ball by hitting rubber ball against walls. The players strike the ball alternately on to the front wall, which is 4.75 meters high. Players can hit the ball directly to the front wall or use the sidewalls and rear wall to create subtle winning shots. Playing squash type games develops speed, endurance, agility, coordination and court savvy. The average length of the game is less than 45 minutes. The popularity of the game is due in large part to the competitive workout it generates in a small span of time. These games are simple to learn and its difficult to master. The challenge is to achieve goal against more skilled opponent and youll play as you improve. This game is mentally and physically draining and at the end of the day you will be satisfied and exhilarated and possibly a little tired. A trinquete is a special court for various indoor versions of Pelota. Trinquete measures 28.5m long and it has different shape than the other courts, with an inclined roof along the left wall. Left wall of the trinquete is constructed by toughened glass. Trinquete is constructed by many materials providing suitable rebound and safe to play; however, the World Squash Federation publishes court specification which recommends standards. Types of wall systems: (Ref: http://www.andersoncourts.com/wall.htm) 1) Armourcoat hard plaster: is 100% gypsum based plaster system formulated with high impact resistance. This is been installed in over 40 countries and accreditation with world squash federation. This system contains no cement based product, hence eliminating shrinkage and stress cracking. The total system thickness is 12.7mm consisting of 2 layer of base coat plaster and 3 layers of finish coat plaster which is applied on wet for permanent bond and smooth finish. Armourcoat requires no painted finish, finished coat available in blue, green, white and yellow colour. Armourcoat walls can be cleaned using household, non-abrasive cleaners with scouring pads and rinse with clean water. 2) Doweloc edge grain: is superior in quality and durability, longevity proven is 60+ years court and still in play. Doweloc is a Northern hard maple; edge grain system consists of tongue and groove wood strips held securely by the aluminium dowel. Each 12inch section is composed of 14 edge grain pieces. Walls are then painted to secure wood based on the usage of the court. 3) High density fiberesin panel: is the pre finished playing surface and engineered specifically for racquetball, handball and squash courts. It is a solid and rock hard sheet material used to meet a rigid specification and requirements demanded for the fast action sports court. It is composed of high density particle board cores and multiple layers of thermalset resin impregnated sheets that are moulded in hydraulic presses under controlled heat and pressure into sheets of varying thickness and density. Fiberesin requires no refinishing and only occasional washing. Glass walls: is a substitute for the walls which been mentioned above, since 1980s guaranteeing to meet world squash federations high technical standards. Glass walls are transparent, so it makes game visible for spectators. Walls must not only be transparent, it has to be tough enough to rebound the hard ball without breaking. Since normal glass is not hard to withstand the pressure of the ball toughened glass is used. Toughened or tampered glass is very much strong and satisfies all the standards of world squash federation, like strength, transparency and safety etc. The 12mm toughened glass panels are designed to provide a flush finish and easy panel adjustment and alignment. The panels are joined by special patch fittings and 15mm thick glass fins. Joints between the glass panels are filled with a clear silicone sealant, to complete the continuity of the glass and ensure a true playing surface that is tough enough to withstand pressure from either ball or player. This joint configuration distributes and reduces stresses, minimizes deflection, vibration or damage, and provides true ball rebound. Toughened glass Toughened glass  is much stronger than normal glass, having been processed by controlled  thermal  or chemical treatments to increase its strength. Toughened glass is impact resistant, and it is made from annealed glass which is heated and then rapidly cooled. Thermally toughened safety glass offers first order mechanical characteristic. This is the only glass exhibits well establishment and reliable mechanical capacity under static and dynamic load with resistance to impact properties conforming to regulations and European standards. The glass usually shatters into small fragments instead of sharp shards when broken, making it less likely to cause severe injury and deep lacerations. Toughened glass is used in a variety of applications as a result of its safety and strength. (ref: Toughened Glass: Mechanical Properties and EN 12600 Behaviour Michel Dubru, Glaverbel S.A. Jean-Clement Nugue, Saint-Gobain Guy Van Marcke de Lummen, Glaverbel S.A) The manufacture of toughened glass Flat glass is toughened in an oven, the glass is transported on rollers and in rolled back and forth inside oven and heated in a temperature between 600 and 700 °c until glass become soft. A softened glass is rolled out of the oven into air shower where both the side of the glass is cooled rapidly. The inside of the glass is hot and soft while the outer surface of the glass cool, solidify and contract due to thermal contraction. After this the inside glass cool, solidify and contracts. The outer surface is already cold when the inner region begins to solidify, so contraction in the inner region squeezes the outer surfaces. Hence the region near the outer surface experiences high compressive force and which is balance by the tensile force generated at the inner surface. The toughening process produces a safety glass which is very strong. The rapid cooling places the internal stresses on the glass which allow it to be strong and break into regular cubes. Due to the internal stresses the toughened glass cannot be broken into the required dimension, therefore all shapes will be done before the toughening process. Toughened glass surface is more resistant to impact. The same object thrown would create a hole in a pane of annealed glass would likely bounce back when compared to toughened glass. Because of this impact resistant and bouncing nature, toughened glass is used in trinquete and squash courts. (ref: www.picams.com.au//Toughened%20glass%20-%20with%20an%20achilles%20heel.pdf) DATA TABLE: Mechanical Properties Quantity Value Unit Youngs modulus 50000 100000 MPa Bending strength 200 200 MPa Physical Properties Quantity Value Unit Thermal expansion 9 9 e-6/K Thermal conductivity 0.9 0.93 W/m.K Specific heat 840 850 J/kg.K Melting temperature 1100 1100  °C Service temperature 0 700  °C Density 2500 2800 kg/m3 Resistivity 1e+18 1e+18 Ohm.mm2/m Environmental Data Quantity Value Unit Ex (in) / Ex (out) 38.1609195402299 MJ/MJ Remark: Has to be made to measure before hardening. Available in 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12mm thickness (Ref: http://www.matbase.com/material/glass/toughened-glass/thermal/propertie) RECOMMENDED STANDARDS OF CONSTRUCTION (Ref: http://www.worldsquash.org/uploads/Court%20Specs%20-%20With%20Diagrams.pdf) International Squash court has been constructed from glass or transparent materials, to make game visible for the spectators. Spectator areas may be located behind the plane of any wall of the court. The play is televised, filmed, photographed or recorded from above the court or through any of the walls. No camera or any equipment is projected into the court or below the clear height of the court. Camera panels may be incorporated in any part of the court playing walls provided that any such panel shall. Court dimensions and tolerances: is the important standard which has to be taken into account. The length of the court is 28500mm and with tolerance of plus or minus 10mm. The Court Walls should be vertical to within plus or minus 5mm in a height of 2 metres when measured within 250 mm of each corner of the court and at three additional intermediate points evenly spaced along the length of each wall. The court walls shall be straight to within plus or minus 15 mm in the length of any wall when measured horizontally at a height of 1 metre above finished floor level. The floor shall be level to within plus or minus 10 mm in the length, width and on the diagonals of the court. The walls of the court and all the components should be capable of withstanding all the stresses due to impact of the ball, racquet and the player, and glass must get permanent or temporary damage. Mass of the player should be considered, glass might be damaged when the player falls on the wall. The mass of the player is equivalent to 100kg and co-efficient of absorption is 47 %( i.e. 47% of the impact energy is observed by the body and remaining 57% energy will be transmitted on the wall). Where courts have transparent walls they shall be constructed of safety materials tested in accordance with the appropriate national standard and shall meet the stated requirements for safe breakage. The walls of the court must not deflect for the impact of the ball in such a manner that rebound of the ball is affected. The walls may deflect under the impact of players; however, it should not deflect to such an extent or in such a manner so as to affect the safety of the players. The wall which deflects shall return back to its original static position within one second of the impact, as a result of deflections the wall must not suffer from any permanent and temporary damages. All walls of the court shall have a hard and smooth finish. Any front or side walls, or any transparent panel in the playing surface of the front or side walls, shall be treated and/or lit in such a manner as to make it non-reflecting when viewed from inside the court. The average reflectance of the front and side walls shall not be less than 50% at any point when in a clean condition. The reflectance of the front and side walls shall not vary at any point by more than plus or minus 5% of the average reflectance. The ball shall rebound truly on striking all parts of the playing walls. The ball rebound shall be consistent over the whole area of each wall. All wall surfaces including transparent materials shall have surface friction such that the pace and wall angle characteristics are equivalent to that encountered in a plaster court. Any open joint in the finish of a wall of panel construction shall not deflect the rebound of the ball in any way. There shall be no protrusions of any kind into the court at the junction of one wall with another. The bounce of the ball shall be of even height and pace over the whole area of the floor. When viewed from vertically above the line of flight of the ball, the linear path of the ball shall not be affected when it bounces on the floor. SPECIFICATIONS www.worldsquash.org//Court%20Specs%20-%20With%20Diagrams.pdf GLASS All walls and fins are 12mm clear tempered or toughened glass with finished edges. All holes on the playing side are countersunk and dimensioned to receive special flush mounted fittings and hardware. A clear silicone compound is used to bond all joints. No glass-to-glass or glass-to-metal contact is permitted. FITTINGS All glass-to-glass connections are manufactured in hi-tensile GSM Nylatron. Nylatron GSM is a cast and partially cross-linked. Nylatron GSM is manufactured by modifying Nylon 6 material by a carefully controlled level of finely divided particles of molybdenum disulphide additive. The  molybdenum disulphide enhances its bearing and wear behaviour without impairing the impact and fatigue resistance inherent to unmodified cast nylon grades. All parts are moulded for maximum strength. These parts will have tensile strength of 773 to 984 kg/cm ² with Hardness durometer of 2.3 and Shear strength of 541 to 668 kg/cm ². Base angle brackets which is been used to fix wall to the floor and are available in either steel or anodized aluminium. Size of the brackets will be 12 x 3 x 2 1/2 x 1/4. Two anchor bolts of 11mm dia. x 89mm are used for each angle bracket. Aluminium channels of size 25 x 25 x 3mm and Aluminium angles of size 50 x 50 x 6mm are used to hold panels and attached to fins. MANUFACTURERS OF GLASS WALLS (Ref: England squash and racketball, technical information sheet number 1, march 2010) Complete glass wall systems, court doors, view windows and moveable glass walls as supplied by many glass manufacturing companies. The glass wall is supported by glass fins, aluminium L angle, aluminium posts, or aluminium tube frame. World Squash Federation (WSF) is the governing body for the game of Squash and racquetball throughout the world and is therefore responsible for setting standards for courts and equipment. In order to continue the process of ensuring that courts are built to appropriate standards, it has introduced a scheme whereby materials and components may be tested against the standards set by the Federation. The WSF assess the manufacturer based on the following criteria: Court must be easy to install Suitable performance characteristics Reliability Ease of maintenance Efficiency of back u service Court contractors The companies listed below will liaise with the architect builder regarding the background surface requirement prior to fitting out. COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME SQUASH LEISURE SERVICES Tel:(01895) 450800 Fax: (01895) 450801 email:[emailprotected] Web: www.squashandleisure.co.uk 5 Sarum Complex Salisbury Road Uxbridge UB8 2RZ Contractor PROSPEC LTD Tel: (01709) 377 147 Fax: (01709) 375 239 email: [emailprotected] P O Box 48 Canklow Meadow Estate West Bawtry Road Rotherham S60 2XP Contractor COURTCRAFT LTD Tel: (01942) 881500 Fax: (01942) 881501 email: [emailprotected] www.courtcraft.co.uk Logic House 31 Gibfieid Park Ave Gibfield Business Park Atherton Manchester M46 0SY Contractor Prefabricated court systems COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME ASB CONSTRUCTION LTD Tel: (01548) 580669 email: [emailprotected] www.asbsquash.com Huccombe House Huccombe Kingsbridge Devon TQ7 2EP Selfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœsupporting sand filled system plus a wall lining system. A sliding wall system is also available. Rainbow coloured court system. PROSPEC COURT SYSTEMS LTD. Tel: (01709) 377147 Fax: (01709) 375239 email: [emailprotected] P O Box 48 Cranklow Meadow Estate West Bawtree Road Rotherham S60 2XP Respatex Squash Court Panel System (prefabricated) Wall plasters COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME ARMOURCOAT LTD Tel: (01732) 460668 Fax: (01732) 450930 email: [emailprotected] Morewood Close London Road Sevenoaks Kent TN13 2HU Armourcoat Hard Court Plaster (white). REBOUND INTERNATIONAL LTD Tel: (0161) 929 7758 Fax: (0161) 929 7786 Mob: 07818 046464 email: [emailprotected] Copley Square Charter House Woodlands Road Altrincham WA14 1HF Rebound Plaster (white) Flooring contractors COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME V A HUTCHISON FLOORING LTD Tel: (01243) 841175/841127 Fax: (01243) 841173 email: [emailprotected] Units 1,2 3 Building NA Beeding Close Southern Cross Trading Estate Bognor Regis West Sussex PO22 9TS Flooring Contractors Maple Beech New Levelling System Cross Batten System Glass walls COMPANY ADDRESS SYSTEM/TRADE NAME PROSPEC COURT SYSTEMS LTD Tel: (01709) 377147 Fax: (01709) 375239 email: [emailprotected] PO Box 48 Canklow Meadows Estate, West Bawtry Road, Rotherham S60 2XP Ellis Pearson Glasswall System SQUASH LEISURE SERVICES LTD Tel: (01895) 450800 Fax: (01895) 450801 email: [emailprotected] 5 Sarum Complex Salisbury Road Uxbridge UB8 2RZ SLS Glasswall System FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is the most important tool for the mechanical design engineer. The desire for more accurate design in complex situations is the reason for the development of FEA, and allowing improvement in both design procedures and products. The growing demand of FEA has made possible for the creation of computation engines which are capable of handling the huge volume of calculations and carryout analysis and display results. FEA is now available at a practical cost to virtually all engineers and designers. Pro/Mechanica offers much more than simply an FEA engine. Pro/Mechanica is one of the modules of pro-engineer, which is widely used to understand structural and thermal product performance. Moreover, unlike many other commercial FEM programs where determining accuracy can be difficult or time consuming, Pro/M will be able to compute results with some certainty as to the accuracy. This saves cost, time and physical prototyping. By studying the product behaviour in early stage, we can improve quality and time, cost and efforts. In todays competitive market the design team is forced to get the product right at first time. When the team has to rely on prototype models to test product behaviour, schedule and budget has to be compromised. Standalone CAE offers a solution but its usually disconnected with CAD solutions, hence engineers have to spend lot of time in preparing prototype models for analysis. Then each time there could be design change and have to repeat the process. Special ski ll sets are required for CAE users. Pro/ Mechanica is the faster and smart way to analysis the product and easy to use the solution. In Pro/Mechanica we can identify where the higher stress area is and any changes in model design can be done to avoid the concentration of the stress and failure of the product. One best part in Pro/Mechanica is once we identify the problem, we are allowed to change the design and regenerate and analyse again. This saves lot of time and efforts to reproduce the design. Pro/Mechanica has an ability to evaluate the product performance virtually; onscreen and this gives an engineer to explore new ideas and then optimize their design. This gives a confidence to an engineer and fewer changes may require during prototyping, hence delivering superior quality to the market. Steps in preparing FEA model for solutions There are several steps to be followed in the analysis, starting from the simplified geometric model. 1. Identify the model type 2. Specify the material properties, model constraints, and applied loads 3. Discretize the geometry to produce a finite element mesh 4. Solve the system of linear equations 5. Compute items of interest from the solution variables 6. Display and critically review results and, if necessary, repeat the analysis Create geometry with PRO/E Model type Simulation parameters: Material property Constraints Loads Discretize model to form finite element mesh Setup and solve linear system Compute results Review The overall procedure is illustrated in the above figure. The steps must be executed in order, and each must be done correctly before proceeding to the next step. The steps shown in the figure are: 1. The geometric model of the part is created using Pro/ENGINEER. 2. The model type must be identified before entering Pro/Mechanica. The default is a solid model. 3. This is an important step where we need to define parameters. Specify material properties for the model. All the elements will not have the same properties. The different parts can be made of different materials in an assembly. Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio must be known for stress analysis. Pro/Mechanica consists of set of materials in the library, which can be directly used to assign material. Identify the constraints on the solution. In stress analysis, there could be fixed points, points of specified displacement, or points free to move in specified directions only. Specify the applied loads on the model, like loads on surface, edges etc 4. Once all the above steps are completed, we can set up and run a processor that actually performs the solution to the posed FEA problem. This starts with the automatic creation of the finite element mesh from the geometric model by a subprogram within Pro/M called AutoGEM. Pro/M will trap some modelling errors here. The processor will produce a summary file of output messages which can be consulted if something goes wrong for example, a model that is not sufficiently constrained by boundary conditions. 5. FEA produces immense volumes of output data. The only feasible way of examining this is graphically. Pro/M has very powerful graphics capabilities to examine the results of the FEA displaced shape, stress distributions, mode shapes, etc. Hard copy of the results file and screen display is easy to obtain. 6. Finally, the results must be reviewed critically. In the first instance, the results should agree with our modeling intent. For example, if we look at an animated view of the deformation, we can easily see if our boundary constraints have been implemented properly. The results should also satisfy our intuition about the solution (stress concentration around a hole, for example). If there is any cause for concern, it may be advisable to revisit some aspects of the model and perform the analysis again. Benefits: Pro-engineering Mechanica gives the clear picture of the product performance, and discovers design flaws at early stage. This helps a designer to make any changes in the design and deliver superior quality at first time. Improves user efficiency with an intuitive, familiar user interface Mechanica gives realistic performance solutions and this data can be used to improve the quality of the product by directly applying real world conditions to design geometry. There is lot of limitation in analysing physical prototype; these are overcome by Mechanica in which more scenarios can be evaluated. This save lot of time by avoiding prototypes and analysis time is very less when compared to any other type. Mechanica reduce errors by working in a seamlessly integrated design and simulation environment with no data translation. Simultaneously designing and simulating design variations gives a new idea for an engineer. Thus give an opportunity for innovations. Development cost for the product is decreased by reducing the cost of the prototype or by eliminating the prototypes. (ref:http://www-ipe.uni-duisburg.de/Rechnereinsatz/lehre/pw_download/cad2_cae_promech_tut_toogood_2.pdf) TESTING All glazing material must undergo impact load and environmental test requirements and should be labelled by manufactures as per part 1201 SAFETY STANDARD FOR ARCHITECTURAL GLAZING MATERIALS. The impact load being applied at a height of 1100mm to 1500mm above the playing surface, since the ball hits maximum on these heights. Glass walls must satisfy the following conditions: A glass wall in racquetball or squash court subjected to impact load shall remain undamaged following a test impact. The deflection of the walls shall not be greater than 1.5 inches (38mm) at the point of impact. (Ref: Oregon structural specialty code, 2007, chapter: glass and glazing) Testing Equipment The impact test frame is used to minimize the movement and deflection of the specimen during test. The testing equipment used for testing glass panels are shown below. The test specimen will be placed in a frame and the four edges kept fixed. The frame is made up of wood. The inner subframe is used to secure the test specimen edges; the material used for inner subframe is neoprene strips, which shall be in contact with specimen corners. The pressure on the test specimen shall be controlled, and the compression of the neoprene strips shall be between 10 and 15 percent of the neoprene. To limit the compression of the neoprene and prevent distortion of the subframe, metal shims of an appropriate thickness shall be used. Impact load is applied on the glass by impactor from the height of 48 inches. The impactor shall be a leather punching bag or a rubber bladder. The bag is filled by chilled lead shot of a weight of completed assembly of 100 pounds. After filling the leather bag, it is been tied with a cord or leather thong to a metal sleeve. The exterior of the bag shall be completely covered by  ½ inch wide glass filament reinforced pressure sensitive tape. Impact test procedure: Each specimen (glass panel) shall be struck within 2 inches of its geometric center with the impactor dropped from a single height. Specimen is impacted one time from drop height of 48 inches. If the specimen withstands this impact will pass the quality and reaches the customer. It is very important for the manufacturer to perform the impact test on the glass panel, since it rules from the federation. The manufacturer has to label the following details on the glass panels, like manufactured date, test passed, and test conducted date. The tempered glass is permanently labelled to indicate it conforms to ANSI Z97.1-1972 or 1975 or is accompanied by a certificate certifying conformance to ANSI Z97.1-1972 or 1975. (ref: part 1201 SAFETY STANDARD FOR ARCHITECTURAL GLAZING MATERIALS) IMPACT TESTING WITH PRO /MECHANICA Pro/Mechanica is a multi discipline computer aided engineering tool that enables the user to simulate the physical behaviour of a model, and therefore enable the user to improve the design. Pro/Mechanica can be used to predict how a design will behave in the real world by calculating stresses, deflections, frequencies, heat transfer paths etc. Pro/Mechanic is the most effective analysis tool for testing the impact loads on the glass panels. The above mentioned test procedure is takes long time and prototype required for analysis. Pro/mechanic gives the accurate results for applied loads on the specimen and different sets of load could be applied without redesigning the specimen. The Mechanica packages include thermal, motion simulation and structural analysis. Analysis is the larger set of pull down menus and dialog boxes within CAD packages. Pro/Mechanic is integrated and run simultaneously with the 3Dsolid modelling computer package Pro/Engineer. After a design is modelled, the user may select Pro/Mechanic option to access finite element analysis. There are two types of model for

Sunday, January 19, 2020

African American and Ebonics Essay

What if all of America spoke in Ebonics? â€Å"What up cuz† or â€Å"Holla at me. † That would be crazy right? Sharice, Travis, Rickia, and I did a report on the evidence for the critical element of the Oakland school board proposal and the convention that temporary African American Vernacular Forms (AAV) of speaking show strong influence from West-African languages. The Oakland school board proposed to the state that the kids learning will be improved with the recognition and understanding of Ebonics. My article came from the internet, and it is titled â€Å"A Case of Ebonics. † Ebonics is a critical language, with powerful elements of a distinct language, spoken by many Americans of African descent, a language marked by a long and rich history. While most other languages are restricted to specific geographical regions, Ebonics is a way of speaking shared by a large percentage of African-Americans living everywhere in the United States. Ebonics has been branded as a poor form of Standard English. Some think of it as lazy lips and lazy thinking. Because Ebonics held on to many leftover characteristics from West African languages, there has been debate as to whether it is a language of American English or another language altogether. Ebonics has a long history that began in Africa. It started when people from many different African villages were brought to American slave markets. The slave owners often purposely mixed the slaves by tribe so that they could not communicate directly in the language of a single tribe. For them to communicate with each other, the slaves developed a pidgin language, a mixture of various African languages. Over the centuries, this early pidgin blended with aspects of â€Å"Standard English† to form â€Å"Black English† but it still has many of the features of its ancestor. That is, many of the unique forms of Ebonics can be identified as leftovers of West African languages. For example some researchers say that the word for cat in several African languages also means â€Å"man. † For this reason our expression â€Å"cool cat† is derived from Ebonics. Despite these differences, Ebonics is a language that fully serves the needs of its users. Its grammar is just as complicated as Standard English. It’s just a different grammar. The meaning of â€Å"He didn’t do nothing† is perfectly understood by all Ebonics speakers, and by standard English speakers as well. A man by the name of Ishmael Reed makes clear the use of Ebonics indicates neither a lack of education nor an inability to speak in other tongues: â€Å"You not gone make me give up Black English. When you ask me to give up Black English you askin me to give up my soul. But for reasons of commerce, transportation, and hassle less mobility in everyday life, I will talk to 411 in the language both the operator and I can understand† (Lederer 4). I agree with Reed that everyone needs to learn and master Standard English to have the best chance to succeed in America. In certain contexts, someone (like a manager) might make a judgment about the way we black people talk. If we want to become successful we must learn Standard English. I hope that the movement of correction for Ebonics movement will work against the widespread disrespect of the way most African-American youth talk. People should be less defensive about the language in which we live and move and maybe we can better position to employ both the Ebonics and the standard codes and to reap the full fruits of our American civilization. If people were less defensive about Ebonics maybe then we as people could associate Standard English with Ebonics. And with all of this we could reap the full fruits of our American civilization.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

How CSR is your company Essay

What is Corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulated system that companies use to ensure that their operations are in line with ethical standards, the law and the norms of society. CSR aids companies in taking responsibility for their actions and â€Å"encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere (WIKIPEDIA, 2012)† The company that has been selected for analysis is Burberry. Burberry was established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and is now an ‘internationally recognised luxury brand with a worldwide distribution network (Burberry PLC, 2012)’. They have 473 stores worldwide and employ approximately 6,681 people. This company claims that they are in compliance with CSR and have on their website listed the ways in which they achieve this. â€Å"One of Burberry’s five strategic themes is pursuing operational excellence. Operational excellence in CR has five key areas of focus: * Healthy business partnerships: based on shared values and high ethical standards * Excellent products and service: quality, craftsmanship, heritage and service standards * Environmental excellence: operating efficiently with minimum waste and maximum control * Excellence in people management: attracting and retaining talented employees * Contributing to society: investing and engaging in the communities where Burberry operates (Burberry, 2011)’ Employee diversity When it comes to employment, it is important for a company to be extremely diverse and offer equal opportunities. Not only are they required to do this by law (under acts such as the Equality Act 2010), but they should also choose to be diverse. A company that chooses to be diverse is well respected by societies in which they operate, and will find that increasing numbers people/other companies are seeking them out to work for/with them. In the long run, embracing equality & diversity could also benefit the company as it will enable them to gain new ideas and look at things from a different perspective. Burberry claims that they are a diverse company when it comes to employment and says that their diverse work force strengthens and drives their success as a luxury brand. The brand now ‘employs nationals of 95 countries across all continents’ (Burberry PLC, 2011). They state that gender equality is promoted within the organisation and equal opportunities are offered at every level of employment. Health, safety and well being Organisations need to genuinely care about the health and safeties of those who are working for them because once they are on their premises the employees become their responsibility. Procedures should be put into place to ensure that the working environment is safe and comfortable enough for their employees to operate in. In order to provide safe and healthy working conditions for their employees and third party contractors, the company sate that they use third party auditors in its locations all of the world to ensure that standards are being met. Stores and offices are said to be audited once every 3 years, and distribution & manufacturing sites annually. In 2010/11, a well-being programme was launched within the company designed to ‘encourage staff to lead healthier lifestyles (IBID, 2011)’. According to the company’s research, the numbers of sick days were reduced by roughly 0.8% per employee. Operating responsibility There has been much controversy around the world in regards to workers in places in third world countries being exploited by companies who simply want cheap labour and have no regards for those producing their products or merely fail to have procedures in place that ensure that these workers are not being treated any differently to for instance a factory worker in the United Kingdom. Burberry believes that ‘to be a great brand u need to be a great company (IBID, 2011)’. They are members of the UN global impact and use its ten principles to guide their CSR activities. The company have a committee of 16 which is solely dedicated to CSR. In the years 2010/11 three meetings were held. â€Å"Burberry believes that its products should be made only in factories that comply with local labour and environmental laws and by workers who work fair but not excessive hours, are provided with a safe, hygienic work environment, and who can exercise their right to freedom of association as well as collective bargaining (IBID, 2011)†. The group have an Ethical Trading Policy, under which clear rules/expectations are said to be set concerning the management of labour standards. Burberry added four new policies to the existing rules that cover bribery and corruption, foreign contract labour, unauthorised sub-contracting and animal welfare. The CRS team deliver training to suppliers where they are made aware of the company’s trading expectations, management systems and counsel on transparency standards for sub-contractors. Stake holder engagement Corporate responsibility should not just be practised with the walls of the organisation. Companies should aim to work together and encourage one and other to do what is morally right and socially acceptable in order to better the supply chain process. By working together, it will increase the chances of change occurring. â€Å"Burberry understands that it cannot solve supply chain labour issues alone and maintains an open dialogue with suppliers, other brands, NGOs and trade unions to bring collective action to bear across the supply chain† The organisation joined the Ethical Trading initiative in June 2010. Ethical trade define the ETI as being â€Å"a sound breaking alliance of companies and trade unions†¦that work in partnership to improve the lives of poor and vulnerable workers across the globe who make or grow consumer goods (2010) Fur When discussing what is ethical and socially acceptable, it is not only human beings that should be discussed. Animal cruelty is a big issue in the especially within high end fashion industry as many of them implement real animal fur and skin into their products. It is a matter of opinion as to whether or not animal fur should be used, however if a company do decided to utilise it, then it should be executed in the most ethical way possible. Burberry openly admits to using real animal fur in the designs. However they state that they only source animal fur from furriers that uphold high standards when it comes to the ethical treatment of animals & share the company’s concerns regarding animal welfare. Helping the environment Global warming is a major concern within the world today. People are being encouraged to reduce their carbon footprints whether it is by taking a greener form of transportation or using less electricity. Organisations more than anyone should be making big changes to the ways in which they operate, as through their production and distribution channels emit more carbon emissions than a normal household. Although it may cost them more money, or even lengthen the time frame of certain processes and procedures, it is an important factor that cannot be overlooked. Recycling is also very important and companies must learn to utilise all of their resources to the fullest. When it comes to trying to assist in sustaining the environment, Burberry’s website make a number of claims as to what they actively do to make a difference. They state that they are dedicated to finding new and innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprint and throughout their global operation. Their performance report for the years 2010/11 is as follows; â€Å"Energy: * Committed to purchasing solar energy to power our distribution centre in Vineland, USA * Inductive motor optimisation panels were trialled in all UK manufacturing sites to reduce energy consumption Business travel: * Due in part to executing the Group’s under-penetrated markets strategy, air travel for UK employees increased by 52% per  £1,000 of turnover Waste: * There was a renewed focus on diverting waste from landfill. In Horseferry House there was a 54% increase in waste recycled during the year * The closed loop textile recycling system launched in the UK last year has been expanded to Europe. Since April 2010, Burberry’s recycling partner has converted over 130 tonnes of sample and raw material waste into car door insulation Logistics transport emissions: * An unprecedented rise in sales coupled with the shift from seasonal to monthly deliveries impacted the Group’s ability to ship goods by sea. To address this, a number of key initiatives have been introduced, including centralised logistics decision making, shortening of critical path and increasing strategic raw materials pre-buys in order to accommodate sea transportation lead times. (Burberry PLC, 2011)† Charity work Giving back the community is an extremely huge part of CSR as it helps to build relationships between the organisation and the community in which it operates. Burberry has its own foundation which came into establishment in 2008. This foundation aims to help young and disadvantaged people with reaching their full potential and realising & accomplishing their dreams. The company encourage their employees to dedicate up to four hours of paid leave per month to help and support the foundation. They provide the youths with one-to-one mentoring, and weekly help with school homework. * â€Å"In 2010/11 over 25% of employees located in cities where the Foundation is active offered their personal talents and business skills to help disadvantaged young people work towards realising their full potential. In total, over 3,700 hours or 490 working days were dedicated to volunteering (IBID, 2011)†. Is Burberry as ethical as it portrays itself to be? Burberry makes a large number of claims on its website in regards to how seriously they take Corporate Social responsibility. However not all companies that present themselves to be good and ethical practice what they advertise. Carelessness and/or neglect can lead to a company’s image being tarnished, even if they have had a good reputation in the past. There have been a number of incidents where Burberry has been seen not to be fulfilling their Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2007, it was exposed that a Chinese factory that manufactured Burberry goods were mistreating members of staff (Appendix 1). Staff were working long hours, with no unions and earning approximately  £15 per week. â€Å"Workers at Tai Yi Sheng Fashion factory, just across the border from Hong Kong in Guangdong province, claim they work 12-hour shifts through the night, in breach of even China’s lax labour laws (The Mirror, 2007)†. In China the law states that no worker should work more than eleven hours per day, however staff claimed that over time is a regular thing and that â€Å"8pm to 8am and Saturday is a full working day(IBID, 2007)†. The Mirror reported that not only were the factory workers working over-time with very little payment, but they were also being docked large sums money from their monthly wage if any mistakes were made. As many of the staff were migrants, they lived in shared accommodation provided by the factory, with up to eight people in one room. Although the factory did not belong to Burberry and was not responsible for manufacturing solely Burberry goods, the company still should have made efforts to inspect the production on a regular basis as the supplier is indirectly representing them. As time has gone by, the company have increased the number of visits made to factories (Appendix 2). In 2008, there were 314 CR visits to factories, 2009 saw 487 visits and in 2010 637; which is approximately a 51% increase within the space of two years. The company have also provided all their supplier’s factories with worker hotlines where they can whistle blow on any unethical activities that may be occurring. This shows that they have responded to incidents such as these and are aspiring to be more ethical. Burberry has also been given a number of awards and recognition for various aspects of Corporate Social responsibility. * In 2010 they were awarded the Female FTSE 100 Award which is given to a company that has the most women on their board. In the same year Burberry were awarded the FTSE Executive Women Award. To earn this award you are required to employ the most female executives in the FTSE 100. â€Å"Thirty-seven companies have multiple women directors, but one quarter of all boards in the FTSE 100 still have no women at all†¦ 43% of their [Burberry] boards are women(BitcDiversity, 2010)† * The company again in 2010 were awarded The Carbon Trust Award. This award recognises a company’s efforts in reducing carbon emissions and it also provides proof to the public that they are committed to making a change. Competitors * Primark On Primark’s website, they state that they take their Corporate Responsibility seriously when it comes to their employees, supporting the community and packaging and waste regulations. The company, just like Burberry are part of the Ethical Trading Initiative which to an extent does provide evidence that they practice good ethics. This is an improvement for them as in 2005, the company came under fire after evidence of them using child labour and exploiting workers in India came to light. In regards to recycling, the company in 2008 recycled ‘8863 tonnes of cardboard and 1194 tonnes of polythene packaging (MRW 2010)’. Primark are yet to win any awards in relation to being eco-friendly and ethical. * Louis Vuitton Following research it is clear that Louis Vuitton strives to be an ethical organisation and is very concerned about the environment. In 2009 the company donated 15% of all sales made through their online store to The Climate Project. â€Å"The company now favours transport of products by ship, far more environmentally friendly than transport by air (as of today, 60% of all leather goods are transported by ship) (Purseblog, 2009)† However, just like their competitor, Louis Vuitton is fond of implementing animal furs and skins into their designs. Recommendations * Burberry should publish all of their emissions in greater detail as they do not provide insufficient information on the emissions that come from their operations. Carbon emissions are based on air travel and global building energy; however all of the figures that Burberry provides are based on their turnover. The company have not made clear its future goals when it comes to reducing carbon emissions within the supply chain and have not shown the public their total carbon footprint. * Remove fur from their production Although Burberry does state that they only deal with furriers that are ethical, there is still great concern around the fact that even some of the higher end furriers are not using ethical procedures and are ignoring animal welfare laws. If Burberry were to completely remove fur from their products it would greatly increase how it is perceived ethically. Other designer brands have taken the plunge in banning fur from their product lines such as Polo Ralph Lauren and Ann Taylor. Alternative materials should be sourced to replace the fur. * Eco friendly factories By winning a Carbon Trust Award, it shows that Burberry is moving forward when it comes to trying to help the environment, yet there is still more than can be done. Eco-friendly factories can help to pave the way to bettering the environment. In an eco-friendly factory, renewable energy can be used such as solar panels. It may not be able to run the whole factory however it will reduce the amount of electricity that is utilised. The factories will incorporate; * Eco-friendly bricks * Plants around the factory as this will create a cooler microclimate * Natural lighting indoors for the staff, via sunroofs * Open their own factories Burberry claim that the majority of their products are made in Europe, however for the remaining locations around the world, the company should open their own factories. This will better enable them to keep an eye on operations and to ensure that workers are being allowed to exercise their rights. When leaving the production in the hands of another organisation, it is very likely that they will operate as they please and could eventually tarnish the brand’s reputation. * Currently, Burberry is using too much air freight. To be greener they should look into using ships to transport their products and materials. Conclusion In conclusion, Burberry is a company that has been able to fulfil their Corporate and Social Responsibility to the fullest. They have been able to react quickly to any areas within the organisation that they may have intentionally or unintentionally overlooked in the past and put regulations in place to ensure that those things do not re-occur in the future. Corporate Social responsibility is not about simply ‘portraying’ the organisation in a good light, it is about going above and beyond away from the eyes of the public and trying to make genuine change. BIBLIOGRAPHY BITCDIVERSITY. (2010). Burberry. Available: http://www.bitcdiversity.org.uk/awards/on_awards_2010/case_studies/ftse_100_award/burberry.html. Last accessed 22nd Jan 2012. Burberry. (2010). CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY. Available: http://uk.burberry.com/store/corporate/corporate-responsibility/. Last accessed 21st Jan 2012. Burberry. (2010). CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY. Available: http://www.burberryplc.com/bbry/corpres/socres/. Last accessed 22nd Jan 2012 Ethical Trading Initiative. (2012). About us. Available: http://www.ethicaltrade.org/about-eti. Last accessed 22nd Jan 2012. Gyekye, L. (2009). Primark defends recyclability of clothes. Available: http://www.mrw.co.uk/primark-defends-recyclability-of-clothes/3005045.article. Last accessed 22nd Jan 2012. Luck, A. (2007). SHAME OF BURBERRY. Available: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2007/06/11/shame-of-burberry-115875-19276939/. Last accessed 22nd Jan 2012. Wikipedia. (2011). Corporate social responsibility. Available: http://en.wiki pedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility#cite_note-0. Last accessed 21st Jan 2012.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Should The Government Be Proactive - 2508 Words

Today, with all the chaos and terrorist attacks and cyber-attacks going on in the world there are many security issues that companies and governments are being faced with. There are several questions that need to be answered if we are going to solve these problems. The main question that I will be covering is, should the government be proactive in the area of encryption of data due to the possibility of criminal activity going undetected? The major area within this problem I believe is the fourth amendment issues because as Benjamin Franklin once stated, Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety. We as a country need to be very careful when dealing with this area†¦show more content†¦So one area I will be covering later on is, do we need to change or expand the fourth amendment and if so, what should we change it to so we can be proactive within this area of data encryption. Another important term here is privacy. In an article by David Pozen he cited Professor Daniel Solove s work, when defining privacy. Two of the definitions he gave that I think really sum up this area well are, (1) The right to be left alone, (2) Personhood, or the protection of one s personality, individuality and dignity. Finally, the last term I will cover before answering the question of should the government being proactive in the area of data encryption is, what is the government legally allowed to do right now? This is important because we need to decide is this enough or is more required, basically do the risks outweigh the reward? To explain briefly right now the government is legally allowed to do whatever surveillance it wants if they can get a judge to sign off on, but politicians are trying to expand this as frequently as ever. Normally federal judges can only approve warrants for their jurisdiction but a new change would, allow for judges to issue warrants for hacking and surveillance in cases where investigators don t know the target computer s location, according to letter sent to congress by 50 companies and tech groups. SoShow MoreRelatedPrevention And Treatment Of Malaria Essay1710 Words   |  7 Pagesrelevant to the disease is considerably lower than developing nations due to effec tive policies and strategies. Although governments and healthcare professionals can curb or alleviate the prevalence of the illness in many regions, thousands of people die due to malaria regardless of the measures. The loss of life stemming from the sickness is a serious issue mainly because the government, community, and healthcare sector can save lives through prevention, treatment, and awareness. 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