Sustainable redevelopment of contaminated land Dissertation

Sustainable redevelopment of contaminated land - Dissertation Example Research Philosophy 23 2.3. Research approach 25 2.4. Research Strategy 25 2.5. Research Choices 27 2.6. Research Framework adopted 29 3. Literature Review 31 3. Literature Review 31 3.1. Complex issues in Brownfield projects 33 3.2. Models for Brownfield projects 35 3.2.1 Bath Model 37 3.2.2. A-B-C Model 39 3.2.3. Football Model 43 3.2.4. Land Use Puzzle Model 47 3.2.5. Interaction Matrix 47 3.3. Risk assessment in BRP projects 49 3.3.1 Economic Risks 51 3.3.2. Environmental Risks 55 3.3.3. Social Risks 59 3.3.4. Technical Risks 63 3.4. Legal issues and problems in BRP 67 3.5. Valuation of BRP sites 69 3.6. Assessment matrix for case study evaluation 73 4. Analysis of Case Studies 79 4. Analysis of Case Studies 79 4.1. Selection of case studies 79 4.2. Kings Waterfront, Liverpool Case Study 79 4.3. Thames Gateway Case study 89 4.4. New Islington, Manchester Case Study 101 4.5. Other BRP Case Studies 111 4.5.1. Stockton-on-Tees Case Study 111 4.5.2. Newcastle upon Tyne Case Study 113 5. Discussions 117 5. Discussions 117 5.1. Discussion of case studies 117 5.2. Development of Critical Success Factors for BRP 121 6. Conclusions and Recommendations 127 6. Conclusions and Recommendations 127 6.1. Conclusions from the research 127 6.2. Recommendations for BRP 129 6.3. Limitations of this research 131 6.4. Suggestions for future research 131 References 133 References 133 List of tables and figures Figure 1.1. Approaches to risk management (MAH, 2007) 15 Figure 1.2. Exposure pathways for BRP sites (ENE, 2011) 17 Figure 2.1. The Research Onion of methodology (Saunders, et al, 2009) 23 Figure 2.2. Research framework adopted 29 Figure 3.1. Sustainable dimensions of regeneration (McCarthy, 2002) 35 Figure 3.2. Bath tub model (Alberini, 2005) 37 Figure 3.3. ABC Model (De Sousa, et al, 2009) 41 Figure 3.4. Football Model (Boehm, 2009) 45 Figure 3.5. Interaction Mix Model (Schadler, 2011) 49 Figure 3.6. Parameters and inputs for BRP site valuation (RICS, 2003) 73 Table 3.1. Assessment Matrix for case study evaluation 77 Table 3.2. Interpretation of scores(NEMW, 1997) 77 Figure 4.1. Kings Waterfront BRP site (Evans & Shaw, 2012) 83 Table 4.1. Assessment matrix for Liverpool case study 89 Figure 4.2. Thames Gateway BRP map (Delivery Plan, 2009) 91 Figure 4.3. Zero Carbon home design at Thames Gateway BRP (Delivery Plan, 2009) 95 Table 4.2. Assessment matrix for Thames Gateway Case Study 97 Figure 4.4. Plan of the New Islington site (Grant, 2010) 105 Table 4.3. Assessment matrix for Islington, Manchester Case Study 107 Table 5.1. Summary of scores 117 Figure 5.1. Critical Success factors for BRP (Dixon & Otsuka, 2010) 123 1. Introduction Sustainable redevelopment of contaminated land, also called as Brownfield Redevelopment Process - BRP, refers to redevelopment of contaminated land that was used earlier for industrial infrastructure and other commercial purpose (EPA, 2005). Such sites would have low to medium concentrations of oil and solvents in the so il, there would be hydrocarbon chemical spills, mixing of heavy metals such as lead and paints, asbestos, tributylins and other such harmful material (MAH, 2007). Such sites would have housed Old industrial and chemical plants and other such units many decades back when environmental standards and regulations on spills and pollution were not very strict (Bacot and Cindy, 2006). In many cases, such sites are located along rivers and highways and near inner near city areas and the land is considered valuable due to its proximity to the city centre. Such

Benefits of Mobile Business Intelligence Research Paper

Benefits of Mobile Business Intelligence - Research Paper Example From the report it is clear that Mobile BI should be considered because it enables data that is captured by the mobile devices to be integrated on- the -fly hence enabling the mobile workers to get current reports and make important decisions on time.According to the discussion findings the Mobile BI should be considered because many individuals have the access of the tablet devices and Smart phones that are simple, affordable, and practical and provide strong analytics and features with functionality of forecasting algorithms in intuitive, user-friendly and browser environments that are customizable to many users and provide views that are meaningful. The new Mobile BI should be considered because it is cost effective and can be accessed anywhere so long as individuals have mobile phones. The technology improves knowledge sharing that supports organizational cohesion and collaboration. The business value for Mobile BI is that it enhances the organization’s customer satisfacti on and productivity and enables the business to succeed by adapting to the market, customers, and the competitive changes quickly. Mobile BI enables information technology organizations and businesses to evaluate business intelligence using mobile devices and examining software vendors’ offerings hence enabling the customers to assess products based on deeper understanding of how the new technology addresses their own business requirements.

Electronic business

Electronic business E-business (electronic business) can simply be described as a wider concept that embraces all aspects of the use of information technology in business. It doesnt just deal with buying and selling it also deals with the servicing customers and collaborating with business partners and with organisation. An example of is Amazon, they deal with the selling of books and music cds online. They act as the middlemen in between the publishers and the consumers. E-business is any business process that is empowered by an information system. E-business can be divided into three parts namely business to consumer, business to business and business to employee. Today, this is mostly done with Web-based technologies. Electronic business methods enables companies to link their internal and external processes more efficiently and flexibly, work more closely with suppliers and partners to better satisfy the needs and expectations of their customers. In practice, this involves the introduction of new re venue streams through the use of electronic commerce, the enhancement of relationships between clients and partners and improving efficiency from using knowledge management systems. E-business can be conducted over the public Internet, through internal intranets and over secure private extranets. E-business covers business processes along the whole value chain: electronic purchasing (e-procurement) and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, customer service and cooperation with business partners. This applies to traditional and virtual organisations. Special technical standards for e-business facilitate the exchange of data between companies. E-business software solutions allow the integration of intra and inter firm business processes. Applications can be divided into three categories: A) Internal business systems: Customer relationship management Internal transaction processing Human resources management Process control Employee information portals Workflow management Enterprise resource planning Knowledge management Document management systems B) Enterprise communication and collaboration Content management system E-mail Voice mail Discussion forums Chat systems Data conferencing Collaborative work systems C) Electronic commerce- Business-to-business electronic commerce or business-to-consumer electronic commerce Electronic funds transfer Supply chain management E-marketing Online transaction processing Scope of e-business applications These applications can be available to different kinds of users: All users of the internet Only the employees on the intranet A specified targeted group of users of an extranet (like customers, partners etc.) E-business offers the opportunity to rethink a whole range of assumptions about how businesses operate, how they relate to their customers and supplies, and their roles and position in the wider market place. The drivers for e-business can be divided into the follows: Opportunities and Threats. Opportunities E-business gives the opportunity to choose a business model. Some organisations such as prudential assurance with Egg and Co-operative Bank with smile have launched different internet businesses, and have taken the opportunity to establish a new brand which might be more representative of their business vision for the future of their business, that an old long-standing brands. E-commerce also gives the opportunity to define the relationship with customers. I.e. routine service transactions are under the customers control. The customer is encouraged to learn the script for example the process associated with placing an order. This learning increases the barriers to switching. Customer knowledge: This embeds the collection of data which give the organisation an upper hand over rivals for example my bank. My bank knows my by name and address which can help stop crime. Cost saving on transactions can be considerable because the customer takes responsibility for a large element of the service transaction. Access to global markets: This takes place mostly in niche markets; access to such global markets has provided welcome opportunities for small businesses and entering the global market is challenging. Threats Barrier of entry are minimal. It takes short period of time to implement web presence and thereby to launch a new business. Size doesnt matter and indeed small and medium sized companies may be more flexible and adaptable. Increase customer expectation about choice, especially in relation to wide product range, the opportunity to undertake comparison shopping, and 24-hour availability. Pressure on product margins. Markets that have pressure on product margins, additional pressure will arise from an additional channel of delivery. Virtual organisations (VO) This is a temporary network of independent companies- supplies, customers, even rivals- linked by information technology to share skills, costs, assets, ideas to create, distribute product and services with out being limited by traditional boundaries or locations and gaining access to one anothers markets. Virtual organisation has many locations and need to communicate between those locations, to share information and work collaboratively on that shared information to produce joint products and services, with the use of information systems. From my point of view virtual organisation can be described as A virtual organisation is an opportunity-pulled and opportunity defined integration of core competencies of different partners which is based on information systems. In a virtual organisation a single project can run across different partners on basis of computer support. In a virtual organisation experts can be accessed through the computer network. In a virtual organisation participants interact with each other as team members within computer supported collaborative work. In a virtual organisation, companies must be connected electronically so that people within an organisation can inter-operate and intra-operate across the electronic business environment, using common tools to navigate around the e-business environment and share information. Virtual organisation will have neither central office nor an organisation chart. This type of organisation will have no hierarchy and no vertical integration. The purpose of such an organisation is to or alliance is to command speed and flexible in order to: Break down market barriers to new products by rallying the required skills and expertise from groups, individuals, and even rivals from outside organisational boundaries. Gain access into new markets and technologies. For this type of organisation to exist they must have the following: Adaptability, flexibility and responsiveness to change requirements and conditions. Effectiveness. Empowerment of staff. Low level of bureaucracy. High infusion of IT to support business processes and knowledge workers. Stewardship of expertise, know-how and knowledge. Dispersion of components parts. The success factors for such organisations are: Shared risks. Mutual benefits. Trust. A shared vision. The goals of a virtual organisation are: Excellence: each partner brings its core competence. Utilization: resources of partners are utilized more profitably. Opportunism: market opportunity can be met better together than by each individual company. Any of these factors can change the opportunism that led to the formation of a virtual organisation may lead to its demise. The bad thing about this organisation is that when they is a conflict, misunderstandings or unforeseen event the organisation has few established procedures to deal with the negotiation and conflict resolution. In a virtual organisation a key component to have is a virtual team. A virtual team is an evolutionary form of network organisation enabled by advances in information and communication technology. The opportunistic nature of such alliances suggests that they will generally be short term and exist only until after their objective has been achieved. The five main attributes of a virtual organisation are alliance for a common goal, underlying information and communication technologies, vertical integration, globalization, and collaboration. The member companies may then disband and proceed to create new partnerships. In reality the permanence of alliances an d the way in which virtual organisations mutate will depend on the interdependencies between the member the members, and the extent to which original objectives evolves into new shared objectives. Organisations are driven to become VO due to different situation: Needs for process innovation companies are often motivated by competitive pressures, supply, demands and other factors to achieve increased productivity and quality. Sharing of core competencies- VO (virtual organisation) help address the voids in an organisation for example the starting up, turn over and retirements. Mobile workers- VO (virtual organisation) concepts can help the numerous companies employing mobile staff such as auditors, consultant and technicians. Cost reduction- improving efficiency often means reducing overhead, such as redistributing cost over several partners locations. Changes in employee values and attitudes toward work- quality of life are a major factor in keeping and employing staff. Costs and problems of traveling- VOs (virtual organisation) address transportation issues, such as unpredicted commuting time, traffic hassles, the cost of fuel and environmental impact of commuting. For an organisation to be able to implement VOs (virtual organisation) it will include: Telecommuting the partners employees work at a location away from the usual workplace such as at home or mobile locations. Tele-centres these satellite offices typically are located in communities outside of local area but provide space, equipments for employees commonly not available in telecommuting. Mobile working this refers to the working environment of mobile workers who are required to use technology such as mobile phones, e-mail wireless devices, pagers and laptops. Hot desking is when employees of an organisation temporary physical occupy a work station or surface in the organisation or a partners organisation. Hoteling employees of this organisation dont have traditional office space in a building but instead work from home or the road and reserve conference rooms or offices at a building, usually the companys headquarters, when they need to meet with clients, colleagues, or their departments. Virtual team is a group of employees that work in a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT), space, and organisational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology i.e. e-mail, groupware or video conferencing. Technologies In E-business technology is any thing that facilitates and constrains the development of e-business. Most of the excitement around e-business is integrally associated with the potential of the internet, and more specifically the web. Whiles these technologies are important let us not forget that in e-business, especially in business-to-consumer applications, is concerned with allowing customers access through whichever channel they choose for example mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) with WAP display or public access kiosks i.e. in airports, railway stations, and shopping centres. So in other words customer will want to be able to access information in the move, as well as through fixed machines at home or at work. The only problems with this is that the products been viewed can not be touched, smelt, or seen like in a traditional shop. An advantage of these e-businesses is that a customer can go to a virtual mall and collect information on a product, compare prices with similar products and also check details of the product. The main technologies that I will be talking about will be: The internet. The World Wide Web. Intranet and Extranets. The term internet and World Wide Web are often used interchangeably. These two are not the same thing. The internet is a collection of interlinked computer networks or a network of networks while the World Wide Web comprises of those servers linked to the internet that use HTTP. The defining characteristic of the web is that websites or documents are linked to one another through hyperlinks which are embedded in the website. Users move from one site to another with the help of hyperlinks. Another concept that is often encountered in the internet world is that of the intranet. An intranet is an organisations internal communication system that uses internet technology. Intranet is a web browser and graphical user interface. While the internet offers access to its contents for almost any member of the public, intranet have strict access controls in form of passwords and firewalls. These security devices protect company web pages, document databases and other information from external access. These are useful for large companies operating from several places. Extranet is an extended intranet that gives access to users beyond the organisation such as customers, suppliers, collaborators and some times competitors. Extranet also have security devices that protect information from other internet users and define the level of access for approved users. The internet connects millions of computers and the rate of increase in use and the new subscriber are the growth day by day all over the world. This is why a lot of companies are very excited and invest a lot of money in the e-business area of there company. For companies the internet is the gateway to a huge market its just a matter of finding your niche. An example of a very success internet company that we all know is Amazon. Most companies find it important to have a presence online in form of a website, since the internet is becoming a cheaper way of promotion and visibility. For customer the internet is a gateway to information, commercial and government websites, software and document archives, and e-mail. The internet offers for both the customer and companies a rich seam of information and commercial transactions and commerce. Relationship between E-business, Virtual Organisation, and Technology. The relationship between e-business, virtual organisation and technology are that virtual organisation needs e-business and technology. In virtual organisation technology is important because virtual organisation needs these technologies such as the internet to form and re-form alliances and to create blurred boundaries of the organisation, break down barriers to entry and gain access to new markets. It also needs technology for security issues, compatibilities and interoperability, payment mechanism and mobile network channel capacity. It needs e-business because e-business embraces all aspects of information technology in business i.e. security issues related with data security and payment mechanisms, reducing costs, improved customer service and increased competitive edge. This includes buying and selling, collaborating with business partners and the integration across business processes and communication within the organisation. Technology has also helped the virtual organisation advance information and communications technologies. It has also have in flexibility, improved security, low costs, and improved resource utilization. Technology has helped communication to allow members separated by time and space and often culture, geography, history and future to engage in collaborative work. E-business technology is important because e-business needs technology to be able to embrace information technology for example without the internet e-business will not be able to care out tasks like buying and selling online, communicating with customers, companies being able to promote and be visible online. So without technology they will be no e-business. Virtual organisation can be related to e-business only if a company is involved in a temporary network of independent companies linked by information technology to share skills, costs and access to one anothers markets or to produce a product or service. Virtual Organisations and e-business are related to technology or work hand to hand because without them the relevant technologies would not have being created for example in e-business the online transaction processing would have being useless because they will be no need for online transaction without the introduction of e-business. In the case of virtual organisation technology has help make it work for example the internet has made it easy for a virtual organisation to form and re-form alliances and to create blurred boundaries of the organisation, break down barriers to entry and gain access to new markets. Technology has also helped virtual organisation advance information and communications technologies. It has also have in flexibility, improved security, low costs, and improved resource utilization. Technology has helped communication to allow members separated by time and space and often culture, geography, history and future to engage in collaborative work. Benefits of E-business are that it gives the opportunity to choose a business model, it redefines the business relationship, it introduces cost saving for the company i.e. advertising or overhead costs, it gives the company access to new global markets, the company gets introduced to E-commerce, it gives companies like banks Customer knowledge for instant knowing the customer by first name. Benefits of technology are better communication i.e. able to reach more people with the help of the internet, saves on over head costs, it introduces cheaper ways of promotion and been visible to the customers and potential customers, technology gives better storage methods i.e. banks storing information on the magnetic strip of a credit/debit card or super markets storing information on a bar code, it introduces better ways of communicating. Benefits of virtual Organisation are the partners share risks, share costs, it breaks down market barriers to new products by rallying the required skills and expertise from groups, individuals, and even rivals from outside organisational boundaries, it give the partners access into new markets, expertise and technologies, it introduces increased flexibility of organisations and finally it improves customer relations for the partners. Conclusion As discussed I believe that technology, virtual organisation and e-business work to complement each other. Technology is important for both e-business and virtual organisation because both need some sort of technology to be able to exist or work for example virtual organisation can not succeed without technology. It needs technology to set up a networks, communications, security and e-business cant exist without the help of technology because technology is needed to embrace information technology foe example support the internet, World Wide Web, electronic mail, groupware such as lotus and video conferencing. In terms of technology without e-business and virtual organisation the technologies will not be designed or created for example in e-business the online transaction processing would have being useless because they will be no need for online transaction without the introduction of e-business. Technology has also helped virtual organisation advance information and communications t echnologies. It has also have in flexibility, improved security, low costs, and improved resource utilization. Technologies has helped communication or have meetings to allow members separated by time and space and often culture, geography, history and future to engage in collaborative work.

Animal Testing Essay -- Animal Testing

Animal Testing Animal testing is the running of tests and the research done in a laboratory on animals. Some of the tests are done to benefit human lives and other tests are done to determine side effects of a certain household or cosmetic products. It is a topic that has been up for debate for many years not only in the United States, but all around the world. While some support the advances that come from the research others oppose the cruelty that the media projects to society. No matter what one’s opinion of the subject is, it is still something that our society and culture deals with. There have been many progresses in the medical field and cures for a variety of different diseases found by testing vaccines and other treatments on laboratory animals. Scientists have been working for several years to try and discover a cure for the AIDS virus. According to Nowak, hopes for a vaccine to totally cure the virus are fading, however doctors have began to focus on a vaccine that would slow the progressions of AIDS. Diabetes is another disease that has benefited from the testing of animals. â€Å"Researchers who tested more then 50,000 natural and synthetic substances say they have found a fungus compound that acts like insulin, raising the possibility that diabetics in the future may take pills instead of shots†(Recer). As far as breast cancer is concerned, researchers for the government say that they have bred a strain of mice that identified what gene causes breast cancer in women (Waldholz). Another very important discovery in the medical fiel d is that â€Å"results of laboratory studies over the past year are providing new clues about how to prevent liver damage and giving researchers hope that they... ...er again and constantly ending up with the same results. In conclusion, animal testing is a subject that will continue to be argued about for years to come. There are two very distinct sides to the debate, it is either acceptable or it isn’t. Animal testing is a very beneficial process when used to discover cures in the medical field but should not be used just to simply test a new brand of cosmetics of household products. There have been several advancements made so far and more cures will be discovered as time goes on and more products are tested. The medical field has advanced so much due to the discoveries made from testing out new vaccines and medicines. They don’t have a cure for cancer today, but who knows, in ten years from now there might be a way to save loved one’s lives because of research and procedures that are being performed today.

Principles of Business Administration Essay

Both employees and employers need to make sure that they are fully aware of their surroundings and to make sure that they are not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol while at work. Alongside personal conduct employees and employers need to make sure they take on personal action, they need to be able to action when needed and not wait for someone else to take control of a situation. As an employer one way they can make sure that the environment is secure and safe if by finding out the information i. . who is in charge of first aid where are the main health and safety concerns within the building and most importantly knowing who to contact when need to if there is a major issue. Santander is an example of a company who made sure that security is top of the game, the reason for this is this company deals with thousands of customers account details may it be for credit cards or store cards, each member of staff are put through training which explains all about data protection and what to do and not to do. The ways in which staffs are told to deal with the accounts are as follows:- When contacting customer may it be from an outbound call or an inbound call all staff need to make sure that they advice the customers that calls may be recorded for future reference, then they must ask the customers security questions to make sure that they are speaking to the correct person (this can be hard as sometimes it is difficult to fully know if the person you are talking to is the correct person). Once this has been confirmed the employee can go on and explain to customer that they are in arrears and take payment to and note customers account, there are occasions when the payment system will not respond and the employees would have to write down the customers details on these occasions the customers would be aware and if they were happy information would be taken and imputed later on the information would then be placed in a specific bin which is collected one every week where all personal or private information is destroyed. Other things employees are told is when leaving the computer they need to make sure that they lock their screen this way no one is able to get a copy of any of the customers details, if the employee has any paper work laying around they also need to make sure that this is locked away if the information has any customers details on. Due to the amount if accounts that fall into arrears there are staff who mainly deal with the store cards and credit cards, these staff are aware not to talk about account holders details, when calling the customer they need to amek sure they complete security questions

Resotech Inc.

Resotech Inc. Time is a critical strategic challenge. For example, assume you are a customer being interested in a particular product. This product is very expensive and long lasting. It’s capacity is more than you need. Once you’ve bought it, you can use it for decades. Even product improvements and new versions would only rarely make you buying a new one, simply because they’re incredible expensive. A secondary market to sell the product might exist, but anyway you’d have to sell it at a discount due to technology improvements.The main question for you as a consumer is the following: How many products do you buy? The answer is simple: One. What does that mean for companies offering solely such a product? If a customer buys a particular product only once and stays with it, only one company can serve this customer. The company, that first sells to him or her, wins. The competitors have no chance to convince the customer to switch or to buy the next time fr om them, since there is no next time. This reveals our strategic challenge: Time. If a company is the first launching a product, it has a first-mover-advantage.If a company is second, a part of the market is already served, hence, the total demand and the maximum revenues decreased. How can companies be successful in such an environment? There’s only one way: Be the first! Either because there’s no follower (you’re a monopolist), or because you launch the product earlier than your competitors do. This implies for any company that whatever it does, it must ensure that the product is launched before the competitors launch their products (staying out of the market is no option since it’s the company’s only product).This brings us to the question of available resources. How many resources you have to invest to be the first mainly depends on how many resources your competitor’s are investing. Moreover, if they suddenly increase their investments trying to outpace you, you should be able to react. What does that mean for Resotech Inc.? The company is known for its amazing quality. The products are of superior technology and benefit from a â€Å"Rolls-Royce† image. This implies that a lot of time must be spent on R&D for developing a mobile scanner of such a quality.Delivery delays are possible, or even probable, as it were the case for the RS-1000. Moreover, the development might also lead to a delay of the RS-2000 due to limited R&D resources. And what if the competitors enter the market as well? One can argue that Resotech might be able to discourage other companies to enter the mobile market once they committed themselves. However, this is unlikely for two reasons: First, Resotech is a relatively small company. Larger companies such as GE, Siemens, and Picker will probably have a shorter product development cycles due to their huge financial reserves and experience.Second, Resotech aims for high quality products. C ompetitors are able to produce less advanced scanners and enter the market first. In contrast, this is no option for Resotech. Moreover, Resotech would have to acquire new personnel first. To summarize, Resotech could sell 25 units. However, there’s a risk that Resotech is not able to stick to its delivery schedule, since the development of a mobile product is â€Å"not a piece of cake†. This may result in penalties. Additionally, if we try to stick to the schedule with a less advanced product, we will damage our image as quality leader.Moreover, what if 25 units are not enough to break even and another competitor has already entered the market? If Resotech accepts the offer, it won’t have any spare resources to accelerate R&D to outpace potential entrants. On top of that, we put the RS-2000 at a risk of being launched too late, since we might face a shortage of R&D capacity for both products. Therefore, from a time point of view, I recommend to decline the offe r. Thereby we can focus on the RS-2000 and launch it earlier. Declining would be less risky, but maybe less profitable. It’s the safe way.