Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Aaron Douglas Essay Example For Students

Aaron Douglas Essay People may ask, what other than a tornado can come out of Kansas? Well, Aaron Douglas was born of May 26, 1899 in Topeka, Kansas. Aaron Douglas was a Pioneering Africanist artist who led the way in using African- oriented imagery in visual art during the Harlem Renaissance of 1919- 1929. His work has been credited as the catalyst for the genre incorporating themes in form and style that affirm the validity of the black consciousness and experience in America. His parents were Aaron and Elizabeth Douglas. In 1922, he graduated from the University of Nebraska School of Fine Arts in Lincoln. Who thought that this man would rise to meet W. E. B. Du Boiss 1921 challenge, calling for the transforming hand and seeing eye of the artist to lead the way in the search for the African American identity. Yet, after a year of teaching art in Kansas City, Missouri, Douglas moved to New York Citys Harlem neighborhood in 1924 and began studying under German artist Winold Reiss. His mentor discouraged Douglass penchant for traditional realist painting and encouraged him to explore African art for design elements would express racial commitment in his art. The young painter embraced the teachings of Reiss to develop a unique style incorporating African- American and black American subject matter. He soon had captured the attention of the leading black scholars and activists. About the time of his marriage on June 18, 1924, to Alta Sawyer, Douglas began to create illustrations for the periodicals. Early the following year, one of his illustrations appeared on the front cover of Opportunity magazine, which awarded Douglas its first prize for drawing. Also, in 1925, Douglass illustrations were published in Alain Lookes survey of the Harlem Renaissance, The New Negro. Publisher Looke called Douglas a pioneering Africanist, and that stamp of praise and approval for the artist influenced future historians to describe Douglas as the father of Black American art. His fame quickly spread beyond Harlem, and began to mount painting exhibitions in Chicago and Nashville, among the numerous other cities, and to paint murals and historical narratives interpreting black history and racial pride. During the mid- 1920s, Douglas was an important illustrator for Crisis, Vanity Fair, Opportunity, Theatre Arts Monthly, Fire and Harlem. In 1927, after illustrating an anthology of verse by black poets, Caroling Dusk, Douglas completed a series of paintings for poet James Weldon Johnsons book of poems, Gods Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse. Douglass images for the book were inspired by Negro Spirituals, customs of Africans and black history. The series soon to became among the most celebrated of Douglass work. It defined figures with the language of Synthetic Cubism and borrowed from the lyrical style of Reiss and the forms of African sculpture. Through his drawings for the series, Douglas came close to inventing his own painting style by this combination of elements in his work. During this time, Douglas collaborated with various poets. It was also his desire to capture the black expression through the use of paint. He spent a lot of time watching patrons of area nightclubs in Harlem. Douglas said that most of his paintings that were captured in these particular nightclubs were mainly inspired through music that was played. According to Douglas, the sounds of the music was heard everywhere and were created mostly during the Harlem Renaissance by well-trained artists. Douglass work was looked upon by most critics as a breath of fresh air. His work symbolized geometric formulas, circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares became the dominant design motifs for Douglas. It was in Douglass series of paintings called God Trombones that Douglas first expressed his commitment through the use of geometric shapes for Black artists. .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 , .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .postImageUrl , .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 , .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347:hover , .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347:visited , .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347:active { border:0!important; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347:active , .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347 .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua86923de532645ea20a5db0ab56e4347:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Harriet tubman EssayThe faces and limbs in these series of paintings are carefully drawn to reveal African features and recognizable Black poses. In Gods Trombones, Douglas achieved his mastery of hard- edge painting using symbolized features and lines. Through his use of these things he was able to bring to life the stiffness in the figures which symbolized Art Deco. But, unlike the decorative programs that exist in Art Deco, most of Douglass work capitalized on the movement that was influenced by the rhythms of Art Nouveau. Each of the paintings in the Gods Trombone series expresses the humanist concerns of Douglas. For example, in Judgment Day, one of the seven Negro sermons Douglas illustrated for James Weldon Johnson, he planned to place emphasize on the positive appearance of Black power. In this painting, Gabriel, who represents the archangel, sounds the trumpet to awaken the dead from their spiritual rest. He is portrayed in this Painting as a lean Black man from whom the last earthly vocal sound is heard. The sound, which is perceived to travel across the world, is the inventive music of the Black man, and his blues. The music, which is perceived to waken all nations, is the song of a bluesman or famous trumpet player. The musician, who is consequently the artist, stands in the center of the universe sounding the loud horn on Judgment Day. Douglas also has followed Johnsons chronicle and used simplified figures and forms to permit his interpretation of the Black mans place of position to dominate the theme. At the height of his popularity, Douglas left for Europe in 1931 to spend a year studying at LAcadenie Scandinave in Paris. When he returned to New York in 1932, the Great Depression was engulfing America. Douglas completed, for the New York Public Library in 1934, a series of murals depicting the entire African- American experience from African Heritage, the Emancipation, life in the rural South, and the contemporary urban dilemma. Three years later after Charles S. Johnson an activist in the Harlem Renaissance joined the Fisk University faculty and became the Universitys president in the 1940s and a fellow black artist recruited Douglas to establish an art department in Nashvilles Fisk University. Edwin Harlston of Charleston, South Carolina completed a series of highly significant murals. These murals depicted the course of Negro History. Douglas taught painting and was chair of the art department at Fisk from 1937 until his retirement in 1966. Prior to Douglass death in Nashville of February 3, 1979, his work had been exhibited throughout the country and featured in companion volumes, including Paintings by Aaron Douglas 1971, by David Driskell, Gregory Ridley, and D. L. Graham and The Centuries of Black American Art 1976 by David Driskell. In the decade following his death, the innovative art of pioneering Africanist Aaron Douglas was features in numerous exhibitions and in critical publications.

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Visual Arts Analysis Essay Example For Students

Visual Arts Analysis Essay Art Gallery to view the new Senior Art Exhibit. One piece in particular stood out, impressively. The work is titled Alternate Reality, composed consisting of acrylic on canvas, and done by Becky Lewis. Here, a bicycle is depicted as one looks past the railing of a set of stairs. Found the painting very intriguing because of its incredible use of color and line. One half of the stone floor sis vibrant red, and the other half, a brilliant orange. The railing and stairs are made colored a very cool blue and are contrasted by an electrically yellow pillar in the background. On either side Of the pillar are What look like black prison cells with pale purple bars enclosing them. The bicycle sits between the bars and the railing from our perspective, and is painted a rich green. The strangeness of this combination of colors, along with the strong directional forces Of the railing, really make this an interesting painting to view. I very much enjoyed spending time thinking about the though process used by the artist in deciding what colors would be used for each item. There was piece, however. That did not enjoy as much. This was a mixed media piece by Bailey Adulterated, titled When The Going Gets Weird. It is extremely difficult to describe what this piece depicts. There appears to be a flaming television at its center, and it is surrounded by alternating vertical stripes, one consisting of dog bones and another with a wavy golden pattern, In the foreground, there are two white pyramids, one with what Id describe as an Asian cartoon face. The television, and what is being shown on the screen (a man with a gun that extends from the screen) is somewhat silhouetted into the piece with a strange pale blue, In my opinion, there are absolutely no unifying components to this piece, and it seems as if the artist had no intention of creating any cohesion whatsoever. No element on its own is impressive either. Simply found it difficult to be pulled in and interested by this piece, and wish the artist wouldve taken a simpler approach to this work. Visual Arts Experience: Alternate Reality and The Going Gets Weird By Aaron

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Employment Issues that Nurses Face an Example by

Employment Issues that Nurses Face The U.S. and the U.K as well as the Middle East countries have high demand for nurses. They even allow for hiring nurses from another country just to meet the number of nurses needed for their country. This becomes a very great opportunity for many nurses around the world to get an employment. The United States of America gives good benefits for their health professionals. Because of those benefits, the U.S. has lured so many Filipino nurses who wishes to obtain a green card and fly to the U.S. to earn dollars. Need essay sample on "Employment Issues that Nurses Face" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The Philippines is a third world country and faces a lot of economic crisis and one the manifestations of that crisis is the problem on employment. When foreign countries announced their intention of hiring Filipino nurses to work abroad, many Filipinos has decided to pursue a Nursing degree so they could come to America and make a living there. Many parents had influenced their children to get a Nursing degree, so, when time comes, they could work abroad and petitioned the whole family to be residents of the U.S. Even doctors have considered having a step down from their professions to work as a nurse because of the benefits. This has always been the case in the Philippineswhatever is in demand, they go for it, not minding if they really like what they have to do. There has been an issue of how Filipino nurses have been breaking some employment agreements. One has reported of how Filipinos only try their best to get to a foreign land but once they got in there, they would soon try to break rules. One of the complains about them is that, once theyve received their appointment in one hospital, they only perform their task for several months or a year, and then they get out of that hospital to be part of another hospital that is near a relatives or a friends house. Owners of hospitals have observed a lot of that case. It appears to them that the Filipino nurses only wishes to migrate to their land to become U.S. citizens and are only using their employment benefits to make their wishes easy to attain. Some have already expressed their disappointment over the matter. This must surely be brought to the attention of the Philippine government. Another issue about the nursing career is that which deals with the competencies of our nurses. Most people conceive nurses as assistants of medical practitioners. That is quite true because they really do give assistance to the medical practitioners. An issue here is about the roles of the nurses. Should the nurses always be a subordinate to the medical practitioners? Usually, it is the general practitioners who give assessments about the patients cases. An argument has been raised on how nurses should be independent and could give their own assessments on the patients. It is usually the medical practitioners who employ nurses to be their assistants throughout their practice. And it is usually the medical practitioners who give the job descriptions of the nurses. However, nurses should be practicing their own independence and authority. And, it should be the district health board that has the authority to give the roles of the nurses. This argument has been raised to bring out the best for the patients. This will also uplift the profession of the nurses. One factor that was given consideration was the type of relationship between two parties being a member of the team with one being the employee and one being the employee. It is quite difficult for the nurses to be acting as a nurse especially when the medical practitioner, who is the nurses employee, is contradicting the nurse. It becomes difficult for the nurse to play his part because of the awkward situation he is with his employer. References: Brinkman, Ann and Ruth Wilson-Salt. 2007. How employment structure affect nursing practice. Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand. Jaymalin, Mayen. 2008. Economic lowdown dampens Pinoy nurses' desire to seek employment in US. The Philippine Star.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Lies essays

Lies essays James W. Loewen is an educator who went to college at Carleton University and furthered his education receiving his PhD in sociology at Harvard University. He began his teaching career at Tougaloo University in Mississippi, but would move on to the University of Vermont to teach sociology for twenty years. He has written numerous books studying the way Americans remember their past. Prior to writing Lies My Teacher Told Me, he prepared for the book by studying twelve principal U.S. History textbooks at the Smithsonian Institution for two years. He found the textbooks to be extremely plain, highly nationalistic and misleading. Loewen feels more voices and opinions need to be heard in our history textbooks. He feels besides the authors take on a historical event/period others should be heard. The teacher should give their interpretation, original documents involving the periodevent should be consulted, other experts opinions should be included and other voices be heard via the i nternet. Loewen believes, as he says at the end of the book, that fewer topics need to be taught and examined more thoroughly in elementary and high school. He feels the Civil War, the U.S. Constitution, and the Reconstruction period are very important historical topics that should be covered, but overall Loewen believes teachers should cover between 30-100 topics a year that excite them and that they feel students should know. Overall, Loewen considers all American historical topics/events important as long as they are taught in a realistic manner not idealistic, so students have a better understanding of their history for college and life. James Loewens Lies My Teacher Told Me discusses American History and the inaccuracies being taught to children in Americas schools. He declares that American students know less about their own history than any other sub ...

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Is the United States an empire To what extent do you agree or disagree Essay

Is the United States an empire To what extent do you agree or disagree - Essay Example Similarly, the Mongol empire extended from Southeast Asia all the way to Europe. On the other hand, the tenure of the Byzantine Empire covered years 395 to 1453.Whereas, when at its peak the British Empire was able to rule over approximately one-fourth of the total world population (The world Empire) The US global empire however is different than the previous empires the world has seen. The uniqueness in the nature of this empire is the global presence that it enjoys as opposed to the control over huge masses of land etc. such a presence is almost immeasurable. The recent US Defense Department â€Å"Base Structure Report† identified that the physical assets of the Department comprise of more than 600,000 individual buildings and other structures covering more than 6,000 locations and are spread over an area of more than 30 million acres. To be exact, the total number of locations is 6,702 which is then sub-divided into: 115 large installations; 115 medium installations; & 6,47 2 small installations / locations. Although the major portions of these locations are found in North America, however a considerable number of locations are found outside this region. ... S. Department of State indicates that all the 192 countries in the world, with the exception of Bhutan, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, have diplomatic relations with the United States of America. All these countries also enjoy the membership of the â€Å"United Nations† with the exception of the Vatican City. â€Å"Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area† (a publication by Department of Defence) states that the troops of the United States of America are presently posted in up to 135 countries. This amounts to 70% of the world’s countries. America is the world’s only super power by the reason of its having an advantage over the rest of the world due to its military capability, economy, global influence, scientific and technological edge and its alliances throughout the world.(Historical News Network) USA status as an empire Empire would mean political control the one that is exercised by one organized sort of political unit over that of anoth er unit separate from an alien to it. Many of the factors enter into empire—the economics, technology, religion, ideology above all the military strategy and weaponry--but the vital core is political: the possession of the final authority by one of the entity over vital political decisions of another. (USA as an empire) This might not mean the direct rule exercised by any formal occupation and administration; but most empires involve the informal, indirect rule. But the real empires require the effective final authority so states can enjoy various types of superiority or domination over that of others without being empires.( defining Empire, is the US an Empire) This empire dialectic yields some of the profound historical lessons, offered without proof, though the historical

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

World History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

World History - Essay Example When we talk of the impact which these civilizations had on us we need to accumulate factors concerning political, social, religious, and scientific impact. The people of those ancient civilizations laid strong foundation in the field of astronomy. The Mesopot The concept of living with a multi-cultural society was basically originated in their civilization. Since the Mesopotamians started their dwelling in between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, which was already occupied with Assyrians, Aklad Babylonians, Sumerians etc,. Today we could find multi-cultural societies every where .As a result the impact of one culture lays on the other. The art of predicting the future, the study of astronomy [the stellar movements], the learning of atmospheric sciences all came from Mesopotamian civilization. The Greeks seemed to have excelled in every field. Their civilization was the most influential one. They were the pioneers to built multi-storied buildings, formulated trade routes covering large territories such as Turkey, Cyrus, Egypt, Afghanistan and Scandinavia. Athletics and other art of sports such as â€Å"Bull-leaping†, Marathon was given by them and we still conduct these sports world wide .The Greeks were the first to introduce â€Å"Epic poetry† and â€Å"Lyric†. All the credit goes to Homer, the first person to present Greek Literature. The â€Å"Democratic form of government† and the voting system, the meeting of those people who voted was called as â€Å"assembly† was all their contribution and its impact could be felt obviously. The urbanized culture started from their time onwards. One more important impact is the logical and philosophical approach towards every concept of life, was given by them. The philosopher’s quest resulted in teaching an exact way of moralistic life. The Greeks had the view that the state should be

Monday, January 27, 2020

Refurbishment Of The Old Hospital Building Construction Essay

Refurbishment Of The Old Hospital Building Construction Essay Health issues are the primary concern of the government and needs to be dealt with high priority. This project is about ABC hospital trust which is under performing given the available hospital infrastructure. The desired result is to improve the hospital infrastructure and provide relief to the local community. There are two options available: 1) New Build project 2) Refurbishment of the old hospital building. The new build project seems to be a sound financial investment with regards to the public sector procurement. Benefits to be derived from this would be lower operational costs, lower maintenance costs, lower energy consumption, better budget control, high quality, improved functionality, and timely completion of the project. In Public sector procurement great deal of preference should also be given to the full life value of the project rather than short term capital cost. This report is a consideration of different procurement options with respect to addressing the objectives of the client and to achieve best value for money with a focus on the public sector procurement. It also presents a project management plan that includes various tasks which needs to be carried out for successful completion of the project. The Work Breakdown structure (WBS), linear responsibility Chart (LRC) and Action Plan (AP) are used to illustrate the type and scope of work which needs to be done over the entire life of the project. By taking all these factors in to consideration the integrated approach in the form of Design and build- Novation is adjudged as the best form of procurement. The main points which make this system reliable are speed of construction, single point responsibility (usually a contractor who would be responsible for managing the design and construction of the project); savings in cost along with maintain design standards throughout the phases of the project. (Masterman, 2006, pp. 66-90) INTRODUCTION The project is to provide a 6 storey hospital building providing acute care, accident and emergency, maternity and outpatient provision according to NHS Estates own design standards. Majority of the building will be given to inpatient services. The new build project option would comprise not only of the hospital building but also the associated road works, parking, hard and soft landscaping drainage and external works along with office accommodation, restaurant, and warehouse and delivery areas. The new build site is derelict and has been demolished to the ground level. It was used by heavy industry and has slabs and foundation remaining. The site is also subjected to subsidence and requires ground stabilization. There is a derelict pedestrian bridge which needs to be demolished. Also there are mineshafts which need to be blocked before the commencement of construction as it would be a major safety hazard. The refurbishment option of the existing building would involve substantial refurbishment and remodeling of the existing building. This would require intricate phasing and planning to allow its healthcare activities to continue. This would hinder the progress of the project which could in turn affect project completion times. The trust cannot afford this as they have limited time in their hands to make the facilities operational. Moreover substantial refurbishment and remodeling would involve costs which will be highly uncertain. The client is familiar with only conventional or the traditional procurement system. Traditional system requires design to be completed well before the actual construction commences. The sequential, fragmented and confrontational nature of the traditional system can result in lengthy design and construction periods, poor communication between clients and the project team and problems of buildability. (Masterman, 2006). The client has only 48 months to get the improved facilities operational. Hence, due to time constraint the client needs recommendation for new types of procurement systems to cope up with project deadlines and budget. STAKEHOLDERS A project stakeholder is a person or a group of people who have a vested interest in the success of the project and the environment within which the project operates. (Olander Landin, 2005, p. 1). The inference is that stakeholder can be an individual or a group of individuals which have the power to be a threat or a benefit for the project. Project managers should try to address the concerns of all stakeholders with effective communication to avoid conflicts and controversies in the project to ensure smooth completion of the project. (Olander Landin, 2005, pp. 1-8). Lack of integral engagement with stakeholders could also lead to failure of the project. They form an integral part of the project and one of the crucial factors in smooth completion of project. On the other hand, Business also has some stake in the individuals or groups for using their resources or their influences for running the business. (Walker Marr, 2001) For this purpose they have to be analysed in the following way : Identification of stakeholders Stakeholder mapping by Power/interest matrix Power/predictability matrix Stakeholder Management IDENTIFICATION OF STAKEHOLDERS Different stakeholders that can be associated with this project will be ABC hospital trust, City council local authority, Project manager, Architects, Contractors, Material Suppliers, Site Engineer, Structural consultants, NHS, Health and safety regulations, Wild life conservation, Insurance company, General Public- end users(patients and visitors),Hospital employees, Fire department. STAKEHOLDER MAPPING Stakeholder mapping can be done by arranging all the stakeholders of this hospital project into Power/Level of interest matrix and Power/Predictability matrix. Power / Level of Interest Matrix for this project Stakeholders with low level of interests and low power are easy to manage and would require minimal effort. (Newcombe, 2003) Stakeholders with high level of interests and low power to influence them needs to be informed about the major decisions of the project. (Newcombe, 2003) Stakeholders with low level of interest but with high power should be dealt with carefully and should be kept satisfied, failing to which their level of interests will rise and they will become stakeholders with high power and high level of interest. (Newcombe, 2003) Stakeholders with high level of interest and high power are key players and should be given top priority. The strategy of the project should have their consent at all times. (Newcombe, 2003) Power / Predictability Matrix for this project According to Power/Predictability matrix following inferences can be obtained: Stakeholders with low power and low predictability are manageable. Stakeholders with low power and high predictability will seldom cause any problems. STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT PROCESS. Project success criteria should be carefully evaluated in terms of time, cost and performance which might be influenced by or affect or concern the stakeholders directly. For effective execution of the project, resources should be available on time. These resources many a times would be at the discretion of the stakeholders. So after carefully analyzing stakeholder groups and interest levels along with predictability, stakeholder analysis with respect to stakeholders attitude should be carried out. (Turner, 2003, pp. 103-107) Stakeholder attitude can be accessed by the current level of support for the project by key stakeholders. With progress of the project, the stakeholders attitude towards the project can change which needs to be carefully monitored by the project manager. The different attitudes of the stakeholders can be summarized as follows: Changing the negative stakeholders attitude will require efforts by the project team. Key stakeholders should be the main focus of the team as they can affect the success of the project. When the stakeholders current commitment towards the project match their required commitment level then they must not be ignored, as ignoring them might change their attitude towards the project which is not desirable for the progress of the project. (Turner, 2003, pp. 109-110) STAKE HOLDER OBJECTIVES The main objective of the stakeholders would be to get high quality of health care operational within precincts of time, budget and quality. Future developments should be sustainable. CLIENT OBJECTIVES To select the best procurement route to achieve better value for money and to ensure the requirements of the stakeholders are met. To ensure the new facilities are in accordance with NHS design panel. To ensure that the project is completed within the time frame of 48 months given to them from the government. PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS Procurement is a strategy to satisfy clients development and/or operational needs with respect to the provision of constructed facilities for a discrete life cycle-By International Commission on Building (CIB W92) during its 1997 meeting. (Masterman, 2006, pp. 26-27) It can also be defined as the process that involves design, specification and acquisition of goods and services. (Carter Kirby, 2006) Procurement not only should encompass the method in design and construction of the project but also the cultural, economic, managerial, political and environmental issues raised by their implementation (McDermott Rowlinson, 1999) CLASSIFICATION OF PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS Procurement systems can be classified as follows: Separated procurement system Integrated procurement system Management oriented procurement system Discretionary system 1)Separated procurement systems: This type of system also known as the conventional system has the responsibilities for design and construction allotted to separate teams such as design team, quantity surveyors, contractors etc. For proper execution of the project the client has to deal with all the members of the project team and is himself responsible for funding and risks involved. Traditional system of procurement comes under this category. (Masterman, 2006, p. 28) 2)Integrated procurement systems: This type of system deals with responsibilities for the design and construction bestowed usually on the contractor. Hence in theory, the client has to deal with only a single organization. Design and build, novated design and build, package deal, turnkey approach are examples of this type of procurement system. (Masterman, 2006, p. 29). 3)Management-oriented procurement systems: This type of systems has the management aspect of the project carried out by an organization in co-ordination with designers, consultants to execute various activities of the project. The client will have a greater involvement in the project as compared to other procurement systems. Management contracting, construction management and design and manage come under the category of management oriented procurement systems. (Masterman, 2006, p. 29) 4)Discretionary systems: This system many a times can be argued that in reality this is not a procurement system, instead it can be means of controlling the project. The definition by Construction Industry Board (CIB) W92 states that It is a strategy to satisfy clients development and / or operational needs. The selection of the procurement system depends on the client and he lays down a framework for the overall administration of the project. Partnering and British Property Federation system are examples of this type. (Masterman, 2006, pp. 28-29,131-136) SELECTION OF PROCUREMENT ROUTE FOR HOSPITAL BUILDING Selection of a procurement route involves many factors to be considered such as Project cost, completion time, quality standards required, size of the project, risks involved, complexity of the project. Based on all the above factors Design and build novated system seems to be a suitable option for the hospital project. The main factors to be considered in this project keeping in mind the requirements of ABC hospital trust are: Project completion time Project management efficiency Project costs Provide relief to the community. Best value for money Project completion time is a major factor to be considered as any delay in this project completion would result in closure of the hospital which would have a major impact on quality of health care in the city. Delay in completion time would also result in delayed commissioning of medical equipments. Design and build Novated system enables design and construction stages to be overlapped in the project enabling speedy completion of the project. Commissioning of medical equipments and making quality healthcare operational within 48 months can be achieved by using this procurement system. Walker (1997) agrees to Smith and Wilkins (1996) that non-traditional procurement systems are more likely to enhance construction performance. (Morledge, Smith, Kashiwagi, 2006) As design and construction stages are overlapped it helps in improving communications between the client (ABC hospital trust) and the contractor. Hence overall project management efficiency is improved along with shorter project completion time. Certainty of project costs in this kind of procurement system can be achieved as there is no ambiguity in the clients requirements. Evidence also exists to support the widely held belief that when using this system the initial and final costs are lower than when using other methods of procurement basically as a result of diminished design costs, the integration of design and construction elements and the in-buildability of detailed design. This evidence was given further support by the University of Readings report when it was established that projects procured using this system were a minimum 13 percent cheaper than those using more conventional approaches. (Masterman, 2006, p. 79) Existing hospital can continue to provide some relief to the community till the new hospital building is constructed. Best value for money can be achieved by assessing on the whole life cost of the hospital rather than the initial capital costs. (Morledge, Smith, Kashiwagi, 2006). Whole life costs will not only include construction costs but also operational and maintenance cost over the life cycle of the project. WHY NEW BUILD PROJECT Benefits of choosing a new build project with design and build- novated type of procurement (New build) as compared to refurbishment are as follows: Refurbishment Existing Hospital. Design Build Novated Approach Requirements of the client 1) Uncertainty of Project costs as refurbishment can bring out many unknown costs involved in it. Certainty of Project costs. Project costs should be certain and should not exceed the estimated costs. 2) Uncertainty in completion time required for the project as the hospital would be in operation during refurbishment. Project completion time is certain. High speed of completion as it overlaps design and construction phase. Construction is 12% faster as compared to conventional systems. (Masterman, 2006, p. 78) Project should meet the 48 month deadline and should be fully operational. 3) Being an old building, it will be difficult to incorporate energy efficient methods or new technology leading to higher operational costs. New buildings can accommodate for energy efficiency which would lower the operational costs of the building. Low operational cost of the building. 4) Though the report show that refurbishment costs are lower as compared to new building, uncertainty in time and costs will lead to choosing new build. Construction costs are higher but certain. Low construction costs. 5) Whole life cycle costs would be more because of high operational costs throughout the life time of the project. Whole life cycle costs will be less and good value for money can be achieved. Best value for money. 6) Less energy efficient building. High costs would be involved to employ energy efficient methods Sustainability can be achieved with lower costs of accommodating energy efficient methods. Sustainable Construction. 7) Difficult to accommodate changes in design of building. Can be built as per the latest design required to incorporate changes in technology. Flexibility in design to accommodate changes in technology. 8) Existing health care facilities would be partially available to the public as refurbishing activities would be going on simultaneously. Existing health care facilities will be available to the public in the old hospital. Maintaining the existing healthcare facilities and upgrading them for future. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Supply chain management can be defined as the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate customer. (Vrijhoef Koskela, 2000) Supply chain management involves selection from different sellers and buyers inorder to get greater benefit from them rather than just focusing on an individual. Well managed supply chains often save upto 20% of the total supply chain costs whereas a poorly managed supply chain can ruin the economy of the company. (Gattorna, 2003). Present advances made by commercial companies in understanding the ways in which the supply chain works leads to significantly enhanced expectations for people who are responsible for procuring, commissioning and managing the construction activities. (Morledge, Smith, Kashiwagi, 2006, pp. 41-42). EFFECT OF PROCUREMENT ON SUPPLY CHAIN The most problematic area in the procurement process lies in the different stages of the construction supply chain between the interfaces of organizations. (McDermott Rowlinson, 1999, p. 58) In design and build Novated approach, the contractor is responsible for design and construction of the project. Being the sole person or agency it reduces the interfaces between organizations leading to efficient supply chain management. Also, the contractor might be having business relations with suppliers which would enable faster and effective communication between them regarding the requirements of the project. EFFECT OF PROCUREMENT ON QUALITY The designers have a task to integrate all the requirements in the project like fit for purpose, sustainable considerations, durability, strength, the aesthetics of the building, construction methods, selection of materials etc. This system has the same design team throughout the progress of the project providing better co ordination and clear objective for achieving high quality sustainability in the project. RISK MONITORING Construction projects require decisions to be made. Risk management is the technique used for decision making process. It is critical to have sufficient knowledge regarding the impact of the decision. Delay in making decision for gathering more information would result in delays in the project which would be highly detrimental and decisions made without sufficient information could have huge impact on the project. Hence, Risk identification and analysis form the basic steps to be performed in any project. (Smith, Merna, Jobling, 2006) Risk identification should be done for the entire project life cycle rather than only construction phase. Selection of suitable procurement route will ensure that risks are dealt in the best possible way. Risks not identified at the inception stage would require negotiations with the contractor which may or may not be successful. If successful then it would involve increased financial implications on the part of the client leading to cost over-runs. Risk identification can be done by three different methodologies: Brainstorming sessions. Analysis of historical data. Use of Industrial checklists. Assumption analysis. Delphi technique. The primary motive of risk identification is the recognition of potential sources of risk rather than perfect predictions of the future. Be any kind of procurement, risks are bound to be involved. We can just minimize the risks involved by selecting procurement system based on the requirements of the client and objectives of the project. Cheung (1997) suggests that risks should be allocated using the following priorities : person or organization best able to control risk effectively, who can absorb it financially, who has most information to control it, who benefits most from scheming it or for whom risk is normal in it business role. This can be used to allocate risk properly to the right agency which will benefit project progress. (Morledge, Smith, Kashiwagi, 2006, pp. 18-19) EFFECT OF SELECTION OF PROCUREMENT ROUTE ON RISK ALLOCATION. In design and build novated approach, it is the responsibility of the contractor to deal with design, construct and commissioning. Sometimes, operation and maintenance are also included in contractors scope of work for ensuring that it is upto the clients specification. All the risks associated are borne by the contractor rather than the client. The inference is that the clients involvement in the project would be minimal. This approach increases the risks for the contractor when compared to conventional approach. Once the specifications are finalized it is difficult for client to alter them. Altering the specifications would result in increased premiums. So it is essential to prepare the specifications carefully to avoid cost associated risks involved in the project. (Smith, Merna, Jobling, Risk allocation in Contracting Cycle, 2006). BEST VALUE FOR MONEY ABC hospital trust can achieve best value for money by choosing the new build project as it would lead to reduced whole life cycle cost, lower operational and maintenance cost. Being a new building, it would be easy to accommodate for energy efficient new technologies. It would lead to sustainable construction practices which wont be possible or will be difficult to implement in refurbishing the hospital building. Design and build-novated procurement system gives high speed of construction(early completion of the project) along with certainty of cost making it the ideal procurement system for this project with respect to value for time and money. BENCHMARKING PERFORMANCE Performance can be measured during construction by: Milestone Completion: Experienced Project Managers know that it is important to check the planned and actual completion dates of project milestones and physical evidence that the work is actually completed. (Schwalbe, 2006) Performance Review meetings Periodic project performance review meetings with the management help in tracking the project and control project schedules. A tracking Gantt chart that compares planned and actual project schedule information can be used for reporting the information to the stakeholders of the project. (Schwalbe, 2006) Worker morale The morale of workers and their work behavior will give a clear indication of the schedule performance. For example: If the project team members are working for extra hours every day then it will be a clear indication that the schedules are not realistic and the project manager would have to add more resources or reschedule it. Performance can be measured after construction by UK Best Practice Program (BPP) by evaluating the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Client Satisfaction Product, Client Satisfaction-Service, Defects, Predictability-Cost, Predictability-Time, Profitability, Productivity, Construction Cost and Construction Time. (Kagioglou, Cooper, Aouad, 2001) Performance of the hospital project can also be measured in terms of productivity. Productivity of this project can be defined as the ratio of the output of a production process to that of the input production process. In relation to the construction industry it can be calculated by ratio of work units completed during a period to its associated costs in terms of man hours or dollars. According to Thomas Kramer work hours, quantities and productivity are evaluated with baseline values used in project estimates. Effectiveness of the current performance can be measured by comparing current performance to the historical data or planned productivity. (Cox, Issa, Ahrens, 2003) RECOMMENDATION CONCLUSION The recommendation for ABC hospital trust is to construct a new hospital building using design and build Novated procurement system. This approach would reduce project completion time and increase cost effectiveness for the project. Quality at site, sustainability in construction activities can also be achieved with great success. Selection of this kind of approach would deliver good value for money for public sector procurement. This report also recommends periodical assessment of risk and stakeholders simultaneously with the progress of the project for avoiding conflicts. With careful monitoring of interests of the stakeholders in the project and appropriate risk management, the hospital project can be completed in an effective manner. Finally the end result to be achieved by this project would be win-win solution for all.