How Cultures Conflict in Native American Vs. European Culture Term Paper

How Cultures Conflict in Native American Vs. European Culture - Term Paper Example This paper tells that cultures change always and have a relationship with symbols of life dimensions. Symbolic dimensions can be places where we make meanings and enact consistently our identities. Therefore cultural messages from our origin convey what is important to us, who we are and what relationships we have with others. As Nina puts it, cultures conflict in such a way that cultural messages make what people in a cultural group know that the outsiders know not. These cultural messages are like a series of lenses shaping what we do not see as well as what we see, how the group interpret and perceive, and where they draw boundaries. Cultures conflict such that they shape the values and involve the currencies and starting points of every individual group. What is perceived as important by one group may not mean anything to the other group? For example, starting points places natural to start from with group or individual concerns with particularities or big picture. Currencies may be the things that a particular cultural group care about so much and shape and influence their interaction with other cultural groups. Cultures are basically embedded in all manners of conflict since human relationships are the origin of conflicts. Particular cultures affect the way people frame, name, blame or attempt to resolve conflicts. It is a cultural question whether at all there is an existence of a conflict. According to the readings, labeling interactions as conflicts and scrutinizing them to smaller content sections is a Western approach distinctly and obscures other related aspects.

Understand Health and Social care in settings Essay Example for Free

Understand Health and Social care in settings Essay Understand Health and Safety in Social Care Settings 8Understand how to promote environmental safety procedures in the social care setting 8. 4Explain the importance of having an emergency plan in place to deal with unforeseen incidents Having an emergency plan in place, helps people to deal with things in an emergency. It lays out what should be done and how things should be handled. The idea behind an emergency plan is to meet specific needs. In the event of a fire or gas leak, it lays out exactly what needs to be done to handle the situation. It provides strategies and ways to handle. For example, in the event of a fire, it would outline what procedure to follow. This can include how to raise the alarm, how to handle the situation and who and when to contact people. It would also outline who is in charge of the certain situation, for example, who is in charge of fire safety. An emergency plan has reporting measures. This is useful in reporting back findings and assessing situations and how they could be handled differently or improved on. In the event of an emergency, an emergency plan establishes authority. It lays out who should be doing what and who needs to take charge of the whole situation. Everybody knows exactly what to do, where to be and there is no confusion. The plan includes emergency evacuation routes. This is crucial in health and safety as it ensures that all involved are able to find the quickest and safest way of leaving the building. This can help to reduce injury and save lives. An emergency plan enables training opportunities. It can identify who is trained, who needs training and any additional training that may be needed to handle such emergencies. An emergency plan also enables co-ordination with other agencies. It enables the company and outside agencies to work together to ensure that training is all up-to-date and should there be an unforeseen circumstance, all persons involved know what to do. It ensures that the Company is able to handle such situations and that they are doing everything they can to prevent such incidents. This can show that the Company has Fire Safety checks in place and up to date for example. Emergency plans are paramount in dealing with incidents and unforeseen circumstances should they occur. They ensure that all involved know what to do and how to handle things. It can help reduce injury and save lives. It keeps people up-to-date with training and raises awareness. 9Understand how to manage stress 9. 1Describe common signs and indicators of stress Stress in a normal physical response to events or happenings that make you feel threatened or unbalanced in one way or another. When the body senses danger, whether it is real or imagined, the body kicks into action and creates as an automatic response known as the stress response. The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When it is working properly, it enables you to stay balanced, focused and alert. Sometimes the stress response can save your life; it is the body’s way of dealing with things quickly. Although stress can help your body, after a certain point, it can start causing major damage to your health. Stress affects your quality of life and mood. There are a number of signs and symptoms to stress that you need to look out for and can include the following; 1. Cognitive Symptoms Memory Problems – Stress can cause you to forget things. The body worries that much about what is happening or what needs to be done that it can cause memory problems. Inability to concentrate – There is that much playing on the mind that stress can cause the body to have an inability to concentrate. There is lack of focus in life and this can be the body’s way of recognising this. Poor judgement – Stress can cause you to make inappropriate judgements and handle things in a different way. Seeing only the negative – The stress that you are experiencing can cause lack of motivation and energy. Sometimes people feel that there is no way forward and they can only see negative things happening to them or around them. Anxious thoughts – The body feels that there is so much going on and may not be able to cope with what is happening. This causes you to become restless and anxious. Constant worrying – Stress can cause over load on the body and this in turn can cause the body to find it hard to handle things. You start to constantly worry about what is happening and what is going to happen. 2. Emotional Symptoms Moodiness – People handle stress in different ways. Stress and the changes in the body can cause you to have mood swings that you find difficult to control. Agitation – This can be the bodies’ way of dealing with stress. As things are happening and changing around you, it can cause you to become agitated. Feeling overwhelmed – This can be caused be stress. There is so much happening and going on around you, that you may feel things are becoming too much. You may feel that things are out of your hands and you do not know what to do. Sense of isolation – Stress can cause you to isolate yourself off from others and your surroundings. You do not know how to handle things that you cut yourself off from the outside world and become isolated. Depression – Depression can be very serious, and left untreated can cause suicidal thoughts. You can become that stressed; you become low in mood and cannot see any way out. 3. Physical Symptoms Aches and pains – The body can become tired from stress and as a result you become run down. The body has general aches and pains. Many people may not associate this with stress but it is something to look out for. Nausea and Diarrhoea – Nausea or sickness and diarrhoea can be a common sign of stress. The body becomes run down and drained and this is the body’s way of coping. Left untreated, this can be serious for the body. Chest pain – Chest pain can be a physical symptom of stress and can be quite serious if ignored and left untreated. The amount of stress the body is enduring becomes too much and this is the bodies way of coping with it. Frequent colds – Frequent colds can be a sign that the body is run down and this can be a cause of stress. Again, this is something that some people may not associate with stress but it is something to look out for. 4. Behavioural Symptoms Eating more or less – One way of dealing with stress is to over eat or under eat. When people become stressed some people indulge on extra foods that they enjoy for comfort. Others, on the other hand, may find themselves under eating to help cope with stress. Sleeping too much or too little – Stress can take the energy out of the body and therefore make you want to sleep more. Also, because you have so much playing on your mind, it can cause lack of sleep due to worry. Isolation yourself from others – By isolating yourself from others, you are at a greater vulnerability to stress. However, stress can cause you to isolate yourself from others because you start to feel so low. Neglecting responsibilities – Stress can make people feel that low and they can lack motivation and energy. This in the long run can cause them to start neglecting the responsibilities. Using alcohol or drugs – Some people can turn to alcohol, cigarettes or drugs. This can help the body to relax, but over-use can cause more damage to the body in the long run. Nervous habits – Stress can cause you to start certain habits. This can include for example, nail biting or pacing up and down. All signs and symptoms can be serious and need to be checked out. A visit to your General Practitioner is advised for a check-up and for reassurance. However, one thing to remember is that everyone deals with stress in different ways. 9. 2Describe factors that tend to trigger own stress The situations and pressures that cause stress can be known as stressors. Stressors are commonly known as negative factors such as a tiring work schedule or financial problems. However, anything that puts high demand on the body and forces the body to change or adjust can be stressful. There are positive factors in life that can also cause stress and an example of this could be getting married or buying a house. Stress can be caused by both internal and external factors. External factors are commonly known as the things that we can see that we have no control over. Internal factors are commonly known as factors that are self-generated. This can be as a result of worrying over something that may or may not happen. What causes stress depends on the way in which we handle things. Everybody handles stress in different ways and no two people are the same. Whereas one person may find that having to queue is stressful, another person may feel that it can be quite relaxing as it gives you time to think. There are a number of factors that trigger stress and can include the following; ? Major life changes – The body gets into a routine when we carry out everyday tasks and jobs. We get used to things that we have to do. Major life changes can cause the body to go into shock and can cause stress. You may feel such situation difficult to handle and not know what to do. Examples of major life changes can include injury, illness or bereavement. The body goes into shock as this is the body’s way of dealing with such situation. ?Work Factors – You get into a routine at work and know how to handle things. A change in routine or pressures to meet work targets can cause stress. You may not know how to handle a situation or are unsure about carrying out a certain task. The body becomes stressed and you may not know what to do. One situation that I have found that can cause stress at work is dealing with difficult situations. In the event of an emergency bell going, the body kicks into action and you can become stressed. It can be a result as of change in situation or even the case that you feel things should be done differently. Stress can be handled in different ways and it is learning what is best for you. ?Relationship difficulties or family problems – Family can be a common cause of stress. A breakdown in relationship or arguments can cause stress. The body does not know how to handle situations and becomes stressed. Something may not be going the way you want, or someone maybe doing something that you disagree with. The body becomes stressed and can cause more problems as makes the situation more difficult to deal with. ?Financial problems – Money can be a big factor where stress is concerned. Earning too little or big bills can cause stress. You may feel that you are doing everything you can, but you are still not able to get on top of things. ?Being too busy – Work over-load or taking on too much responsibility can trigger stress. You may find there is not enough time to do things or not enough hours in the day. Stress becomes a factor and everything starts to become too much. 9. 3Evaluate strategies for managing stress Everybody has different ways of dealing with stress. Although one method of coping with stress may work for one person, it may not work for another. It is about finding what is best for you and using methods that are best suited to you and your lifestyle. If one way does not work for you, move on to a different way and find the method that works best. It can be said that it is about trial and error. You are the only person that can do something about your stress levels, from changing your lifestyle to asking for help and support. Physical Strategies – what you feel You need to maintain good sleeping patterns. Maintaining proper sleep can help you to cope with stress. Lack of sleep over a long period of time can cause depressions. When you are tired and run down, stress affects you more. You need to watch your diet. Caffeine intake can raise your stress levels considerably. A well balanced diet can improve your ability to cope with stress. An exercise program is a good way of managing stress. If you are in good physical shape, you are better able to tolerate stress. Through exercise, you are able to re-focus your attention and release stress and tension. Perceptual Strategies – what you see Diverse tactics are a good way of managing stress. When you feel yourself becoming stressed and uptight, diverse your attention elsewhere. This could include anything from hobbies to a favourite television program. In order to manage stress, you need to be able to focus your attention. You need to learn to ignore what is making you become uptight and focus on what is relaxing. Focus on things that make you happy and comfortable. Cognitive Strategies – what you think You need to stop trying to make yourself perfect. Although everyone wants to be the best that they can, you are who you are. By wanting to make yourself perfect, you are almost asking the impossible. You are going to raise your stress levels and make yourself something that you are not. It is about treating yourself to the things that you know you like and enjoying them. This can be anything from sweet treats, to hobby time or even time away. It is about making the most of the time you have. Stress and managing stress can also be related to self appraisal. You need to learn to think differently about things and evaluate the situation. Were there things that could have been done differently? Could you have used your time differently? Did it make you happy? Using self appraisal can help to reduce stress levels by managing you and your time differently. Affective Strategies – how you feel You need to be able to enjoy your life and those around you. It is about taking time out for yourself and doing the things that you enjoy. If you do not feel happy around people, try and make new friends. You need to be able to express your feelings openly. If you need to cry, cry and if you need to laugh, laugh. Do not keep feelings and emotions inside as this can help to increase your stress levels immensely. It is about managing your emotions and how you feel. Try not to take life too seriously and enjoy the good times! Environmental Strategies – what is around you In order to manage stress, you need to take time out from stressful situations. You need to engage yourself in things that you find relaxing and take time out for yourself. You need to keep yourself calm and focused in order to help manage stress levels. You need to try and avoid situations where possible, that make you stressed or anxious. I find myself that avoiding big crowds of people can sometimes help to relieve stress levels. You need to make the most of support around you. Ask for help from friends and families to help you through tough times. Asking for help does not mean that you have admitted defeat; it means that you are trying to make the better of something and improve upon your situation. 10Understand procedures regarding handling medication 10. 1Describe the main points of agreed procedures about handling medication There are acts that cover handling of medication that Companies need to adhere to keep in line with national policies and procedures. Outcome 9 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 covers handling medication. The Management of Medicines Regulation 13 covers what companies should be doing to handle medication correctly. It ensures that service users will have their medicines at the times that they need them and in a safe way. Wherever possible, it ensures that all information regarding these medications is made available to service users at all times. It also covers where others are acting on a service user’s behalf. Such Outcome ensures that the company who complies with the regulation will handle medicines securely, safely and appropriately. It will ensure that all medicines and prescribed and are given safely. It will also ensure that Companies will follow published guidelines about how to use medicines safely. Handling Medicines in Social Care Settings Guidance 2007 covers the correct handling of medication. The purpose of this document is to provide professional guidance for people who are involved in handling medicines in every social care setting. The guidance given is based on good practice and current legislation. The Guidance ensures that every registered provider, such as a care home, and the care service manager are jointly responsible for the safe and appropriate handling of all medicines in the setting. It ensures that the company has written policies and procedures in place for all aspects of handling medication. It ensures that the registered care homes have competent and trained care workers administering and handling medication at all times. Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain – Main points for handling medication – This is a booklet for social care settings. The purpose of the booklet is to provide guidance for people in social care who are involved with the handling of medications. Social care settings can check local regulations and legislation at any time. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain outlines situations that may arise from handling medications. It outlines principles of safe handling of medication and explains how such principles relate to specific services. It outlines procedures and methods that work in line with best practice and represents good professional practice. Medication in a social care setting is the responsibility of trained Nurses. Staff do not have any responsibilities for medication unless they have received adequate training. As an NVQ Level 2 or 3 Carer, you cannot handle or administer medication without the appropriate training. Care providers are responsible for assessing a Care Worker’s competence to give medicines to the people that they care for. They should not make assumptions based on that care worker’s previous experience. Even when care staff do not routinely give medicines, it is important to know; †¢Whether the person has any medicines †¢What the medicines are and how they should be taken †¢What conditions the medicines are intended to treat. Agreed Procedures for handling medication Obtaining – This must be done by a responsible person (normally the trained nurse) working within locally defined protocols. There are three main groups of medication as defined by the Medicines Act 1968 and these are; †¢General Sale List (GSL) These medicines can be purchased from any shop. †¢Pharmacy Only (PO) These medicines can only be purchased from a pharmacy. †¢Prescription Only Medicines (POM) These medicines can only be obtained with a prescription. In care and domiciliary settings many medication orders will be repeat prescriptions. Obtaining the correct medication for individuals will be the responsibility of the trained nurse. It will be their responsibility to ensure that dosages match with the prescriptions. Storing – All medication needs to be stored in a clean, lockable, secure facility so that they cannot be mixed up with other people’s medicines and cannot be stolen. If a drug’s trolley is used, it must be secured to the wall when not in use and be big enough to store all required medication. The keys should be stored in a safe place or on the trained nurse, and not be left lying around. Administering – All organisations should have in place their own local policies and procedures for the safe administration of medication for that particular care setting. ‘Safe administration’ is defined as medicines given in such a way as to avoid causing harm to the person taking the medicine. Medicines must never be removed from their original containers or bottles in which they were dispensed by the pharmacist. Staff must always follow set procedures within their care settings and adhere to the main principals of safe administration. In many social care settings this will be the responsibility of the trained nurse and you will not administer any medication to individuals. In order to administer medication correctly, the trained nurse needs to; †¢Identify the medication correctly †¢Administer the correct dosage †¢Identify the person correctly †¢Know what the medicine is intended to do †¢Know whether any special precautions are needed Medicine must only be dispensed from its original container at the time of administration for the person for whom it is intended. It must never be decanted into another container or given to someone at a later time. Recording – Medicines are the property of the service user for whom they are prescribed, however, providers are required to keep records of medicine used by service users, ensure that there are regular reviews of medication being taken by service users and a record kept within the service user’s care/support plan. All medication records should be referenced back to the original prescription and not the previous Medicine Administration Record (MAR) chart. An up to date record of current medication prescribed for each service user must be maintained. Medicine records should be kept together in one place. MAR charts need to be completed at the time of administering medication. 10. 2Explain why medication must only be handled following specialist training Medication errors happen, but when they do it is important that there is a ‘no blame’ policy that encourages staff to report errors immediately. An error in the administration of a medicine can be at best inconvenient or at worse fatal. Common medications errors include the following; †¢Under administration By ensuring that you have specialist training in administering medication, you are reducing the likelihood of under administration. The administration of medication needs to tally with the dosage. Insufficient training may mean that not enough medication is given. The dosage is too low and thus will not be treating the service user in the appropriate way. †¢Over administration By ensuring that you have specialist training in administering medication, you are reducing the likelihood of over administration. The administration of medication needs to tally with the dosage. Insufficient training may mean that too much medication is given. The dosage is too high or too strong and thus will not be treating the service user in the appropriate way. This can have serious implications on the service user’s health and medical advice should be sought immediately. †¢Incorrect medication – Should medication be administered by people that have not had specialist training; you run the risk of administering the incorrect medication. You may not know how to identify the correct medication. By administering after specialist training, you are ensuring that the correct medication is given and matches up with the patient’s records. †¢Incorrect prescription By ensuring that you have specialist training in administering medication, you are reducing the likelihood of an incorrect prescription. The prescription may not match with the medication. Specialist training can help to identify such issues and ensure that you know how to go about dealing with them. †¢Non administration By ensuring that you have specialist training in administering medication, you are reducing the likelihood of non administration. By having insufficient training, you may not know when and how to administer medication and thus likely to miss administering. †¢Non recording – Should medication be administered by people that have not had specialist training, you may not know how to record medicines in the correct way. Such specialist training will ensure that you know how to read and complete the MAR chart correctly. It ensures that all medication is recorded in the correct way to adhere to local and national policies and procedures. †¢Administration of a wrong medicine to a wrong service user By ensuring that you have specialist training in administering medication, you are reducing the likelihood of administering the wrong medicine to the wrong service user. You need to be able to identify the correct service user and administer the correct medication. Incorrect or insufficient training can result in the wrong medication being given. †¢Administration at wrong time – By ensuring that you have specialist training in administering medication, you are reducing the likelihood of administering at the wrong time. Certain medications need to be given at certain times. This will be recorded on the medication and on the MAR chart. Such training ensures you know how to check and follow when medication needs to be given. All of the above points can also be the result of someone being inadequately trained. By ensuring that the trained nurse is responsible for the medicines, you are putting the welfare of the individuals’ first. It prevents such errors occurring and thus putting individual’s at risk. 10. 3Explain the consequences of handling medication without specialist training Handling medication without training is illegal and does not follow company protocol. Through lack of training, you run the risk of administering incorrect medicine and dosage. At its best, this can be inconvenient for the Company and the service user. At its worst, this can prove fatal for the service user or can create serious adverse effects. Through specialist training, you are taught how to record the administration of medication. Without such training, you are running the risk of not recording and not knowing how to record medication. This can have serious consequences. The next person to administer medication may not know they have previously had some if it is not recorded. This can result in an over dose for the service user and can have serious implications. At its worst, this can result in death. Through lack of training, you may not know about medications and their dosage. You may also not be aware of side effects and adverse reactions. Such implications can result in further illness. It can cause the service user’s health to deteriorate and can have long term health effects. Worst case scenario is that it can result in death. Insufficient training puts the safety and welfare of the service users at risk. They are in your care, and their health and well-being needs to be paramount at all times. Also, through inconsistency and lack of training, service user’s confidence can be affected. It can be said that they are putting their lives in your hands. They need to know that you are competent and knowledgeable in what you are doing. They need to know that they can trust you and that you know what you are doing. Lack of training can result in service user’s not trusting you to give them their medication. This can have serious implications on their health and is it means that are not being treated appropriately and can make health conditions worse. By administering medication without lack of training, you are not complying with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) essential standards of quality and safety. You are also not complying with Company policies and procedures. You are risking your career and job. Through the company, you can face disciplinary action which can lead to dismissal. Through the Care Quality Commission you can face prosecution and losing your pin so that you are unable to work as a Nurse again. The consequences of handling medication without specialist training are huge and can have life changing results. To handle and administer medication, you need to ensure that you are appropriately trained and following company and national protocol. You can cause serious health implications and even death to others, and can face loss of job or prosecution yourself.

Shakespeare Finds Love On A Midsummer Night :: essays research papers

The forest outside Athens is filled with changelings, magic, and ancient myth: in other words, the stage is set. The night is silent and still as four mortals alternately hate and love, monarchs of the faerie world clash wills, and the mischief of one irrepressible woodland sprite weaves a spell over all. The breath of the darkness is lit with the glow of foxfire; hearts are broken and mended within the span of short hours. In the bower of the Faerie Queen a man transformed by magic slumbers peacefully. The pen of William Shakespeare has captured the imagination and hearts of audiences and readers alike across the world and through the decades, but his classic romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, offers something much more profound. Shakespeare has found insight into the heart, and, through his verse, best exemplifies the complicated and capricious emotions found there. The play, much like reality, is sprinkled throughout with gems of humor, and it will continue to fasc inate as long as there is love. Shakespeare’s characters are certainly the most important part of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. All action must be carried out through them; all ideas must be transported to the audience through their moves and dialogue. The first and most obvious characters are the four mortal lovers. The women, Helena and Hermia, are respectively tall and fair, short and dark; there are no other notable differences between them. The men, Lysander and Demetrius, have no differences in personality that are remarked upon in the text of the play. Outside the walls of Athens, inside the enchanted forest, the courts of Oberon, king of the faeries, and Titania, his queen, hold sway. The two magistrates quarrel often, but know they are meant for each other, no matter how they scowl. Their adventures include Bottom, a town actor turned into an ass by Oberon to seek revenge on Titania. The last major role in Dream is Robin Goodfellow, more commonly known as Puck. He is mischievous and playful; his role in the faerie court is to entertain Oberon and run his errands, as he tells the faeries in Act 2 when he is introduced. In human nature and all its facets, there is a certain amount of inherent mirth, including sarcasm, and Shakespeare does not neglect this mirth in his writing. First, humor is used as a sort of release valve.

War on Poverty: Role of the Privileged People †S.C. Aggarwal

War on Poverty: Role of the Privileged People S C Aggarwal Delhi: Shipra Publications, 2007, pp. 135, Rs. 350. 00, ISBN 978-81-7541-378-8 S. C. Aggarwal’s book – War on Poverty: Role of the Privileged People, takes a very informal and straightforward approach in explaining the prevalence and significance of poverty in India. Even though the issue is widely discussed amongst leaders and the normal public alike, there is little change in the conditions of the poor over the past few decades.The author takes a very structured approach in explaining the situation of poverty in India, starting from the very basics, by providing important facts and some frank admissions by well-known government authorities, economists and personalities. Being an IRS officer himself, he goes on to admit that there have been flaws in Government policies in the past and suggests that the misguidance can be corrected if help is received in the future.He presents the reasons for the prevalence of p overty in India and highlights the negligence of ancestral villages by people and the lack of new programmes by economists as the main contributing factors for the same. The author has done a great job in giving various methods to remove poverty in a very simplistic manner, enabling its understanding even by the layman. Pointers to multiple approaches to people from varied professions, asking for their support in the rise of the poor and the eventual growth of the economy are some of the prime take-aways from this book.Appeals to people from all strata in the society have been made, personally requesting each of them for help in improving the conditions of one or two villages, especially their ancestral village. Prominent film makers, editors, interviewers, television programmers, TV channel owners, accountants, teachers, etc. are some of the people that the author has reached out to, suggesting ways in which each of them can contribute towards the removal of poverty. S. C.Aggarwalà ¢â‚¬â„¢s central idea is based on the effort that these intellectuals must strive to deliver in order to remove poverty from their respective native villages. He suggests that only a truly determined effort from their side, irrespective of their occupations, will be sufficient to remove poverty and improve the conditions of more than one third of the impoverished segment of our population. Various schemes and plans have been extensively discussed for each of them, enlightening them on how they may contribute towards this cause.Several queries have been raised to economists and intellectuals, making them realize their responsibilities towards the poor, through a series of questions which are directly related to their line of work. These questions force them to think, and hence take action towards poverty removal. Improving the condition of the schools which made them what they are, providing basic low cost health facilities in order to provide the spread of diseases, educating the pu blic about healthy living are some of the issues addressed to all individuals.For a start, each individual may solve one or two problems of his village, or help improve the conditions of buildings and roads in the village. The discussion on how we may make our village problem-free, with a focus to starting personalised schemes for the welfare of the people, and the resulting benefits of the same provokes a thought in the minds of the reader. In addition to the overly simplistic methods suggested which will help achieve a GDP greater than 7%, the author has also kept in mind the situation encountered in taxing unaccounted income in the book.This issue of black money, which is one of the key reasons for increase in poverty, has been intelligently dealt with, by providing practical solutions that will instigate people to declare the same during taxation. This will not only allow for increased taxes leading to increased income to be directly used in poverty eradication, but will also le ad to lower number of loans and reduction of dishonesty by people when declaring taxes.Also, providing benefits to tax payers or those with no interest payable, to those using their own funds to buy cars/property, alongside introducing added taxes for poverty removal on each individual’s income or purchase/sale of shares, are some of the measures suggested that may help better manage the problem of poverty. These methods will lead to a positive outlook in the minds of the people, encouraging them to contribute more than what they are already contributing towards poverty removal. Another useful tip is the setting up of Poverty eradication banks and poverty eradication funds by the Government and prominent editors respectively.In short, equal participation of people from all walks of life in the fight against poverty is the only way our country will be able to establish itself a global leader. S. C. Aggarwal concludes the book with a humble prayer to all, comparing poverty to v arious metaphors, in order to realize the various ways in which each one of us interprets poverty. People are requested to give a helping hand to their fellow country-men, and to lift them from their dire states in society, to that that will help them procure the basic amenities of life for themselves and their families.One must take up the responsibility of their own villages, by trying to connect to the emotions that each individual has towards the place of his birth, where he/she grew up or where his/her parents resided/ are still residing. The author suggests that their responsibility does not end at removing poverty only from their respective villages. Rather, one must spread this idea to other people, at least three more, so that they may eradicate poverty from their own villages, along with spreading this idea as well.However, the basic problem that may be encountered in order to administer these ideas is that it is dependent of too many people, and hence it may be difficult to track the progress of every individual towards his village. Also, the methods suggested in the book seem a little farfetched, and hence will require patience for their achievement. All in all, the book is a good read for people wanting to do something for their societies by enriching us with the basics that each of us must contribute for its development.

Art of War Studies Essay

What is War? In order to describe what war is one has to define it. According to The Collins Dictionary war is 1. open armed conflict between two or more parties, nations or states†¦ 2. a particular armed conflict: the 1973 war in Middle East. 3. the techniques of armed conflict as a study, science, or profession. 4. and conflict or contest: the war against crime. 5. (modifier) of, resulting from a characteristic of war: war damage; war history. This is obviously straight to the point, but does not go into enough detail to fully describe what war is. Clausewitz chooses not to follow the definitions put forward by, what he calls, â€Å"publicists†, in ‘ Vom Kriege’. Instead he puts forward his own view that it â€Å"is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale.† To fully understand what war is you have to look at the four main factors in war; force, the agents involved, intensity and duration, and teleology. The use of force and the violent nature of it is arguably the most obvious feature of war. However, one has to consider what force actually is, the answer to this creating significant disagreement. When talking about the use of force as a feature of war one immediately considers this force to be of military form, whereby weapons are used to strike down their opponents. This is of course true to an extent, but is not the only force used in war. Force can also be political or ideological force, as seen in the beginnings of the Cold War. Here, the Soviet Union uses their ideological ties with other countries in Eastern Europe to force them to reject the Marshall Plan in their war against the United States of America (US) for dominance. Clausewitz’ ‘Total War’, whereby the nations uses all of their wealth and resources, putting them on the line, in order to destroy their enemy’s armies, property and even their citizens, ties in with this use of force. Here, force is everything that the attacking group can muster together in order to destroy the other group’s will to fight and bring a quick, decisive victory, and can involve killing soldiers as well as destroying important buildings. Wars are not always like this, and with the introduction of nuclear weapons, Van Creveld believes that ‘conventional war’ is effectively at its end. Also, if this ‘Total War’ was true then more groups would use nuclear weapons in order to win the war, but they do not. This is due to mutually assured destruction and the risk of a backlash from other nuclear powers. There has been plans to try and incorporate nuclear weapons into conventional war, but this was unsuccessful. When considering what is war, it is not simply a case of the use of force by the attacking party, but one has to take in account the opposed force. Without this opposed force it would not be war, it would simply be a massacre or perhaps genocide. The form of opposition force, like an attackers force, can vary, whether they respond in an offensive or defensive manner. If they are defending the war will be restricted to their own turf and their forces concentrated on preventing attack and protecting certain people or buildings. However, the offensive force of the attacking party can be met with similar offensive force. The war will ultimately begin on their turf as they are being attacked, but they will attempt to remove the threat and then attempt to destroy them as in Clausewitz’ ‘Total War’. If force is indeed the use of weapons, then one has to consider what sort of weapons are used in war. Weapons have changed through time, becoming increasingly high-tech to the point of nuclear weapons that could remove all humans off the face of the earth, but they have not been used to their full extent as of yet. The larger powers tend to use weapons such as aircrafts with bombing and firing capabilities, tanks and battleships, whilst the soldiers involved will carry such things as guns and grenades. Martin van Creveld puts forward his thesis that in future wars weapons will become less sophisticated due to the types of groups involved. With this, he believes the production of high-tech weapons will stop and cheaper, but still effective weapons, will be used. This is already happening in the war between Al-Qaeda and the West, where they are trying to bring down the US and the whole western system. They did not kill people with high-tech weapons in their most devastating strike against the US, which killed thousands of people, but took over two aeroplanes around New York and flew them into two buildings, which were among the most important in the West, showing it does not have to be all guns and bombs in wars. Another important part of war is the agents involved in it. In today’s world, since the Peace of Westphalia, one would find it very tempting to say that war is a game played out by states. However, it is increasingly emerging to be not just a game played by states, but other groups are emerging that take refuge in sympathetic states that wage war on other states or groups. One such group is Al-Qaeda, which took refuge in Afghanistan in their fight against the West. If it is states fighting wars then this will be very similar to Clausewitz’ ‘Trinitarian’ war, which is made up of a trinity of the government, the army and the people. In this situation, the government decides whether to go to war but they do not fight it. The army are strictly the players in the game and the ordinary civilians are not allowed to join in at all. If indeed this is true then all wars in the world would be an army versus an army. However, in today’s world we see wars break out between armies and a group of civilians, like the situation in Iraq at the moment and the ‘War against terror’. Wars can even break out between two non-army organisations, such as a gang warfare between Mafia groups, although obviously the scale will not be as big as van Creveld’s ‘conventional war’. These wars which do not occur between armies does not fit into Clausewitz’ ‘Trinitarian’ war, but is more an element of van Creveld’s ‘non-Trinitarian’ war. He sees a decline of the state and with this the liquidation of boundaries between the trinity. This means that it will not only be armies that fight wars, but also groups of civilians, as seen with groups like Al-Qaeda. This arises another important part of war, which is how intense or how long it has to go on for in order for it to be classed as a war and not a skirmish of any other act of violence that is not a war as such. A war cannot simply be a single gun fight between two gangs as this is just a one off event. It has to be a series of events or battles between two or more groups for a certain cause. The saying â€Å"you may have won the battle, but you have not won the war†, although is a very dramatic saying, is perhaps the most obvious quote that war cannot just simply be one battle, that would be a skirmish. War is number of these skirmishes and would ultimately be more than two. The intensity is another matter, and this varies from war to war depending on the strength, nature and will to destroy of the groups involved. Wars do not necessarily have to be high intensity, although Clausewitz’ ‘Total War’ would be, where as Van Creveld’s ‘Low Intensity Conflict’ would not. War would not happen if it was not fought for a certain reason, for that fact one has to understand what means war is fought for. This can be seen in Clausewitz’ definition that â€Å"war is the continuation of politics by other means†. War is not always going to be fought for political reasons and can in fact be due to such things as ideological and economic factors. In conclusion one can see that the definition of war in a dictionary is not explicit enough. Saying war is an â€Å"open armed conflict between two or more parties, nations or states† is much too thin an answer to discuss what war is in who is involved. Discussing fully the four factors in the introduction brings about a clear definition of war, which cannot really be put into a few sentences as it varies a great degree and is ever changing through time, whether it be who is involved, the weapons used or the means of which it is fought for. Bibliography Martin van Creveld – Transformation of War Carl von Clausewitz – On War Lawrence Freedman – War The Collins Dictionary

Biography of Eduardo Quisumbing, Filipino Botanist

Biography of Eduardo Quisumbing, Filipino Botanist Eduardo Quisumbing (November 24, 1895–August 23, 1986) was a Filipino botanist and a noted expert in the medicinal plants of the Philippines. He was an author of more than 129 scientific articles, many on orchids. Quisumbing served as the director of the National Museum of the Philippines, where he oversaw the rebuilding of the herbarium, which was completely destroyed during World War II. The plant Saccolabium quisumbingii is named for him. Fast Facts: Eduardo Quisumbing Known For: Quisumbing was a Filipino botanist and a noted expert in the medicinal plants of the Philippines. The plant Saccolabium quisumbingii is named for him.Born:  November 24, 1895 in Santa Cruz, Laguna, PhilippinesParents: Honorato de los R. Quisumbing, Ciriaca F. Arguelles-QuisumbingDied: August 23, 1986 in Quezon City, PhilippinesEducation: University of the Philippines Los Baà ±os (BSA, 1918), University of the Philippines Los Baà ±os (MS, 1921), University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1923)Published Works: Teratology of Philippine Orchids, The identity of Anota Violacea and Rhynchostylis Retus, New or Noteworthy Philippine Orchids,  Philippine Piperaceae, Medicinal plants in the PhilippinesAwards and Honors: Distinguished Service Star for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Systematic Botany, Diploma of Merit on Orchidology, Fellow Gold Medal from the Malaysian Orchid Society, PhilAAS Most Outstanding Award, National Scientist of the PhilippinesSpouse: Basilisa Lim-Quisumb ingChildren: Honorato Lim Quisumbing, Lourdes L. Quisumbing-Roxas, Eduardo L. Quisumbing, Jr. Early Years and Education Quisumbing was born on November 24, 1895, in Santa Cruz, Laguna, Philippines. His parents were Honorato de los R. Quisumbing and Ciriaca F. Arguelles-Quisumbing. Quisumbing earned his BSA in biology from the University of the Philippines Los Baà ±os in 1918 and his Master of Science in botany at the same university in 1921. He also earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago (in Plant Taxonomy, Systematics and Morphology) in 1923. Career From 1920 to 1926, Quisumbing was attached to the College of Agriculture at the University of the Philippines and from 1926 to 1928 at the University of California. He was appointed systematic botanist in 1928. Beginning in February 1934, he served as acting chief of the Natural Museum Division of the Bureau of Science in Manila. He was later named director of the National Museum, a position he held until retiring in 1961. Quisumbing was the author of numerous taxonomic and morphological papers, many of which deal with orchids, such as Medicinal plants in the Philippines. Some of his other published works include â€Å"Teratology of Philippine Orchids,† â€Å"The identity of Anota Violacea and Rhynchostylis Retus,† â€Å"New or Noteworthy Philippine Orchids,†Ã‚  and â€Å"Philippine Piperaceae.† He was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Star (1954) for outstanding contribution to the field of systematic botany, Diploma of Merit on Orchidology and Fellow Gold Medal from the Malaysian Orchid Society (1966), the Gold Medal from American Orchid Society, and the 1975 PhilAAS Most Outstanding Award. Death and Legacy Quisumbing died on August 23, 1986, in Quezon City, Philippines. He may be the most famous botanist from the Philippines, particularly with regard to his study on orchids. His publications and papers are still sold on sites such as Amazon. And his writings on orchids of the Philippines are still available at college libraries throughout the U.S. The orchid named after Quisumbing, Saccolabium quisumbingii- also known as Tuberolabium quisumbingii- is a beautiful plant that is widely available in the United States. Like other orchids in the genus Tuberolabium kotoense, this orchid produces small but plentiful bright purplish/pink-and-white flowers and grows in the mountains of the Phillippines. Quisumbings legacy also lives on in the other beautiful orchids and flowers of the Philippines that he spent his life cultivating, protecting, and describing for the world to learn about and enjoy. Sources â€Å"Eduardo A. Quisumbing, Sr.†Ã‚  geni_family_tree, 24 May 2018.Revolvy, LLC. â€Å"‘Eduardo Quisumbing’ on Revolvy.com.†Ã‚  Trivia Quizzes.â€Å"Tuberolabium (Saccolabium) Quisumbingii - 2017.†Ã‚  Orchids Forum.â€Å"Tuberolabium.†Ã‚  The American Orchid Society, 20 Mar. 2016.

A Ginkgo Trees Profile and Planting Tips

A Ginkgo Trees Profile and Planting Tips Ginkgo is nearly pest-free and is resistant to storm damage. Young trees are often very open but they fill in to form a denser canopy as they mature. It makes a durable street tree where there is enough overhead space to accommodate the large size. Ginkgo tolerates most soil, including compacted, and alkaline, and grows slowly 75 feet or more tall. The tree is easily transplanted and has a vivid yellow fall color which is second to none in brilliance, even in the south. However, leaves fall quickly and the fall color show is short.  See Ginkgo Photo Guide. Quick Facts Scientific name: Ginkgo bilobaPronunciation: GINK-go bye-LOE-buhCommon name(s): Maidenhair Tree, GinkgoFamily: GinkgoaceaeUSDA hardiness zones:: 3 through 8AOrigin: native to AsiaUses: Bonsai; wide tree lawns; recommended for buffer strips around parking lots or for median strip plantings in the highway; specimen; sidewalk cutout (tree pit); residential street tree; tree has been successfully grown in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil, and/or drought are commonAvailability: generally available in many areas within its hardiness range. Form Height: 50 to 75 feet.Spread: 50 to 60 feet.Crown uniformity: irregular outline or silhouette.Crown shape: round; pyramidal.Crown density: denseGrowth rate: slow Ginkgo Trunk and Branches Description Trunk/bark/branches: droop as the tree grows, and will require pruning for vehicular or pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy; showy trunk; should be grown with a single leader; no thorns.Pruning requirement: needs little pruning to develop except during the early years. The tree has a strong structure.Breakage: resistantCurrent year twig color: brown or gray Foliage Description Leaf arrangement: alternateLeaf type: simpleLeaf margin: top lobed Pests This tree is pest-free and considered resistant to gypsy moth. The Ginkgos Stinky Fruit Female plants are wider-spreading than the males. Only male plants should be used as the female produces foul smelling fruit in late autumn. The only way to select a male plant is to purchase a named  cultivar  including ‘Autumn Gold’, ‘ Fastigiata’, ‘Princeton Sentry’, and ‘Lakeview’ because there is no reliable way to select a male plant from a seedling until it fruits. It could take as long as 20 years or more for Ginkgo to fruit. Cultivars There are several cultivars: ‘Autumn Gold’- male, fruitless, bright gold fall color and rapid growth rate‘Fairmont’ - male, fruitless, upright, oval to pyramidal form‘Fastigiata’ - male, fruitless, upright growth‘Laciniata’ - leaf margins deeply divided‘Lakeview’ - male, fruitless, compact broad conical form‘Mayfield’ - male, upright fastigiate (columnar) growth‘Pendula’ - pendent branches‘Princeton Sentry’ - male, fruitless, fastigiate, narrow conical crown for restricted overhead spaces, popular, 65 feet tall, available in some nurseries‘Santa Cruz’ - umbrella-shaped, ‘Variegata’ - variegated leaves. Ginkgo in Depth The tree is easy to care for and require only occasional water and a little high-nitrogen fertilizer that will stimulate the growth of its unique leaf. Apply the fertilizer in late fall to early spring. The tree should be pruned in late winter to early spring. Ginkgo may grow extremely slow for several years after planting, but will then pick up and grow at a moderate rate, particularly if it receives an adequate supply of water and some fertilizer. But do not overwater or plant in a poorly-drained area. Be sure to keep turf several feet away from the trunk to help trees become established. Very tolerant of urban soils and pollution, Ginkgo could be used more in USDA hardiness zone 7 but is not recommended in central and southern Texas or Oklahoma due to summer heat. Adapted for use as a street tree, even in confined soil spaces. Some early pruning to form one central leader is essential. There is some support for the trees medical use. Its seed has been recently been used as both a memory and concentration enhancer with some positive effects on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, Ginkgo biloba has also been suggested as relieving many disease symptoms but  has never been approved by the   FDA as anything but an herbal product.

What is a Prologue (and How to Write One) 7 Insider Tips from Editors

What is a Prologue (and How to Write One) 7 Insider Tips from Editors What Is a Prologue - and How to Write One Readers Won't Skip Some call it the "introduction" to a story, or a first of â€Å"two beginnings.† While there's some debate on how they function as a literary device (more on that later), it is agreed upon that a good prologue contains information that is vital to the rest of the story - though often not in a way that’s immediately apparent.A prologue is mainly necessary if it contains information that would hinder the narrative if present in the body of the novel. Think of it a bit like an appetizer: if done right, it can perfectly prepare you for the main course. If done carelessly, it can ruin your appetite for the novel.Before we talk about the best way to write a prologue, let's make sure we're all on the same page about what a prologue is - and isn’t.What is a prologue - and how is it different from a foreword, preface, and introduction?It’s easy to confuse prologues with prefaces - they’re both P-words that refer to the bit before the beginning of a book: the front matter. But they’re not the same, and neither are forewords or introductions.A prologue prepares the reader for the story they’re about to read with information that is necessary to have before the start of the novel itself. Mostly used in fiction.A foreword is written by someone who is not the author of the book - usually a public figure or authority on the subject matter at hand. The foreword explains some significant connection between its writer and the book or the book’s author. Used in both fiction and nonfictionA preface gives the reader a look at how the book came to be. It explains the goal of the book, its development, and acknowledges the parties who contributed to the book. Mostly used in nonfiction, sometimes in fiction. You can go this way to learn more about prefaces.An introduction deals specifically with the subject of the book. It might offer supplemental information or explain the perspective of the writer(s). While a preface doesn 't typically contain information critical to the reader’s understanding of the book, an introduction usually does. Mostly used in nonfiction.The prologue is the opposite of an epilogue, which comes at the end of a novel. Now we’re all clear on this particular literary device, let’s take a closer look at its purpose and determine whether it’s the right start for your story. Tips from professional editors on how to write a prologue that will stick with readers. How to write a prologue: tips from our editorsNo one hates being told â€Å"these are the rules† more than writers. We get it, writing is a personal thing and reading is a subjective pleasure. But since the popularization of the novel in the 18th century, certain ways of writing a prologue have emerged as being more reliable than others.Below are tips from our editors on its ideal uses, and suggestions for when an author is better off diving straight into Chapter One.Do write a prologue that...Provides a crucial glimpse into the past or future When you read the first chapter of a book, you expect to settle into a story you’ll spend the next couple hundred pages with. So a first chapter that starts at one point in time only to shoot forward or backward a significant number of years can feel a bit out of the blue. If some part of the backstory is an integral piece of knowledge to have at the outset of your novel, the prologue can be a good way of delivering this without throwing the reader off. Likewise some authors to start with the aftermath of the story, then double back in the first chapter to answer the question, "How did we get to this point?Recommended read: for an intro that begins in the present and then flashes back in time in the first chapter, read  The Bridges of Madison County. The mini-series adaptation of Pillars of the Earth, image: Tandem Communications)What makes this crucial information work as a prologue instead of just a first chapter is that it introduces the questions that the rest of the novel will spend answering: has this man been set up? Why? Will the woman’s curse serve to bring the guilty parties to justice? Set in 1123, twelve years prior to Chapter One, the prologue frames the themes that the story will explore.Pale Fire by Vladimir NabokovWritten by Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire is a novel in the form of a 999-line poem (yes you read that right. The poem itself has been written by fictional poet John Shade, and the novel opens with a â€Å"foreword† written by a neighbor and academic colleague of Shade, Charles Kinbote.Let me state that without my notes Shade's text simply has no human reality at all since the human reality of such a poem as his... has to depend entirely on the reality of its author and his surroundings, attac hments and so forth, a reality that only my notes can provide. To this statement my dear poet would probably not have subscribed, but, for better or worse, it is the commentator who has the last word.CHARLES KINBOTE Oct. 19, 1959, Cedarn, UtanaOf primary significance here is the fact that it immediately sets up an overarching theme of the novel: things are not always what they seem. A former editor-in-chief of Scholastic’s Magazine, Tim Major notes that his favorite prologue â€Å"appears to be separate from the novel but is in fact very much a part of it.†Nabokov also uses the prologue to introduce us to the notion of the unreliable narrator and puts the reader in a critical frame of mind. For example, Kinbote spends the majority of the foreword (which is meant to be about the poem it preludes), talking about himself, and steadfastly claims that his interpretation of the poem is the correct one while making vague and strange remarks that suggest a lack of self-awareness.For more examples of effective prologues, check out the following novels:Fantasy: A Game of Thrones by George RR MartinThriller: Empire Falls by Richard RussoLiterary: The Piano Tuner by Daniel MasonRomance: Water for Elephants by Sara GruenScience Fiction: Jurassic Park by Michael CrichtonTo prologue or not to prologue?Now that we’ve discussed what goes into a well-written prologue, you might still be doubting whether your story needs one. The fact is, if you’re unsure, it probably doesn’t. But this decision must be based on your story, and not on any preconceived ideas of good practice. Even when it comes to agents, there is dissent on the subject of prologues. Tim Major remarks, â€Å"Agents, publishers and readers must be hooked by the first line, paragraph and page of a novel by an unfamiliar author. I suspect that few writers would claim that their prologue represents the most compelling aspects of their novel.† While Andrea Hurst notes: â€Å"As an agent, if the intro is short, strong, and adds to the story, I enjoy it.†If you’ve written a prologue that wouldn’t work just as well as a first chapter, has clear and necessary relation to th e rest of the story, doesn’t serve just to hook readers, create atmosphere, or info-dump, and doesn’t begin with, â€Å"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,† then you must be on the right track.

The Impact of the Internet on Traditional News Media Research Paper - 1

The Impact of the Internet on Traditional News Media - Research Paper Example Introduction The widespread use of internet has drastically changed the conventions of different news media. The cyber world has hastened the pace and spread of news in an amazing manner which downgraded even the scope of scoops. The advent of internet has thus marked a lot of changes in news media and subverted even the concepts of news upside down. The impact of internet on TV and Print media The vast and ever spreading world of cyber space contributed a lot to the growth of news media and triggered a revolution in the field of communication system. For a journalist, let him associate with either print media or visual media, internet is a powerful source to collect news. In olden days, as we know, the exchange of messages was carried out by the so-called messengers. Later postal system came into exist which made the communication system a little bit comfortable to share something between two people of different corners. The inventions of telegraph and wireless technological system opened the new vistas of exposition and exchange. In modern epoch, for any person who wants to know more about a topic or a news event can easily find out the detailed information by logging on websites. Thus, internet is undoubtedly a good source of news for both the reader and the journalist. In olden days the prime source of news for the newspapers was only the reporters deployed in the diffe rent places.

Group project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Group project - Essay Example The identity should mirror the business strategy and the organization’s will to advance programs that aim at ensuring the brand lives up to customer expectations. Consumer brand building involves creating a product’s value to consumers. It generally encompasses all things that consumers feel, know, and experience about the product and the business in its entirety (Gordon, 25). The Starbucks logo continues to feature the Starbucks siren although it no longer has the black background and the words â€Å"Starbucks coffee.† Starbuck’s customer base mainly consists of high-income people that have a taste for quality luxury coffee. Teen consumption is also on the upswing (Schultz, 16). After careful analysis and ascertaining that I am marketing in the correct category, I would introduce new changes to the logo to address all customer needs. I would add the words, â€Å"gratifying coffee, with a conscience,† which is significant to the target market. After establishing the brand identity, the focus will now shift to the brand meaning. Here, I analyze how Starbuck communicates the meaning of its products to customers. The performance of the coffee and related products is high. However, Starbucks operates 8078 stores in the United States (Schultz, 18), which results in saturation and self-cannibalization. I propose an international strategy that would ensure Starbuck makes inroads in many countries and seize new market share. After a critical analysis of response judgments, I realize that the perceived high quality coffee might be an issue. The coffee itself is high quality but the quantities are small than what prime competitors sell. Lowering the price could be an alternative to solving this issue. However, lowering the prices would affect customer’s assessment of quality. I therefore decide to increase the quantities of the coffee. Most of Starbucks’ customers care deeply about fair

Critically assess the value, to a shareholder, of the information in Essay

Critically assess the value, to a shareholder, of the information in the Finacial Statement - Essay Example As of 2014, M&S owns 798 stores in UK, 455 stores in 54 international territories in Asia, Middle East and Europe and offers direct employment to more than 85,813 employees both in UK, and in stores located around the world. Despite recent economic recession and due to intricate market scenarios, M&S is still able to maintain steady sales growth in the recent past years. Thus, despite the difficult market situation, M&S is able to maintain a stable sales growth, mainly due to its strong business concept, which centers on its sustainability, innovation and quality policies. Although the products offered by M&S are somewhat costlier than those of its competitors and in the customary supermarket scenario, M&S is still able to attract a sizeable number of customers towards its brands. M&S is concentrating on the global market, particularly in the developing economies such as India and China, and this strategy helps to improve its international sales revenues as evidenced by the following graphs: M&S offers clothing under its own brands and M&S Simply Food shops are operated as supermarket chains. These retail chains offer a distinct , assorted variety of specialty products under M&S own brands. Financial statements published by a company are evaluated both internally by the management and externally by the creditors, investors and regulatory agencies. Management’s evaluation of company’s financial statements chiefly pertains to the functioning of various sections of the company. For decision-making purposes, these financial statements offer unique financial information and specific reports to the top management of the company. External users use these financial statements to make a decision about whether to invest in the company or not. The analysis of financial statements includes the application and analysis of various techniques and tools to extract useful investment decision from

Ethical Issues in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical Issues in Business - Essay Example Likewise, the working definition from the ISO 26000 Working Group on Social Responsibility (2007) was noted as: â€Å"Social responsibility (is the) responsibility of an organisation for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behaviour that is consistent with sustainable development and the welfare of society; takes into account the expectations of stakeholders; is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behaviour; and is integrated throughout the organization† (International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007, p. 4). When apparently asked by the area’s food bank for donation of day-old products, it was noted that management declined making any donation for the reasons that it could be a precursor for potential lost revenues which could be due to possible fraud and stealing by employees who might say they are donating the food. These statements are indicative of management’s narrow perspectives that focus on negative insights and unsubstantiated claims. In no way is corporate social responsibility being exemplified and manifested by Company Q by opting to throw the food instead of having other community members benefit from their products. To improve on Company Q’s attitude toward social responsibility, the organization’s management team must be apprised that organizations that actively implement and practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) by integrating CSR activities within their policies and philosophies, were found to be more productive and financially successful (International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007). As such, the following recommendations are suggested: (2) Address any perceived potential fraud or stealing through enforcing stricter control measures that could easily detect violations of trust and applying sanctions through the organization’s code of

Work and leading people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Work and leading people - Essay Example Mark Williams (refer to the appendix). As can be observed from the CVs of the two referred personnel, both can be identified to possess considerable experience in their respective fields. While many of their features can be identified as similar, there are particular dissimilarities in their degree of versatility that must be taken into consideration when evaluating CVs for the intended position. For instance, Mr. Thomas Crown can be observed to have handled more staff members than Mr. Mark Williams. On the other hand, Mr. Crown had switched three jobs within his 2 years of professional career, with his first job assigning him for only three months. Contradictorily, Mr. Williams has been engaged into one organisation for his 5 years of professional career. This indicates that chances of attrition shall be higher in the case of Mr. Crown while on the other hand, Mr. Williams might offer the privilege and advantages of greater experiences and loyalty. As a precautionary measure, it wil l also be important to have a verification done for the information presented by the two candidates prior to taking any firm conclusion regarding their ultimate recruitment in the organisation. This will help to omit any possible chance of conflict or dilemma post their recruitment, making the trustworthiness and mutual cooperation of the recruited personnel more binding for the long-run. Besides evaluating the CVs, it will also be important to conduct face-to-face interviews with the personnel, individually, so as to learn about their personality features in a better way, before drawing any conclusion to the professionalisms of the candidates. Leadership styles are of different types that include democratic leader, autocratic leader and laissez-faire leader. From the provided scenario, it has been identified that Mr. Worthy is a type of leader who does not have a relationship with his employees though his office is in the top floor of the building, which is

Ethical Issues in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical Issues in Business - Essay Example Likewise, the working definition from the ISO 26000 Working Group on Social Responsibility (2007) was noted as: â€Å"Social responsibility (is the) responsibility of an organisation for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behaviour that is consistent with sustainable development and the welfare of society; takes into account the expectations of stakeholders; is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behaviour; and is integrated throughout the organization† (International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007, p. 4). When apparently asked by the area’s food bank for donation of day-old products, it was noted that management declined making any donation for the reasons that it could be a precursor for potential lost revenues which could be due to possible fraud and stealing by employees who might say they are donating the food. These statements are indicative of management’s narrow perspectives that focus on negative insights and unsubstantiated claims. In no way is corporate social responsibility being exemplified and manifested by Company Q by opting to throw the food instead of having other community members benefit from their products. To improve on Company Q’s attitude toward social responsibility, the organization’s management team must be apprised that organizations that actively implement and practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) by integrating CSR activities within their policies and philosophies, were found to be more productive and financially successful (International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007). As such, the following recommendations are suggested: (2) Address any perceived potential fraud or stealing through enforcing stricter control measures that could easily detect violations of trust and applying sanctions through the organization’s code of

Learning In A New Academic Environment Case Study

Learning In A New Academic Environment - Case Study Example They often fail to recognize the challenges in communicating and making friends. Though language can be learned and cultures can be studied in advance, it is never the same when finally arriving on foreign soil. Customs that are important to youth and young adults are often not those that can be learned by reading a textbook or watching television. This is significant, as teens in the US have their own way of speaking and using language, which is very different from that of their parents. Often teens group even those in their social circles by specific categories. At first, I had no idea of the meaning behind many of the terms or categories. I attracted quite a bit of attention, though I did not know whether this was a good or bad think, until I began to learn how social groups worked in my age group. Even though most teens seemed to accept me, there were some that seemed unfriendly. Perhaps they were reacting to the ideas of foreign students that the learned at home. Maybe they were afraid they would not be able to communicate properly. It took me a while to realize that some racism does exist, though most teens and young adults are very accepting. Many are curious as well. Having never visited a foreign land, they find it interesting to meet a student who did not grow up in the US.... some sort of crime without knowing. I also had a fear that I would offend others, by saying something that I did not quite understand. This can happen quite easily when one does not understand the particular terms or meanings in teen phrases. I was fearful when I first began to make my own purchases. Even though I learned the meaning of various monies, I was always on the alert. There are those who will take advantage of others, if they think it is easy to do so. I found myself always counting money and adding my purchases several times before paying for them. At times, those behind me in line would become irritated, even making comments that were not so nice. American culture is different from that in Korea. Although academics and home life are much more structured in Korea, American life is lived at a much faster pace. This can explain the impatience of some. Learning in a new academic environment was the most daunting. Because my understanding and mastery of the English language was not yet complete, I found myself working harder. I had to stay focused on academic studies, while learning to speak appropriately at the same time. This is when I learned that speaking becomes more formal than in social groups. Teachers do not care for the manner and slang terms that teens use, though sometimes they try. School assignments require the use of proper grammar and English, which is often not used among teens in social settings. I am proud to say that I have learned to speak and write English fluently. My first Few months in the US were spent in observation. I watched how teens and young adults Interacted. I watched how teens interacted with adults. I watched

U.S. Health Care System Essay Example for Free

U.S. Health Care System Essay Health care system in the United States is on an unsustainable way and in need of transformation. Even if, it has both private and public insurers like in other countries but the uniqueness of this system is dominant of the private component. The United States spends more on health care than any other nation but the nation is less healthy than the average population in other developed countries. Additionally, many people stay uninsured and do not have access to health care. There is a need for a deep change in the system of health care (Chua, 2006). This paper will identify and evaluate three forces that have affected the development of the health care system in the United States of America. Than, it will speculate whether or not these forces will continue to affect the health care system in the U.S. over the next decade including additional force impacting the health care system of the nation. Finally, it will evaluate the importance of technology in health care. Three Forces That Have Affected the Development of the Health Care System in the United States of America. The development of health care system in the U.S. has been affected by many different forces such social, economy, behavioral, political and technological issues. A very important factor affecting health care system is economy. The economy aspect in health care includes employment, health care cover and costs that allow people to have financial access to healthcare. In such an unstable economy as we have faced recently some employers drop or restrict coverage or prevent eligibility of its employees to continue coverage. Even more, they have a tendency to reduce costs of health care insurance by readjusting the benefits offered or sharing in the cost. Those with low income or those who lost their jobs are left uninsured. Moreover, employer-sponsored healthcare coverage has changed and some employees are no longer offering health care insurance coverage as a benefit. This will continue to be an issue in the health care system if the economy remains in recession (American Medical Association, 2005). In March 2010 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed and supposed to increase quality and affordability of health insurance while reducing costs of health care for individuals and government but still is difficult to estimate if this act is going to bring real changes in health care field (Cembranelli, 2012). Another force affecting health care system in America is a social factor that interacts with the economy. The size and composition of population has a great influence on health services. Since the rate of births is higher than the number of deaths; the population has grown remarkably. Also, the constantly increasing number of immigrants affects the current population of the country. According to the data from by the census bureau, the aging population is healthier and lives longer then previous generations. Their way of live is more beneficial to health; they have more active lifestyles, social activities and cosmetic medicines. Such tendency impacts the health care system. The biomedical advances enhance longevity that leads to longer periods of economic and social dependency, while improving the quality of life. The aging population intensifies a burden on the younger workers and  will result to impact social policies, taxes, politics and life in general. In the same way, fertility, abortion trends, mortality trends affecting life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality impact the development of health care (Wiliams Torrens, 2010). Additional aspects influencing the development of health care systems in the U.S are behavioral factors. Many advances have been made in the field of disease preventions, treatments and lifestyle patterns. The rise of the AIDS woke up individuals to the fact that infectious diseases are still challenging. Controlling infectious disease has become a significant public health issue and is associated with an improvement in living conditions. Challenges in mortality are currently focused on chronic diseases and awareness to fight new outbreaks of infectious diseases play a major part. Threats of biological weapons in war terror, exposure to violence, vehicular accidents, and use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco products as well as infectious agents have an impact on behavior. Sexual behaviors have an impact on the widespread of sexually transmitted diseases resulting an increase in infertility, cancer and other complications. Moreover, intensified stress in daily life, workplace violence, issues in marriage, domestic abuse and many other problems brings breakdowns and deterioration of human immune system and affects morbidity and mortality that are linked to behavior and social interaction. The failure of the society to address social, behavioral and economics causes of disease will continue to affect the development of the healthcare system (Williams Torrens, 2010). How the Forces Will Affect the Health Care System in the United States of America Over the Next Decade, Including Additional Force-Medical Technology. All of the forces that affect the health care in the U.S. will continue over the next decade especially that there is a failure in addressing them. There is a chance that situation may even worsen and new challenges can arise. Even if, improvements of technology constantly increase efficiency, the cost of new tests and treatments will be greater than the savings based on mentioned previously economic, social and behavior factors. Health care will keep getting better in diagnosis and treating diseases lengthening patients  lives and at the same time increasing the number of people requiring care (Adams, Archbold, Munib, New, 2007). The U.S. health care system is dysfunctional and can no longer continue as it currently operates. With or without Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is a need for a deep change. The United States spends more money on health care because a nation is less healthy on the average than the rest of the developed world. The system is dysfunctional and ACA is fast-tracking the process of changes that will be faced by the economic and business challenges by health care organizations. The required adjustments to healthcare organizations operating budgets and methodologies for delivering medicine may become a big issue. Health care organizations will have to go from volume-based reimbursement in medicine based on the number of procedures done or patients seen to a value-based system that will give the same money for every patient regardless of the procedure performed. Health care organizations may have lower income since they will treat more patients. They may face cost-pressure factors such as the overall cost of medical care and the increased incidence of chronic disease, cost transparency and reference pricing, increased government role in paying for care, increased coverage and limited highly skilled medical workforce There is a prediction that forty million more people will be covered nationally, at reimbursement rates below the cost of providing that care (Adams et al., 2007). Among the economic, social and behavioral forces impacting development of the health care system is medical technology that brings a great change in the health care but it raises costs of health care. It impacts economy, organizations, industry as well as patients, insurance beneficiaries and social and governmental policy. Medical technology increases cost in health care on one hand but on the other hand improves diagnosing and treatment. Use of current medical technology allows health care organizations to develop new products and services and this way increase standards of offered services. As new technologies are developed, they bring new ethical and regulatory issues. Issues in technological advances will bring more challenges and affect the development of the health care services bringing  it into the new century (Etheredge, Jones, Lewin, 1996). The Importance of Technology in Health Care. Technology today plays an important role in health care because it improves quality of care. According to Williams and Torrens (2010), technology is the driving force of health care. It helps in the storing and organization of patient records or information and gives access to doctors to medical records. Use of technology in health care allows better and faster diagnosis and treatments. The technology is very beneficial in overcoming communication barriers in health care. It has an impact in so many areas in the healthcare world such as economic, clinical, organization, and industrial impact as well as on patients and insurance beneficiaries, social, government and policy impact. It is a hope for a long, productive life for millions of people but it has to be properly implemented by trained individuals. Health care organizations must ensure that they hire the proper staff capable to implement it while providing security and protection of patients data. Proper implementation of technology allows capturing, track, record and recognizing illnesses quickly and treating them effectively. Technology lets people and communities to stay healthy by providing them access whenever it is needed. Moreover, it brings opportunities to wellness and will also be used to stabilize physiology, modify risky behaviors, design and field snap clinical trials advancing biomedical knowledge and care for individuals with health care challenges. Despite of all benefits that technology brings to health care, today some express a concern that innovation is being stifled, capital is unavailable for technology acquisition, and reimbursement is inadequate (Graham, Estrin, Horvitz, Kohane, Mynatt, 2011). Conclusion Health care system in the United States is struggling with high cost while trying to improve quality and increasing access for the health services. There are social, economy, behavioral, political and technological factors that affect development in health care system in the country. An important  role in this development plays technology that improves quality and efficiency of diagnosis and treatment on one hand but on the other hand increases significantly costs of health care. There is a deep need to transform the health care system by improving the experience of care and the health of populations at the same time reducing costs of health care. REFERENCES Adams, J., Archbold, B. L., Munib, E. L., New, D. (2007). _Healthcare 2015 and U.S. health plan. New roles, new competencies_. Retrieved January 21, 2014, from http://www.healthleadersmedia.com American Medical Association (2005). Socioeconomic Status in Health Reaserch. _The Journal of the American Medical Association, 294_(22), . doi:10.1001/jama.294..22.2879. Cembranelli, F. (). _What are the six forces that affect innovation in healthcare?_ Retrieved January 20, 2014, from http://empreendersaude.com Chua, K. P. (2006, February). _Overview of the U.S. Health Care System_. Retrieved January 20, 2014, from http://amsa.org/AMSA/Libraries/Committee_Docs/HealthCareasystemOvervi ew.sflb.ashx Etheredge, L., Jones, S. B., Lewin, L. (1996). What is driwving health system change? _Health Affairs, 4_, 93-104. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.15.4.93 Graham, S., Estrin, D., Horvitz, E., Kohane, I., Mynatt, E. (2011). _Information Technology Research Chalanges for Healthcare: From Discovery to Delivery_. Retrieved n.d., from http://www.cra.org/ccc/national-priorities/healthcare Wiliams, S. J., Torrens, P. R. (2010). _Introduction to Health Services_ (7  ed.). Mason: Cengage Learning.

Impact of Congestion Growth in Muscat

Impact of Congestion Growth in Muscat CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW Statement of the problem Most of the countries experienced significant increases in car ownership over the past two decades, resulting in rapid increases in total travel on the roads, and declining absolute market shares for public transport. Bonsall (2000) notes that, in the UK, car ownership rose from 30% of households in 1960 to 70% in 1995. In the US, by 2000, car ownership had exceeded an average of one car per licensed driver in many urban areas. Similar patterns are evident in many other countries around the world. With this burgeoning of car ownership has come the obvious consequence-escalating road congestion. As a result, policy makers have become increasingly focused on the idea of reducing congestion (Stradling, 2000). The mechanisms for reducing congestion are several. Included among these are increasing ride sharing (a mainstay of Transportation Demand Management policies in the US, for example), increasing the use of public transport, providing high occupancy vehicle lanes on various roadways, etc. Initially, Singapore, and then several cities in Norway experimented with introducing congestion charges for central cities. Most recently, London has introduced congestion charging for the central area, in an effort to reduce central Londons congestion levels. Following on the heels of that, many other cities around the world are now seriously considering similar congestion. Therefore, Muscat as the capital of Sultanate of Oman, the increasing of car ownership is one of the higher growths per household. In 1999 the passenger cars estimated 174 per 1000 people by comparing Muscat with wealthy Asian cities car ownership 123 per 1000 people (Nicholas Low and Brendan Gleeson,2003). 42 percent more than Asian wealthy cities, in the same time the population of Muscat is much lower than any of Asian cities. Therefore, Muscat is one of the cities, which suffering from congestion in this world. Current traffic situation Past trends Many factors influence the travel behaviour and cause disturbances through unexpected external effects, such as oil prices, economic recession etc. (Known as explanatory variables). Thus if one understands these factors, one can forecast future behaviour on the basis of projections of these variables. However, it is conventional to base travel forecasts on past trends described by time series data over a period of years. In Muscat, the principal weakness is a lack of reliable traffic flow data to identify trends in past growth. It is reasonable to assume therefore, that increases in population and economic activity will result in increased road traffic and land use development. Land use development relates to the need to house population increases and to new employment opportunities created by economic growth. Analysis of available data from 1980 to the present showed that: The population of Oman has increased at an average rate of about 10 per cent per annum. The national economy has grown at rates varying between -3 and + 17 per cent per annum. The national vehicle stock has increased at an average rate of 12 per cent per annum (the national car stock has grown even faster, at an average rate of 15 per cent per annum). Current conditions and characteristics Local conditions need to be thoroughly examined before any remedial measures can be taken. The study has observed and identified many problems and characteristics concerning the traffic and road network conditions. It has been estimated that the total AM peak. hour flow over the whole of the network is about 35000 vehicles, out of which 8000 vehicles on Sultan Qaboos street alone (two way flow) which constitute 23% of the total network flow. Comparing this with the car ownership (estimated to be 11 0 per 1000 population) implies that there is significant travel. demand on the network. The Stage I identified the following characteristics and problems, all of which will be exacerbated by future traffic growth: The road network in Muscat modern but depends, to a great extend, on the satisfactory operation of a single main road: Sultan Qaboos Street. The demonstrably high (but unqualified) traffic growth rates of recent years mean that this spine route is reaching its operational limits at times of peak demand. Peak period delays are occurring at important junctions (Such as Al Khuwair, Al Ghubra Roundabout etc..) and on the highway. There are no alternative routes at present, until express way open, which be expecting in the end of 2010. Traffic signal equipment in the important commercial centre of Ruwi is not exploiting the full potential of the existing road system. All parking is free of charge and demand in the CBD is reaching levels that are creating supply problems. The operation of the road system is adversely affected by on-street (verge) parking in a number of locations. Public transport services (buses) are provided by the Oman National Transport Company. It is understood that the scheduled ONTC services are subsidised by profitable charter services. The overall financial performance of ONTC, which is a state owned company, is just profitable. This performance is forcing modernisation of the bus fleet not to take place hence, reducing its appeal to potential customers. The average age of the bus fleet is increasing thus reducing the attraction of public transport. Bus services are supplemented by minibus and taxi services. Public transport is rarely used in preference to a private car. This applies particularly to scheduled bus services. The future role, ownership and organisation of ONTC were supposed to be the subject of a separate study. Coordination between the development of land use and transport policies at a local level is limited and could be improved. Operational road safety and traffic control are the responsibility of ROP. Traffic control is to an acceptable standard although the manual control of some important signalised junctions in Ruwi should be reviewed. As in all countries, there is scope for improved standards of road safety through established driver education programmes. The economic cost to the community of road accidents is not systematically quantified in Oman. In countries where such costs are quantified, they are found to be large and are used to justify traffic and safety management investment programmes often concerned with junction improvements to reduce accident risk. Purpose of the study In scientific research the purpose statement indicates why you want to do the study and what you intend to accomplish (Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman, 2000). According to this; The purpose of this sequential, mixed methods study is to first explore the impact of congestion growth in Muscat city as well as determining the percentage growth over the last ten year. Then based on the experiences and needs defined, the second phase will be to develop a solution that suits and match the requirement of transport provision needs based on the previous information as well as information collected in this phase; namely observation of both modern and professional ways of improving traffic demand management Potential significance This research study are important to different sectors. Because, the congestion is not only effecting the road users, but also society, economic, environment, and human. However, its important to consider externalities from congestion by implementing traffic demand management and improve public transport as one of the holistic solution in Muscat city. Statements and rationale for mixing methods This research is intended to follow a mixed methods research design. According to this, the aim of this section is to define and give a rationale for using this specific research design for this specific study. Mixed methods research design is defined as the collection or analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study in which the data are collected concurrently or sequentially, are given a priority, and involve integration of the data at one or more stages in the process of the research (Creswell, 2003). Historically mixed research method is relatively not a new idea. It probably originated in 1959, when Campbell and Fiske used multiple methods to study validity of psychological traits. Their encouragement to others to use their multimethod matrix prompted others to examine using mixed methods in their enquiry (Creswell, 2003). Recognizing that all research methods have limitations, researchers felt that biases inherent in any single method could neutralizes or cancel the biases of other methods another advantage of using mixed research methods design is that it allows researchers to simultaneously generalize results from a sample to a population and to gain deeper understanding of the phenomenon of interest (Hanson, Creswell, Creswell, Plano Clark, Petska 2005). In this respect, this study will mix different research methods, for the purpose of being able to generalize research results that will be obtained, from a representative sample, but at the same time give insights and understanding of issues tackled through quantitative techniques. This will ultimately be achieved through the use and integration of data in the various research stages namely; data collection, data analysis and discussion and reporting of findings. One rationale is that, in order to generalize weather road congestion in Muscat city have implications to the road users and public transport, a quantitative tool need to be used and applied. At the same time, the in depth of such suffering needs to be qualitatively addressed. As well as describing the processes of managing congestion by local authority. Another rationale for using mixed methods research is to convey the needs of supportive bus services and thus this research is intending to explore their issues, which are related to road congestion Although there are many challenges in using mixed methods research design, such as; the researcher should be familiar with both quantitative and qualitative research methods, also the need for extensive data collection (Creswell, 2003). But the growth and the developments of using this method proved the successful and the advantages of using this specific design, as stated earlier. In conclusion, for the purpose of this study a mixed methods research design will be used in order to achieve its stated purpose. Research questions This research will attempt to answer the following questions: What are the challenges faced by road authority in Muscat? What coping strategies for congestion growth? Is there any improvement in public transport in regard to coping congestion? What type of traffic demand management and technique used in Muscat? Is there a clear vision of improving public transport? Literature review Sustainable transport systems A sustainable transport system is one in which fuel consumption, vehicle emissions, safety, congestion and local and economics access are of such levels that they can be sustained into the indefinite future without causing great or irreparable harm to future generation of people around the world Richardson(1999). To achieve sustainable transport system, it should balance socio-economic and environmental consideration in recognition of the following: Economic: A sustainable transport system is one that is affordable, operates fairly and efficiently, offers a choice of transport mode, supports a competitive economy, as well as balanced regional development; Environmental: A sustainable transport system limits emissions and waste within the planets ability to absorb them, uses renewable resources at or below the rates of generation, and uses non-renewable resources at or below the of development of renewable substitutes, while minimizing the impact on the use of land and the generation of noise; and Social: A sustainable transport system allows the basic access and development needs of individuals, companies, and society to be met safety and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, promotes equity within between successive generations. Transportation facilities and activities can have significant Environmental issues Surface transport accounts for approximately 25% of all C02 emissions globally, and transport is the only sector where emissions are increasing. While there are significant advances being made in reducing C02 emissions from other sectors such as industry and construction, technology has so far failed to find a solution for transport. Any technological advances in reducing C02 emissions have been more or less cancelled out by the increasing number of trips we are making. There is a fairly simple correlation between increasing GDP and higher trip levels. At the same time, developing countries are fast adopting the private car as their preferred mode of choice, and this is impacting on global C02 levels. This is set to increase with the introduction of the ultra low cost cars, such as the Nano car from Tata Motors in India, which has a price of about $3800. In addition to C02 issues, there are also issues related to noise and air pollution. Increasing traffic levels lead to increased visual intrusion, noise, and polluted air. Monitoring stations are already set up in many world cities to measure the impact of traffic on noise and air. However, these issues are not solely related to the private car. There are also significant environmental issues related to freight, whether this is by road or by sea. Traffic alone is responsible for breaching air quality standards in Muscat City The hot climate is very important influence of travel behaviour Key sensitive environmental areas are in close proximity to Muscat City (wetlands) Globally, there have been several important decision making meetings set to resolve global warming, which have included discussions on the role of-transport. The Kyoto Protocol was agreed in December 1997, and was in operation by February 2005. The Protocol requires industrialised countries to reduce their total emissions of greenhouse gases by about five per cent compared to 1990 levels by 2012. Each country that signed the protocol agreed to their own specific target. Developing countries were not required to meet quantitative emission goals. The world is now working towards a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, but one that can be agreed by all countries. Economic issues In Europe time wasted while delayed on traffic congested roads costs close to 1 % of the European Unions GDP. This high cost explains the desire to improve European transport networks, and reduce reliance on road based vehicles. The Middle East is increasingly experiencing similar. issues to Europe in terms of traffic congestion, and this is expected to result in a similar impact on GDP. With the rapidly growing economies of the Middle East, China, India, and Russia, there is an ever increasing demand for transport, and much of this is being planned for by road. However, for these counties and regions to realise their full potential, there is a need for fast and reliable transport links that are not subject to congestion or delay. These links are required between their raw material suppliers and manufacturers, and ultimately to their customers, i.e. a national, regional, and worldwide network. An efficient transport system will be vital to achieving Plan 2020 economic goals Need to effectively involve private and public sector provision Governments and developers understand the importance of transport as a catalyst for regeneration, improving productivity, and creating profit, but are reluctant to invest the high infrastructure costs, particularly when delivery of this is likely to be in the long term. Roads are often seen as a lower cost solution, but this is only related to construction and maintenance. The cost to the environment and to the social well being of the people is rarely included. New economic solutions to investing in new schemes are also being devised, particularly for high cost infrastructure schemes such as new rail lines. These are developed to maximise the success of implementing a new scheme. One solution gaining favour is a property transport levy, whereby affected businesses, residents, and developers pay a lump sum for new transport infrastructure on the basis that property values and rents will increase as a result of the new transport scheme. An example of this is the Crossrail scheme in London, which is partly funded by contributions from private businesses in the financial districts. Social Issues We have already noted that on a global scale, car use is increasing, while public transport, walking, and cycling are in decline. It is becoming common place for children to be driven to school rather than walk, cycle or use public transport. Workers are increasingly using the private car for their commuting trip, and short leisure and shopping trips are driven rather than walked. For example, in suburban London it has been recorded that 32% of car trips are less than one mile. There is also strong evidence of worsening global health in the form of increasing levels of obesity, childhood diabetes, and heart disease. If healthier options for travelling were introduced globally, and people were encouraged out of their cars, this could provide a strong boost to health worldwide. Walking 20 minutes a day is one way to incorporate exercise into a daily routine to maintain a minimum level of fitness, but if there is no infrastructure to allow this, then car use will be preferred, even for the shortest trips. Road traffic accident rates in Muscat amongst the highest in the world Pedestrian accidents (at 40% of total) are a particular concern Muscats city road network leads to major severance issues Road network is very pedestrian and cycle unfriendly Unique social mix makes provision of public transport more challenging For a country to maximise its economic performance, it is important that its citizens have access to jobs, services, and goods. For a fully functioning global world class economy, this access should not be restricted to only those who are able to afford access to a car. Access for all is promoted in many countries around the world, with the provision of public transport. infrastructure, and walking and cycling routes. Countries without this level of access tend to find they have disconnected communities, with reduced opportunities to break the cycle of poverty. The other movement issue related to transport is the severance effect of building new transport corridors, whether these are road or rail based. Given their longitudinal nature, they tend to split and divide communities, where only selected crossing points are provided for pedestrians and cyclists. Linked to the risk of overcoming transport barriers is the connection between vehicular movements and road traffic accidents. These are either vehicle vehicle accidents or vehicle  ­pedestrian I cyclist accidents. One of the reasons for road traffic accidents is the provision of corridors which encourage speeding, through the creation of what is known as a canyon effect. This is when drivers feel separated from their environment, through the incorporation of pedestrian barriers and banning of the other users. This lead driver to have little regard for other more vulnerable users. In contrast, the safest streets tend to be those which either have limited or no access to private car. Effects of congestion The current literature is very limited especially with respect to Arab countries. Therefore, I will use literature from Europe and state as well as some of the experience of development countries. The first problem with congested traffic conditions is that these conditions are inherently unstable. That is, vehicles may flow quite well at speeds that are only modestly reduced from free-flow speeds, but flow may also easily break down, with the formation of queues, stop-and-go conditions, and average speeds that are very low. This instability produces one of the negatives of congestion- travel time unreliability. A second negative of congestion, is that extra time is required under these conditions, time that may be considered to be non-productive time. For those who are caught in congested conditions and who are driving outside normal working hours, it is questionable as to whether the time losses from congested conditions have an economic impact. Redmond and Mokhtarian, (2001) show that many commuters do not perceive congestion as necessarily an evil of their daily commute. Based on their study, Nasser (2002) notes that, in these modern times, many people can find complete pri vacy in only two places-the car or the toilet. For many, there is actually peace and relaxation commuting alone. For many, its the only time they have to read (by listening to books on tape), enjoy music they like, catch up on the news, smoke without being chastised or make personal phone calls in total privacy (Nasser, 2002). Such attitudes do not bode well for carpooling, which is often seen as one of the alternatives to reduce congestion. New road to reduce congestion Anthony Downs (1992), argues that building our way out of existing traffic congestion problems doesnt work because of triple convergence.; When a road is widened to reduce traffic congestion, three responses occur over time to reduce the benefit of increased capacity. First, drivers who previously used alternate routes will switch to the newly expanded facility. Second, drivers who previously traveled on the congested facility during off-peak hours will switch to the peak period. Third, many people who car pooled or used public transit to avoid the hassle of stop-and-go traffic during the peak period will choose the convenience of driving alone on the newly uncongested link in the transportation system. The cumulative effect of the three types of individual behavioral responses to increased capacity ends up forcing equilibrium traffic flow on the expanded facility back toward its initial congested state. This scenario exactly happening in Muscat, government continuously focusing to improve road infrastructure to solve a congestion problem, but within certain of time traffic volume build up by moving road users from congested routes to the new road and encouraging people to use their own private transport. Recent studies show that building or widening highways induces more traffic, called induced travel. Shortly after the lanes or road is opened traffic will increase to 10 to 50% of the new roadway capacity as public transit or carpool riders switch to driving, or motorists decide to take more or longer trips or switch routes. This is short-term induced travel. In the longer term (three years or more), as the new roadway capacity stimulates more sprawl and motorists move farther from work and shopping, the total induced travel rises to 50 to 100% of the roadway ¹s new capacity. This extra traffic clogs local streets at both ends of the highway travel. The following table summarizes these studies. Accessibility and mobility Accessibility can be defined as the ease of reaching destinations (Levine and Garb, 2002), whereas mobility may be defined as the ease of movement. While these two concepts are clearly related, they are not the same thing. If a person lives in an area where there are many possible destinations close by, accessibility may be very high, even though mobility might be constrained, as in a CBD. On the other hand, if a person lives in a relatively remote area, accessibility may be poor because considerable travel time and cost is required to reach any destination, although mobility may be high. In 1960, world inhabitants travelled an average of 1820 km by car, bus, railway or aircraft. Three decades later, the annual distance travelled had increased to 4390 km. In light of a 75% world population growth, absolute motorised mobility rose by a factor greater than four( Schafer, 1998). As Levine and Garb (2002) point out, mobility and accessibility are measured in different ways. Mobility is measured as a generalised cost of travel (time plus money) per kilometre; accessibility is measured as the generalized cost of travel per destination. Generally, mobility is closely related to the level of service provided on the transport system. Higher levels of service represent lower costs per kilometre of travel. Thus, increases in capacity of the system will almost always lead to an increase in mobility, at least in the short term. Accessibility, however, is related to destinations, and therefore, requires attention both to land use patterns and to the quality of destinations. Miller, (1999). Increasing congestion is likely to produce decreases in both mobility and accessibility. Longer travel times and increased monetary costs of travel, as a result of congestion, obviously increase the travel cost per kilometre. At the same time, these increased travel times may also result in reduced accessibility, by making potential destinations more expensive to reach. However, different methods for tackling congestion will be likely to have quite different effects on each of mobility and accessibility, as is discussed subsequently in this paper Increasing public transport use Public transport has an important role to play within most urban areas. There still remain significant groups of the population who either cannot afford to own and operate a car, or who make a conscious choice to avoid the car. There are also specific movements within the urban area to which public transport is better suited than the car, under virtually any circumstances. This is particularly the case for work trips going to the central business districts of many cities. It is also an important means of travel for the elderly who can no longer drive or no longer wish to, and for young people who are not yet old enough to hold a drivers license, or who cannot yet afford a car. In modern history, and perhaps in all of transport history, there has never been success in shifting people into public transport at the rate that is called for in many contemporaneous policy statements. This alone, however, does not mean to say that such shifts into public transport are not possible. It may just be that no one has come up with the appropriate policy mix (carrots and sticks) to produce these sorts of market shifts. It is also possible that there has not existed previously the political courage to implement what must be done if such large shifts in public transport markets are to occur. It is, however, important to look at the magnitude of what is required. Demand Management Toolbox Demand management is playing important factor to solve traffic growth. There is a broad range of TDM measures, including: Transportation Management Associations: leverage public and private funds to increase the use of ridesharing and other commuting options that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality Including or improving pedestrian-oriented design elements, such as short pedestrian crossings, wide sidewalks and street trees. Requiring users of parking to pay the costs directly, as opposed to sharing the costs indirectly with others through increased rents and tax subsidies. Including and improving public transportation infrastructure, such as subway entrances, bus stops and routes. Subsidizing transit costs for employees or residents. Bicycle-friendly facilities and environments, including secure bike storage areas and showers. See Bicycle transportation engineering Providing active transportation (AT) facilities including bike lanes and multi-use trails. Flex-time work schedules with employers to reduce congestion at peak times Congestion pricing tolls during peak hours. Road space rationing by restricting travel based on license plate number, at certain times and places. Workplace travel plans Road space reallocation, aiming to re-balance provision between private cars which often predominate due to high spatial allocations for roadside parking, and for sustainable modes. Time, Distance and Place (TDP) Road Pricing, where road users are charged based on when, where and how much they drive. Some transportation experts believe TDP pricing is an integral part of the next generation in transportation demand management Sustainable Mobility The common strategy of sustainable mobility should contain the impact on the environment, while allowing transport to continue to fulfill its economic and social function, particularly in the context of the single market, and thus ensure the long term development of transport in the community. It should also contribute to social and economic cohesion in the community and to the new opportunities for the peripheral regions (Banister,2000) Our sustainable strategy in Muscat focusing on economic issues only. However, we will end up by heavily a congestion road, and we cant be coping with the economic growth. Unless we prepare green transport strategy, which provide better integration of land use and transport, and taking serious consideration of social and environment as well as economic concern. The Intuitional Issues Urban Policies and Development The institutional issue refers to how the country, society and private agencies define and implement transport -related public policies. Several public policies influence socio-spatial organization, including urban development, land use, housing, transport and traffic. For my research topic three main areas are relevant: Urban planning; Transport planning; and Traffic management These are associated with three objectives: land, circulation of structure and means, and circulation patterns. The urban planning and transport planning are considered to be most important public action. Traffic management is often considered to be secondary importance, related more technical, simple objectives that should be dealt with engineers. While urban planning is mainly concerned with land use provision of public services, transport planning involves of definition of circulation infrastructure and means. Urban planning The Higher Committee for Town Planning government body responsible for implementing plans of economic and social development in the Sultanate in the fields of physical and spatial, and through the preparation of detailed plans at the regional and urban areas. Has been formally established by Royal Decree No. 27/85, dated the twenty-fourth of February 1985, was rebuilt more than once on the requirements of the public interest. The main tasks of the Commission: policy-making of urban planning at all levels of in accordance with economic considerations, social and environmental development strategy of urban development so as to achieve overall development goals and sustainable development in all provinces and regions of the Sultanate approvals planning the allocation of land for various purposes in establishing controls and propose the necessary legislation to regulate and direct the work of the establishment of the Urban Planning an integrated system for geographic information includes databases and maps for