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When the individual movements of a work are linked using a common musical ideathe work as a whole is commonly described as?
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∙ 9y ago
cyclical form. This technique involves reusing a musical theme or motif throughout different movements of a piece, creating a sense of unity and connection across the entire work. It gives the composition a cohesive structure and can enhance the listener's overall experience.
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Why do you think the inventions of hieroglyphics and cuneiform were important achievements of the Egyptians and Sumerians?
Hieroglyphs were formed as the basic writing system of Anceint Egypt. Ancient Egyptians used pictures that stood for dissimilar letters and they were carved on burial equipments, on the walls of temples and tombs, on pieces of Egyptian jewelry and on false doors.Hieroglyphics are picture characters of ancient Egyptian script writing. They were created as an artistic representation of an esoteric ideaThe Egyptians originally created hieroglyphics to keep important records. They inscribed hieroglyphics on temples to tell the Egyptian culture.
What is the essence of drama presentation?
The essence of a drama presentation depends upon what your presentation is based on. For instance, if it is about a fight scene, the essence of your drama presentation would be conflict. Alternatively, if it is a romance, the essence would be love. It is up to you to decide what the essence will be.If you have already been told what your drama presentation should be based on, you should make this the essence and inspiration, whilst ensuring your presentation is original and unique. Below is a quick guide that can be used to create a great drama presentation.Develop your ideaThe first thing you and your fellow actors must do is come up with an idea. This idea should outline roughly what your drama presentation will consist of, and you should decide who will do what - make sure everyone gets involved. Ensure your idea is original, exciting and doable. You should have easy access to any props.Try it outNext, you should perform some basic run-throughs to create your presentation. This will show you how your idea plays out in reality - you will probably have to make changes to your original plan.Practice, practice, practiceOnce you know what you are doing and have an end result to aim for, it's time to practice. Arrange some short rehearsals in the run up to your final performance, so actors have the opportunity to learn lines. Make sure all members of your ensemble have the routine fully memorized and try to make your performance flow.The final presentationIn the final presentation of your drama piece, you should forget your nerves and perform to your maximum potential. Make sure you face the audience at all times, and speak your lines clearly. Hopefully, your performance will be successful and you will be rewarded with a round of applause!--- Karen CanumayI hope this can help you!
Who lived in Palestine before it became Israel?
Answer 1there are many different veiws on who lived there first, i say that the Jews lived in israel first...... Palestine was never a country before the Palestinians and for Saudi Arabia i have no ideaThe Hurrians, a people related to the Georgians of the Caucasus, lived in Israel (or Palestine) and Syria long before any Semite came near the area; they built the world's first dolmens in 10,000 BC; they are the Horites and Rephaim of the Bible (like Og and Goliath). In 9000 BC they built the world's first city in southern Turkey. They spoke a Kartvelian language. Northern Arabia was most likely inhabited by Hurrian relatives (around 10,000 BC) and southern Arabia was entirely Nilotic African. In 10,000 BC, an African tribe called the Nostratic people invaded southern Arabia from Ethiopia and eventually ended up on the southern shore of the Black Sea in Turkey. They were the ancestors of the Semites, Hamites, Indo-Europeans, Uralics, Altaics, and others. They brought the Adam story with them from Africa, and were the people involved in the Flood in 7300 BC.Answer 2Israel/Palestine: This area (prior to the Muslim conquest in 634-638 CE) was a Byzantine Imperial province. The majority of the population was likely Orthodox Christian with a substantial Jewish minority. The Christians would likely have identified as ethnically Byzantine, Phoenician, Canaanite, Samaritan, etc. The Jews would have identified only as Jews.Saudi Arabia: The dominant population in Saudi Arabia since time immemorial was the Arabs. Prior to Islam, most Arabs were henotheists, which means that they believed in multiple gods but believed that one of those gods was superior to all of the others. Minorities of Arabs were Christians (mostly of heretical sects) and there were also a minority of Jewish Arabs.
Is same-sex marriage disgusting?
One perspective:For some.A Second Perspective:I can stand gay marriage, but I don't think it's right. I am religious but that doesn't make my view on the matter invalid for atheists. Also it's not only religious people who don't like the ideaThe View of a Younger Person:Same-sex marriages are super gross, I mean, if it was right, then why wouldn't people have been doing it forever?? Why wait until now? Because it's wrong! People are so messed up these days, that in some twisted part of their brain, they think its ok. :( I am not a hater, I don't hate gay people, I just disagree. They did a survey, and most gay people were abused by their father or mother. I am religious, but seriously! I are generally a happy person! This just rubs me the wrong way.Thoughts of an Old Guy:Heterosexuals should not be the only ones who can be trapped in an "until death does you part" scenario. And, frankly, if this is something two consenting adults choose to do and it harms no one else, let them. After all, what they do in the privacy of their own home is a matter of their privacy, no one else's. Just like how what I or anyone else might feel about it matters to know one but the opinion holder, or shouldn't.See, here's the thing: if you don't pay their mortgage/rent, taxes, utility bills, groceries, health care, auto payment, or any of the other myriad other payments we all have to make just to survive, YOU have no right to an opinion, not one that you can share without sitting down, shutting up, and listening silently to the opinions of everyone else. If you are willing to do that, then by all means speak up. Just wait your turn respectfully, and be respectful when your time comes to share.Now, for the religious/spiritually minded. What does God tell you about what others do?Judge not.Unless you are planning on standing if front of the throne with anyone else on the last day, you have nothing to say about what anyone else does.
What is the central idea casabianca poem by felicia dorothea hemans?
The poem 'Casabianca' was written by Mrs. Felicia Dorothea Hemans. It starts out with the well known line, "the boy stood on the burning deck". The story relates to an extraordinary incident of devotion and heroism witnessed during the Battle of the Nile. It was on the evening of July 28 of 1798 that the English naval squadron under Lord Nelson sailed in. They had caught the French fleet at anchor and unprepared. The French flagship was the L'Orient and it soon found itself flanked by English ships attacking from both sides. A fierce battle was soon raging and the flashes of 2000 guns lit up the ships in the gathering darkness. L'Orient was caught by the English broadsides and was set ablaze. It was then that the English sailors saw an amazing sight. There on that burning deck they saw a boy standing alone. He was Cassabianca, the 12 year old son of one of the ship's officers. There he stood, alone at his post. He was surrounded by flames and facing the astonished English foe. Soon afterwards the fire reached the powder magazine deep down in the hold. The boy perished when the whole ship erupted in a massive explosion. The sound of L'Orient blowing up was heard at Rosetta 20 miles away. And the glow of the fireball was seen in Alexandria. It was an enormous explosion of a magnitude rarely seen back in those times. The English sailors stood in awe at what they had just witnessed. For some twenty minutes the guns were silent. The English officers and men were absolutely horrified at the carnage that had taken place. They sent a ship to rescue the survivors from the water. About 70 French sailors were saved. The account of that boy who stood on that burning deck was told and retold. Eventually it passed on into legend. The story remains a classic example of devotion and faithful service. And the poem continues to serve as a source of inspiration and wonder for many throughout Christendom. That boy who stayed at his post on that burning deck has not been forgotten. And the story of his heroic stand is remembered right up to the present day.
How many sperm to produce a baby?
A good healthy baby only requires one sperm, as a mater of fact only one sperm can be a part of a baby. However it takes a large number of sperm to ensure tha fertilisation occurs as so many of them get lost on the way to the ovum. There is a lot involved in evaluating the sperm. Following are some numbers from WIKIPEDIA to give you an ideaThe average sperm count today is around 60 million per milliliter in the Western world, having decreased by 1-2% per year from a substantially higher number decades agoChips for home use are emerging that can give an accurate estimation of sperm count after three samples taken on different days. Such a chip may measure the concentration of sperm in a semen sample against a control liquid filled with polystyrene beads.Total sperm countTotal sperm count, or total sperm number, is the total number of spermatozoa in the entire ejaculate. By WHO, lower reference limit (2.5th percentile) is 39 million per ejaculate. MotilityThe motility of the sperm is evaluated. WebMD defines normal motility as 60% of observed sperm, or at least 8 million per millilitre, showing good forward movement. The World Health Organization has a similar value of 50% and this must be measured within 60 minutes of collection. WHO also has a parameter of vitality, with a lower reference limit of 60% live spermatozoa. A man can have a total number of sperm far over the limit of 20 million sperm cells per milliliter, but still have bad quality because too few of them are motile. However, if the sperm count is very high, then a low motility (for example, less than 60%) might not matter, because the fraction might still be more than 8 million per millilitre. The other way around, a man can have a sperm count far less than 20 million sperm cells per millilitre and still have good motility, if more than 60% of those observed sperm cells show good forward movement. A more specified measure is motility grade, where the motility of sperm are divided into four different grades:Grade 4: Sperm with progressive motility. These are the strongest and swim fast in a straight line. Sometimes it is also denoted motility a.Grade 3: (non-linear motility): These also move forward but tend to travel in a curved or crooked motion. Sometimes also denoted motility b.Grade 2: These have non-progressive motility because they do not move forward despite the fact that they move their tails.Grade 1: These are immotile and fail to move at all.MorphologyThe morphology of the sperm is also evaluated. With WHO criteria as described in 2010, a sample is normal if 5% or more of the observed sperm have normal morphology.[8] Morphology is a predictor of success in fertilizing oocytes during invitro fertilization.VolumeThe volume of the sample is measured. WebMD advises that volumes between 1.0 and 6.5 mL are normal; WHO regards 1.5 ml as the lower reference limit. Low volume may indicate partial or complete blockage of the seminal vesicles, or that the man was born without seminal vesicles. In clinical practice, a volume of less than 2 mL in the setting of infertility and absent sperm should prompt an evaluation for obstructive azoospermia. A caveat to this is be sure it has been at least 48 hours since the last ejaculation to time of sample collection. Fructose levelThe level of fructose in the semen is measured. WebMD lists normal as at least 3 mg/mL. WHO specifies a normal level of 13 μmol per sample. Absence of fructose may indicate a problem with the seminal vesicles. pHThe pH of the sample is measured. WebMD lists a normal range of 7.1-8.0;[2] WHO criteria specify normal as 7.2-7.8.[1] Acidic ejaculate (lower pH value) may indicate one or both of the seminal vesicles are blocked. A basic ejaculate (higher pH value) may indicate an infection. A pH value outside of the normal range is harmful to sperm.[2] LiquefactionThe liquefaction is the process when the gel formed by proteins from the seminal vesicles is broken up and the semen becomes more liquid. It normally takes less than 20 minutes for the sample to change from a thick gel into a liquid. An abnormally long liquefaction (more than 30 minutes at 37 24°C) time may indicate an infection.[citation needed] MOTMOT is a measure of how many million sperm cells per ml are highly motile, that is, approximately of grade 4, or sometimes also taking grade 3 into account. Thus, it is a combination of sperm count and motility. With a straw volume of 0.5 milliliter per straw, the general guideline is that, for intracervical insemination (ICI), straws making a total of MOT40 is recommended. This is equal to 8 straws with MOT5, or 2 straws of MOT20. For intrauterine insemination (IUI), straws making a total of MOT10 is regarded sufficient. In WHO terms, it is thus recommended to use approximately 20 million grade 3+4 sperm in ICI, and 5 million ones in IUI.Total motile spermatozoaTotal motile spermatozoa (TMS) or total motile sperm count (TMSC) is a combination of sperm count, motility and volume, measuring how many million sperm cells in an entire ejaculate are motile. Use of approximately 20 million grade 3+4 sperm in ICI, and 5 million ones in IUI may be an approximate recommendation.OthersThe sample is tested for white blood cells. A high level of white blood cells (over 1 million per milliliter) may indicate an infection.
Planning a successful Kickstarter campaign fundraiser?
Kickstarter has been enjoying the best of the press lately; projects in nearly every industry sector seem to be enjoying the benefits of this surge in crowdfunding. Games such as Wasteland 2 as well as a new title by Lord British himself, Ultima-creator Richard Garriott stand side by side with requests for infrastructure funding and volunteer group efforts.Kickstarter is an electronic soapbox which anyone can step onto, with the right idea and a well crafted pitch, it’s the first wave of marketplace digital democracy. Let the best ideas attract the most backers!Developing a unique and marketable ideaThe main thing to understand when developing a Kickstarter project is to consider the audience.Who do you want to sell this concept to? Gamers? Retrogramers? Social activists? Humanitarians? Nerds? Geeks? Dweebs? Foodies? Hipsters? Dancers? Environmentalists? Republicans? Democrats? Those who enjoy schadenfreude? Those who are empathetic and soft-hearted?How much capital do you need to finance this project? A fully costed preliminary budget will do wonders not only to reinforce how seriously you are taking this project to yourself, but also to potential backers. Backers like to see where their money will be going, even if the rewards are not entirely enticing.What sorts of rewards, and at what tier of pledge, are you offering? One of the main ways that Kickstarter is being treated now is, in simplest terms, as a pre-sale venue. At certain reward levels, usually starting between $5 and $25, backers are offered a discount on the cost of the item being offered. Shelters or volunteer groups may offer a space on a plaque. T-shirt designers may offer a t-shirt and a thank you card. Bands might offer a digital download for $5.You get the idea.Absolute certainty of execution and capability to “get the job done”The one thing that’s certainly quite important about Kickstarter is to 100%, beyond-any-shadow-of-a-doubt, absolutely, positively, certainly know that you and your associates are capable of delivering on the rewards and the project that you propose.Do or do not, in the words of the wisest little green fellow to ever grace the swamps of Dagobah, for there is no “try”. Not if you don’t want 4chan, /b, and every other maligned internet miscreant tracking you down, looking for the results of the pledge they have made in good faith.Don’t be an oathbreaker!Producing in-house and inexpensive outsourced marketing and web materialsYou’re going to need to get attention, and fast. Kickstarter is already steaming towards saturation and this idea is going to be competing against thousands of other brilliant ones from all over the world. Sort of like Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, except more cerebral and more than a quarter is at stake.You’ll want to produce at least three short video trailers which you can upload either to YouTube or to an internal video delivery service / server. These should be about thirty seconds to forty five seconds long, well-lit, as well-produced as possible, and playing hard to the various niches within the largest audience that you’d like to target. For example, a paranormal mystery novelist looking for some seed money to pen and publish a trilogy might look to NaNoWriMo forums, several well-known bloggers in the industry, or a current and trending meme that’s widely recognized.Having an updated blog presence, at least once a day, will help immensely. Potential backers love to see when creators are sticking around and constantly updating on the progress of the project. It builds hype, enthusiasm, and credibility in the potential of your project.Get some photographs or static art assets to really increase the look of the blog as well -- nobody wants to read a wall-o’-text and the images will also make the project look more professionally attractive.With all of the right pieces in place, you’ll have to use these general guidelines as a framework to start digging down into specifics, and unpacking the challenges to follow.
Who invent the internet?
The DoD (Department of Defense). I'm not really sure what it was used for. But if you wanted to have Internet, you had to pay a fortune, can you believe that? And even then, the only ones who accessed the Internet were colleges, as a way to communicate and do all kinds of things. Think about it.
How were upper Egypt ans lower Egypt geographically different?
There were not definite boundaries, Upper and Lower Egypt were split by religion. Lower Egypt, in the top part of the country, worshipped Wadjet. Upper Egypt, the bottom part of the country, worshipped Nekhebet. It was these differences in worship which split the country. This is why the joint crown of Upper and Lower Egypt has a snake ,(symbolizes Wadjet), and a vulture ,(symbolizes Nekhebet).
Advantages And disadvantagesof six sigma?
There are many websites which will sell you the sixsigma mark,however walking the walk and buying the mark are very different things, as with all products caveat emptor.Many quality managers have read about and seen the benefits of Six Sigma but are unsure how to approach their senior leadership about the opportunity because they do not have a concise package of information to convey. Fortunately, there is a series of tried and true steps which can be taken to sell management on the benefits of Six Sigma. These are the steps blazed by pioneering quality professionals who successfully sold management on the methodology and eventually deployed an effective Six Sigma program.The Importance of Leadership Buy-inWithout leadership buy-in, there is little hope for Six Sigma adoption. A company's executives must believe and support Six Sigma's potential with dollars, words and actions just like any other corporate objective or goal. Executives are looking for a return on investment (ROI), risk mitigation and competitive advantage. Therefore, to convince them of the value Six Sigma will bring to the organization, it is important to present the benefits as a business case. The major steps to developing and presenting the business case are: *# Identify and evaluate your audience. Research and summarize successful launches at other organizations with similar functions; include the ROI and a sample project.Document critical success factors.Define deployment requirements.Define a pilot project.Calculate and display the potential financial savings range and ROI including "soft" elements such as corporate image and competitive advantage.Present and sell Six Sigma to the executives.Get ready for deployment!The AudienceThe first step is to determine the perspective of your audience. This involves evaluating their appetite for new initiatives and reviewing their previous messages to the company. Useful resources include mission statements, competitive or objectives cascades, and presentations made to various levels of the company. If appropriate, initiate an informal interview with the audience members in advance to determine their current challenges or passions and evaluate their previous success in finding tools to manage those challenges. From these sources, identify areas on which to focus the business case, including appropriate examples and pilot project ideas. BenchmarkingTo demonstrate the potential of Six Sigma, it is necessary to provide examples of successful deployments in other organizations. Focus on similar-sized organizations within the same industry if possible. The purpose is to show an investment of similar scale and the resulting performance improvements realized within one or two years of deployment. Many success stories exist in quality management publications or on quality Internet sites. A few hours spent using an online and/or library periodical search tool should yield a good list of appropriate examples as well. Identify themes that made Six Sigma a success for those companies and look for examples that include some of the messages gleaned from the executive research to align the message to currently accepted viewpoints. An important message to stress during the presentation to the executives is that simply training a number of Black Belts will not transform the organization into a "Six Sigma company." Leading consulting firms have proven the critical success factors through years of Six Sigma launches. These factors include true leadership support, a data-driven culture, proof of concept through the use of a pilot project, alignment to corporate/functional objectives, and full integration in the business environment. To strengthen the significance of the message, reference examples of these factors found in the success story articles. The critical factors are a critical take-away from the meeting. Deployment PlanThe purpose of presenting a deployment approach is to show the scale and timing of the undertaking. To address concerns about resource and training cost risk, include a stair-step approach to deployment. This approach uses approval tollgates to obtain executive signoff of the deployment's effectiveness before rolling it out to a larger group of employees. The first step is the selection of a pilot project with one employee and an external consultant or Master Black Belt. If the project proves successful, the next step is Black Belt training and project management for a pilot department. This logic continues until all functional areas have 10 percent of their employees trained as Black Belts and 100 percent trained as Green Belts. This scalability also allows the training of internal, experienced Black Belts to become Master Black Belts, which reduces the need for expensive consultant-based training. One successful way of presenting this is through the use of a one-page timeline showing two years of anticipated benefits, the goals of training, expected project savings and external consultant needs diminishing. Also highlight a continuous line representing ongoing executive support. Pilot Project IdeaThe selection and presentation of the pilot project idea is another place where it is critical to link the project idea to a known "hot topic" of the executives. It will peak their interest if one of the company's current challenges is addressed. But be careful not to promise "world peace." One of the necessities of an individual project is a scope small enough to allow for real, measurable and sustainable improvement within a realistic time frame. The pilot overview outlines the resources required and the process of evaluating its effectiveness. First review the objective (hot topic improvement) and the scope (one major contributor to poor performance). Next review the resources needed, including recommending an experienced, quality-driven employee for Black Belt training. Then outline the expected external consulting needs (a Master Black Belt), including a cost range. A natural next step is to review the timeline of the pilot project, which will explain the Master Black Belt costs over the term, including training and project oversight. The timeline should follow the DMAIC project steps with signoff tollgates to assure each step passes corporate and Six Sigma evaluations. The final evaluation should follow a few months after the project is closed to assure that the improvement is sustained according to the control plan implemented as a result of the project. The Bottom LineThe return on investment is the focus of many executives. This section of the presentation should include a five-year cost/benefit analysis outlining the hard costs and savings as well as a list of soft issues that also affect the decision. The hard costs need to include the offset to department staffs when Black Belts are assigned fulltime to Six Sigma. Other costs include training, consulting, possible travel, software (statistical, flowcharting), and hardware (additional laptops). The cost offsets will increase over time as training increases. They will represent the average savings per Black Belt for your industry based on three to four projects closed per Black Belt annually. Although the five-year return data will interest the leadership, the softer issues communicate the real objective - competitive advantage. Here it is important to show Six Sigma as an enabler of the organization's goals. Include appropriate illustrations such as "proven approach," "fact-based management," "process of continuous improvement," "sustained improvements versus fix and forget" or other selling points that fit the executive mindset. The bottom line is not to oversell the benefits, but to convince management of the potential so that they approve the pilot project and continue their support as Six Sigma integration continues. Presentation FormatA lot of time and effort will have been put into the Six Sigma proposal by the time it is ready for presentation. Despite this, the purpose of the presentation is to gain buy-in. It is wise to follow a concise format, coinciding with similar material the executives are used to reviewing. The best approach is to use a successful presentation example unique to the organization. In the absence of a such proven example, the following format is a good bet: *# Executive summary Concise presentation of the highlights a. Industry examplesb. Critical success factorsc. Deployment requirementsd. Pilot projecte. Return on investmentDetailed report including copies of crucial references (to leave with them for further information)Question-and-answer sessionSchedule a follow-up decision point meetingNow for the Real WorkWhen the executives are convinced that Six Sigma is the key to the future, they will likely view the person who sold them on the idea as the subject matter expert. They will typically select that person as their deployment leader to direct the integration of Six Sigma within the organization. The deployment leader's next steps will include selecting a consulting/training/deployment company, managing the pilot project, developing Six Sigma overview training, and attending Black Belt training. With the executives engaged in the deployment, the organization is ready to reap the rewards of Six Sigma.
Who inivented the Internet?
The ideaThe initial idea is credited as being Leonard Kleinrock'safter he published his first paper entitled "Information Flow in Large Communication Nets" on May 31, 1961.In 1962 J.C.R. Licklider becomes the first Director of IPTO and gave his vision of a galactic network. In addition to the ideas from Licklider and Kleinrock, Robert Taylor helped create the idea of the network, which later became ARPANET.Initial creationThe Internet as we know it today first started being developed in the late 1960's.In the summer of 1968, the Network Working Group (NWG) held its first meeting chaired by Elmer Shapiro with the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) with attendees: Steve Carr, Steve Crocker, Jeff Rulifson, and Ron Stoughton. In the meeting the group discussed solving issues related to getting hosts to communicate with each other.In December 1968, Elmer Shapiro with SRI released a report "A Study of Computer Network Design Parameters." Based on this work and earlier work done by Paul Baran, Thomas Marilland others; Lawrence Roberts and Barry Wessler helped to create the final version of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) specifications. Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN)was later awarded the contract to design and build the IMP sub network.Introduction of the Internet to the general publicUCLA puts out a press release introducing the public to the Internet on July 3, 1969.First network equipmentAugust 29, 1969 the first network switch and the first piece of network equipment called "IMP", which is short for (Interface Message Processor) is sent to UCLA. On September 2, 1969 the first data moves from UCLA host to the switch.The first distributed message and network crashOn Friday October 29, 1969 at 10:30 p.m., the first Internet message was sent from computer science Professor Leonard KleinRock's laboratory at UCLA, after the second piece of network equipment was installed at SLI. This connection not only enabled the first transmission to be made, but is also considered to be the first Internet backbone.The first message to be distributed was "LO", which was an attempt at "LOGIN" by Charley S. Kline to log into the SLI computer from UCLA. However, the message was unable to be completed because the SLI system crashed. Shortly after the crash, the issue was resolved and he was able to log into the computer.E-mail is developedRay Tomlinson introduces network e-mail in 1972. The first messaging system to send messages across a network to other users.TCP is developedVinton Cerf and Robert Kahn design TCP during 1973 and later publish it with the help of Yogen Dalal and Carl Sunshine in December of 1974 in RFC 675.First commercial networkA commercial version of ARPANET known as Telenet is introduced in 1974 and considered by many to be the first Internet Service Provider (ISP).Ethernet is conceivedBob Metcalfe develops Ethernet idea in 1973.TCP/IP is createdIn 1978 TCP splits into TCP/IP driven by Danny Cohen, David Reed, and John Shoch to support real-time traffic. This allows the creation of UDP. TCP/IP is later standardized into ARPANET in 1983 and is still the primary protocol used for the Internet.DNS is introducedPaul Mockapetris and Jon Postel introduce DNS in 1984.HTMLIn 1990 Tim Berners-Lee develops HTML, which made a huge contribution to how we navigate and view the Internet today.WWWTim Berners-Lee introduces WWW to the public on August 6, 1991.Internet experiences large growthIn 1993 the Internet experienced one of its largest growths and today is accessible and used by people everywhere in the world.
What are the assumptions underlying the theory of the Increased Cost Adjustment ICA formula?
Theories and Concepts of an Increased Cost Adjustment Formula for Construction ProjectsGENERIC IDEA UNDERLYING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEORETICAL CONCEPTS OF THE ICA FORMULAGeneric ideaThe idea of developing an ICA formula was born after the author sojourned in a country with a high inflationary environment in the 1st decade of the 21st century. For example, the CPI for civil engineering plant was reported to increase from 247,096.7 in October 2003 to 387,964.20 in October 2004 with an average CPI increase of 11739 per month [8]. In 2003, the author was working in the estimating department of a construction contracting company in Zimbabwe. Towards the end of the year, he was transferred to the quantity surveying department; eventually, working on a contract he was involved at tendering. The author was eager to see how the anticipated profit at tender was going to be achieved during the construction stage. At each monthly contract valuation, the computation of allowable costs against the actual costs showed the current profit margin diminishing far below the expected. A further observation revealed that the amount of increased cost exceeded far beyond the basic amount. This situation hypothesised the lack of proper recovery of increased cost. An initial research was done from 2004 to 2005 which revealed that contractors were not reimbursed their losses owing the shortcomings of increased cost methods along with the development of the ICA formula.HISTORY OF COST ADJUSTMENT METHODS The construction industry has been challenged with the rise of construction delivery costs which in some cases do not tally with the budgeted ones owing to the continuous and unpredictable change of the macroeconomic environment. Given such a situation, contractual clauses have been formulated to cater for optimum recovery of cost escalations. Subsequently, various increased cost adjustment methods have been developed and reviewed from time to time.Until the late sixties, the inflation rate was low and contractors were prepared to accept the risk of the rise of building costs and made due allowance for this in their tenders [1]. As a consequence of the world oil crisis in the seventies, prices started rising in unpredictable manner [1]. Fixed price contracts were no longer suitable for such an economic environment since contractors were at risk with regard to recovery of profit due to cost escalation. Contracts were then subject to a cost-escalation provision in which a contractor was compensated for all increases in costs since the base date of tendering [1]. Since then, several methods for cost recovery have been tried and these include traditional method and consumer price index (CPI) based formulae. However each of these methods has shortcomings with regards to optimum cost recovery.The traditional method of ascertaining the amount of price fluctuation requires the contractor at the time of tender, to provide a list of the principal materials, plant and labour to be used in the contract and the unit price for those materials on which bill rates were based [2]. The traditional method is referred to as a partial fluctuation reimbursement because the amount of increase recovered is much less than the total amount by which costs have really increased/varied [3].CPI based formulae include Osborne and Haylett formulae for building works, the Engineering formula for civil works and Baxter formula for civil contracts that are expected to be in excess of 24 months duration. Known also as full reimbursement methods, CPI based formulae were introduced in United Kingdom in the 1970s as an alternative to the traditional method to fully reimburse the contractor for losses incurred due to price fluctuation [2]. However, the BLShttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Wysiwyg?tid=wysiwyg#_ftn1 [4] neither encourages nor discourages the use of price adjustment measures in contractual agreements.PROBLEMS WITH CPI BASED FORMULAE The CPAPhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Wysiwyg?tid=wysiwyg#_ftn2 (Contract Price Adjustment Provisions) also colloquially referred to as the Haylett formula was introduced in 1976 as a formula method of compensation or reimbursing for price fluctuation in labour costs, material prices, plant and equipment, and fuel [5]. CPAP [6] stipulates that the purpose of the formula was to provide for the needs of contractors who required a clear-cut, agreed recovery formula method to avoid dissension and disputes with employers and subcontractors and provide a reasonable reimbursement of unusual price fluctuations. This formula is based on the Consumer Price Indices http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Wysiwyg?tid=wysiwyg#_ftn3published by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The CPI number measures relative price changes from one time period to another. The problem with the CPI is that it may overestimate or under estimate the market conditions as at how prices have risen. When the formula is used, no attempt is made to calculate the actual amount of loss involved; consequently, the sums recoverable by the formula method will differ from these recoverable under traditional method and will be usually greater [3]. Trickey [7] contended that by relying on an incorrect index could give very misleading results. Since no audit of the amount of cost increase is done for each individual item, one would wonder whether clients pay the real losses incurred. CPAP [6] clearly states that the formula can not precisely reflect the actual cost fluctuations on any particular piece of work or contract. De Vynck [5] noted that the proportions and indices applied are indicative of average price movements and do not represent any particular contract. The Haylett formula provides roughly 85% constant which is subject to adjustment. De Vynck [5] contended that as 15% non-adjustable portion eliminates profit recovery, this could be penalizing the contractor for profits not really earned.In low inflation environment, CPI formulae may operate satisfactory. De Vynck [5] believed that the stability of the South Africa's macroeconomic situation could see the disappearance of the index because it was possible to predict the future price fluctuations in building materials. Unfortunately, the macroeconomic environment never stabilises. Unfortunately, at present no study has been carried out to ascertain at which level the increase of the CPI would be problematic with regard to increased cost adjustment neither will be the scope of this paper. This study increases the awareness of the problems of application of methods used for increased cost adjustment relative to macroeconomic environment. It opens debate with stakeholders along the matter of increase cost adjustment and stimulates a need for advanced research studies.METHODOLOGYThe philosophy of the adjustment of the increased cost is reliant on three arguments, namely· Each contract is unique, thus the increased cost adjustment should take this into account.· The allowable profit margin on a contract is calculated on a percentage basis at tender; therefore, the percentage obtained at the end of the contract should be relatively closer to the allowable.· The contract sum breakdown reveals that its components are affected in different ways in terms of losses of the contractor's profit margin.An ICA formula was developed taking reference to the above mentioned arguments. A comprehensive contract sum breakdown was done and subsequent theoretical concepts were formulated. The combination of concepts resulted in a sound formula. An illustrative case study of a construction contract comparing methods for increased cost adjustment was drawn.Building up the ICA formulaThe ICA targets the reconciliation of the decline in profit margin of the contractor with the original allowable. The ICA formula uses the actual costs on a particular project and prompts an appropriate percentage of adjustment m at each interim contract valuation. The ICA formula is developed upon ceteris paribus assumptions by providing a contract sum breakdown as follows:1. Direct works/costs X2. Preliminaries and General (P&G) +Y3. Contractor's sum S4. Prime Cost sum +Z5. Sub-total contract sum M6. Contingencies sum +O7. Total contact sum NOther parameters to be taken into consideration are as follows:1. Cumulative basic price amount B2. Cumulative net increased cost I3. Administration fees (%) a4. Allowable profit (%) pAssumption I - Contractor's sum: Direct works (X) of versus P&G (Y)"The higher the direct works proportion, the lower the P&G proportion, as a result a greater amount is recovered on increased cost adjustment thus the contractor's profit is slightly affected and vice versa."In fact, the contractor recovers the increased cost on most of the direct works items by means of a percentage adjustment while the increased cost on preliminaries and generals is not recoverable since it is not subject to adjustment. An illustration showing how a contractor is reimbursed much amount for increased cost where the direct works proportion is higher than where it is lower is shown in a case study drawn in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, two contracts A and B have the same original contract amount of R600,000. They start and end at the same time, but they have different cost proportions. Assume a net cost increase of 50% of the original cost which affects both the direct works and preliminaries and generals; then the net increased cost amounts at R300,000 for both contracts A and B. Since there is no provision for adjustment for preliminaries and generals, only the increase on direct works is adjusted. The contractor recovers (R13,375) on project A which has a higher direct woks proportion (89%) than on project B (R8,750) which has a lower direct works proportion (58%). Consequently, less profit is recovered on project B than on project A.Table 1 Illustration of cost reimbursement according to contractor's cost proportionsContractor's sum SCONTRACT AAmountProportionsNet cost increase (50%)Increased cost adjusted (5%)Direct works X535,00089%267,50013,375P&G Y65,00011%32,500-Total600,000.00100%300,00013,375Contractor's costCONTRACT BAmountProportionsNet cost increase (50%)Increased cost adjusted (5%)Direct works X350,00058%175,0008,750P&G Y250,00042%125,000-Total600,000100%300,0008,750Ø In order to reconcile such a decline in profit, we have to develop a marginal expression f which decreases when the direct cost proportion is higher and increases when the direct cost proportion is lower. Table 2 shows a systematic development of the marginal expression fwhere and . The marginal expression f was simply and purely developed from the imagination with the sole objective of getting an expression that has an increasing/decreasing feature. The objective is achieved by the multiplying the product of x and y by either their difference or their sum throughout three domains. The value of x or y dictates which domain one has to choose for a particular project.Conditionsa. x + y = 1 (The sum of direct works and preliminaries and generals proportions equals 100 %.)b. x ≠ 0 & y ≠ 0 (The contractor's sum components: direct works and preliminaries and generals are always different from zero)c. x > y (It is assumed that the direct works proportion is always greater than preliminaries and generals proportion.)d. 0.55 ≤ x ≤ 0.95 and 0.05 ≤ y ≤ 0.45Domain 1For 0.80 ≤ x ≤ 0.95 and 0.20 ≥ y ≥ 0.05f = xy(x-y) = x2y -xy2By substituting x by and y by :Domain 2For 0.80 ≥ x ≥ 0.70 and 0.20 ≤ y ≤ 0.30f = 0.6xyBy substituting x by and y by :Domain 3For 0.55 ≤ x ≤ 0.70 and 0.45 ≥ y ≥ 0.30f = xy [(x + y) - (x-y)]= x2y + xy2 - x2y + xy2 = 2xy2By substituting x by and y by :Table 2 Building-up a marginal expression fABCDEFGHIDomainxYxyx-y(x+y)-(x-y)xy(x-y)0.6(xy)xy[(x+y)-(x-y)]F0.950.050.04750.900.042750.04275Domain 10.900.100.09000.800.072000.072000.850.150.12750.700.089250.089250.800.200.16000.600.096000.096000.09600Domain 20.750.250.18750.112500.112500.700.300.21000.600.126000.126000.126000.650.350.22750.700.159250.15925Domain 30.600.400.24000.800.192000.192000.550.450.24750.900.222750.22275Domain 1C*D0.8≤ x ≤0.95Domain 20.6*C0.7≤ x ≤0.8Domain 3C*E0.55≤ x ≤0.7Domains combinedFigure 1 provides the graphic representation of a marginal expression f versus contractor's cost proportions x and y. The graph is interpreted as follows: The graph was designed with Microsoft excel scatter chart. The proportions of direct works and preliminaries and generals have been intentionally combined in the same Cartesian plan. The bottom x-axis represents the values of preliminaries and generals cost proportions while the top x-axis represents the values of the direct costs proportions plotted in reverse. Y-axis represents the values of the marginal expression f which are calculated in Table 2.Note that y and x that appear on the graph should not be confused with the nomenclature of cost proportions x and y suggested by the authors during the building-up of the ICA formula. The linear regression equations for straight lines help to predict a value of a dependent variable (here, value of the marginal expression f) given the value of independent variable (here, direct works or preliminaries and generals cost proportions). R-squared measures the goodness of fit of a regression to data. But, the regression equations and R2 are beyond the scope of this paper. The researchers preferred to keep the introduction to ICA formula in generic form.Contractor's cost proportions versus marginal expression f0.85 , 0.089250.80 , 0.096000.75 , 0.112500.70 , 0.126000.65 , 0.159250.55 , 0.222750.60 , 0.192000.95 , 0.042750.90 , 0.072000.40 , 0.192000.35 , 0.159250.25 , 0.112500.10 , 0.072000.05 , 0.042750.30 , 0.126000.45 , 0.222750.15 , 0.089250.20 , 0.09600y = -0.4167x + 0.4361R2= 0.9627y = 0.4167x + 0.0194R2= 0.96270.000.050.100.150.200.250.550.600.650.700.750.800.850.900.951.00Direct costsValue of marginal expression f0.000.050.100.150.200.25-0.050.100.150.200.250.300.350.400.45P&GsDirect costsP&GsLinear (Direct costs)Linear (P&Gs)Figure 1 Contractor's cost proportions versus marginal expression fAssumption II - Contract sum M: Contractor's sum S versus Prime costs Z"The higher the contractor's sum, the lower the prime cost sum; consequently little amount is obtained from PC sum and vice versa".Table 3 Illustration of cost recovery from PC according to the proportion of Contract sum versus prime costsContract sum MCONTRACT AAmountProportionsAttendance & profit amount (5%)Contractor's sum S535,00089%-Prime costs Z65,00011%2,955Total600,000.00100%2,955Contract sum MCONTRACT BAmountProportionsAttendance & profit amount (5%)Contractor's sum S65,00011%-Prime costs Z535,00089%24,318Total600,000100%24,318As shown in Table 3, two contracts A and B have the same contract amount of R600,000 but with different contractor's sum and prime cost proportions. The contractor had allowed 5% attendance and profit on the prime cost amount. It is obvious that where the prime cost proportion is higher (89%) the contractor gets much money (R24,318) than where the prime cost proportion (11%) is lower. It is assumed that where the contractor's sum is lower, the contractor uses less of his resources for example, administration cost while revenues from management fees are higher.Ø A marginal probability is allocated as follows:Assumption III - Price fluctuation: Cumulative Increased costs I versus Cumulative Basic price amount B"The more the prices fluctuate, the more the profit is affected and vice versa".Ø A marginal probability is allocated as follows: , where I: cumulative net increased cost and B cumulative basic price amount.Assumption IV - Allowable profit margin"Each contract has an allowable profit margin".Ø The profit margin expressed as a percentage "p" is allocated to each contract.Assumption V - Administration fees: Increased/decreased cost"There are costs incurred during the price adjustment exercise".Ø An administration fee expressed as a percentage "a" is provided.The combination of the above assumptions generates the formula as shown in Table 4. Note that under the concepts of the ICA formula, only a percentage for administration fee is multiplied by the net decreased value then the obtained amount is credited to the contractor's fluctuation account.Distinctive features of ICA formula over other methods· The ICA formula audits every single item while CPI formulae group works into categories.· The ICA formula adjusts price increase using the actual calculated net increased costs while CPI formulae do not attempt to calculate the actual amount of loss involved.· With the ICA formula, the increased cost adjustment percentage varies continuously according to the level of the cost increase over the basic amount. But the traditional method provides only a single percentage of adjustment to be used throughout the contract.Table 4 Recapitulative of ICA formula building-upAssumptionsIIIIIIIVVICA FORMULAThe combination of 5 assumptions amounts to a formula that ascertains a margin m expressed as a percentage required for increased cost adjustment at each interim contract valuationDOMAINDirect cost X versus P&G Y(marginal expression f)Contractor's sum S versus PC Z (M = S + Z)Net increased cost I versus Basic price amount BAllowable profit margin (%) pAdministration fees (%) aForm of ICA formula for contract with prime cost sumsForm of ICA formula for contract with no prime cost sums1) 0.80 ≤ x ≤ 0.95 and 0.05 ≤ y ≤ 0.20pa2) 0.70 ≤ x ≤ 0.80 and 0.20 ≤ y ≤ 0.30pa3) 0.55 ≤ x ≤ 0.70 and 0.30 ≤ y ≤ 0.45pa5. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONSIllustrative comparison between increased cost adjustment methodsAt this stage of further improvement of the ICA formula, the researchers find it necessary to draw an illustrative case study to compare the cash flows obtained using different methods. The traditional method, Haylett formula and the ICA formula will be compared. Table 5 illustrates the cost breakdown of a fluctuating contact to be carried out in five months. Assume the direct cost proportion x of 87% and the preliminaries proportion y of 13%. The contractor had allowed 10% profit margin p on the contract. The cost increase on the net direct cost was subject to adjustment due to increased cost. One has to note that the contractor's internal figures which reflect the profit margin and allowable costs are not disclosed to the public. Only external figures are disclosed to the public. The findings of comparison of increased cost adjustment methods are shown in Table 6 and Figure 2. Methods include the traditional method, ICA and Haylett formulae.Table 5 Monthly cash flowsPeriodProjected monthly expenditureInternalExternalCost increaseNet Direct cost + P&GsAnticipated Profit p(10%)Net Direct cost B(87%)Net P&Gs (13%)Direct costs X (87%)P&Gs Y (13%)Net amount I%Month 140,00036,3643,63631,6364,72734,8005,20015,00047Month 280,00072,7277,27363,2739,45569,60010,40012,00019Month 360,00054,5455,45547,4557,09152,2007,8005,00011Month 440,00036,3643,63631,6364,72734,8005,2007,00022Month 530,00027,2732,72723,7273,54526,1003,9009,00038Total250,000227,27322,727197,72729,545217,50032,50048,000Traditional methodFive percent was used for adjustment of the net increased cost. The adjusted amount in column G is obtained by multiplying 5% to the net increase in column F. The total amount claimed is obtained by summing up the total sum for the projected external valuation in column E, the net cost increase in column F and calculated adjusted amount in column G. For example the total claimed amount in the second month is calculated as follows:Total cumulative amount in the second month = R120,000+R27,000+(R27,000*0.05)=R148,350ICA formulaFor a contract with no prime cost sums with direct cost proportion of 0.87, the ICA formula option falling under domain 1 was adopted to calculate the percentage m of increased cost adjustment. , where a is the administration fee of 5%, p is the allowable profit of 10% at tender, I is the net increased cost at month of valuation, X is the original total direct cost sum, Y is original total preliminaries sum, B is the basic price amount in the month of valuation and S is the original total contractor's sum. The value of I, X, Y, B and S are found in respective columns F, C, D, B and E. For example the percentage m of adjustment in the third month is calculated as follows:The total amount claimed is obtained by summing up the total sum for the projected external valuation amount in column E, the net increased cost in column F and calculated adjusted amount in column J. The total cumulative amount in the third month equals to R180,000+R32,000+(R32,000*0.5188)= R213,660.Haylett formulaCPAP [6] calculates the amount of adjustment as follows:, where A is the amount of adjustment, 0.85 is a constant which provides for a 15% non-adjustable element, V is the work value of the index applicable to such work group and valuation period, Xe is the value of the index applicable to such work group and valuation period and Xo is the value of the index applicable to such work group for the base month.Since this is an illustrative case, we will calculate the ad hoc index by means of the net costs of this particular project. Basically, the index number for a given good for a given period is calculated as follows: Calculate the difference between the actual price of a good and its price at the beginning of period over the price at the beginning of the period multiplied by 100.For example the index at the end of the fourth month is calculated as follows:Actual price is equal to the direct cost (R174,000) in column B plus the net increase cost (R39,000) in column F which totals to R213,000 in column L. Index equals to 213,000 in column L minus R174,000 in column L over R174,000 multiplied by 100 plus 100 a base index number in column M which represents a base period. The index number in the 4th month is 122.The amount of adjustment in the 4th month is calculated as follows:. Since no attempt is made to calculate how much prices have gone up, the value V of executed works in the 4th month is R220,000.The total amount in the 4th month is R220,000+R41914=R261,914Comparison between Increased Cost Adjustment Methods050000100000150000200000250000300000350000PeriodMonthly cash flowOriginal projectedTraditional methodICA formulaHaylett formulaOriginal projected040,000120,000180,000220,000250,000Traditional method055,750148,350213,600260,950300,400ICA formula055,810148,414213,660261,023300,498Haylett formula056,121149,017214,391261,914301,586Month 1Month 2Month 3Month 4Month 5Figure 2 Comparison between methods of increased cost adjustmentBy comparing the monthly cash flow between the existing methods for increased cost adjustment against the ICA formula, monthly cash flow is in-between the traditional method and Haylett formula. This is an indication that the ICA formula may provide an optimum recovery for increased cost adjustment.Table 6 Cumulative cash flowsMonthsDirect costsProjected cash flow externalNetincreaseTrad. MethodICA formulaHaylett formulaDirect costsP&GsTotAdjdCash flowAdjt %Adjd amountCash flowTot netIndexAdjdCash flowABCDEFGHIJKLMNO031,636000031,6361000131,63634,8005,20040,00015,00075055,7505.4081055,81046,63614716,12156,121294,909104,40015,600120,00027,0001,350148,3505.241414148,414121,90912829,017149,0173142,364156,60023,400180,00032,0001,600213,6005.191660213,660174,36412234,391214,3914174,000191,40028,600220,00039,0001,950260,9505.192023261,023213,00012241,914261,9145197,729217,50032,500250,00048,0002,400300,4005.202498300,498245,72912451,586301,586Tot197,729217,50032,500250,00048,0008,050300,400300,498245,72951,586301,586MERITS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSWhile the application of CPI based formulae requires indices compiled with an external agency, ICA has an advantage of using the really cost incurred on a particular contract. Given the current market price fluctuations, the adoption of the ICA formula as an alternative method for increased cost adjustment will provide an optimum cost recovery, hence the equitable share of the financial responsibilities between both the client and the contractor.Since the inflation and the continuous increase in construction input cost is becoming a global challenge to the construction industry, there is a need for the construction industry stakeholders to pursue theories provided under the ICA concepts.REFERENCES1 Finsen, E. 2005. The Building Contract - A Commentary on the JBCC Agreements. 2nd ed. Kenwyn: Juta & Co, Ltd2 Atkinson, A. V. 1992. Civil engineering contract administration. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Trans-Atlantic Publications3 Ramus, J., Birchall, S. & Griffiths 2006. Contract practice for surveyors. 4th ed. London: Butterworth-Heinemann4 Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2001. How to use the consumer price index for escalation. Retrieved April 18, 2008 from http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpi1998d.htm5 De Vynck, D. 2002. The use of Haylett in a low inflation environment. Retrieved May 15, 2008 from http://www.rode.co.za/news/research/Haylett_low_inflation_May02.pdf6 Contract Price Adjustment Provisions. 2005. in The Joint Building Contracts Committee. 2005. Principal Building Agreement. Ed. 4.1 JBCC 2000 Series7 Trickey, G. 1983. The presentation and settlement of contractor's claims. 1st ed. London: E&F.N Spon8 Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe. 2005. Newsletter. 17th January 2005, Harare, ZimbabweSpecial:WysiwygSpecial:WysiwygSpecial:Wysiwyg
