History On 30 Jan 1942, the Erling Brøvig in ballast left Melbourne in convoy MS-3 (seven tankers) for Palembang to pick up as much oil as possible, because the Japanese attack on Sumatra around this time. Around 12 February, after loading oil in Palembang, she was ordered to leave like all other ships in the harbour, because the Japanese attack was imminent. The next day, the convoy, escorted by two British destroyers, had passed the Banka Straits during the night and headed for Batavia when they were attacked by at least eight Japanese aircraft. The Erling Brøvig was hit by one bomb and set on fire, one Chinese sailor died and a Norwegian was injured. The fire was extinguished and the tanker reached Batavia safely. Most of her cargo of 4500 tons fuel oil was transferred to another tanker. After the bomb damages were repaired, she joined a convoy, first to Ceylon, then Fremantle, where more repairs were carried out for six months.
On 22 Feb 1944, U-510 made two attacks at convoy PA-69 off Majhada, about 200 miles from Aden and reported two tankers and one freighter sunk, one freighter was left burning and sinking and one other freighter was damaged by one torpedo. Three tankers were hit, the San Alvaro, E.G. Seubert and Erling Brøvig. It is not clear whether one ship was hit by two torpedoes.
The Erling Brøvig (Master Rudolf V. Jacobsen) broke almost in two after she was hit by one torpedo amidships, but was taken in tow and beached near Aden, where her cargo was transferred to lighters and she was temporarily repaired. The crew reached Aden in lifeboats and were later taken to Capetown on the Panamanian merchant Sewall (Master Sveen).
On 16 September, the tanker got underway to to Massawa, assisted by a tug, but after one day she broke in two behind amidships, both parts still floating. The tug continued with the forepart and the master sailed with the afterpart as far as Suez by her own power. A tug towed her through the canal and she arrived Italy safely, where she was subsequently laid up.
After the war, the tanker was repaired in Genoa and reentered service as Bramora in 1946/47. Sold to China in 1960/61 and eventually broken up.


The Rules of The U: Know 'em, Love 'em, Follow 'em.
The Blog system gives you your own personal space at Unrepentant Gaming. Depending on how the administrator has configured the blog, you will be able to create your own entries and control who may view them.


Foodsaver (www.foodsaver.com.cy) ipH own, specialized own-branded food products retail store, caters for the needs of today's consumers and small businesses. Currently 6 Foodsaver stores operate in Nicosia, 2 in Limassol and 1 in Larnaca offering high quality and specialized food products at affordable prices.
The Foodsaver concept is based on offering a diversity of products in a convenient, comfortable and friendly environment in which the well-trained Foodsaver staff are ready to serve consumers and professionals and help them in selecting the appropriate products for their needs.
At Foodsaver, one can find a large range of high-quality fresh and frozen products at highly attractive prices. Foodsaver products are selected to satisfy the needs of both the modern consumer and the professional caterer, who are increasingly looking for sophisticated gourmet products at the best prices. Foodsaver product range is perfect for parties, gatherings, and quick everyday family meals.
Barbeque items such as high quality imported meats (including the world renowned Aberdeen Black Angus beef) poultry, fish (including top quality Norwegian Marine Harvest salmon), vegetables, fruit, ready meals, finger food, delicatessen, desserts and ice cream, are some of the food categories that can be found at Foodsaver.
Foodsaver stores are managed by a separate Business Unit within ipH.


THIS BEAUTIFULLY APPOINTED SCISSOR set will fulfill your stitching needs. The set consists of DOVO's most popular handcrafted, 3.5″ embroidery scissors, slanted tweezers for loose threads, and the 3-1/2″ nail file for those occasional snags. All have DOVO's popular satin finish. The Italian leather case is highly embossed in the geometric pattern and zippered on 3 sides for a secure carrier. A padded interior pincushion also provides protection against abrasion.
These gorgeous pieces are crafted in stainless steel and the hot forged process guarantees lasting performance from Solingen, Germany's Master Craftsmen.
Treat yourself to something special that will last a lifetime. The first time you hold these scissors, you will feel the difference. Their cutting is impeccable, they glide as they cut, sharp to the point, and perfectly balanced in hand.


text:
Coworkation ist ein Portmanteauwort aus co (englisch: zusammen), work (englisch: Arbeit) und -ation (Bestandteil des englischen Begriffs vacation: Urlaub). Der Neologismus bezeichnet die Verbindung von Arbeit und Urlaub an einem touristisch attraktiven Ort für einige Tage oder Wochen, entweder alleine oder zusammen mit Kollegen.

Begriff und Verbreitung
Der Neologismus Coworkation ist ein Portmanteauwort aus co (englisch: zusammen), work (englisch: Arbeit) und -ation (Bestandteil des englischen Begriffs vacation: Urlaub).

An einem Coworkation-Ort kommt man entweder mit Kollegen aus dem eigenen Unternehmen zusammen oder man arbeitet dort alleine, es sind aber Coworkationists aus anderen Firmen zugegen. Arbeit und Erholung in der Natur lassen sich so für eine begrenzte Zeit miteinander verbinden.

Somit sind Vernetzung, Inspiration und Austausch neben einem angenehmen Arbeiten fernab von Büro und Home-Office wesentliche Motive für die Wahl.

Den Begriff prägte Samantha Wolf für die Verbindung von reizvollen Standorten und Arbeit. In ihrer Masterarbeit am Institut für Systematisches Management der Universität St. Gallen untersuchte sie diese Arbeitsform unter touristischem Blickwinkel. Sie stellte das Konzept auf der Cowork2016, der Konferenz des Deutschen Coworking Verbandes, vor.

Die ersten Coworkation-Orte entstanden in Orten wie Chiang Mai, Ubud oder Medellín, doch inzwischen sind sie auch in Europa verbreitet. In Frankreich ist das Mutinerie Village in Saint-Victor-de-Buthon, Perche, der Pionier.

Entwicklung
Im März 2022 stellte der Verein Coworking Alps eine Studie vor, die in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Europäischen Tourismus Institut (ETI) der Universität Trier und der Tourismusmarketingagentur St. Elmo's erstellt worden war. In Norditalien war der Begriff nach einer Studie vom März 2022 bekannter als in Österreich, der Schweiz und Süddeutschland. Möglicherweise hat dies damit zu tun, dass der Corona-Lockdown in Italien viel strenger als anderswo war und der Wunsch nach einer Verbindung von Arbeit und Natur sehr stark wurde. Die Prozentzahl der Arbeitenden, die bereits Erfahrung mit Coworkation hat, unterschied sich in der Studie zwar von Land zu Land, lag aber überall im einstelligen Bereich.

Formen
Nicht alle Coworkation-Anbieter haben auch Übernachtungen im Programm, manche stellen nur einen Arbeitsplatz in Urlaubsambiente zur Verfügung.

Häufig ziehen sich Kollegen im Rahmen von Coworkation für ein paar Tage oder Wochen an einen gemeinsamen Ort zurück, wenn Projekte persönlichen Austausch benötigen und konzentriert bearbeitet werden müssen. Dabei können die Beteiligten von ihren Familien begleitet werden. Häufig findet Coworkation in der Nebensaison und in der Ruhe ländlicher Umgebung an Orten statt, wo technisch gut ausgestattete und flexible Räumlichkeiten zur Verfügung stehen.

Weil das Arbeiten aber ungezwungener abläuft als bei klassischen Meetings und die Beteiligten auch von ihren Familien begleitet werden können, braucht man andere Strukturen als in der klassischen Tagungshotellerie. Gefragt sind – meist kurzfristig, häufig in der Nebensaison und vorzugsweise in der Ruhe des ländlichen Raumes – flexible und technisch gut ausgestattete Räumlichkeiten.

Immer häufiger entstehen Coworkation-Angebote in unmittelbarer Nähe von Ballungsräumen und verbinden somit das Leben in der Stadt mit dem Land.

Klientel
Wer Coworkation praktiziert, ist typischerweise etwa Mitte 30 Jahre alt und ungebunden. Meist sind diese Menschen technologieaffin, haben eine sehr gute Ausbildung genossen und arbeiten im Dienstleistungsbereich in onlinebasierten Jobs. Snapchat-Gründer Evan Spiegel, Tinder-Mitgründer Sean Rad und Minecraft-Erfinder Markus Persson haben Coworkation bereits genutzt.

Angebote im ländlichen Raum in unmittelbarer Nähe zu Großstädten eröffnen eine Auszeit vom städtischen Alltag und damit einer breiteren Zielgruppe als den klassichen "digitalen Nomaden".

Kritik
Wegen der Zeitverschiebung ergeben sich Probleme für die Teilnahme an Telefonkonferenzen oder die Zusammenarbeit generell, wenn die Zeitzonen zwischen Coworkation-Ort und Standort des Arbeitgebers sich zu sehr unterscheiden.

Kritisch wird gesehen, dass die Abgrenzung zwischen Arbeit und Freizeit schwierig werden könnte. Auch fehlen rechtliche Grundlagen für die neue Arbeitsform Coworkation.

Ökonomische Betrachtung
Coworkation ist zu einem neuen Tourismustrend geworden, der in die Kategorie Mehrzweckurlaub fällt. Experten sehen darin eine Chance für Urlaubsorte, unabhängig von der Saison neue Kundengruppen zu gewinnen.

Siehe auch
 Telearbeit
 Coworking

Weblinks
 Blog von Samantha Wolf mit Berichten über Besuche bei Coworkation-Anbietern

Einzelnachweise

Form der beruflichen Gemeinschaft
Büro

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Q: 10 years ago, SaaS vs. on-premises wasn't a question many decision-makers faced. Could you quickly explain the difference between the two, and the benefits of SaaS?
Louis van Roessel: On-premises software is installed on your system locally and "frozen" as it is, which makes upgrading more of a challenge.
With software as a service, or SaaS, the application is usually installed at a data center, for example in the cloud. Hosting and maintenance are outsourced and largely automated, so the upgrade process has been taken into account.
With Sana SaaS, that means that we developed the solution to make upgrading easier, both for us as an organization and — most importantly — for our customers.
This is because it's backwards compatible, and doesn't require much effort to upgrade. You can keep your existing settings, and there's no need to reconfigure your entire web store after each upgrade. That's one of the main benefits of SaaS.
Q: This makes SaaS sound like an obvious choice for businesses, but on-premises solutions remain popular. Why is that?
LvR: On-premises software has been around longer. That might make you think it's more advanced, but the opposite is actually true: it's not automatically adapting with the latest advances in technology — there is always manual work involved for the upgrade process, because the upgrade process is not fully automated, for instance.
On the other hand, there's the price. With on-premises, you usually just buy a perpetual license, which grants you the right to use the software for an indefinite period of time. It might feel like there's more clarity on the costs up front, and you don't have to deal with recurring payments. It can seem like the most straightforward option, financially speaking. But then there's the hidden costs that come with upgrades, customizations and so on.
LvR: The ease of upgrading — and that it's automated — means that SaaS users have access to new features and updates all the time. Choosing SaaS means getting the newest features, performance upgrades, and security updates.
The latter is particularly important in the post-GDPR world, where even the biggest names in tech aren't immune to security breaches.
Q: But what about the flexibility? How does SaaS fare there?
LvR: Contrary to popular belief, SaaS doesn't back you into a corner.
SaaS solutions are designed to appeal to a large audience, so there's usually less flexibility compared to on-premises solutions with their endless (and expensive) customization options. The idea with SaaS is that it can be updated quickly — speed and agility are more important than customizability. But the goal is still to reach a large audience: if everyone wants something else, you can't keep everyone in one standard.
This might not be in line with people's experiences with SaaS. There are a few examples of highly flexible SaaS platforms on the market, but not many. Sana SaaS is still relatively new, so there are kinks to be worked out. They'll mature over time to offer more flexibility and customization options.
Q: Why aren't there more flexible SaaS platforms out there?
LvR: Most SaaS platforms are quite simple and compact: narrow solutions used for a specific purpose. There simply isn't as much need for flexibility, take for example Dropbox or Zendesk.
Our SaaS offering is a quite complex solution with ERP integration, integration with PSPs and so on. People who are mostly familiar with the more narrow SaaS solutions might be surprised to hear that such a complex system can be offered as SaaS.
But we're far from alone in offering a complex SaaS solution.
Q: So there are flexible SaaS solutions out there, with Sana SaaS being one of them. What kind of flexibility can users expect?
LvR: First, there's flexibility in design. Everyone wants their own specific look and feel. You have your own corporate identity and brand, and it's important to reflect this on all channels, including your web store. This consistency in branding is an essential part of a strong omnichannel strategy.
Secondly, when it comes to a SaaS e-commerce platform, the functionality needs to be flexible. You can divide this into two categories: front-end functionality and back-end functionality.
Front-end functionality includes registering new customers, and choosing which data to display for certain documents. A tire company will want to display entirely different specs than a pharmaceutical company. The registration process for new customers needs to be customizable, too: what kind of info is required, and what's optional?
With back-end functionality, think of how certain processes flow, like new customer registrations. Do we need to approve the registration? How and where will we manage discount codes? Do we want to be more flexible in how we deal with non-standard situations? This is especially relevant for B2B e-commerce, where you've got to think of matters like complex shipping logistics infrastructure: large items, high-volume items, and so on.
Finally, there has to be flexibility in integration with other key systems. If you want your web store to truly save time for your back office, you need it to integrate seamlessly with your ERP, and maybe even other systems like PSPs, CRM, PIM, invoicing, and possibly some add-ons.
Conveniently outsourced upgrades. Confidence in your web store security. And no need to compromise on flexibility. Want to learn more about the benefits of SaaS? See for yourself how Sana SaaS lets you offer your clients an exceptional online buying experience while lightening the load on your back office.


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text:
import tvm

@tvm.target.generic_func
def mygeneric(data):
    # default generic function
    return data + 1

@mygeneric.register(["cuda", "gpu"])
def cuda_func(data):
    return data + 2

@mygeneric.register("rocm")
def rocm_func(data):
    return data + 3

@mygeneric.register("cpu")
def rocm_func(data):
    return data + 10

def test_target_dispatch():
    with tvm.target.cuda():
        assert mygeneric(1) == 3

    with tvm.target.rocm():
        assert mygeneric(1) == 4

    with tvm.target.create("cuda"):
        assert mygeneric(1) == 3

    with tvm.target.arm_cpu():
        assert mygeneric(1) == 11

    with tvm.target.create("metal"):
        assert mygeneric(1) == 3

    assert tvm.target.current_target() is None

def test_target_string_parse():
    target = tvm.target.create("cuda -model=unknown -libs=cublas,cudnn")

    assert target.target_name == "cuda"
    assert target.options == ['-model=unknown', '-libs=cublas,cudnn']
    assert target.keys == ['cuda', 'gpu']
    assert target.libs == ['cublas', 'cudnn']
    assert str(target) == str(tvm.target.cuda(options="-libs=cublas,cudnn"))

    assert tvm.target.intel_graphics().device_name == "intel_graphics"
    assert tvm.target.mali().device_name == "mali"
    assert tvm.target.arm_cpu().device_name == "arm_cpu"

if __name__ == "__main__":
    test_target_dispatch()
    test_target_string_parse()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
concert gear
Onstage Systems New SAM575, the Region's Largest Event Mobile Stage
Onstage Systems is thrilled to bring our newest mobile stage, Stageline's SAM575, home to our 80,000 square foot warehouse of top-of-the-line audio, video, lighting, and staging gear for full-service event production. The most exciting part of the SAM575 is what it means for the future of your events when you partner with Onstage Systems.
The SAM575 is Stageline's largest single trailer mobile stage, and Onstage Systems, one of the nation's leading full-service event production companies, is the only company in the region that can offer it. From Denver to Birmingham, Onstage Systems now has one of the biggest and the best stages in the business to make your events bigger, better, and located wherever you want. Our new mobile stage acquisition allows Onstage Systems to produce single-stage events for up to 50,000 attendees.
About the Stageline SAM575
The SAM575 is simply the best staging equipment for its size, combining fast setup, outdoor resiliency, and exceptional rigging capacity. Stageline's SAM575 offers events 50×38' of stage floor, expandable to 90×56' when configured for wings and backstage. Six engineers can set up the mobile stage in as little as six hours, and the SAM575 offers 94,000 lbs of rigging with wind resistance up to 115 mph.
Additional Mobile Stage Specifications
20×32' Configurable Covered Wings
Full-height Windwalls, Rainproof, Retractable Backdrop
77×12' Crossover
What the SAM575 Means to Onstage Systems
Our SAM575 is more than an addition to our mobile stage family. It's a statement of our commitment and our intention on being the very BEST full service production company in the Southwest USA. From our family to yours, our passion, integrity and commitment can be seen across our people, our gear and our dedication to quality events.
See all our Mobile Staging Options to find the right platform for your event. Or, Contact Us to start developing your event.
Category: News, Latest Gear, Concerts & Tours, Music Festivals
Coyote Drive-In Theater Concert
The May concert was produced by Onstage Systems at the Coyote Drive-In Theater in Fort Worth. The event was a fun, but challenging event to produce. The Coyote Drive-In Theater concert also had the significance of being one of the first events to bring live music back to Fort Worth in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown.
Photo by Andrew Sherman – Lone Sound Magazine
Featured Performers
Remy Reilly
Drive-In Theater Concert Event Challenges
The biggest challenge was accounting for the health and safety of everyone involved. That was why the Coyote Drive-In Theater made a great venue choice for hosting a live, outdoor concert. The audience area was large and designed for attendees to be separated in parking spots. Attendees were assigned parking to every other parking spot. This helped create natural social distancing space between attendees. Onstage Systems also followed the latest health guidelines for hand sanitation and wore masks in close proximity. Coyote Drive-In Theater helped ensure social distancing with signage and limiting occupancy around the restroom and concession areas.
See more featured work from Onstage Systems
Onstage Systems fully utilized the Coyote Drive-In Theater's space while providing the addition of the lighting, mobile staging, and full audio support appropriate to a concert of this size, to included FM transmission. This allowed attendees the option to listen to the concert over their car FM radios while enjoying the air conditioning. However, many concert attendees took the opportunity to get a little sun and fresh air, listening to a full L'acoustics concert PA system out in the open air from lawn chairs and pickup beds.
The second big challenge Onstage Systems had to overcome to make the event a success was the Coyote Drive-In Theater's schedule. The drive-in was in full operation with nightly movie times starting after dark. The Friday show did not end until 11 PM. The Onstage team hustled in the dark to set up the stage, lighting, and all the integration for the Saturday afternoon show. And once the show was over they struck the scene in two hours and had Coyote Drive-In Theater back to normal in time for its 8:45 PM movie.
While the Coyote Drive-In Theater concert was a one-time event, Onstage Systems looks forward to doing more drive-in concert events in the future. In addition to producing live in-person events, Onstage has experience producing live streams and other virtual events.
Learn more about Onstage Systems virtual event services HERE.
Category: Featured Work, Concerts & Tours, Music Festivals
FreeSpeak II
FreeSpeak II is a five-channel, full-duplex wireless intercom solution, ideal for large-scale, complex designs or specialized applications–requiring team members to be untethered and talking in independent channels of communication.
After years of field experience and refinement, FreeSpeak II has become the de facto standard for wireless intercom operation in the 1.9GHz and 2.4GHz band across various markets. The exceptional RF performance and reliable connections across the system give users the peace of mind they need for staying connected at every major event, programming, stage performance, critical or mass area operation.
Contact us for all your sound system rental needs and corporate event production services!
Category: Latest Gear

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


NTRODUCTION - Diamondhead USA, is a West Springfield, Massachusetts company. We are nationally known and respected as a leading design innovator, manufacturer and distributor of top quality accessories for the Tactical Weapons industry. Diamondhead specializes in the M4/AR15 platform and has recently developed products for .308 caliber rifles. The original Diamond Sights with the patented Diamond-shaped Apertures and Diamond-shaped upper housings - that launched the company - have now grown to over a hundred products. We offer a Lifetime Warranty on everything we manufacture.
DISTRIBUTION - Diamondhead USA provides products to over a dozen OEM companies who offer our sights and rails as standard equipment. For example, STAG Arms chooses Diamondhead sights and handguards for their number one selling STAG Model 3 rifle and their Model 8 rifle. Windham Weaponry fits our sights and rails exclusively on their premier models. The growing list of companies that use our products includes many of the country's leading AR15 manufacturers. In addition to these OEM's, we are strongly affiliated with professionals in Government, Military and Law Enforcement such as the Connecticut State Police SWAT division, the California Dept. of Fish & Game and numerous others.
Diamondhead products are distributed to retailers in the USA and internationally through the nation's major firearms' distributors and we have demonstrated our products at international arms shows such as the D.S.E.I. Expo in London and I.W.A. in Germany.
MARKETING / PR - Diamondhead sights and rail systems are invariably chosen by the nation's top editors and photographers when they review a new firearm. We advertise regularly in the primary news-stand magazines and numerous on-line websites and our rapidly growing fan base is unanimous in its praise for our products. We have a professionally shot video on our website, Facebook and YouTube sites, featuring members of the United States Special Forces using Diamondhead products.
INNOVATIONS - Recently, we launched two industry firsts, both incorporating the renowned Diamond Integrated Sighting System. The D-45 (45 degree off-set) Swing Sights are the first and only sights that can stow flat yet be deployed and used in conjunction with an optic for CQC/CQB target acquisition. The operator simply rolls the weapon 45 degrees counter clockwise and switches sighting from optic to D-45's. Our new Polymer Diamond Front & Rear Flip-Up Sights have created a strong reaction in the retail sector – especially as they include NiteBrite photoluminescent inserts – an inexpensive way to have a Tritium-type (reduced-light) sighting system. The Polymer Diamond Sights are extremely high quality and very competitively priced. Our innovative T-Brake muzzle compensators (in 5.56 and .308 configurations) have been enthusiastically received and we now offer our flagship VRS-T hand guard in 8.75" for a total of four lengths in this model. This past summer, we introduced the VRS-T hand guard for .308 models that take the lower platform such as the M&P10-308 and DPMS A3. A higher version of the VRS-T-308 is coming out in early 2015 and will have the increasingly popular KeyMod attachment system. We will be introducing more KeyMod equipped hand guards in 5.56 and .308 throughout 2015. Check out our Facebook and Youtube sites for the latest news and videos.
MISSION - Diamondhead USA is dedicated to offer the most innovative, reliable and cost effective products and support them with exemplary, industry-leading customer service.
Diamondhead USA, Inc. DMDHD LOW PROFILE GAS BLOCK .750"


Nice and even game! Nice to see that both clans seemed to have taken a step forward during the season!
Dm2 was quite even with the lead being traded many times. But 2-3 minutes to go we managed to secure it and build this 60 frags margin.
Dm3 the decider was theirs from the beginning. Although, we felt that we could have done better.
All in all, well deserved win for TKS, we wish you well in the POs.


text:
Egg-sized diamond stone that N2.5b can't buy
The diamond stone that N2.5b can't buy
The government of Sierra Leone has rejected a $7.8 million bid, about N2.5 billion for a rough, egg-sized diamond stone, one of the biggest ever found, saying it failed to meet its own valuation.
The 709-carat gem is the second largest ever discovered in the country and was unearthed in March in the eastern Kono region by a Christian pastor who gave it to the government to handle the sale.
Five bids were handed to auctioneers in a sealed brown envelope, ranging from $2 million to $7.8 million. The top bid was made by a man in a white shirt and light trousers on behalf of Belgium diamond dealer Ray Diam BVBA.
"We've decided not to sell the diamond today because the highest bid price … does not match the government reserve price," Sahr Wonday, chief auctioneer and head of the National Minerals Agency, told a packed room.
The government now hopes to get more for the stone at an international auction in either Antwerp, Belgium or Tel Aviv in Israel, Wonday said, without giving further detail.
Diamonds fueled a decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone that ended in 2002 and killed 50,000 people. Rebels forced civilians in the east to mine the stones and bought weapons with the proceeds, leading to the term "blood diamonds".
The United Nations lifted a ban on diamond exports from Sierra Leone in 2003, though the $113 million sector is plagued by smuggling.
The diamond up for auction on Thursday is the second largest ever found in Sierra Leone after the 968.9-carat Star of Sierra Leone which was found by miners in 1972.
Other African gems are even larger, including the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, which was found in South Africa in 1905. It was cut into several polished gems, the largest of which are part of Britain's crown jewels.
Emmanuel Momoh, the pastor who found the new diamond in March, was happy to wait for another auction.
"I was unhappy with the highest bid price," said Momoh. His stone, he said, "is worth a lot more than $7.8 million."
Rebellious soldiers block Ivory Coast's city of Bouake
Carcass of massive sea creature stuns Indonesians


text:
Sample Dissertation on Green Building and Environmental Issues
Impact of Green Building and Environmental Issues
Organizations respond or react the way they do to environmental issues. On one hand, organizations have control over their corporate strategies. Firms can utilize their resources and capabilities to gain a competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993; Wernerfelt, 1984). On the other hand, firms' flexibility of action is also limited by external forces. Institutional theory addresses how external institutions create the homogeneity of organizations within an organizational field. Organizations adopt templates for organizing, which can increase their legitimacy in the eyes of the authorities in their field (Scott, 2001). Legitimacy yields access to resources such as raw material, capital, and technology. I argue that the differences in resources and capabilities between firms, as well as their awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of institutional forces all play a role in the extent to which firms integrate environmental issues into their planning process and strategy.
Get free dissertation sample on similar topic by the best dissertation writing service at the most cheap price.
This piece of work investigates the question of how organizations respond to environmental issues from the perspectives of examining both firms' internal capabilities as well as the external pressures they face. This chapter presents background on the green building industry, then the problem statement, justification, and research objectives for this study on corporate environmentalism in relation to firms' external pressures and internal capabilities. Specifically, this study examines members of the banking sector in order to determine the factors affecting corporate environmentalism.
Overview of Green Building
The concepts of sustainability and environmental responsibility are gaining tremendous momentum throughout the design and construction industries. ."Green." or "sustainable." buildings are emerging as an important market not only in the United States, but also around the world. Green building is an outcome of a design philosophy which focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building's lifecycle, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal. Sustainable buildings are more efficient in using key resources like energy, water, materials, and land than buildings that are simply built to meet regulations (Kibert, 2007). They also create healthier environments with more natural light and clean air, and they contribute to improving occupants.' health and productivity (Kibert, 2007).
The benefit of a green building is that it promotes sustainability (Kibert, 2007). Sustainability means that a green building not only reduces the impact on the environment, but it also improves the condition of its occupants as well as reduces costs in the long term. These benefits achieve the triple bottom line, a concept that captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational and societal success, including economic, environmental, and social factors (Elkington, 1994). The triple bottom line can be succinctly described as accounting for people, the planet, and profit. Green building practices are set to achieve these goals.
The demand for green buildings in the market place is growing (Anonymous, 2008; Koltko, 2008; Sullivan, 2008) and rapidly becoming the most significant trend in the building industry. The membership growth of various green building programs demonstrates that green building is gaining popularity and creditability. Public and private sector entities, including the cities of Santa Monica, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland have publicly supported and adopted green building policies and clean energy standards. San Mateo County, the University of California, the Department of the Navy, the federal General Services Administration, and the states of Oregon, New York and Maryland have also done so (Kats et al., 2003). The federal government has also outlined a comprehensive Research and Development plan for improving the energy performance of buildings National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Technology (NSTC, 2008). Corporate entities, including Steelcase, Herman Miller, Johnson Controls, Interface, IBM, PNC Financial Services, Southern California Gas Company, Toyota, and Ford Motor Company have all constructed green buildings (Kats et al., 2003).
Theoretical Viewpoints
Companies often perceive the importance of the natural environment and the opportunities from corporate environmentalism1 differently. Even those companies that see a similar degree of opportunity can differ in the extent to which they integrate environmental issues into their strategic planning process and formulate organization strategy. Two different logics can be used to provide an explanation for firms' behavior: a resource-based view of the firm and a perspective based on institutional theory. A resource-based view of strategy asserts that every firm possesses unique resources that influence their strategic choices and ultimately their competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993; Wenerfelt, 1984). The RBV focuses on how the value, rarity, imperfect mobility, and non-substitutive nature of resources within a firm yield to competitive advantage (Barney, 1991). These resources and capabilities may be financial, human, intangible, physical, organizational, or technological (Amit and Schoemaker, 1993; Barney, 1991; Farjoun, 1994).
RBV is based on two assumptions. First, companies within an industry or sector may be heterogeneous with respect to the resources they possess. Second, resources may not be perfectly mobile across companies, and that heterogeneity can be perpetual (Amit and Schoemaker, 1993; Barney, 1991; Dierickx and Cool, 1989; Peteraf, 1993). These two assumptions show that every firm possesses unique resources that are not easily transferable to others.
The consideration of external institutional factors has usually been absent from the RBV literature. Institutional pressure (such as media attention and regulation from green building programs) is also an important concept to consider given the strategic changes that firms are undergoing in order to remain competitive. This concept draws upon institutional theory, which posits how organizations become more aligned with the institutional environment over time and come to resemble each other in structure and practice (Starik and Marcus, 2000).
Institutional arguments posit that a firm's choice of strategy is constrained by institutional forces (Scott, 2001). In order to survive, companies must conform to the rules and cultural belief systems prevalent in the environment (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Meyer and Rowan, 1977). Institutional theory also offers explanations for why firms adopt certain strategies (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978). Although many theorists consider that a firm's resources and capabilities influence its strategy, institutional theory focuses on the direct impact of institutional rules, pressures, and sanctions on organizational strategy.
In the context of organizations and their relationships with the natural environment, many researchers have noted the importance of firms' resources in influencing their environmental strategies for their competitive advantage (Aragon-Correa and Sharma, 2003; Bansal, 2005; Hart, 1995). In addition, several research studies have been performed using the natural environment as a context for researching management issues and extending institutional theory (Bansal and Gao, 2006; Greening and Gray, 1994;Hoffman, 1999; Jennings and Zandbergen, 1995; Lounsbury, 2001). However, only limited research on organizations and the natural environment has integrated a resources-based view and institutional arguments to identify the factors relevant to explaining a firm's decision to adopt environmental initiatives and certification. This concept draws upon institutional theory, which posits how organizations become more aligned with the institutional environment over time and come to resemble each other in structure and practice (Starik and Marcus, 2000).
This research aims to increase the understanding of why firms view the opportunities of corporate environmentalism differently, and why firms that view a similar degree of opportunity differ in the extent to which they integrate environmental issues into their strategic planning process. Three key contributions are expected as a result of conducting this research: (1) a better understanding of how the institutionalization of environmental practices and standards were originated by the green building movement; (2) a more comprehensive examination of RBV and institutional perspectives in the context of business and the natural environment; and (3) empirical results that provide pragmatic answers to key questions surrounding the executives.' perceptions of certified wood products schemes.
Theoretical Research Objectives
Empirically test a theoretical model using RBV and institutional theory to explain corporate environmentalism.
Empirically test the relationship between firms' resources and capabilities and their corporate environmentalism.
Empirically test the relationship between perceived institutional pressures from green building programs and firms' corporate environmentalism.
Empirically investigate the nature of the relationship between the resources and capabilities of firms and their perceived institutional pressures from green building programs and their effects on corporate environmentalism.
Dissertation Structure
The structure of the study will be as follows:
The second chapter will review the literature about the given topic. The third chapter will described the methodology used in the study. In the fourth chapter, the data will be analyzed and discussed in detail. Finally, the fifth chapter will be a conclusion and recommendations for further research.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
This chapter presents a literature review of the theories on corporate environmentalism that resources and institutional pressures affect corporate environmentalism. First, it reviews the literature on organizations and the natural environment, followed by a review of corporate environmentalism. Next, the chapter reviews the institutional theory and resource-based view of firms.
Organizations and the Natural Environment
The primary goal of this research is to understand how the resources and capabilities within a firm as well as institutional pressures influence its corporate environmentalism. The three-fold arguments presented in this research are: 1) organizational resources and capabilities influence a firm's corporate environmentalism; 2) institutional pressures influence a firm's corporate environmentalism; 3) the relationship between resource-based and institutional factors affects a firm's corporate environmentalism.
Organizational Outcomes
The terms "environmental." or "natural environment." are understood by many scholars through their connection to the economic concept of externality (Berchicci and King, 2007). In traditional economic theory, government, not business, is responsible for correcting problems of externality, but government regulation has the potential to hurt firms by increasing costs and constraining the choices available to managers. The purpose of business, however, is to maximize internal returns. Therefore, much research has been done to answer the question, "does it pay to be green?" to try to understand why some firms go beyond regulatory compliance in their environmental efforts. Many scholars have investigated the effects of environmental actions on a firms' competitive advantage (Christmann, 2000; Nehrt, 1998; Shrivastava, 1995b) as well as on their financial performance (Ambec and Lanoie, 2008; Clemens, 2006; King and Lenox, 2000; Klaasen and McLauglin, 1996; Klassen and Whybark, 1999; Orsato, 2006; Russo and Fouts, 1997).
Increasing empirical evidence has challenged the traditional perspectives that voluntary environmental practices that are not mandated by regulations involve investments requiring careful cost-benefit analysis (Wally and Whitehead, 1994). For example, Klassen and McLaughlin (1996) found a positive relationship between firms.' environmental awards and their effects, the Toxic Releases Inventories (TRI) database has been used as a proxy for environmental performance in several research studies (King and Lenox, 2000; Klassen and Whybark, 1999; Russo and Harrison, 2005). An adoption of ISO 14001 is another proxy that has been used to explain environmental performance (Christmann and Taylor, 2001; Gonzalez- Benito and Gonzalez-Benito, 2005; Jiang and Bansal, 2003). Corbett and DeCroix (2001) have shown that the parties in a supply chain can profit by reducing material consumption. The degree to which organizational actions exceed environmental regulations is used to assess their environmental performance (Aragõn-Correa, 1998; Aragõn-Correa and Sharma, 2003; Buysse and Verbeke, 2003; Hart, 1995; McKay, 2001; Sharma, 2000).
The role of regulation in shaping firms' environmental performance is another area that receives a lot of research attention (King and Lenox, 2000; McKay, 2001; Nehrt, 1998; Rugman and Verbeke, 1998a, 1998b). One fundamental research interest addresses voluntary initiatives versus mandatory regulations and their relative efficacy. Another parallel stream of research shifts the focus from regulators to a wider group of stakeholders. The arguments are that different stakeholders lead to different types of organizational and environmental strategies, and that some are more effective than others in shaping environmental performance (Buysse and Verbeke, 2003; Christmann, 2004; Fineman, 1996, 1997; Fineman and Clarke, 1996; Henriques and Sadorsky, 1999; Sharma and Henriques, 2005). In addition, several researchers have focused beyond environmental performance to the area of sustainable development. In addition to the environment, researchers investigating sustainable development and its manifestations also include its effects on social and economic dimensions (Bansal, 2005; Russo, 2003; Sharma and Henriques, 2005; Shrivastava, 1995c; Starik and Rands, 1995). Although much attention has been paid to organizational and environmental outcomes, less attention has been paid to the process by which managers perceive and interpret the relationship between the natural environment and its effects on their organizations. It is critical to understand the process by which managers interpret the relationship between the natural environment and their organizations, as well as what factors influence their environmental strategies and actions, which ultimately lead to their firm's performance and competitive advantage. One way that a business can address environmental issues is through corporate environmentalism, which is the recognition and integration of environmental concerns into a firm's decision making process (Banerjee, 2001).
Corporate Environmentalism
Hoffman (1997) has analyzed the institutional history of corporate environmentalism. He studies the chemical and petroleum industries from 1960 to 1993 using institutional theory as a framework to understand how these industries have been altered by increasing pressures for environmental management. Hoffman identified four phases of corporate environmentalism in the chemical and petroleum industries. The first phase is industrial environmentalism (1960- 1970), which focuses on the internal resolution of environmental problems as an addition to firms' operations. The second phase is regulatory environmentalism (1970-1982), which focuses on regulatory compliance with strict environmental laws imposed externally. The third phase is environmentalism as social responsibility (1982-1988), which focuses on pollution prevention and waste reduction driven externally by industry associations as well as by voluntary initiatives. Finally, the fourth phase is strategic environmentalism (1988-1993), which focuses on top management and board level integration of proactive environmental strategies.
In addition to the work of Hoffman (1997), Banerjee (2001) has proposed a working definition of corporate environmentalism:
."Corporate environmentalism is the organization-wide recognition of the legitimacy and importance of the biophysical environment in the formulation of organization strategy, and the integration of environmental issues into the strategic planning process. (p.181)"
Based on this working definition and on the background literature, Banerjee (2001) has identified two themes in corporate environmentalism, consisting of a corporate environmental orientation and an environmental strategy focus.
Corporate environmental orientation
Corporate environmental orientation refers to the notion that firms need to recognize their impact on the environment and try to mitigate such impact (Banerjee, 2001). Corporate environmental orientation is akin to corporate social responsibility, specifically toward the natural environment (Banerjee, 2001). Banerjee, 2001 offered two sub-themes associated with corporate environmentalism orientation: the first focuses on a firm's internal aspects of values, behavior, and commitment; and the second focuses on managers' perceptions of the need to respond to external stakeholders.
Environmental strategy focus
Environmental strategy focus reflects the degree to which environmental issues are integrated into strategic planning processes (Banerjee, 2001). Banerjee argued that the level of strategy focus can vary and offered two levels of environmental strategy focus. The first level is the corporate strategy focus. Banerjee argued that higher levels of strategic focus can result in what Shrivastava (1995b) calls "ecologically sustainable least-cost strategy" and "ecologically sustainable niche strategy" to achieve a competitive advantage. The second level is the business/functional strategy focus. Environmental strategies at the functional level are limited in scope and aimed at emissions reduction and waste management (Banerjee, 2001).
Corporate environmentalism is involved is related to concerns about perceptions of legitimacy that are external to an organization, as well as the strategic planning process internal to an organization. An organization conforms to its institutional environments in order to reduce uncertainty and increase its legitimacy. Organizations adopt templates for organizing, which can increase their legitimacy in the eyes of the authorities in their field (Scott, 2001). Legitimacy yields access to resources such as raw material, capital, and technology. Institutional theory emphasizes how organizations gain legitimacy through isomorphism, which creates homogeneity within the organizational field. Next, I examine the elements of institutional theory that are relevant to the discussion of corporate environmentalism.
Institutional Theory
Institutional theory addresses how external institutions create the homogeneity of organizations within an organizational field. DiMaggio and Powell (1983) define an organizational field as "organizations that, in the aggregate, constitute a recognized area of institutional life: key suppliers, resources and product customers, regulatory agencies, and other organizations that provide similar services or products." (p.148). Organizations gain legitimacy and reduce uncertainty through isomorphism, which consists of three mechanisms: coercive, normative, and cognitive mechanisms (Scott, 1995). Each mechanism differs in the degree to which it is visible and ranges from the directly coercive to that which is taken for granted (Zucker, 1983).
Three Pillars of Institutional Theory
Regulative mechanisms (i.e., coercive mechanisms) are based on legal sanctions to which organizations comply out of expediency – to garner rewards or to avoid coercion (Scott, 1995; Scott and Davis, 2007). Their behavior is viewed as legitimate to the extent that it conforms to rules and laws (Scott and Davis, 2007). A normative mechanism is morally grounded, to which organizations will adhere based on social obligation, appropriateness, and common values (Scott, 1995; Scott and Davis, 2007). Organizations' structures and behaviors are legitimate to the extent that they are consistent with widely shared norms defining appropriate behavior (Scott and Davis, 2007). The cultural-cognitive mechanism refers to the collective constructions of social reality via language, meaning systems, and other rules of classification embodied in public activity (Thompson and Fine, 1999). This mechanism refers not only to individual psychological constructs, but also to common symbolic systems and shared meanings. The cultural-cognitive mechanism emphasizes the taken-for-granted assumptions and unconscious beliefs (Scott and Davis, 2007) to which an organization will attend out of habit, convention, or obligatory action (Zucker, 1983). These three mechanisms form a composite of institutional pressures that create the collective reality for an organization – explanations of what is and what is not, what can be acted upon and what cannot (Hoffman, 2003). In short, organizations facing the same institutional pressures will have a similar structure.
Institutional theory emphasizes the isomorphic effects of institutional processes (Scott and Davis, 2007), by which organizational fields and populations become more aligned in their structural and procedural features (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Scott, 2001; Scott and Davis, 2007). Institutionalization is a process that creates a social reality between actors through externalization, objectivation, and internalization (Berger and Luckmann, 1966). According to Berger and Luckman, institutions are shared realities that have become taken-for-granted. Neoinstitutionalists consider the cognitive classifications, rules, and scripts that have become taken-for- granted to be the rules that determine how actors attribute meaning to their actions (DiMaggio and Powell, 1991). Organizations conform to taken-for-granted norms concerning the appropriate way to organize in order to receive support and legitimacy. Meyer and Rowan (1977) have argued that institutions are likely to take the form of "rationalized myth". The myths built into institutional elements create the necessity, the opportunity, and the impulse to organize rationally (Meyer and Rowan, 1977).
Legitimization
Meyer and Rowan (1977) have emphasized organizations' needs to gain legitimacy from an institutional environment. The understanding of collectively constructed social realities provides a framework for the creation and elaboration of formal organizations (Scott and Meyer, 1983; Scott and Meyer, 1994). Legitimacy enables a firm to compete more effectively, for it enables better access to resources, attracts better employees, and improves the exchange conditions with partners (Aldrich and Fiol, 1994; DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Oliver, 1991; Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978; Turban and Greening, 1997). Legitimacy can also lead to economic benefits without technical gain. As a consequence, organizational routines can become decoupled from technical processes, for routines may be initiated and maintained because they have a legitimating function (Boons and Strannegard, 2000). For example, Westphal and Zajac (1994) found that a substantial number of firms are likely to adopt but not actually implement long-term incentive compensation. Zajac and Westphal (2004) have advanced neo-institutional theory by suggesting how policies can become institutionalized, despite growing evidence of their non-implementation, by virtue of the socio-historical estimation process that drives market reactions. Policy adoptions internal to a firm may become more symbolic and less substantive (Edelman et al., 1991; Pfeffer, 1981). With this view, Zajac and Westphal's perspective integrates Meyer and Rowan's (1977) decoupling thesis with Zucker's (1983) thesis of institutionalization.
Resource-Based View of Strategy
A resource-based view of strategy (RBV) emphasizes that every firm possesses a unique bundle of resources and capabilities that influence its strategic choices and ultimately its competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993; Wenerfelt, 1984). These resources may be financial, human, intangible, physical, organizational, or technological (Amit and Schoemaker, 1993; Barney, 1991; Farjoun, 1994). An RBV is based on two assumptions: first, companies within an industry or sector may be heterogeneous with respect to the resources they possess; second, the resources may not be perfectly mobile across companies, and that heterogeneity can be perpetual (Amit and Schoemaker, 1993; Barney, 1991; Dierickx and Cool, 1989; Peteraf, 1993). These two assumptions show that every firm possesses unique resources that are not easily transferable to others.
The RBV emphasizes how the value, rarity, imperfect mobility, and non-substitutive nature of resources within a firm can lead to a competitive advantage (Barney, 1991). In discussing the imperfect mobility of resources, Peteraf (1993) has suggested the idea of causal ambiguity as representing the non-definable nature of resources a firm possesses and has established the concepts of ex ante and ex post limits to competition within a RBV strategy. Prior to investing (ex ante) in resources, managers make varying estimations of the resources' future value. As a result of these varying estimations, firms make differing investments in resources. After investing (ex post), factor immobility and barriers to competition from substitute products or services prevent those firms that made inferior decisions from adjusting. Thus, some firms gain a sustainable competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993). Wernerfelt (1984) has established the concept of combining resources together, as if in a bundle, to create a unique whole.
A number of researchers have empirically applied RBV to the analysis of environmental strategies and profitability (Aragõn-Correa, 1998; Christmann, 2000; Hart, 1995; Marcus and Geffen, 1998; Maxwell, Rothenberg, Briscoe, and Marcus, 1997; Rugman and Verbeke, 1998; Russo and Fouts, 1997; Sharma and Vredenburg, 1998). Fineman and Clarke (1996) have found that firms.' superior resources allow them to adapt to regulations, garnering advantages over their competitors more quickly and efficiently. Judge and Douglas (1998) have demonstrated that firms that successfully integrated the natural environment into their strategic processes achieved competitive advantages, both financially and environmentally. Clemens and Douglas (2006) have argued that environmental resources may include many components in a bundle, for example, additional accounting systems (Sinding, 2000), more extensive monitoring of waste streams (Sharfman, Ellington, and Meo, 1997), training, additional information requirements, and indirect costs involved in adopting any new system requiring organizational changes (Huybers and Bennett, 2003). In their analysis, Clemens and Douglas (2006) found that coercion is positively related to voluntary green initiatives, but the relationship is contextual and depends on the level of superior resources of firms that focused on environmental strategies.
Organizational Slack
Organizational slack allows firms to make investments in resources and capabilities that may not have an immediate pay-off (Bansal, 2005; Levinthal and March, 1981). It can help a firm develop the resources and capabilities necessary to improve the speed and degree to which it can adapt to its external environment (Bansal, 2005; Cheng and Kesner, 1997). Bourgeois (1981) has defined organizational slack as "that cushion of actual or potential resources which allows an organization to adapt successfully to internal pressures for adjustment or to external pressures for change. (p.84)".
Bansal (2005) has investigated the relationship between organizational slack and sustainable development. She found that organizational slack permits firms the latitude to seek creative new solutions to corporate sustainable development in many circumstances. For instance, many respondents in her study noted that large firms, firms with extra financial resources, or large environmental health and safety (EHS) departments were more likely to implement new practices. In addition, the financial benefits that accrue from sustainable development can often be long term and diffuse, for example, through improved corporate reputation or social capital. Thus, I investigate the relationship between organizational slack and its effect on the relationship between institutional pressures and corporate environmentalism.
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Seizures May Be Cities' Last Hope in Mortgage Crisis, by Amir Sufi, Commentary, Bloomberg: The failure to address crippling household-debt burdens is leading local governments to embrace the radical idea of using eminent domain to seize and write down mortgages.
Over the past month, two cities in California — Stockton and San Bernardino — have made moves to file for bankruptcy. … The San Bernardino and Stockton episodes are representative of a national crisis: Crippling household-debt burdens and foreclosures have been dragging down the economy for the past five years. Renegotiation of underwater mortgages by the private sector has been almost nonexistent. Despite strong evidence that frictions related to securitized mortgages are preventing the efficient restructuring of household-debt burdens, policy makers have largely sat on the sidelines.
With local governments feeling directly threatened, some cities have put forth a bold solution: Governments should use eminent-domain powers to buy mortgages, impose losses on bondholders, and write down principal amounts owed by the borrower. The argument is pretty simple: Debt burdens and foreclosures are crushing our cities; private lenders are showing no willingness to renegotiate; and there are no meaningful attempts at the federal level to help. San Bernardino and Stockton are Exhibits A and B.
Using eminent domain to impose losses on bondholders is unquestionably a radical idea. … There comes a point, however, when it becomes impossible to impose further losses on debtors. And when that happens, creditors are expected to take losses on their positions. This is exactly why restructuring debt contracts is a valuable and important part of the financial system. In corporations and commercial real estate, such restructuring happens every day.
But this isn't happening in mortgage markets. … Bondholders and other creditors are understandably furious at the violation of private contracts implied by the eminent- domain proposals. They shouldn't be surprised, though. Everyone has a breaking point. Proposals to write down debt will become even more radical unless the private sector shows a greater willingness to renegotiate mortgages.
I hope we have learned a point I've tried to make again and again here, that helping households with their balance sheet problems is essential in curing a balance sheet recession. Banks got plenty of help with their balance sheet problems based upon the "too big to fail" argument, but households didn't get as much attention. Collectively, households are too big to fail as well, but we let them fail anyway and are now paying a much higher cost than if we'd done more to address household balance sheet problems early in the recession.
2 Responses to "'Seizures May Be Cities' Last Hope in Mortgage Crisis'"
I agree there needs to be an across the board debt restructuring for US households, however, this cockamamie proposal is the most ripe for abuse and further fraud and scandal that I have heard of yet. My corrupt local village has been scamming millions of dollars a year from their TIF Districts and have already coupled it with Eminent Domain abuse. Giving local communities this power is just another deferred disaster in the making.
I find this as a very complex and risky solution for cities to undertake. Bankrupt cities cannot even address concerns regarding teacher mortgage and exit debts.


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It is designed to increase the fire resistance of steel structures in normal indoor and outdoor environments. With the effect of fire – under the influence of heat – the Polylack A one-component fire protection coating foames, thus creating an insulating layer on the surface of the treated steel structure, which prevents this construction from overheating to a critical temperature and for a specified (desired) time. For indoor applications, with relative air humidity max. 80%, no topcoat required. Thanks to its solvent base, it can be applied even at low air temperatures (up to -5 ° C). After drying to a certain extent, it can withstand the weather, so it is possible to mount the treated steel structures outdoors without using a top coat.


text:
Posted inImpact, Insult to Injury
Reveal's Tesla investigation receives Third Coast radio impact award
by Reveal staff October 8, 2018 October 10, 2018
Many have gone to work at Tesla inspired by CEO Elon Musk and his mission. What some found, they said, was a chaotic factory floor where speed trumped safety. Credit: Musk photo by David McNew, photo illustration by Gabriel Hongsdusit/Reveal
An investigation of Tesla's workplace injuries by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX has received an impact award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival.
The Third Coast Richard/Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition — dubbed the "Oscars of radio" — recognizes excellence in audio storytelling. The story, done in partnership with San Francisco-based KQED, was the lead story on the Reveal episode "Tesla and Beyond: Hidden problems of Silicon Valley."
It was produced by Will Evans and Alyssa Jeong Perry and edited by Taki Telonidis and Ziva Branstetter.
The investigation examined the safety problems surrounding the production of Tesla's electric vehicles, in a factory employing some 10,000 workers.
Since Tesla's founding 15 years ago, the company's all-electric cars have achieved cult status among enthusiasts.
The rollout of the Model 3 has been bumpy, as manufacturing problems delayed production and frustrated customers. Reveal and KQED found that delays weren't the only problem. The investigation uncovered serious safety concerns and risks to employees on the factory floor.
The investigation also uncovered numerous employee injuries that should have been reported by law but were not. After Reveal and KQED began asking questions about Tesla's undercounting of injuries, the company belatedly added 13 injuries to its 2017 injury logs.
Three days after the story began airing, California's workplace safety agency, known as Cal/OSHA, opened an investigation of Tesla. Musk also lashed out at journalists from Reveal and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, D-California, called for an intensive "full facility audit" of Tesla and urged state lawmakers to strengthen laws governing the recording of worker injuries.
Tesla's response to the story – calling Reveal "an extremist organization working directly with union supporters to create a calculated disinformation campaign against Tesla" – prompted responses from other news outlets.
Slate wrote, "The tone the company is taking now borders on hysterical, and it appeals to people's reflexive mistrust of the media in a way that feels awfully familiar in the Trump era."
Fast Company noted that "the Elon Musk-founded car company – borrowing a PR tactic from President Trump – is claiming that a venerated journalism nonprofit is fake news. Reveal, however, has the receipts. It cites multiple on-site injuries that should have been recorded by Tesla."
by Reveal staff, Reveal

Reveal's Tesla investigation receives Third Coast radio impact award

by Reveal staff, Reveal
October 8, 2018

An investigation of Tesla's workplace injuries by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX has received an impact award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival.

The Third Coast Richard/Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition — dubbed the "Oscars of radio" — recognizes excellence in audio storytelling. The story, done in partnership with San Francisco-based KQED, was the lead story on the Reveal episode "Tesla and Beyond: Hidden problems of Silicon Valley."

It was produced by Will Evans and Alyssa Jeong Perry and edited by Taki Telonidis and Ziva Branstetter.

The investigation examined the safety problems surrounding the production of Tesla's electric vehicles, in a factory employing some 10,000 workers.

Since Tesla's founding 15 years ago, the company's all-electric cars have achieved cult status among enthusiasts.

The rollout of the Model 3 has been bumpy, as manufacturing problems delayed production and frustrated customers. Reveal and KQED found that delays weren't the only problem. The investigation uncovered serious safety concerns and risks to employees on the factory floor.

The investigation also uncovered numerous employee injuries that should have been reported by law but were not. After Reveal and KQED began asking questions about Tesla's undercounting of injuries, the company belatedly added 13 injuries to its 2017 injury logs.

Three days after the story began airing, California's workplace safety agency, known as Cal/OSHA, opened an investigation of Tesla. Musk also lashed out at journalists from Reveal and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, D-California, called for an intensive "full facility audit" of Tesla and urged state lawmakers to strengthen laws governing the recording of worker injuries.

Tesla's response to the story – calling Reveal "an extremist organization working directly with union supporters to create a calculated disinformation campaign against Tesla" – prompted responses from other news outlets.

Slate wrote, "The tone the company is taking now borders on hysterical, and it appeals to people's reflexive mistrust of the media in a way that feels awfully familiar in the Trump era."

Fast Company noted that "the Elon Musk-founded car company – borrowing a PR tactic from President Trump – is claiming that a venerated journalism nonprofit is fake news. Reveal, however, has the receipts. It cites multiple on-site injuries that should have been recorded by Tesla."

This article first appeared on Reveal and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.