How to be a good accountant in the future Essay

How to be a good accountant in the future - Essay Example To investigate and come up with clear responses of professional accountants, in various work settings. Background Recently, many things have developed relating to bookkeepers and their job. Many companies have lost money in unclear circumstances and this has caused many companies to lose trust in many accountants. However, it is unclear whether the mistakes and problems that many companies face emanate from the errors and unethical behaviors of accountants. For this reasons, it good to find out what makes or breaks an accounting reputation. Approach or method This research will employ the use of questionnaires, samples survey as sources of information concerning the ethical standards of accountants. This will answer the questions concerning their future accounting profession improvement. The proposed literature The proposed literature will base on the factors behind a good accounting job and the negatives associated with it; it will give the significance of the investigation to the u pcoming of bookkeeping professionals. The Gantt chart Gantt chart Task Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April Research proposal Poster creation Literature review Data collection Analysis of Results Presentation of the results Introduction Studies indicate that, many organizations in recent times face scandalous financial situations. These incidences have been associated with accountants who work as employees in various business organizations in different settings in the world. Several businesses have lost cash in the course and the reason of the basis of the problem is uncertain, which has stained the reputation of several businesses. As a result, big and small companies are losing out in terms of business performance and profit making. The blunders leading to the deprived performance are alleged to be caused bookkeeping specialists. In some cases, the mistakes have been associated with the management as a whole; this is because the organization is involved in the decisions that influ ence the working of the auditors. In either way, what the accountants do affects the management and in reverse, the decisions made by the management influences accounting behaviors. This means that there are a number of issues revolving around the same issue of why many organizations have lost trust in accountants as professionals. For this reason, there is need to carry out an extensive research on the issues surrounding accounting as a field of professionalism. Before looking at that, here are some important facts about accounting; this will form the footing about bookkeeping and certified public auditor in particular. According to studies, it is through accounting that a mechanism that provides data, which is a crucial concerning the financial status of an organization in relation to business matters. The information found through this way is essential for investors because it gives critical details, which could be used as the determining factors in line with the decisions the in vestors have to make before investing. It may also help in determining whether the investors could opt not to invest in the organization, as the financial information may not be appealing to them. This will be viewed in terms of return on investments that the organization may receive after the investments. Regarding a good image of a corporate, moral or ethical and expert bookkeeping, comprises a clear image of a corporate financially. This forms the basis on which company managers are set to make informed decisions and shape the

Process Improvement Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Process Improvement Plan - Essay Example First process identified is going to sterile processing department. Second Process identified is taking instruments set for service. Third process identified is sharpening and repairing surgical instruments. Among the three processes, two of which can be measured. Instruments set for service can be measured for their quality, sharpness and usability. Sharpened and repaired surgical instruments can also be measured for their quality, sharpness and usability. Quality and usability are attribute characteristics of instruments that are intangible. The measurement of both characteristics can be a count of the number of defects. On the other hand, sharpness is a characteristic of the instrument that can be measured using a specialized instrument such as a micrometer. A statistical process control can be employed in order to measure the sharpness of a surgical instrument. Statistical process control or SPC is a technique for error prevention rather than error detection. The goals of SPC are to improve quality, reduce cost, increase profit and enhance competitive advantage. Steps taken to improve a process will result in fewer defects and better quality products delivered to the customer. Application of SPC can produce improvements in yield, reduce cost and increase efficiency. It can also create a high degree of visibility of process performance and can be used to determine process capabilities. Measurements will provide a comparison of performance to target objectives and assess the effectiveness of process improvements. SPC is statistically based and built around the concept that variation in a product is always present. Inherent variations occur due to wear of tools, material hardness, machine accuracy, and operator skills. In order to control the process and reduce variations, the cause must be identified through a collection of data. Mathematical distributions characterize the collected data and predict the overall performance. Variations that are outside of the desired process distribution can be corrected by improving the process directly. Three statistical tools shall be used to determine that the process is in control and follows a normal distribution curve. These tools include control charts, histograms, and mathematical analysis tests. Control charts are used to identify assignable causes of variations. A histogram is a graphic representation of a frequency distribution. Control charts for variable data will be created for quantitative measurements of sharpness of surgical instruments. Control charts for attribute data will be created for qualitative measurements or counts of defects. The average value () chart and the range (R) chart will be utilized as form of control charts in tracking and identifying the causes and variations. In making the control chart, the centerline and control limits are determined and drawn on the chart. The centerline is the average of the mean values. The purpose of the control limits on the chart is to indicate if the process is under control. It means that all are within the estimated 3 limits of the process. An upper control limit for control chart for attributes is UCL = + 1.96 x standard deviation, while the lower control limit is LCL = - 1.96 x standard deviation, where is the total number of defects divided by the number of observations. Standard deviation is defined as S = An upper control l

The (Feasibility)pratical of Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Essay

The (Feasibility)pratical of Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Delivery of Parcels - Essay Example the feasibility of the use of UAVs will help companies such DHL, UPS and FedEx as that specialize in service delivery reduce the cost of operation and consumer charges eventually bringing in efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover, the present tech-savvy society will be able to straightforwardly manage their parcel delivery time thus giving them more intuition. This report uses the qualitative technique where various literatures including journals, research articles, books and papers shall be referenced. Secondary sources will help in determining the drone’s pragmatism, acquiescence, and security. Due to time constraint and data inadequacy, this study shall not delve into the relationship between UAVs and technology or how technology impacts on parcel delivery. However, it hopes to efficaciously answer the questions within the stipulated scope, and recommend what parcel delivery companies should

Overseas Volunteer Essay Example for Free

Overseas Volunteer Essay The summer of 1996 was a time of great change for me as an individual. This was the summer that I was fortunate enough to get to spend six weeks as part of a traveling abroad program. These six weeks changed the way I viewed different places, people and cultures. I was lucky enough to experience many different things in many different places. I met many people from interesting cultural backgrounds and learned a lot from them. These six weeks prepared me for many new experiences in life. While traveling, I stayed with different families who were kind enough to take me in. Living with people who had different cultures and sometimes even different languages was a challenge for me since I had never even been out of the United States before this trip. I got to learn how to adapt to new situations by finding inventive ways to communicate with other humans. This was invaluable to me because it forced me to really pay attention to other people and learn about their cultural values through observation. This is a skill that has stayed with me. I have learned to slow down and really listen and observe in order to learn new things and gain new perspective. I was also able to visit many historic sites, landmarks and museums during my travels that I had only read about in books. I was able to apply a picture in a book to the real setting and this was an incredible experience. In these visits I was also able to learn a great deal about the culture in which I had immersed myself. This allowed me a deeper understanding of the people around me. These visits also told me about the rich histories of different groups of people and how they shaped the culture as it is today. In addition, I was able to try new and different foods which only added to my cultural experiences. At the same time, as I was experiencing new cultures I was also able to reflect on my own culture and the importance that it holds in my life. My travels have helped shaped the person I am today. I was forced to learn patience as I was immersed in cultures with different values and languages. I learned how to be creative in finding ways to communicate respectfully. I built my self confidence as I began to realize how capable I was of learning about different cultures in ways other than reading books. I got the opportunity to meet interesting people who helped me understand different ways of life and apply those to my own life. I learned how to be flexible in adapting to new ways of doing things, new ways of communicating and even new ways of eating. I experienced a great deal of personal growth in these travels that will prove invaluable to me in my future accomplishments. Changing lives is a great experience. This sentence sums up why I would like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have a deep desire to change the world by changing the lives of people less fortunate than me. I have been fortunate enough to have access to a high quality education. I have always enjoyed learning and experiencing new things and I would like to pass that on to other people. My college education was only a starting point in my life long learning endeavors. I have a passion for knowledge that has allowed me to reach a point in my life where I wish to give 27 months serving as a volunteer and enriching the lives of people around the world. Habitat for Humanity has given me valuable life skills but more importantly gave me the opportunity to help people less fortunate than me. I have been able to build homes for people and at the same time learn about their individual lives. I have taken my passion for helping others and in the process began to realize how one person can make a great difference. I can be that one person that takes the initiative to make small changes that will eventually lead to big changes. I desire to take this realization and travel the world helping others through small changes. Four years in the workforce has also given me valuable experiences that will enable me to be an effective volunteer. Through working, I have gained leadership skills that will serve me well when working with a team of other volunteers. These leadership skills will help me work cooperatively to make positive changes in the world. I have also gained a clear understanding of globalization outside of the United States and I wish to build on that knowledge through my volunteer work and opportunities I wouldn’t be able to have if I continued working in the corporate world. Working as a volunteer will provide me with international experience and new insights about the world around me. I can learn new values and perspectives that will make me a more well rounded and empathetic person. I will gain new understandings of different people and cultures and be able to apply some of that to how I live my own life. At the same time, I will have a great responsibility to show others my values and teach them new and exciting things about my own culture. Twenty-seven months is a short time in my life but those months will mean big changes in my life that will last long after my time serving as a volunteer is over. My life would be greatly enriched by helping others through small changes. I look forward to the chance to start making small changes right away and watching those small changes turn into big changes that have positive impacts on people around the world.

Should Primary Education In Ethiopia Be Compulsory Education Essay

Should Primary Education In Ethiopia Be Compulsory Education Essay Most children living in main towns and cities in Ethiopia have more access than those living in the rural areas. (Link Ethiopia) These children have a chance to go to primary school, and are now being encouraged by their parents and guardians to attend school throughout. Ethiopia was at civil war for 16 years. After the war, in 1991, education has shown a massive development. In 1994-1995 three million people were in primary school; and by 2008-2009, 15.3 million children got enrolled in primary schools. (One living proof) This is an increase of over 500% (One living proof). Statistics have also shown that approximately 1 teacher teaches 59 students in primary classes. Elleni Muluneh, a founder member of the Ethiopian Youth Forum, said that without education, a country cannot develop. (UNICEF) The government and other NGOs have identified this problem. One of the Millennium development goals is to move on and make primary education free and compulsory by 2015. (UNICEF) However, one of the core problems facing Ethiopia on Education is that most people in Ethiopia think that work is more important than education, so they start at a very early age with little to no education. (Wikipedia) More and more teenage women today drop out from school to go and work in the Arab countries as servants. Men also drop out from school to work in Arab countries. The men usually go there for being janitors, drivers, or guards. I got a chance to talk to Aisha. She quit school at the age of 15 to go to Libya. She went there hoping for a better future. After 3 years of hard labor, she came back. I asked her, Why did you quit school at the first place? She responded by saying I wanted to get a better and happier life for me and my family. I was amazed by this response. This shows us that these children dont see the need for education. Their parents also dont encourage them to get the education. In fact, it was Aishas Mum that pushed her to go for work. I asked Aisha What does education mean to you? She replied by saying For me, education is knowledge. But it is also a waste of time and money, when you could just go to work and help your family survive! What a discouraging response. Now Aisha is planning to go to Dubai. Her parents are encouraging her to go and work. All they care is for the money their daughter brings. They dont plan for the future of their daughter. Now, this type of silliness could be abolished if primary education was compulsory. People like Aisha could be taught about the need for education. If Aisha continued in her 6th grade, she would have had more knowledge about the needs of education. Does everyone have the right to primary education? This is a really hard question to answer, but I would my answer would be no. This is because the gender inequality there is in most rural parts of Ethiopia. If a child has no access to primary education, then there is no change for him/her to enter into Secondary school. In the Ethiopian governments development plans, the right to womens education is a big issue that is currently being solved. If I could change the education system children in rural areas have, I would modify the disciplinary rule. Children get physically abused by the teachers in most government schools around Ethiopia. I went to Summer School this year and experienced the difficulty children in government school face each school day. The students are very quiet, and dont participate in class discussion because they fear the teacher. I asked my friend, Miki to explain to me why they fear the teacher. He said, We fear the teacher because it is fun for him/her giving us a bruise, even if we talk little. (Miki) Compulsory schooling in Ethiopia is for 6 years. (State University) These are, the 2 Kindergartens, and primary school up to 4 years. I dont believe this is true because I personally know some children that have never been to school. Most of the little boys you see on the street selling gum have never been to school. They just get taught indirectly on how to sell their sweets. Statistics also show that only 52% complete primary school through 5th grade. (SEEDS OF AFRICA FOUNDATION) I went to Abebech Gobena on Saturday. This is an orphanage and school in Addis Ababa. There are lots of orphans living there. They get free education 5 days a week. Although the quality of education these children get are poor, they also get free clothing, food, shelter, and some money to spend every month. There are some schools like this in Ethiopia. These schools are funded by worldwide organizations like, Children Aid, UNICEF, and the United Nations. Some people say, what can I do? I as an individual could help in making primary education in Ethiopia free and compulsory by donating at least an equivalent amount for orphanages and schools. However, we together can make big changes to a lot of orphans lives. If we donate together, the outcome will mean a lot to those who are in need of it. In my opinion a major issue that must be solved in primary schools is that few school supplies are available to each student. All the students in government schools are expected to buy books, paper, pens, and any other school utensils themselves. The school doesnt provide these facilities to its students. Another major problem is the sanitation facilities in most schools around Ethiopia. Most schools dont have clean and hygienic toilets. Water, soap, and toilet seats are a major issue in schools. I say that the government and some NGOs have to spend lots of money in order to resolve these two points I mentioned. Table 1 shows the Primary school enrolment trends in 11 cities in Ethiopia. As we can see, every year, the number of children enrolled in Primary schools has shown a fair rise in number. Table 1: Regional enrolment trends (Ethiopian Ministry Of Education) Graph 1 shows the difference between the percent of Male and Female students enrolled in Primary school. Graph 1: Net Enrollment Ratio and Gender for Primary school (Ethiopian Ministry Of Education) Graph 2 shows the average annual growth rate of primary enrollment in the year 2010/11. It is shocking to see that Addis Ababa and Harar had a downfall in 2010/11. Graph 2: Average annual growth rate of primary enrollment (Ethiopian Ministry Of Education) The local people are also doing their best in order to educate their children. In Amhara Region, communities have contributed a total sum of 57.5 million birr. (Oumer) 17 million birr in cash, 28.7 million birr in form of labor, and 11.8 million birr in local materials. (Oumer) This funding also took place in Oromia, Jimma, and lots of other cities. There are 31 NGOs working with the government of Ethiopia today. (Dutch coalition on disability and development) All these NGOs help the community by improving the basic aspects that are needed for everyday life. Some of the most important necessities are water, shelter, and improved sanitation. Besides these necessities, education is one of the other important aspects that all of these NGOs are working on. 3 of the main NGOs working with the government to improve education are: UNICEF, UNESCO, and Save The Children. So, what I want to say by referring to all these NGOs is that primary education should be fully compulsory in all parts of Ethiopia. This is happening slowly by slowly. One of the millennium development goals in Ethiopia is to make primary education free and compulsory. If children do primary school, then they would have a bigger idea on the needs of education. As I mentioned earlier on, one of the core problems of education in Ethiopia is that the people dont see the need to education. Most farmers in rural places think that helping out the family work during the day is better than going to school. Free primary education could lead to compulsory primary education. The literacy rate of Ethiopia should increase to at least an 87% in the next 5 years. The government of Ethiopia is working hard, with other NGOs to improve the quality of education it is giving to the children. Statistics have proven that, people who earn higher education earn 93 % more than those with a secondary education, who in turn earn 47% more than those with a 5th 8th grade education. (SEEDS OF AFRICA FOUNDATION) This could be equalized if primary education is compulsory. I, as an individual have learnt that a lot is being done to achieve one of the millennium development goals. Lots of NGOs are working with the government to fulfill their goal for an Educated Ethiopia. But, this could be fully fulfilled with our help. We can make a change. We are lucky that we are learning in one of Ethiopians best schools, but we should also think of those poor little girls wasting those useful weekdays by doing hard work. Most females become mums at the age of 15. We, as educated students know the dangers of having babies at these ages, but these poor little girls dont. This is also getting abolished nowadays. So all in all, all that I can say is that Ethiopia is a developing country in terms of its GDP, and also education. Compulsory primary education could lead for a brighter future! And in the next five years, I hope to see a fully educated Ethiopia. Word Count (Excluding Works Cited List and Cover Page): 1,951

Investigation of Subgrade Reaction Coefficient in Sandy Soil

Investigation of Subgrade Reaction Coefficient in Sandy Soil Numerical investigation of subgrade reaction coefficient in sandy soils Adel Asakereh1, Hassan Jamali2*, Masoud mossafa1 1 Civil Department, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran 2Young Researchers and Elite Club, Sabzevar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar, Abstract The soil-foundation interaction is one of the most important issues in geotechnical engineering relating to soil behavior against side loading. Winklers model is the first and simplest method for considering the soil-foundation interaction. Because to determine the coefficient of the subgrade reaction of the soil before designing structure is vitally important, so, experimental, analytical and numerical methods have been proposed. This research chose a ground characteristic that is in Bandar Abbas (Iran). Purpose is to compare the proposed experimental formulae for determining the coefficient of the subgrade reaction with its corresponding values resulting from the behavioral models. Finite element analysis was performed by Plaxis software and important parameters were proposed by the engineers. Results show increasing footing diameter leads to a decrease in the coefficient of the subgrade reaction due to increasing load area which results in increasing settlement. It is found that i ncreasing each of the strength parameters of the soil can be expected to have an effect on increasing the subgrade reaction, although this increase depends on footing diameter. Also in sand soils, the soil cohesion effects on the increase of the subgrade reaction coefficient more than the internal friction angle. Keywords: Elasticity coefficient, Mat foundation, Subgrade reaction coefficient, Bandar Abbas City, Finite element analysis Introduction The application of mat foundations has a long history. This type of foundation has shown a very good performance in transferring construction forces to the ground. Currently in most cases, engineers use a constant value for the subgrade reaction coefficient to analyze the mat flexible foundations. This constant is obtained from geotechnical experiments such as plate loading. Many researchers have studied soil subsidence and the subgrade reaction coefficient using plate loading test [1-9]. Nomenclatures B Diameter of footing (m) Minimum marginal dimension of footing(m) c Cohesion (kPa) d Plate thickness (m) Df Embedment depth of foundation(m) Soil elasticity modulus (kPa) EI Flexural rigidity of footing (kN.m2) EA Axial rigidity of footing (kN.m2) Height of ith layer (m) If , Is, Id Dimensionless coefficients ks Subgrade Reaction Coefficient (kN/m3) m Constant coefficients P Vertical pressure (kPa) Greek Symbols v Poisson ratio Vertical Displacement (m) Angle of friction (Degree) Unit weight (kN/m3) Dry unit weight (kN/m3) The application of a uniform reaction coefficient over all of the foundation means neglecting the conditions of a continuum for the soil and the effects of cut in the soil layers. One of the fundamental issues in designing and calculating the foundations is the problem of soil-foundation interaction. It is very important to study soil behavior against the external loads. Soil behavior depends on many factors such as moisture content, density, particle-forming mineral types, grain size, grain shape, grading curve, current state of the stress, stress history, pore pressure, saturation point, permeability rate, time, and temperature. In order to study the soil-foundation interaction, many researchers have tried to investigate soil behavior against the imposed loadings to find a model for it. The material model is a mathematical relation for describing the stress-strain behaviour of a small element of the environment. As previously mentioned, soil behavior depends on many factors it is extremely difficult to provide a model including the effects of all factors. Thus in solving the problems of soil-foundation interaction, some properties of the soil are usually excluded to provide a simpler model with fewer parameters. Since the soil at a macroscopic scale is considered as a continuum, the simplest possible state we consider the soil as a linear, homogenous and consistent elastic semi-space. In such a case, the soil will have two parameters Poisson coefficient and the elastic modulus. The first and simplest model for investigating the soil and foundation interaction is a model offered by Winkler in 1867 [10]. In this model, the deformation of any point of the soil ground is related to the point stress value and the effect of the stresses and the changes in other points are neglected. In this model, soil is replaced with a set of independent springs with a specific stiffness coefficient. Thus, only one single parameter is considered for the soil, that is, the subgrade reaction coefficient represented by ks. One of the most prominent properties of this model is its discontinuous behavior [9]. The subgrade modulus is not a fundamental soil property and its magnitude depends on many factors including the shape of the foundation, the stiffness of the foundation slab, the shape of the loading on the foundation, the depth of the loaded area below the ground surface, and the time. As such, it is not constant for a given type of soil, making the estimation of a single general value for design a challenging task [11]. Consequently, researchers have suggested several ways to determine this parameter and several formulae have been offered for determining ks. Many researchers have worked on the calculation of subgrade reaction coefficient. Ismail [12] studied the applications of the artificial neural networks (ANN) and the simple-multiple regression analysis to predict the deformation modulus and the coefficient of the subgrade reaction of the compacted soils from the compaction parameters (such as maximum dry density (MDD) optimum moisture content (OMC), field dry density (FDD), and field moisture content (FMC)). Ding [13] compared four typical methods for determining the coefficient of the subgrade reaction including the test method, Lis method, MIDAS method, and finite element method. He showed that the test method is the one preferred by the designers, that the tangential coefficient should be in a range of one to two-third of the normal coefficient. The internal force of subway structures can be obtained by the test method and modified by a correction factor that is 1.05. Barmenkova et al. [14] carried out calculations of plates on a n elastic basis with variable and constant coefficients of subgrade reaction. In this paper, the calculation of plates bending was carried out by the finite element method. The results were compared for different models of plates on an elastic basis. For a two-layer plate on an elastic basis, which had heterogeneity in the plan, the results of calculation took into account the increase of the height of the upper structure. Kobayashi et al. [15] calculated the subgrade reaction coefficient for a foundation soil in an open pier using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) based on measurements taken during in situ horizontal loading tests on a pile. The numerical results would provide useful information for the future design of open piers and their foundations. Liao [16] reviewed the limitations of various simple and complex methods available for estimating the coefficient of subgrade reaction k, and developed a new method using the results of the plane strain finite element analyses of a loaded beam or slab resting on the surface of a homogeneous elastic soil layer. Although many studies have been carried out on determining the subgrade reaction coefficient, the dependence on many parameters leads to further parametric studies. Experimental and theoretical formulas for determining ks are based on available data from limited sites with some assumptions, so it is possible for them not to have sufficient precision in all areas. Therefore, determining the subgrade reaction coefficient in specific areas such as Bandar Abbas city and assessment of the effective parameters on subgrade reaction coefficient is vital. Besides, the Increasing in footing width, increases effective depth. Therefore, determination of ks in footing with more width is more complex especially in layered soil, because ks obtained from plate load test is different from ks under real loading of structure. Thus investigation of the footing width and the strength parameters of the soil on ks is needed. Performing plate load tests with large diameters is expensive and difficult, thus the present study uses finite element software of Plaxis to investigate the effect of the aforementioned parameters. Parametric studies on subgrade reaction coefficient of sand soil in Bandar Abbas city are few, so this paper uses geotechnical data of a site in Bandar Abbas city (Iran) to determine subgrade reaction coefficient by using of theoretical, experimental relations and numerical methods. Besides, the effects of the strength parameters (c,) and B on subgrade reaction coefficient are investigated too. This study is carried out by using and verifying numerical methods and ensuring the accuracy of the software. Numerical analysis has been done by finite element method using Plaxis software [17]. Analytical methods of subgrades reaction coefficient In order to obtain ks, one can generally apply plate loading, consolidation, triaxial, and CBR tests and experimental and theoretic relations provided by researchers [18]. Among them, plate loading testing and the experimental method are considered the most common methods. In this paper, experimental and theoretic methods are considered. There are several relations including Vesic [19], Biot [20], and Bowles [6] as well as relations resulting from elastic theory from elasticity theory to determine subgrade reaction coefficient. Biot [20] solved the problem of an infinite beam on a linear elastic subgrade and provided Eq. (1) for subgrade reaction coefficient. (1) Vesic [19] developed Biots work [20] and suggested Eq. (2) for the relation between ks and elastic characteristic of soil: (2) He also showed the difference between Winkler method and continuum does not exceed 10 percent. Bowles [6] showed the numerical value of in ordinary condition may be approximated by 1, and in most cases subgrade reaction coefficient is obtained by Eq. (3): (3) Using elasticity theory is another way to approximate ks. By reformulating the elastic subsidence in rectangular foundation, we obtain the following [21]: (4) These values are determined based on tables in the elastic subsidence section of basic soil mechanic references. m is the coefficient which is equal to 1, 2 and 4 for corner, edge, and center, respectively. ks is calculated in corners assuming m = 1 from Eq. (4) and it is multiplied by 0.5 to obtain k edges or by 0.25 to obtain ks centers. According to the above discussion, it can be seen that there are several formulae to determine soil subgrade reaction coefficient. General and geotechnical properties of the soil The site of the residential- mercantile building is located to the west part of Bandar Abbas city in Iran (Fig. 1) with seven floors over the ground floor (parking lot). The depth of the foundation settlement is equal to the height of the foundation as 1 meter and no groundwater grade was observed until the end of the excavation depth. In order to identify the underground layers, five boreholes were excavated (three 15-meter boreholes and two 20-meter boreholes) using a rotary drilling machine. During soil boring, some samples were extracted for laboratory experiments. After completion of the field operation, the extracted samples were tested for grading, Atterberg limits, moisture content of the natural soil, and direct shear test. The studies on the layers of the site soil show the soil type in the foundation subgrade is mainly silty sand (SM) from the ground level down to the depth of 8 meters, and the soil type is bad-grained sand (SP) from the depth of 8 meters downwards. Fig. 1. Location of Bandar Abbas city. Considering the field and laboratory experiments in order to determine the scale of soil subsidence and the bearing capacity of the site soil, the required parameters were selected from the five excavated boreholes as shown in Table 1. The data of the samplings is available down to 20 meters deep. The soil type was given down to the depth of the foundation effect (around 30m). Moreover, the soil weight at the 20 to 30 m depth (layer 11) has considered as being constant. Table 1. Soil properties of the site No. of Layers Dep. (m) Soil Type SPT (Ncor.) à Ã¢â‚¬ ° (%) c (kPa) à Ã¢â‚¬   (ËÅ ¡) ÃŽÂ ³ (kN/m3) ÃŽÂ ³d(kN/m3) 1 0-2 SM 21 4.1 0 29 17 16.3 2 2-4 SM 17 16.6 0 29.1 18.6 16.23 3 4-6 SM 24 14.9 0 28.8 18.6 16.18 4 6-8 SM 33 15.2 0 30.4 18.9 16.4 5 8-10 SP 38 23.7 0 32.4 20.1 16.24 6 10-12 SP 39 18.1 0 31.2 19.4 16.42 7 12-14 SP 47 24.2 0 31.2 20.6 16.58 8 14-16 SP 50 19.8 0 30 20 16.69 9 16-18 SP 50 19.2 0 32 20 16.77 10 18-20 SP 50 18.8 0 32 20 16.83 11 20-30 SP 50 18.8 0 32 20 16.83 Equations (5) and (6) were used to determine the elasticity modulus of the soil [6]: (5) For unsaturated sands, and (6) For saturated sands. Thus, the elasticity modulus for each of the soil layers is calculated based on the above formulae and the results are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Elasticity modulus of the soil layers No. of Layers SPT (Ncor.) Es (kPa)-dry 1 21 18000 2 17 16000 3 24 19500 4 33 24000 5 38 26500 6 39 27000 7 47 31000 8 50 32500 9 50 32500 10 50 32500 11 50 32500 Numerical analysis procedure First, the results of Brian Anderson et al. [22] were analyzed with Plaxis to verify the software. Brian Anderson et al. [22] performed in situ testing and numerical investigation for predicting settlement of shallow foundations. Accordingly, a 1.8 m diameter concrete footing was statically load tested. Prior to construction, in situ standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetration testing (CPT), dilatometer (DMT), and pressuremeter (PMT) and laboratory tests were performed to determine engineering properties of the soil. A reinforced circular 1.8 m diameter 0.6 m thick concrete footing was constructed using a corrugated pipe coupler as a form. To overcome a thin hard layer surface crust, the footing was embedded 0.6 m into the ground. The groundwater table was at 1.7 m from the ground surface, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Static load was 222 kPa. Due to the symmetry, half of footing with the width of 0.5 B is modeled asymmetrically. Avoiding boundary effects, a 6.5ÃÆ'-5 m model was s elected. The model depth was taken as 6.5 m, that is approximately equal to 4B=6.8 m and the width of the model was taken as 5 m, that is approximately equal to 3B [23] . Results proved that the displacement did not reach the boundaries in the analysis. To investigate the mesh dependency, a number of trial analyses were conducted through the verification study. The model included 1971 nodes and 235 elements. The boundary lines were defined as the limited deformation in horizontal direction and free deformation in vertical direction, and limited deformations both in horizontal and vertical directions at the lower boundary as showed in Fig. 3. Trial analyses proved that with specified dimension and meshing, errors would be negligible. In order to do the modeling with finite element method, the 15-node triangular element was used according to Fig. 4. Table 3 presents the input parameters used for the FEM analyses. Figure 5 presents applied stress-settlement diagram obtained from Plaxis in this study and reference to a point located under plate. There was a negligible difference between two diagrams, so Plaxis was suitable for analysis. Fig. 2. Geometry and mesh of the verification model.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fig. 3. Soil-footing profile of verification model [22]. Fig. 4. 15-node triangular element. Table 3. Soil properties used in verification according to [22]. Bottom(m) (kN/m3) (deg) E(Mpa) c(kPa) 1.64 18.9 31.4 14.5 0 2.5 17.3 30.1 12.5 0 3.17 15.7 28.6 10.50 0 6.5 14.2 27.1 8.5 0 Fig. 5. Applied stress-settlement diagram. After software verification, the model was developed for determining the subgrade reaction coefficient of Bandar Abbas city and parametric study. In the created model (which included 2011 nodes and 256 elements), the loading was uniform and, a rigid foundation was considered in all phases of analysis. Model depth should be greater than 4B and model width greater than 3B for different diameters. Since it was intended to study the effect of foundation diameter on determining the value of subgrade reaction coefficient, an asymmetric model was used in the software for soil modeling. The relevant parameters of the general properties (wet and dry specific weight) and the relevant parameters of the soil resistance (c,) for all soil layers were derived from Table 1. Considering the results of the experiments and researches and the reliability of the developed numerical model with the results, and considering the soil type of the site (sand soil), Mohr-Coulomb behavioral model for the soil wa s used in this research. Since in Mohr-Coulomb behavioral model the stress-strain relation is fulfilled directly by the soil elasticity coefficient, thus in entering the data of the soil elasticity coefficient as one of the input parameters, the data of Table 2 were used. The values of the dilation angle in all layers were assumed to be 0. Considering the properties of the building in this project and the scale of the imposed loading (dead and live load), the value of the imposed pressure on the soil was assumed to be 120 kN/m2 where the plate element (with the concrete foundation properties) was used to transfer this load to the modeled soil. Among the most important properties of the element, it could be referred to its flexural hardness (EI) and its axis hardness (EA). These two parameters can be used to obtain the plate thickness that is the representative of the foundation thickness in this case. Considering the constant thickness of the foundation by 1 meter in this research, different values would be obtained for EI and EA in different models according to the Eqs. (7) and (8) [24]. Since the modeling was done with asymmetric method, thus half of the diameter of the real foundation was modeled, and the modeling was done in direction of x-axis, three times more than the foundations diameter (3B), and in the direction of y-axis equal to the number of the layers mentioned in Table 1. Moreover, Table 4 shows the parameters needed for determining the plate input parameters into Plaxis software. d=  ½ deq (7) (8) Fig. 6. Geometry of the model. Table 4. Plate parameters EI (kNm2/m) EA (kN/m) E (kPa) Df(m) Var. Var. 2.5ÃÆ'-107 1 Results and discussion Seven models were developed for different values of foundation diameter (8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 m). Then, they were analyzed by finite element method using Plaxis. Because of axis plain strain in Plaxis, foundation is considered as a strip with B/2 of diameter and 1 m, orthogonal to the plane as shown in Fig. 6. Amount of vertical displacement in center and below of the foundation (sections are in center and 1 meter below the above subgrade of soil model) is obtained according to the load determined by the construction analysis (120 kN/m2). The soil subgrade reaction coefficient is calculated by Eq. (9) for any values of foundation diameter [25]: (9)

The Quakers and Arts in Utopian Societies :: Essays Papers

The Quakers and Arts in Utopian Societies Today, we can still find many examples of past utopias. A utopia is an ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, moral and legal aspects.1 They do not approve of any actions that are superficial and unnecessary. In addition to these beliefs, people from utopian societies are strong believers in God. Sharing many of these same ideals, the Quakers are a group with a strong faith. Despite the fact that Quakers feel art is a luxury and a frivolous thing that they should not take part in, many great artists and writers are members of the Quaker society. George Fox founded the Quakers also known as the Society of Friends in 1650. This was a time of religious turmoil in England due to people searching for an uncorrupted version of Christianity. For their form of religion, the Quakers relied primarily on spiritual searching done by individual members, congregations and meetings. The Quakers were mainly involved in humanitarian work, seeing the good in everything. They sought to practice total Christianity, with their main opposition toward slavery. During the civil war, "the Quakers took the lead in the abolitionist movement and in running the Underground Railroad, which aided runaway slaves."2 In 1671, William Penn, a leader of the group, worked solely on expanding the Quakers and joining them with other groups.3 Fox developed the idea of "Inner Light". This is found within each person, and is a divine inspiration that brings joy and an enlightened conscience. It is God’s spirit found in every human soul. Fox felt that "following the inward light would lead to spiritual development and towards individual perfection." He taught the members to worship in silence and people only spoke when they felt moved by the Holy Spirit when they were in their meetings. George Fox promoted simple living; he was against alcohol, holidays, sports, theater, and jewelry. They thought of themselves as friends of Jesus and later, the Quakers also became known as the Society of Friends.4 The Quakers have been associated with the color gray, or drab, because of the simple living that they remain faithful to. Drab is a color that is a mixture of yellow and gray, or a dull light brown. The Friends found colors to be a distraction, using gray to avoid the excitement that was looked down upon. This was also used to keep the divine inspiration within themselves.