Economic Factors Building

Economic Factors Building Economic and legislative factors influence the design team and contractor throughout the building project from inception to completion In this assignment, I am going to highlight the various factors which influence the building project from inception to completion in India. If we consider place as one of the factor for construction economics, it will be fix as India as a country. in this assignment I am going to briefly describe a PEST analysis and its influence on the project. Introduction: Lets see what is Economics? Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.(Wikipedia) The science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses(Lionel Robbins,1932). PEST analysis is one of the best tools describing economic factors. PEST analysis consist of following major factors which strongly influence on the building projects from inception to completion. PEST factors are as follows- Political Factors Economic Factors Social Factors Technological Factors Some of the other factors which has also strong influence on the building project economy can be as follows Buyer Power Supplier power Michael Porters five force factors Stock Market performance Industry outlook Apart from the above factors we need to understand what is project and what are the stages of project Project: Project is the definition of planning, organising and managing resource to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives(Wikipedia) Following are the main stages in the construction projects: 1)Conceptualization 2)Pre Construction 3)Construction and execution 4)Post construction and handover to the client. Indian Construction Industry Scenario: The Indian construction industry recorded a consistent double digit year on year growth of 12% during 2001-05 and is expected to grow at 25%-30 % during 2005-10.the key drivers of this growth are government investment in infrastructure creation and real estate demand in the residential and industrial sectors. The Indian construction industry has been enjoying a strong growth with the infrastructure and the commercial sectors are the forefront of this. India expects its economy to grow by 8.7% in the financial ending March. Growth remains strong in the countrys services, construction and communications sectors. Indias economy expanded by 9.6% in the year ended march 2007.despite the forecast of slower growth, India is still the worlds fastest growing economy after China. India has become a center for US and Uk firms that want to outsource services. European and US firms have flocked to India in recent years attracted by its huge domestic market and well educated and productive workforce. The telecom and property sectors have seen the most substantial foreign interest. Buoyant foreign investment levels have boosted stock markets and contributed to consistently strong economic growth in recent years. India has recorded the highest construction spending growth 2005, driven by infrastructure and real estate sectors. The introduction of REITS(Real estate Investment Trusts)by mobilizing capital markets will further accelerate real estate growth. Technological developments like ready-mix concrete, 3-D Modeling and mobile computing are gradually being adopted. Construction activity is the integral part of the countys infrastructure and industrial developments. It includes hospitals, schools, townships, offices, houses and other buildings. The construction sector has major linkages with the building material industry since construction material accounts for sizeable share of the construction costs. These include cement steel, bricks/tiles, sand/aggregates, fixtures/fittings, paints and chemicals, construction equipment, petrol products, timbers, mineral products, aluminum, glass and plastics. The construction sector is one of the largest employers in the country. It employed a7.62 million workers in 2000-05.The sector has recorded highest growth in generation of jobs in last two decades, doubling its share in total employment. The share of construction sector in gross domestic product(GDP)which was 5.4 %in 1990-91,came down to 4.4% in 1999-00.Subsequently it picked up and stood at 5.1%in 2000-05.clearly there has been a decline in the share of construction sector in the GDP. The main reason for this is reduced government spending on physical infrastructure in last decade due to fiscal constraints. though their has now been an increasing emphasis on involving the private sector in infrastructure development through public private partnerships and mechanism as build own operate(BOT),private sector investment has not reached the expected levels. Political factors include following issues: Ecological/ Environmental issues Current legislation Home market Regulatory bodies and processes Government policies. Ecological/environmental issues: Environmental impacts must be considered at several junctures in the planning and design of a building project. First environmental issues play an important role in the site selection. Once the site is selected and design commences, plant and site design must incorporate environmental controls that will minimize the impacts to the human and natural environment during construction and operation. The environmental issues associated with building construction are, the site features, neighboring land uses and ecological conditions, specific facility components and design and level of community interest are all factors determining the nature and extent of environmental impact review. The issue can range from minor considerations of land disturbance to more significant environmental impacts caused by truck traffic or major alterations to sensitive ecological areas. Current legislation home markets: Recent past earthquakes (Uttarkashi 1991,Latur 1993 and Bhuj 2001) have clearly exposed the vulnerability of building. So Ministry of Home affairs, Government Of India constituted the Techno legal regime in country which follows earthquake resistant features specified in Indian standards and Building Codes. Following are some of the central legislation/ guidelines: Model Town and Country planning Act Vulnerability Atlas of India 1997 National Building Code State levels legislation Indian standard codes Regulatory Bodies and processes: As a designer of the building one has to consider the regulatory norms of national building code and local municipal authority norms for the total buildup area. A building code is a document containing standardized requirement for the design and construction of most types of building. Codes regulate building construction and building use in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the occupant. Code express all aspects of construction including structural integrity, fire resistance, safe exits, lighting, electrical, energy conservation, plumbing, correct use of construction materials. Government Policies: As in any democracy, policy decisions are often taken in India on purely political grounds, some of the policy change example which affects the building project are Ceiling over agriculture land Special economic zone act 100% investment of foreign money in SEZ Cement priced reduced for state infrastructure projects. Special Economic zone policy was announced in April 2000.this policy intended to make SEZ an engine for economic growth supported by quality infrastructure complemented by an attractive fiscal package, both at centre and at state level with minimum possible regulations. Economic Factors: Home economy situation General taxation issues Market and trade cycles Interest rates Exchange rates Stock Market Home economy situation: India is projecting a 8.7% growth in current fiscal year. The government has set a target of 9%GDP during 11th five year plan(2007-12).This represents the declaration from the unexpectedly high growth of 9.4% and 9.6% respectively in the previous year. India is not bad as most developed nations economies are going down marginally. So from Building project point of view Indias economy is good. General taxation rules: In recent year India has imposed 12% VAT on most of the construction material. But has lifted the local octrio systems of the municipalities. In Special Economic zones Government exempted companies operating in these zones from sales tax. So these are important factor building construction to calculate the projected cash flows. Exchange Rates: With demand for foreign exchange not keeping pace with the supply of foreign exchange, the rupee appreciated by 8.9% against the US dollar during current fiscal years 2007+08.The rupee appreciation against the US dollar over past 12 months on year basis at a3.2% was even higher. Rupee appreciation is also one of the major factor in building project from material and sell point of view. Stock Markets: Stock markets are an important instrument of financial intermediation. They saw from increased activity in 2007-08. primary market issue of debt and equity increased along with private placement. the secondary market too show rising trend. The Bombay stock exchange(BSE) sensex rose from 13072 at end March 2007 to 18048 as on February 2008 while the national Stock exchange(NSE)index Nifty 50 rose 3822 to 5277 during the same period. It shows the share prices are increasing and companies have good time to collect money from the market through IPO to grab new project or investment in new projects. Interest rates: This is one of the main economic factor from building construction project point of view. One has to calculate the ratio of investment in the project to return generated from the projects. It is essential to decide whether project is economical viable or not. Otherwise it is better to put money in bank and get interest on it if rate are high than return rate.

Doctor

In order to keep the sand dunes at Scrofula/Wanda economically sustainable there are several strategies that had to be done so they wouldn't be destroyed in the near future. Since there were an increasing number of people going to Scrofula to use the sand dunes, the council, state and commonwealth had the act quick to save the sand dunes. The strategies that were used for sand dune management in the Scrofula area include dune reverberation, polymers covering, walkways, and fencing.Dune Reverberation has been used in the Scrofula/Wanda area for the management of sand dunes because it removes weeds and harmful materials which may affect the condition of the sand dunes. By controlling noxious and environmental weeds, irrigating the planting areas, planting recommended dune species and installing wind protection fences, removing bitumen and other debris from the dunes and access roads, replacing the fences, the dunes can be reverberated so that they may main in a stable condition for fut ure generations.The second strategy is to install a network of paths and barriers to prevent people from shifting the sand dunes. Surfers often check the conditions of the beach by looking over them at the dunes. They run up to the top of them so they can get a view of where there are good waves or not. In summer, an astonishing number of surfers will flock to the beach. The result of those people all running up the dune would cause displacement of the sand and weakening of the dunes.To solve the need for people to travel around the beach, the council has installed walkways to provide a path around the area which doesn't involve people walking or treading on the sand dunes. The dunes have been fenced off in case any people wonder off and don't walk on the pathways. On top of that, board and chain stairs have been put put in to protect the sloped areas of the beach which may be vulnerable to deformation. Finally, polymers has been laid over areas of bare sand to stop sand blowingâ₠¬ ¦

Eng 115

Assignment 2. 2: The Public Needs to Know – 49 Million People are Experiencing Hunger in America Lisa Jenkins Strayer University ENG 115 Amy Sloan The economic conditions surrounding our food pantries today are that the demand from patrons experiencing food insecurity has risen dramatically, while donations from outside sources are lessening. Other factors include the increasingly higher cost of fuel and food, a change in desire for fresh foods versus canned, the ability to store these types of foods and the willingness for enough volunteers to lend a hand.Food pantries depend on a large amount of donations from large food chains and manufacturers. These types of donations are decreasing due to new technologies in the industry that help optimize productions, therefore lessening the amount of product that is overproduced. According to Feeding America, â€Å"Hunger in America exists for nearly 49 million people. That is one in six of the U. S. population – including more than one in five children. † (http://feedingamerica. org 2012) The USDA reports that 1 in 4 Americans access programs that provide food assistance through the federal government. (www. USDA. ov 2012 p. 1)The unemployment rate for 2011 was 8. 9%, a small decrease from previous years. (www. USDA. gov 2012 p. 5) It appears that the economy of America is not improving. Food assistance is no longer only for the homeless and unemployed. A majority of patrons receiving food assistance from food pantries report that at least one adult is employed in the household. Food insecurity does not only exist in the suburbs anymore. Growing populations of those in need of food assistance live in rural areas and do not always have access to food pantries. Food insecurity is growing expeditiously in the U. S. nd currently exists in every county in America. More women, children and elderly are experiencing food insecurity than ever before. The patrons of food pantries are no longer visiting only in emergency situations. The trend now is for those patrons to use food pantries to supplement their food sources on a regular basis. The special needs of those served at food pantries include the need and desire for fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and proteins to ensure proper nutritional needs are being met. Reports show that children and adults that are not eating properly will suffer physically and mentally in regards to their health.This is especially important with children who are still developing. Children that are food insecure will most likely not do well academically; have lower test scores, experience depression and behavioral problems in school. Women that are not receiving proper nutrition during pregnancy may experience complications during child birth and could give birth to low birth weight babies. Adults need access to nutritional foods so that they can maintain a healthy lifestyle and try to keep their self-esteem during this difficult time.The elderly may have fo od restrictions due to current medications that are taken for health reasons or might be handicapped and need assistance getting food delivered or prepared. The importance of helping those in need of receiving access to nutritional foods is of the utmost importance to the future of our nation. Some of the programs provided by Feeding America for Children are: The Kids Cafe, Back Pack Program, Summer Food Program, and The School Pantry Program. Essentially the purpose of each of these programs is to provide nutritious meals for children in need.The Kids Cafe provides meals and snacks at after school programs and churches. The Back Pack Program sends nutritious foods and snacks home with school children to provide food they might not have otherwise received over the week end. The Summer Food Program provides meals during the summer at safe and easy to access locations. Several programs are also available for pregnant women and the elderly. The National Produce Program has partnerships with growers to provide bulk sources of fresh foods available for distribution to Feeding America food banks.This includes special packing to insure freshness. More nutritious foods are being made available to the food insecure through the national Produce Program than ever before. Contact your local food bank to find out which services are offered or how to help. The benefits of all the programs provided by Feeding America are insurmountable. Providing fresh, wholesome nutritional foods to men, women and children that might otherwise do without helps those individuals live healthier more productive lives.Helping others with food insecurity will hopefully help those individuals eventually be able to help themselves and to turn things around so that one day they will be able to provide for themselves. The sense of urgency of the situation needs to be spread to individuals, corporations, local governments and politicians, as well as federal government in hopes that everyone’s awareness will encourage people to take action to help end hunger in the richest country in the world. (See figure 2. ) The importance of helping those in need of receiving access to nutritional foods is of the utmost importance to our nation.The number of those in need of assistance has more than tripled since the beginning of the most recent economic downturn. Costs of foods and gasoline are not stabilizing. More and more people are losing their jobs due to economic downturn and/or American jobs are being eliminated by U. S. corporations and then those same jobs are moved to other countries where corporations can pay lower wages and benefits to the people of those countries. These actions by large corporations and the government are not helping to turn the economy around. These actions are not helping to put food in the hands of Americans that are in need.No longer should those individuals that can help sit back and do nothing. There is no reason why the richest country in the wor ld should have over 15% of its population experiencing hunger and food insecurity. There is no reason why almost 17 million American children should not have nutritional meals available to them every day. Our government, corporations and individuals are needed to help make a difference. After all it is our responsibility to help others in need. References Feeding America (2012) Hunger in America Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. rg/hunger-in-america. aspx Feeding America (2012) Hunger in America: Hunger and Poverty Statistics. Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics. aspx (Figure 1) http://feedingamerica. org/get-involved. aspx (Figure 2) USDA Economic Research Service U. S. Department of Agriculture Economic Information Bulletin No. 93 March 2012 retrieved from USDA website: http://www. ers. usda. gov/media/376910/eib93_1_. pdf (p. 1) USDA Economic Research Service U . S. Department of Agriculture Economic Information Bulletin No. 3 March 2012 retrieved from USDA website: http://www. ers. usda. gov/media/376910/eib93_1_. pdf (p. 5) Hunger & Poverty Statistics Although related, food insecurity and poverty are not the same. Unemployment rather than poverty is a stronger predictor of food insecurity. Povertyi * In 2010, 46. 2 million people (15. 1 percent) were in poverty. * In 2010, 9. 2 million (11. 7 percent) families were in poverty. * In 2010, 26. 3 million (13. 7 percent) of people ages 18-64 were in poverty. * In 2010, 16. 4 million (22. 0 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty. In 2010, 3. 5 million (9. 0 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty. * The overall Poverty Rate according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure is 16. 0%, as compared with the official poverty rate of 15. 1%. ii * Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, there are 49. 1 million people living in poverty, 2. 5 million more than are represented by the official poverty measure (46. 2 million). iii Food Insecurity and Very Low Food Securityiv * In 2010, 48. 8 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 32. 6 million adults and 16. 2 million children. In 2010, 14. 5 percent of households (17. 2 million households) were food insecure. * In 2010, 5. 4 percent of households (6. 4 million households) experienced very low food security. * In 2010, households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 20. 2 percent compared to 11. 7 percent. * In 2010, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (20. 2 percent), especially households with children headed by single women (35. 1 percent) or single men (25. percent), Black non-Hispanic households (25. 1 percent) and Hispanic households (26. 2 percent). * In 2009, 8. 0 percent of seniors living alone (925,000 households) were food insecure. * Food insecurity exi sts in every county in America, ranging from a low of 5 percent in Steele County, ND to a high of 38 percent in Wilcox County, AL. v Nine states exhibited statistically significant higher household food insecurity rates than the U. S. national average 2008-2010:iv United States 14. 6% Mississippi 19. 4% Texas 18. 8% Arkansas 18. 6% Alabama 17. 3% Georgia 16. 9% Ohio 16. 4%Florida 16. 1% California 15. 9% North Carolina 15. 7% Use of Emergency Food Assistance and Federal Food Assistance Programsvi * In 2010, 4. 8 percent of all U. S. households (5. 6 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times. 2 * In 2010, 59. 2 percent of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance programs –Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamp Program), The National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Feeding America provides e mergency food assistance to an estimated 37 million low-income people annually, a 46 percent increase from 25 million since Hunger in America 2010. * Among members of Feeding America, 74 percent of pantries, 65 percent of kitchens, and 54 percent of shelters reported that there had been an increase since 2006 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites. i U. S. Census Bureau. Carmen DeNavas-Walt, B. Proctor, C. Lee. Income, Poverty, and Heath Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010.September 2011. ii The Research Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2010. (2011). U. S. Census Bureau. iii Ibid. iv USDA. Coleman-Jensen, A. , Nord, M. , Andrews, M. , & Carlson, S. Household Food Security in the United States in 2010. v Feeding America. Gundersen, G. , Waxman, E. , Engelhard, E. , Del Vecchio, T. , Satoh, A. , & Lopez-Betanzos, A. Map the Meal Gap 2012. vi Rhoda Cohen, J. , Mabli, F. , Potter, Z. , Zhao. Mathematica Policy Research, Feeding America. Hunger in America 2010. [i] U. S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 010 Annual Average Unemployment Rates. Figure 1. Feeding America 2012 Hunger in America Hunger Facts: Hunger and Poverty Statistics Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics. aspx Get Involved With nearly 49 million Americans struggling with hunger, it is going to take efforts from many people to help alleviate this issue. There are many ways to help in the cause. Figure 2. Feeding America 2012 Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. org/get-involved. aspx

Is The Presidential Election Process Fair - 1640 Words

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In 1787, the â€Å"Committee of Elevenâ €  had come to a compromise, and created the Electoral College, which is a group of individuals elected by the people to cast votes for the presidency. The Electoral College is described as â€Å"a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote† (Price). The reason behind the Electoral College was to preserve â€Å"the sense of the people,† while ensuring that our president is chosen â€Å"by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting underShow MoreRelatedThe Election Process Is Fair1226 Words   |  5 Pagespresident? The United States election process was created in 1787 and went into action in 1789 by the founding fathers (â€Å"Presidential Elections†). In the first election, two candidates that ran for office included George Washington and John Adams. Through the original election process, George Washington ended up taking office (â€Å"Electoral College†). 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