Evaluating Selected Human Resource Essay

Purpose – The purpose of this report is to evaluate the actual practices in terms of two themes Decision Making and Use of teams and groups, and find that both of them are useful to be in criticically analyzing and understanding the selected organization Beijing YanJing Brewery Co.,Ltd (YJB). Definition- Decision making and use of teams and groups are both important in organizational management. Decision Making is understood as management’s task par excellence-the bureaucratic cogito (the thinking brain) whose decisions the corporate body should follow (Clegg, Kornberger,Pitsis, 2008, p.286). The organization, which can make efficient and effective decisions can have a major impact on business sustainability and agility. (Metcalfe, 2003). Simultanelouly, according to some scholars, teamwork also plays an important role in ensuring human relations within organizations; that they are productive, cohesive, and aligned with the organizations outcome while also balancing people’s desire for meaning, autonomy, and social relations (Clegg, Kornberger, Pitsis, 2008, p.122). Structure – The report is mainly divided into three sections: 1. Briefly introducing YJB’s background, including: the number and type of employees and numbers and roles of managers. 2. Describing the actual practices of the YJB in terms of the above two themes; 3. By critically analyzing the actual practice, including the positive aspects, as well as negative aspects, the author gives a brief assessment of how useful the two themes can be in critically analyzing and understanding YJB. First, to help find the negative aspects, which need to be improved; Second, to help find the factors that cause these problems. The last is to help find ways to improve. 1 Background The author has worked as a secretary in YJB for the past four years after graduate from the university, where the main tasks include writing reports and documents for the managers. YJB is one of the top 500 lucrative industrial enterprises of China, one of the top 100 breweries. The Corporate Culture is dedication, creation, collaboration and master spirits. At present, it boasts of 29 affiliated companies, including 21 breweries and 8 relevant or attached enterprises ( Li 2007). 1.1.1The Structure of Management It Sets up Shareholders Meeting, Board of Directors and Board of supervisors Meeting. Shareholders Meeting is the company’s highest authority; The Board is the main decision-making Agency; The Board of Supervisors Meeting are directing the above managers. The organization structure is broken down further as follows: * Members of Board: There is one Chairman (Li Fucheng), two Vice Chairman(Zhao Fang and Li Hua) , ten directors, and five independent directors. Li Fucheng is the Chairman of the Board and also the General Manager. * Supervisory Board members: There is one Board of Supervisors President (Zhang Ming ), two Supervisors (Gong Ming and Sun Chao) . * Other Deputy managers: There are Seven Deputy managers.They are responsible for Finance, Infrastructure, Service, Technology, Production, Marketing and Archives Business. The specific roles of the managers see Chart 1. Chart 1: Beijing YanJing Brewery Co., Ltd. Organization and Management 1.1.2 The Structure of Employees YanJing has a total of 29,275 employees, and can be divided into five types: production 17,466, sales 5,203, technique 4,267, finance 497?,administrative staff 1,842?. High school (including technical secondary school) or higher education accounted for approximately 57.8% of the total number of companies. Various types of professionals are with 43% of the total number of workers, production and marketing of first-line account for 80% of the total number of workers. 2 Findings 2.1 Decision Making 2.1.1 Decision-making styles In YJB, centralized decision making is in place, the most important decisions are made at the upper management. In other words, the Parent company’s board has the final decision-making power; the subsidiary managers have no authorization to make the important decisions, such as investment. Thus, they are required to continually submit periodic reports. 2.1.2 Decision-making Levels Company takes Shareholder Meeting, Board of Directors, General Manager hierarchical decision-making system. * Strategic decisions Strategic decisions are decided by the Meeting of Shareholders, which has the highest authority. The strategic decisions are those that affect the general direction of the organization (Davis, D 2004, p.3). In YJB the strategic decisions include those, such as product of market development, investment decisions, etc. * Tactical decisions Tactical decisions are mainly decided by the Board. The examples of tactical decision making in YanJing are those, such as budget allocations, personnel assignments, minor resource commitments, promotional mix decisions, and other short-term internal assignments. * Technical decisions Parts of the technical decisions are decided by the Deputy Managers. Technical decisions are routine in nature and deal with the control of specific tasks ((Davis, D 2004, p.4). This includes quality control, payroll, scheduling, and credit acceptance or rejection. Athough aspects can be decided by the deputy managers, the final decision is controlled by the Board ( General Manager). 2.1.3 Decision-making Process * Problem recognition: The first step, the YJB decision-maker receive the problem from Subsidiary or departments, including production, sales, research and development. The recognition process begins when management acknowledges that some situation exists, or will exist, that needs to be acted upon in the near future. * Information search: An information search is the second major stage. YanJing Company use a combination of technologically sophisticated searches by experts and data collection strategies to help identify and solve problems. * Problem analysis: The Company holds a senior management meeting and invite outside experts to discuss the issues, to ensure the problem is thoroughly analyzed. SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities?Threats) are usually used by the company, especially in the investment decisions. * Feasible evaluation. By using project selection models (Meredith & Mantel Jr, 2009, p.42) this allows the Company to make further assessments. The Criterion includes: investment risk, rate of return, consulting costs and acquisition times, etc. * Final decision. Through careful comparative study, from several options, the Board selects the most viable. However, typically, the final decision-making power remains in the hands of the Chairman ( General Manager). 2.2 Use of teams and groups 2.2.1 Rational division of labor YJB Mainly takes three stages to achieve the rational division of labor: * Pre-job training. This stage focuses on theoretical training. As part of the Corporate culture new staff must undertake three months professional training. The once they have pass the final examination, they are eligible for next phase. * Practical tests. After passing the examination, the new staff progress into the operational phase. There is a three-months trial period. Only the new staff who meets job requirements, will ultimately be retained. * Job rotation. Every new staff member in the first year of work period must be tempered to different positions. In YJB, employees are mainly divided into five types: Production, sales, technitical, finance and administrative staff. By rotation. The company can ultimately achieve rational division according to each person expertise. However, the final decision is made by the General Manager Li Fucheng, other managers or low-level personnel have no authority to review, analyze, critique, and recommend courses of action. * 2.2.2 Open discussion. It is usually encouraged that employees actively provide suggestions through various channels, including written reports, direct mail or discussion with the Deputy Managers and any other forms. Moreover, the senior managers frequently come to the production line to listen to staff suggestions and give the feedback on deadlines. To the rationalization proposals, YJB will not only adopt but also give awards to the provider. To some extent this reduces team conflict. 2.2.3 Motivation * Creating motivated work environment: In order to give employees a better working and living environment, the Trade Union usually books the Train tickets for employees to return home. Furthermore, in Women’s Day, the trade union will purchase vouchers or well-being insurance, by which the employees’ belongingness is enhanced. * Performance Award: The employees will be awarded because of high-performance or innovation in the work field. The incentive system includes: bonuses, travel or holidays, etc. * Promotion:It establishes a reasonable promotion system. The staff, regardless of age, qualifications, or who have capacity and outstanding performance, can have the opportunity to be promoted. However, in fact, work experience is considered for promotion more rather than the individual capacity. 2.2.4 Training and development * Top-level training: Company develops and implements a human resources development plan, which includes promoting a number of ability and political integrity of the young top managers into key positions training each year. By doing this, YJB tries to setup a strategic reserve of talent, who understand business, and are good at management. * Low-level training. Staff training is regarded as the core links to improve employees overall quality. YJB invites experts and professors to hold specialized seminars for low-level managers each year; In addition, it organizes technical training for nearly a thousand employees on regular full-time, and selects technicians to advanced countries to study each year. 3 Discussions 3.1 Decision-making Decision Making is important for organization long-term development. Efficient and effective decisions will ensure the company will perform well. Whereas, poor decision making significantly affects company productivity and profit (Sutcliffe & Mcnamaron, 2001, p.357). On the basis of the above analysis, the author learned the following aspects: 3.1.1Positive aspects Generally speaking, YJB takes efficient and effective decisions, which ensure the company’s health and sustainable development. The process of decision-making of YanJing is rational. It is consenus with the rational decision-making model (Robbins, Judge, Millett, Jones, 2010, p.95). As earlier mentioned, YJB’s decision process is broken down into a series of interrelated activities that leads to a choice among alternatives. Apparently, it is actually rational, Open, and transparent. Decision makers in YanJing make judgments that are logical and internally consistent with their goals and preferences. They select the alternative with the highest subjective expected utility, and they follow a systematic process from problem identification to implementation of the selected alternative ( Murray, Poole, Jones, 2006, p.164). In the author’s opinion, that is a main reason to explain why it is only been 30 years that YJB has spent to suppress the development history of other world beer enterprises with 100 years experience. 3.1.2 Negative aspects The power is highly centralized. YJB centralized decision making is in place, most important decisions are made at the top. Subsidiary managers have no authorization to decide the important aspects, regardless of the employees. The reasons to produce this problem may be the Chinese traditional culture impact. Firstly, Culture difference is reflected in values, which in turn affect behavior, including the way in which decisions are made (Albaum, Yu, Wiese, Herche, Evangelista, Murphy, 2010, p.142). In China, Stemming largely from Confucian ethics, these values legitimate paternalism at the levels of family and organization, and patrimonialism at the state level, and provide a moral justification for hierarchy by stressing reciprocal vertical obligations (Child & Warner, 2002, p.30). Secondly, Managerial behavior in modern China has been greatly influenced by political circumstance and the institutional regime. Initially, the PRC managed its labor using a ‘top-down’ model that endured for half a century ( Child & Warner, 2002, p.34-35). The firms tend to operate in a highly centralized manner, in which the entrepreneur-owners tend to maintain their authoritative position through keeping tight control in information and decision making. However, such centralized decision making can stifle the creativity, and flexibility needed by the subsidiary (Luthans, & Davis, 1991, p.179). For example, in domestic situations, with the competition increasing, if the top managers do not decentralize authority and give the local managers greater decision-making power, this will increase the time needed in responding to competitive threats. 3.2 Use of teams and groups Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results (Shelton et al., 2010, pp93-114). Effective and proper using of teams and groups will produce positive and satisfactory results (Gilley & Kerno, 2010, pp46-60). Learning from the above analysis, the author found the following aspects: 3.2.1 Positive aspects The YanJing team is united and highly-efficient. The employees worked in YanJing are full of collaboration and master spirits. As management scholars have stated: teams and groups can be the most rewarding ways of doing things. But at the other times teamwork can be frustrating, riddled with conflict and even counterproductive (Clegg, Kornberger, Pitsis, 2008, p.122). However, by taking some useful measures, which include Rational division of labor, Open discussion, Motivation and Training, YJB successfully reduces, even avoids groupthink, social loafing to create. These ways not only promote enterprise development which plays a certain role, it also greatly enhances employee sense of ownership. Moreover, it creates a warm, homelike atmosphere, establishes a high-performance working teams and forms a good corporate culture. This explains why YanJing will get success. 3.2.2 Negative aspects Although, the way of using teams and groups is worthy to be recognized in YJB, there are still some insufficient aspects, such as â€Å"Lack of empowerment†, which needs to be improved for its long-term development. Empowerment means helping to develop in others a sense of self-efficacy, self-determinism, personal control, meaning and trust (Carlopio & Andrewartha, 2008, p.428). To empower means to enable. It means to help people develop a sense of self-efficacy, or to feel successful or effective at a particular task (Geller, 2003). Accordingly, empowered employees are more productive, psychologically and physically healthy, proactive and innovative. They are higher morale and commitment than employees who are not empowered. While, without empowered, employees, organizations cannot adapt, survive or succeed in the long run. However, there is less empowerment in YJB. The reason may also be connected with the different culture impact. Chinese culture has on a high level power distance (Jaw, Ling, Wang, Chang, 2006, p.128). Because of relatively high degree of rights, and there more strict hierarchy this distance between the powers of all levels is large, which the author have mentioned in Assignment 1. A large ‘power distance’ tends to be maintained between top managers and other members of the organization, with relatively little delegation of authority and a strong emphasis on vertical links within hierarchies (Child, J & Warner, M 2002, p.35). 4. Conclusion In summary, after evaluating the practices in above two themes Decision Making and Use of teams and groups, it is found that both of them are useful to be in criticically analyzing and understanding the selected organization YJB. The two themes can help one understand the following three aspects: * Finding the organization management deficiencies, which aspects need to be improved. * Understanding the corporate culture and know that what factors that cause these problems. * Understanding the style of the organization management and whether it is suitable if considering the long term benefits to the company. If not, how to improve. 5 Recommendations & Implementation Taking above analysis into consideration, the findings and discussion in this report support the following recommendations: * YJB should combine both centralized and decentralized decision making, a model like Japan (Luthans,F & Davis, k 1991, p.178). Top management still exercises a great deal of authority over what will be examined at the lower levels. However, working within this framework, lower level personnel have authority to review, analyze, critique, and recommend courses of action. The final decisions are made at the top level after elaborate examination of the proposal through successively higher levels in the management hierarchy, and results in acceptance or rejection of a decision only through consensus at echelon of the management structure. * Within a reasonable range, it should give employees sufficient empowerment and delegation. For example, Managers can by breaking apart large tasks and giving employees only one part at a time. The manager watches for small successes achieved and then highlights and cilebrates achievements (French, Maule, Papamichail, 2009, p.410). Finally, the employees can generate a sense of movement, progress and success. Reference Albaum, G, Yu, J, Wiese, N, Herche, J, Evangelista, F, Murphy, B 2010, ‘Culture-Based Values and Management Style of Marketing Decision Makers in Six Western Pacific Rim Countries’, Journal of Global Marketing, vol.23, no.2, pp.139-151. Carlopio, J & Andrewartha, G 2008, Developing Management Skills: A Comprehensive Guide For Leaders, PEARSON, Australia. Child, J & Warner, M 2002, ‘Culture and Management in China’, in M Warner (ed.), Culture and Management in Asia, Routledge, Britain. Clegg, S, Kornberger, M,Pitsis, T 2008, Managing & Organizations, SAGE,London. Davis, D 2004, Business research for decision making, 6thedn, South-Western College, USA. French, S, Maule, J, Papamichail, N 2009, Decision Behavior: Analysis and Support, CAMBRIDGE, New York. Geller, E 2003, ‘People-based safety’, Professional Safety, vol.48, no.12, pp.33 Gilley, A & Kerno Jr., SJ 2010, ‘Groups, Teams, and Communities of Practice: A Comparison’, Advances in Developing Human Resources, vol.12, no.1, pp.46-60 Jaw, BS, Ling, YH, Wang , YP, Chang, ‘WC 2006†², The impact of culture on Chinese employees’ work values, pp128-144. Li, FC, 2007, A Brief Introduction of YanJing Beer group, accessed 30/07/10 http:// yanjing.com.cn Luthans, F & Davis, k (ed.) 1991, International Management, McGraw-Hill, USA. Meredith, JR & Mantel Jr, SJ 2009, Project management, 7thedn, Wiley & Sons, USA. Metcalfe, D 2003, Enterprise Visibility Makes Decisions Profitable, Cambridge, MA, Forrester Research. Murray, P, Poole, D, Jones, G 2006, Contemporary Issues in Management and Organizational Behavior, THOMSON, Australia. Robbins, SP, Judge, TA, Millett, B, Jones, M 2010, OB The Essentials, PEARSON, Australia. Shelton, P, Alina, M & Makela, C2010, ‘Highly effective teams: A relational analysis of group potency and perceived organizational support’, Advances in developing human resources, vol.12, pp.93-114 Sutcliffe, KM, G Mcnamara 2001, ‘controlling decision-making practice in organization’, Organization Science, vol.12, no.4, pp.484-501. Appendix: The history of corporation( YJB) : The YJB was established in 1993, but early in 1980 its brewery was founded. It elaborately creates its corporate culture by a long-term cultivation of the spirits of â€Å"being whole heartedly dedicated to work, starting an undertaking through hard labor, struggling against formidable tasks, working with the overall situation in mind in tandem with the colleagues, and sharing the worries of the enterprise as the enterprise owner†. At present, it possesses tangible assets valued at 10.7 billion RMB Yuan and the capacity of the annual beer production has surpassed 3 million kiloliters. Which makes it rank at the first place in the output and production of beer nationally, and this position has been kept till today. In the course of 30 years’ development, YanJing has taken the road of development by inner expanded and insisted on annual technology reconstruction. There is progress every year. And the development has undergone four stages: 1980-1988: complete the transformation from a small-scale brewery to a large-scale brewery; 1989-1993: complete the transformation to a large-scale brewery; 1994-1998: complete the transformation to a large-scale beer enterprise group; 1999 to now: increase over 300,000 tons each year; complete the transformation from a regional enterprise and brand in Beijing to a nationwide large-scale enterprise and nation-famous brand. It is only 30 years that YJB has spent to suppress the development history of other world beer enterprises with 100 year!

Effects of religion on children positive or negative?

The David Family Case Family Theory: In my reading about the structural model I recalled Munich because like myself his first concern was problem focused within the context of the family structure (Goldenberg 2000). â€Å"‘ have always felt that if a child is having constant escalating behaviors of tantrums after the age of four there has to be a problem within the family structure. And so in hearing from therapist of who would many times in the past visit only with children and not the parents of families.This would really sound an alarm with me but since I lacked the understanding in the mental field I would asked the question of their knowledge in child development and the family as the root of guiding a child's first developmental years. I also remember reading about Munchies work and his vast array of experiences for example; Munich his practiced in pediatrics, his time volunteered in the army as a Doctor during Israel's war in 1948, he was a child psychiatrist in the Uni ted States working with families in poverty and those who had multiple problems, disconnected structures and displaced children from the Holocaust.His heart to volunteer and research these problematic issues revealed to me his passion and heart for the family as a unit. In my personal experience as an Early Childhood Specialist working with families with children of trauma I often found myself being approached by clinicians who were working with young children yet lacked to understand the details of the early developmental domains. I wondered if they understood temperament, parenting styles or the developmental milestones like, social/emotional patterns, independence, problem solving or attachment and bonding.Clinicians would see toddlers displaying very angry levels of behavior not recognizing they were frustrated simply because they were delayed in their speech, disengaged with their parents, or in a reign land that developed psychological stresses. So as I reviewed the David case I first observed that the structural of the family system; that being, mom, dad and children who had been interrupted by time the hierarchy currently being the grandparents, and the parental roles. This was the root in the context of this families transaction patterns that needed to be changed according to Munchies major thesis of the structural model (peg. 94). This theory looks into the relationships, the organization of the family structure having to due with family roles, rules within this system, boundaries' and wholeness. It also emphasizes on the wholeness of the family system, the influence the family hierarchical organization and the interdependent functioning of its subsystem's for the wellbeing if each individual that consist of the whole family system. In this theory enmeshment is common and the family system is functioning at a dysfunctional level for the lack of boundaries, for inhibiting individual autonomy, and for disruptions in the parental subsystem.This theory r eminds me of a sports; for example, baseball in expressing my complete understanding of this theory I will relate it to this sport. In the game of baseball it does consist of organization of each individuals place in order to function successfully as a whole team. The pitcher and the catcher are like the parents in the family. If they lack to understand their roles and that of their team-members then the whole game will be disorganized and interrupted by a loss and results in very angry, frustrated and confused emotions. What to do? What interventions will the coach implement?In my case what will I implement according to my chosen theory? Alignment, Power, and Coalitions: The David family came to therapy due to their enmeshed family. The parents were having problems in their relationships with their seven and eight year old children who were throwing full blown tantrums consistently, some examples of this manifestation where the children hitting their heads on the walls or vomiting also not listening to their parents instructions and expressing anger at their parents by physically kicking them during these escalating behaviors.As Munich puts it,† this alternated the patterns in the Davit's family structure they went without consideration which caused deviation from any established family rules such as; mandarins', a lack hierarchy, the interdependent functioning, and the wholeness of the family system (Goldenberg 2000). † The results became the resistance of the children making a healthy family connection with their parents. This is how my back- round training in child development will aid me as a future clinician.If the child lacks to build a trusting and secure relationships with their parents becoming that secure base in order for the child to become a healthy separated individual then a sense of loss and fear will result therefore displaying itself as in the Davit's hillside's case. As a therapist I would first look into the family strengths, i n this case the David family taking the step to seek out therapy without it being forced upon them due to an outside report such as D. S. S. I would praise them for taking the first step then observe the spousal, parental and siblings subsystems in this family.In observing this at the first session I could recognize that as the mother expressed her emotions the children and father displayed empathy as they all tried to comfort the mother. The father stepped in and gave instructions to the children who followed wrought it revealed that they did have some understanding for father's hierarchy in this role. This was a psychosomatic family that was enmeshed yet their quick response to comfort the mother here also revealed that they were not disengaged. That showed me that they would be willing to negotiate differences.Within this family it was clear that alignments were off and needed to be put back together by joining its forces by positive activities that engaged in quality time spent. It was the long parental working hours in the Davit's family that disrupted the emotional and psychological connections that members should make with one another. This was the power that was displaced here and instead because of the work demand was given over to the grandparents which caused stressed in the children producing escalating behaviors towards parents.In my understanding the grandparents where the third party alliances between the parent and children which Munich refers to as the coalitions. The grandparents became the dominant part of this family that detoured the power from the parents as the children cried out for their grandparents rather than parents during a place that seemed foreign to them. This resulted in conflicts that placed added stressed on the family systems. Intervention: The David family needs to be realigned, new boundaries' must be set in place and reframing must be worked into this family system.I will use the vignette as an example therapy session an d how I would guide it using Munchies structural therapy. Children are anxious and wondering the office asking to go home crying for their grandparents, they seek each other for comfort rather than parents, parents become embarrassed. Children engage with therapist asking to play with toys, mother becomes emotional children and husband respond. I would greet all by name shaking each individual's hands and then ask mom and dad what they would eke to play with their children today.Knowing that the children are engaging with me as their therapist and interested in my toys this would be used as my intervention tools in order to have the family enact a typical family conflict. Upon children calling out crying for their grandparents I would first validate their state of disconnectedness from grandparents yet redirect them by saying, † look today mommy and daddy wants your time to play with them and they want to play with some of my toys. Children cry say no and began hugging each ot her rather than parents I would then start to realign the family roles by guiding children towards arenas for comfort rather than depending on each other when parents are available. I would do this by having kneel at children's level asking them for permission to comfort them. As mother becomes anxious and emotional and father instructs children to leave mommy alone upon them trying to comfort her, I would intervene by saying to children, â€Å"k well mommy and daddy need some time while you both decide on a game to play with them but then Daddy would love for you both to help comfort your mommy. This will model time and respect given to the hierarchy of the family that being mom and dad yet allow children time for individual mime for choice and space. This would also allow parents to see the importance of setting proper structure, roles, and respectful boundaries' in place. My hope would be to have the family engage in its normal family conflicts. I would do this by either playing a game relating to the last conflict such as the children not wanting to go to bed or take a bath.My session would go something like this. â€Å"Children play a game of wants, dodos and don't, I would ask each individual to tell me what you want to today, what you will do today and what you don't you want to do today? This would e done for each family member (with specific instructions in the beginning that whatever don't want to be done everyone must laugh at the end for them, then try doing those don't by adding something fun. In this case you don't want to take a bath but how can you make it fun? The past tantrums could be realigned by making boundaries' fun thereby inventing new boundaries' and replacing them with parental time with children that will help airframe the family structure. The past rules in the David family consisted of the grandparents filling in the place of parents, the parents jack to consider the importance of time spent with their children gave up their par ental power as that secure base and trusting relationship with their children.My hope is that the engagements of family time spent together would build each individuals self-esteem and confidence as time and energy is being reciprocated here. References Goldenberg, 1. , Goldenberg, H. (2000). Family Therapy An Overview. ; . United States. Headwords, a division of Thomas Learning. Figure Captions Figure 1 . Caption of figure [Figures – note that this page does not have the manuscript header and page number]

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Nutrition address in Legislation - Essay Example It has long been known that smoking as few as five cigarettes a day is sufficient to elevate the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other complications. Recent research suggests, alarmingly, that addiction may set it in from the very first cigarette: a confirmation of the tobacco industry’s intentions in targeting the young. A single dose of nicotine has been shown in lab studies to trigger changes in brain physiology and function that set up the vicious circle of craving, withdrawal, and dependence. A significant proportion of patients seeking to kick the habit at physicians’ clinics and rehabilitation centres are adolescents who have been smoking fewer than five cigarettes a day for less than six months, yet find themselves growing dependant on tobacco for normal functioning. The FDA’s claim that it cannot regulate tobacco advertising because tobacco does not claim to be a health-promoting product (unlike food, supplements, or medicines) is unconvincing. Tobacco sale and advertising needs to be regulated all the more tightly because it is so explicitly a health-damaging product. Developmental psychologists know that the decision-making areas of the brain are not fully developed until the early twenties: allowing young people to be exposed to intensive and meticulous tobacco advertising and leaving them to decide is a fundamentally unsound decision. Moreover, while all advertising relies of exaggeration and departure from fact, advertising for tobacco is blatantly false and misleading in connecting healthy, beautiful people, places, and activities with smoking, and broadcasting these images so intensively that the real and present dangers of smoking may become invisible to young people. I believe the health of our young citizens is more important than the profits of the tobacco industry. As an agency of a

Flood control in river basins has become more important in recent Essay

Flood control in river basins has become more important in recent years. Discuss various techniques used for flood control and t - Essay Example The flood defenses were strong barriers that prevented water from flooding into the plain land (Woods & Woods 2007, p.5). Floods occur when flowing surface water spills over the confining banks into the dry land. Floods are a natural phenomenon, which occur in almost all river systems. Areas prone to flooding include those located downstream of dams and the low lying regions. Flooding causes immense losses, which include loss of human and animal life, soil erosion, damage on properties, destruction of vegetation and many environmental damages. In addition, areas affected by floods are highly susceptible to famines and prolonged droughts. This further causes loss of human and animal life due to starvation. Floodwaters are usually contaminated with harmful microorganisms derived from raw sewage. This puts people affected by the floods at greater risks of getting infectious diseases (Proverbs, et al., 2011, p. 221). Floods may contribute to some positive impacts on the ecosystem. One of the benefits of flooding includes offering fresh water for domestic use and irrigation. The other benefit includes massive deposition of minerals and nutrients into the affected areas. Apart from these benefits, floods also help in improving the condition of aquatic ecosystems. However, they can be regarded as the most damaging compared to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Therefore, stringent measures must be undertaken to prevent the massive losses incurred during floods. This paper discusses various techniques used in controlling floods and their environmental impacts (Gruntfest & Handmer, 2001, p.12). Methods used to control floods Techniques applied in controlling floods entail the modification of the river environment and areas located close to the river. Flood control techniques can be applied on the river channel, floodway or on the floodplain (Ghosh, 1997, p.55). Techniques applied in floodplains Floodplains are those regions that lie below the flood elevation and exclus ively on the floodway and river channel. Majority of techniques applied on the floodplains lie far from the river, but are designed to reduce damage from floods. Levee around structures This technique entails the construction of a levee/floodwall around structures located in floodplains. Levees can either be permanent or temporally. Construction of the levee requires the use of strong, natural or artificial material that can withstand pressure from the floods (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2010, p.356). The essence of using levees and other barriers is to raise the height in structures located in floodplains which floodwater must rise to in order cause flooding. These structures offer protection to structures but put other structures into a high risk of flooding due to increased water retention in the floodplains. In addition, serious damage to protected structures can arise when the levees are unable to hold back the floods. This is because the pressure at which the floods hit the structure i s extremely high compared to when there is no barrier (Green, 2004, p.36). The use of levees, floodwalls, and dykes has a negative impact on natural river processes (Harmancioglu, 1994, p.42). Ideally, water spills emerging from a river should form a natural channel which provides a way for the floods to flow. Therefore, levees reduce the ability of the floodplains to process floodwaters. In addition, the

Importance of the Marketing Concept to McDonalds Assignment

Importance of the Marketing Concept to McDonalds - Assignment Example Marketers can only offer service propositions, but their â€Å"value† depends on customers’ experiences and assessments. An organisation uses the marketing concept by interpreting customers’ needs through their values, beliefs, and practices, adopting this understanding to guide organisational vision, mission, and core values, and finally implementing it through intelligence gathering, sharing, and application, one of which is through the marketing mix. See Figure 1 for the Marketing Concept. Organisations use the marketing concept because they are aware that it has been empirically related to higher sales, profitability, product quality, success of new products/services, employee morale, and general performance (Ailawadi, et al., 2006; Shiu and Yu, 2010; van Triest, et al., 2009). Figure 1: The Marketing Concept Source: Nakata and Sivakumar (2001, p.256) MCDONALD’S: COMPANY OVERVIEW McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s r estaurants in 119 countries. McDonald’s restaurants offer a standard menu, which includes, â€Å"McDonald’s menu includes hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, Snack Wraps, French fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, McFlurry desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, pies, soft drinks, coffee, McCafe beverages and other beverages,† including local and limited-time products (Reuters.com, 2013). Furthermore, the company enjoys sustained growth with a global comparable sales growth of 3.1%. Sources showed that some of the target market’s needs and wants are: 1) the need to buy quick and tasty food for busy parents and businesspeople; 2) parents want to give treats to their... This discussion declares that the marketing concept has evolved significantly for the past sixty years. Most of the definitions of the marketing concept in the 1960s emphasise the relationship between organisations and customers, while current definitions in the twenty-first century seek to be more inclusive by embracing a stakeholder approach to defining and attaining â€Å"values†. As the paper stresses McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants in 119 countries. McDonald’s restaurants offer a standard menu, which includes, â€Å"McDonald’s menu includes hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, Snack Wraps, French fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, McFlurry desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, pies, soft drinks, coffee, McCafe beverages and other beverages,† including local and limited-time products. The company enjoys sustained growth with a global comparable sales growth of 3.1%. The marketing concept is relevant to McDonald’s because of its tools of competition analysis and 7Ps marketing mix. For competition, the next contender to having the biggest global market share is Yum! Brands, Inc. KFC is expanding its menu through adding wraps and local food, even vegetables for some Asian markets. Burger King and Wendy’s are updating their store designs and layout. Apart from competition analysis, McDonald’s can be examined further through its 7Ps marketing mix.

Interprise and innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interprise and innovation - Essay Example Inviting thousands of athletes around the world to participate in various sports competitions is bound to create not only new job and business opportunities for many people but also the re-development and improvement of the public transportation, hotels, and other related infrastructure such as the Wembley Stadium, the All England Club at Wimbledon, the Greenwich Park, and the Earls Court among others (London 2012, 2010). In line with this, the large traffic of people who look forward to attend the Olympic Games attracts few of the large-scale companies to promote their consumer products to the public. Coca-cola is one of the official sponsors or Worldwide partners of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games (London 2012, 2010b). Based on UK demographic profile of UK’s prospective audiences, this report will tackle the proposed Coca-Cola product suitable for a target audience during the Olympics. Eventually, the number of perceived substitutes and the proportion of income spent on goods will be tackled to determine the PeD for Coca-Cola during a major event like the Olympics. Using a diagram, the effects of advertising the proposed Coca-Cola product will be assessed as to whether or not the advertising impact could cause the demand curve to shift to left or right. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games LOCOG aims to promote global diversity as part of the 2012 Olympic Games strategy (Open. The world in a city. Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, 2008, p. 1). Regardless of age, gender, educational attainment, disability, religion, political, economic, and cultural differences of Coca-Cola’s target audiences, it remains a fact that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is working together with GLA, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), UK and London Government, and Trade Unions to ensure that the London 2012 Games will create a sporting environment that is suitable for all audiences (Open. The world

Relationships and Connections of Variables Research Paper

Relationships and Connections of Variables - Research Paper Example Learner’s without properly citing the source of the work will be considered plagiarism and will result in an unsatisfactory grade for the work submitted or for the entire course, and may result in academic dismissal. The literature offers a myriad of information yielded by various researches on human relationships. Concepts on a wide spectrum from physiological responses to romantic relationships, emotions that are manifested during romances, social implications or consequences of engaging in romantic relationships, and perceptions and viewpoints that are attempted to explain some phenomena related to romance have been analyzed and discussed in the paper. Studies on romance include research conducted by social scientists, which unearthed evidence of physiological responses manifested by heightened hormones in new romances of Dr. Donatella Marazitti and Helen Fisher. Rule of thumb in writing is that you do not use the same word twice in a sentence. One such study is that of adolescents who have become popular subjects/ participants in researches on conceptualization and expectations in romantic relationships... Feiring conducted interviews with adolescents with outcome results that indicated romantic partner selection in late adolescence and early adulthood is initiated due to of stimulus characteristics, such as desirable personality and physical attractiveness. In the adolescents’ reports, physical attraction to a prospective romantic partner is expressed as finding the person cute, pretty or handsome, rather than in terms of sexuality (e.g. a good kisser). As the relationship progresses, common interests and interpersonal compatibility becomes essential. (Conger, Cui, Bryant, and Elder conducted a longitudinal study that examined the effects of family influences on adolescents’ romantic behavior in their early adult life.  

Seminar Option 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Seminar Option 2 - Essay Example include the Fitness-Instructor Certification, Personal Fitness Certification and Fitness-Trainer Certification (Schenck & American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2009). Examinations for different certification depend on some factors that must be met. For instance, the organization requires a 4-year college degree. However, for some certifications, this is not usually necessary. NASM and Ace offer some of the easiest certifications that would administer clients without the college degree. The most needed requirement is the possession of skills and the show of mastery in the covered material. Finally, there are monetary costs to be incurred in any certification program. When an individual seeks to attain the Personal Fitness Certification, she or he is shaped to work with the end consumers of the fitness products or exercises directly. They involve in training personal clients. On the other side, Fitness-Instructor certification exams prepare on to work as an instructor, which could be to a class or a team in the matters of fitness. Fitness-Trainer Certification prepares the partaker to work as a trainer of professionals who later attend to end consumers. Circuit training is a resistance training or body conditioning that lakes use of high intensity aerobics. It entails strength building through muscular endurance. One embarks on the next circuit once the first circuit is complete. HIIT, which is the abbreviated High Intensity Interval Training. It is a cardiovascular exercise and its sessions range from 4 to 30 minutes (Schenck & American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons,

A Economics Commentary on Protectionism Assignment

A Economics Commentary on Protectionism - Assignment Example Increase in tariffs increase the revenue for government as it serves as a tax which is imposed whereas quotas may or may not increase the revenue for the government. However, there are also welfare impacts of the quota and tariffs also on the domestic economy which can indicate that the protectionism may not be good for the economy. The above diagram shows the impact of having quotas on the supply level and the prices and how the imposition of quotas will create welfare loss for the consumers. The above graph indicates that the world supply is elastic in nature and is indicated by a horizontal line showing SH+Q. The line DH indicates the overall demand in the market and the interaction of supply and demand indicates the market clearing conditions at different price and quantity levels. Recently, US has imposed higher tariff on the import of tires from China in a bid to protect the ailing tire industry of the country which resulted into the job losses for last five years. (Whoriskey and Kornblut). Now that tariff is imposed on the import of Chinese so that the production is reduced. As a result of this, the price level will move to Pw’ from Pw in local market for locally manufactured tires. As a result of the tariff imposition, the supply will reduce and the aggregate supply curve will shift leftward to SH. This reduction in the supply and the increase in prices will therefore result into the decrease in the supply and the increase in prices therefore will not only result into the reduction of consumer surplus but will also result into the welfare loss. This is because the imposition of the tariff increases the domestic prices over and above the world prices thus making the domestic consumers more worse off owing to the increase in the prices. The imposition of tariffs on the import of Chinese tires will first disrupt the equation of trade balance between both the countries as US’s import of tires from China will reduce as the imported

Population & The Environment Essay Example for Free

Population The Environment Essay Discussions regarding the environmental impact of increasing population densities across the globe never lose their currency. From Thomas Malthus to Paul R. Erlich and onwards, there is a persistent concern that a growing international population may not only reach a tipping point in which the planet’s ability to provide for it is stretched to its limit, but begin to experience detrimental effects in the form of environmental problems. This concern is not simply a matter of numbers, but a matter of how industrial civilizations have consistently failed to curtail anthropogenic impacts. As Donella Meadows (199) opines, â€Å"not only are there so many more of us, but each of us is bigger† when one measures the amount of energy and material we use and the amount of pollutants and waste created by the industries we have created to support our energy and material use. In effect, â€Å"The number of people is not what degrades the earth; its the number of people times the flow of energy and material each person commands. † One of the most frequently cited means by which highly dense populations negatively impact the environment is through intense car use. Alex Steffen (2008) notes that intensive car use within a finite geographic territory is not only a massive contributor to greenhouse emissions that are warming the planet, but they also command a large amount of resource use through the inputs necessary to maintain highway infrastructure, build the actual cars and fuel them. Granted, the resource consumption and greenhouse emissions caused directly by private automobile ownership is absolutely no surprise to anyone, but the less obvious implication that Steffen reports is that exhaust emissions are only a fraction of the environmental impact of the automobile. Over the course of the mid-20th century onwards, the increasing prominence of the automobile as part of modern living has necessitated the construction of massive highway infrastructure. The result is that when you factor dense populations with intense private ownership and use of automobiles is that not only is there a massive amount of greenhouse emissions, but the amount of pavement this infrastructure commands can contribute significantly to the heat island effect which has become a concern among urban planners as of late. Heat islands not only increase the amount of energy expended on indoor air conditioning, but they can worsen air quality. (Steffen, 2008) As such, Steffen argues that no matter the great lengths that today’s automobile manufacturers go to in order to make their automobiles into shiny fuel-efficient emissions-reduced green things to sate the eco-minded consumer, it will not be enough to remediate environmental impacts brought about by car use. Take for example the push towards biofuels, which is essentially, a push for auto manufacturers, in collaboration with energy companies, to make automobiles that run on renewable agricultural products that emit a reduced amount of greenhouse gases. While there is much fuss in the mainstream press about the extent to which the biofuel industry is cannibalizing the food supply, a more overlooked concern is the manner in which the expansion of industrial agriculture to such a massive scale negatively impacts the environment. Simply put, the principal concern is not the ability of agriculture to feed populations, but rather how the expansion of the food supply, combined with the accommodations made for biofuels, has a deleterious effect on the environment. Manning (85-89) notes that the homogenous and unsustainable approach of industrialized corn-based agriculture is detrimental to the health of the soil. As such, there is a possibility that the massive conversion of lands towards the production of corn could recreate the conditions of The Great Dust Bowl, a period in the American heartland which saw hundreds of thousands of would-be wheat farmers plow the soil to death to profit from golden grain. Thus, as civilizations increase in population density, so too do their demands in food and automobile use, effectively exerting a greater toll on the planet’s natural environment. In any case, we must be mindful to remember that the problems inherent with a massive human population should not lead us to conclude that humans have no ecologically acceptable place in the planet. Humanity is not a virus on the operating system of the planet. Rather, what human society should begin to acknowledge is that it must begin to take a more comprehensive look at its impacts in order to correct them thoroughly. REFERENCES Meadows, Donella. â€Å"The Deep Six. † Grist. 12 October 1999. Retrieved online on March 14, 2009 from: http://www. grist. org/comments/citizen/1999/10/12/deep/index. html Steffen, Alex. â€Å"My Other Car is a Bright Green City. † Worldchanging. 23 January 2008. Retrieved online on March 14, 2009 from: http://www. worldchanging. com/archives/007800. html Manning, Richard. Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization. New York: North Point Press, 2004.

What Is Man Doing To The Earth Religion Essay

What Is Man Doing To The Earth Religion Essay THREE HUNDRED years ago, man lived much closer to nature. For the most part, he was not threatened by man-made changes to the global environment in the way he is today. The industrial revolution had not begun. There were no power stations, factories, automobiles, or other sources of widespread pollution. The thought of mans ruining the whole earth may have been hard for him to imagine. Yet, even back then, a warning about global ruination was in wide circulation. That warning was found in the last book of the Bible, and it foretold a time when God would intervene in mans affairs to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.-Revelation 11:17,  18. How comforting for all who are concerned about modern mans mismanagement of the earth to know that the Creator of our magnificent planet will save it from ruin! But, you may wonder, have we really reached such a critical situation that Gods intervention is needed? Well, consider some of the facts and judge for yourself. Forests beautify the earth and provide food and shelter for several million different species. As trees grow and manufacture food, they perform other vital services, such as absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing precious oxygen. Thereby, National Geographic says, they offer one antidote to the global warming that threatens life on earth as we know it. But man is ruining his forest heritage. North American and European forests are dying from pollution. And the demands of industrial nations are decimating tropical forests. An African newspaper explained that in 1989, 66 million cubic metres [of tropical wood were] expected to be exported-48  percent to Japan, 40  percent to Europe. Also, in some lands, farmers burn forests to create farmland. Soon the fragile forest soil becomes exhausted, and the farmers have to burn more forest. It is estimated that in this century alone, nearly half the worlds forests have vanished. Oceans Earths oceans also play a vital role in cleaning the atmosphere, and mans activities are ruining them. Vast quantities of carbon dioxide are absorbed by the oceans. In turn, phytoplankton absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. Dr.  George Small explains the importance of this life cycle: 70  percent of the oxygen added to the atmosphere each year comes from plankton in the sea. Yet, some scientists warn that phytoplankton could be seriously depleted because of ozone reduction in the atmosphere, which is believed to be caused by man. Also, man dumps garbage, oil, and even toxic wastes into the ocean. While some countries agree to limit the wastes they allow to be dumped at sea, others refuse. One Western nation even reserves the right to dump nuclear wastes at sea. Famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau warns: We must save the oceans if we want to save mankind. Drinking Water Man is ruining even his drinking water! In poor lands, millions of people die each year because of contaminated water. In richer nations, water sources are contaminated by, among other things, fertilizers and pesticides that wash into rivers and seep into groundwater. In 1986 the world production of pesticides was 2.3 million tons, and the rate of increase is reported to be 12  percent per year. Another source of pollution is chemical dumps. The metal drums containing the chemicals, explains Scientific American, are nothing less than time bombs that will go off when they rust through. This type of pollution, the journal adds, is happening worldwide in thousands of chemical waste dumps. The result? All over the earth, once pure rivers are being turned into industrial sewers. It is estimated that 20 million Europeans drink water from the Rhine, yet this river is so polluted that sludge dredged from its bed is too dangerous to use for landfill! Farming Practices Alarmingly, man is even ruining his farmland. In the United States alone, 20  percent of the land set aside for irrigation has been damaged, according to Scientific American. Why? Because overirrigation adds too much salt to the soil. Many countries have ruined much valuable land in this way. As much land is now being taken out of production due to salinization as is being brought into production through new irrigation projects, states The Earth Report. Another widespread problem is overgrazing,  which may be contributing to the spread of deserts. Too Many Motor Vehicles So much for our planets land and water. But what about its air? This too is being ruined, and the culprits are many. To mention just one, consider the automobile. Following are warnings from three influential scientific journals: Motor vehicles generate more air pollution than any other single human activity. (New Scientist) There are currently 500 million registered automobiles on the planet .  .  . Filling their tanks consumes about one third of the worlds production of oil. .  .  . The number of automobiles is increasing more quickly than the population. (Scientific American) Petrol [gasoline] in all phases of production, use and disposal is a major source of environmental degradation and disease.-The Ecologist. Yes, our planet is being abused, ruined. Its seas, drinking water, farmlands, and even its atmosphere are being polluted to an enormous extent. Surely, this alone would suggest that the time is near for God to intervene and bring to ruin those ruining the earth. (Revelation 11:18) However, there are other, even worse, ways in which the earth is being ruined. Let us see just what they are. A World Government The only way to combat the  greenhouse effect and other emerging  environmental  disasters is a world government, says Dr.  Kenneth Hare, renowned geographer and  climate-change expert. Humanity is mounting a deadly assault on nature, Hare warned. The planet is threatened not just by a nuclear holocaust but by ecological misuse, reports the Calgary Herald, a Canadian newspaper. Hare claims that three billion tons of carbon are spewed into the atmosphere annually by automobile exhausts and industrial smokestacks. Computer studies show that even with moderate economic growth, carbon-dioxide levels would double by the year 2075. Weve created a global problem, and without regulation of the environment on a global scale, well be in trouble, said Hare. What Dr.  Hare recommends is indeed logical. Still, can man ever hope to establish a global government that would be able to do such things as regulate economic growth, develop nonpolluting energy sources, and convince humankind to embark on a program of worldwide environmental care? Hardly! Gods Word clearly says: To earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step. (Jeremiah 10:23) However, this does belong in the hands of God. As the Prince of Peace, his Son, Jesus Christ, will administer a world government that will rule in justice and righteousness. Under his heavenly rulership, mankind will not imperil the environment.-Isaiah 9:6,  7; 11:9; Daniel 2:44. Oh, for Some Fresh Air! BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRITAIN WHEN you breathe, do you inhale fresh air? Present-day air pollution is a bigger enemy than smoking, claims a doctor quoted in The Times of London. In England and in Wales, contaminated air kills an estimated 10,000 people every year. Worldwide, especially in large cities, the situation is serious. Many blame the automobile industry for polluting the atmosphere. To reduce dangerous exhaust, new vehicles in many countries now come fitted with catalytic converters, which reduce pollution. The hydrocarbons in exhaust gases have dropped to 12 percent of the 1970 levels, with similar reductions of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Babies in strollers are particularly vulnerable because they ride at the level that cars spew out fumes. But air pollution threatens car occupants as well. Reportedly, the contamination is three times higher inside cars than outside. Further hazards come from inhaling benzene fumes from fuel as you fill your cars fuel tank. Now the most prevalent form of air pollution worldwide is Suspended Particulate Matter, says a 1993-94 United Nations environmental data report. Apparently, tiny bits of soot, or particulate matter, have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and there deposit damaging chemicals. The depletion of the ozone layer high above the globe attracts much press comment. At ground level, however, sunlight acts on the nitrogen oxides and other volatile elements of air pollution to produce high levels of ozone. These levels have doubled in Britain during this century. These gases damage paint and other building materials, cause disease in trees, plants, and crops, and appear to trigger respiratory problems in some people. Although most of the ozone pollution occurs in towns, surprisingly it is the rural areas that suffer the worst effects. In the urban areas, nitrogen oxides mop up the excess ozone, but where these oxides are sparse, the ozone has free rein to wreak damage. Additionally, air pollution is up to 70 times higher inside homes than outdoors, reports The Times. Here the fumes from air fresheners, mothballs, and even dry-cleaned clothes pollute the air. Cigarette smoke likewise adds to health risks indoors. What, then, can you do to protect your family? The Times of London offered the following suggestions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduce your use of the car. If possible, share transportation with others. Drive smoothly. If stuck in a traffic jam or otherwise stationary for more than a couple of minutes, switch off the engine. If possible, on hot days park your car in the shade to reduce pollution produced by fuel evaporation. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Choose to exercise in the early mornings when ozone levels outdoors are generally low. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Outlaw smoking in the home. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Keep bedroom windows slightly open at night to lower humidity and move allergens outside. No doubt you agree: Oh, for some fresh air! Warning! This Water May Be Hazardous to Your Health CAN you imagine turning on the water tap at your kitchen sink, holding a lighted match to the faucet, and witnessing a horrifying eruption of flames? Can you imagine a freshwater river that bursts into flames at the drop of a lighted cigarette? Would you be appalled if your bathwater was too thick to drink but too thin to plow and piling up in one end? Does it boggle the mind to think of river water that can develop a picture from a negative before your eyes? What would be your reaction if your tap water came out with a head on it, looking like bock beer? Do you have to open the window at your sink so as not to stink up the house when water is drawn from the faucet? Does your marriage mate leave the morning pot of coffee untouched because of its unusual strength, only to discover later that no coffee had been added yet? Or is your water crystal clear, pure in taste, but your family repeatedly suffers from headaches, dizziness, dysentery, or skin rashes after drinking it? Or would the suffering of tremors, blindness, and impairment of the central nervous system best describe the symptoms? Did you know that not long ago one third of humanity was in a perpetual state of illness because of impure water and that ten million people were dying each year, not for the lack of it, but because of it? Can all of this be the figment of a wild imagination-the stuff of science-fiction movies? Unfortunately, the scenarios are true. It has become obvious that man today has the awesome genius to poison completely every living thing on the face of the earth and in the waters below. Most of this has come about through his efforts to make life easier-mitigating pain and disease, bringing the world closer to his living room through communication, pursuing his quest into outer space, and making  destructive  implements of war. Most of this is caused by mans creation of new but deadly chemical compounds. Six years ago, over 60,000 such chemical concoctions were on the market-35,000 of which were classified as either deadly or extremely hazardous to our health, with thousands more being formulated each year. From these chemical cocktails have come equally dangerous and highly toxic wastes that are disposed of by dumping them into the earth, rivers, and streams, with little thought of the consequences it would have on people or environment. A Boon to Farmers, a Bomb to Earths Waters Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have been a boon to the worlds farmers, but they have been a bomb to earths waters. For years farmers in Californias San Joaquin Valley sprayed their grapes, fruit, and tomatoes with the pesticide DBCP, only to discover in recent years that it can cause cancer and sterility in humans. Although the spraying has stopped, the poison hasnt stopped percolating through the layers of the earth and into the underground water system. Thirty-five percent of the wells in the valley have DBCP, said a spokesman for the health department. In one county in California, 250,000 people run the risk of DBCP contamination, reported Newsweek magazine. Other pesticides affect the nervous system. Still others are suspected of causing various other illnesses. Some herbicides have been discovered to have serious effects on the brain, rendering the victim immobile. In many agricultural areas, fertilizers have raised nitrate concentrations above health standards set out in some countries. These chemicals, too, have infiltrated aquifers. Detergents, solvents, dry-cleaning fluids, septic-tank cleaners, to mention a few, have been highly developed through chemistrys progression. The result has been marvelous benefits to mankind. However, as these products percolate through the earth, the result has been a contamination of earths pure waters for generations to come. We are poisoning ourselves and our posterity, said one environmentalist. Many of the millions of underground gasoline storage tanks at the service stations dotting the highways and city streets leak, as reports show, and their highly explosive contents seep into the ground and percolate through the well-water systems. They can cause houses and barns to burst into flames when the fumes reach a lighted match. Flames from a water faucet are all too common as a result of this underground witches brew of death-dealing chemicals oozing into the water system. It was thought that the earth itself would purify these chemicals as they trickled through the layers of the earth, rendering them harmless. In the past decade, however, it has been discovered that many of these dangerous chemicals have not been filtered out but go right through to the aquifers, contaminating them for generations to come. Ground-water contamination is the result of sins committed a long time ago, said James Groff of the American Water Works Association. Nobody had the foresight to predict it. The sins, however, continue to be committed to this date. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in the United States alone 1.5 trillion gallons of hazardous waste leak into the underground water system each year. Much of it is deliberately dumped by unscrupulous and greedy men without regard to the terrible, terrible damage to mans water and health. Just 1 gallon of solvent will contaminate 20 million gallons of ground water to exceed safe levels set by most states, said one scientist. When one thinks in terms of a trillion gallons of waste, then the expression, water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink, looms up as being a potentially frightful reality. A Time Bomb, Slowly Ticking Away Ground water and its contaminants, said the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, represent a potential time bomb, slowly ticking away. Theres a growing belief that this problem will be the next great crisis of the 1980s. The New York Times reported: There is wide agreement, however, that the contamination of ground water is by far the most serious and difficult problem affecting the quality of drinking water and now constitutes a subterranean time bomb. Theres no doubt we have a time bomb on our hands, warned a University of Arizona scientist. The question is how big the bang will be. A person does not have to put his ear to the ground to know how big the bang will be. Already the world shudders in fear of the coming explosion. For example, it has been estimated that by the year 2000 a fourth of the worlds water supply could be unsafe for drinking. A third of the water in Chinas major rivers is polluted beyond safe limits for human consumption, said Worldwatch Institute. According to Thane Gustafson, a specialist on Soviet Union affairs, that country will face a greater demand for water by the year 2000 than its waters can supply because of water pollution today. South America faces a similar crisis-a water supply too contaminated for its people to drink. Either we manage to limit the waste of water or by the year 2000 we shall be dying of thirst, proclaimed the United Nations World Conference on water. Without being guilty of exaggeration it is easy to foresee that in the very near future the world will be literally dying of thirst, either as a result of pollution or present wasteful usage, the conference said. People in all parts of the earth experience the devastating effects of the time bomb that appears to have exploded on the world scene already. When one considers, for example, that 70 percent of Indias drinking water is polluted and is the cause of much of the countrys illness, it becomes no exaggeration to say that its waters and all life dependent on them cry out for a cure. And what can be said of the Third World countries and the dying people looking for clean water? Truly, the world faces a dilemma of unprecedented proportions. Water-borne diseases kill 30,000 people every day, said Swiss water-treatment expert Dr.  Maarten Schalekamp. Only a third of mankind possesses what he called irreproachable drinking-water facilities, while another third of earths inhabitants is drinking contaminated water. The remaining third has very little water of any kind. And so it goes. Poisoned waters percolating through the earth, rushing through its rivers, meandering down its streams, cascading over its falls, while a great portion of mankind inevitably drinks to its death. Truly, a time bomb of mans own making! Jehovah God, the Creator of earth, man, and all life-giving waters, has set ticking his own time bomb by which he will bring to ruin those ruining the earth. (Revelation 11:18) It is set to go off at his appointed time, and those who have ruined the earth, the air, and the water will not be able to defuse it or to escape its destructive forces. The year 2000 continues to be pointed to by man as being a critical time. Whether the guilty live to see that feared year remains to be seen. Only Jehovah knows. Following the destruction of those whom God now holds accountable, the earth will be restored to a paradise, and rivers of waters of life, clean and pure, will be abundant for every living thing. Our Beautiful Earth-How Much of It Will We Leave Our Children? ACCORDING to published reports, 1.7  billion children have been born into the world since the year 1970. If they constituted a nation, it would be the worlds largest. Is it not fair to ask, What kind of world are we leaving them? Over 25 years ago a prominent doctor of the U.S. Public Health Service observed: We all live under the haunting fear that something may corrupt the environment to the point where man joins the dinosaurs as an obsolete form of life. In the intervening years, that fear has intensified. Last year a national forum, addressed by nearly a hundred biologists, warned that coming was a wave of mass extinctions such as wiped out the dinosaurs, only this time it would not be by a natural development but by human activities. This year Worldwatch Institute released its report State of the World 1987. It said: A sustainable society satisfies its needs without diminishing the prospects of the next generation. By many measures, contemporary society fails to meet this criterion. Questions of ecological sustainability are arising on every continent. The scale of human activities has begun to threaten the habitability of the earth itself. The Institutes report said that the demands of over 5  billion people-and their numbers are increasing by 83  million a year-are overwhelming the regenerative capacities of earths biological systems. Chemical pollution is thinning the atmospheric ozone and may lead to causing more skin cancers, impairing human immune systems, and retarding crop growth. If acid rain continues, not only will more lakes and forests die but soils will acidify further and may take decades, if not centuries, to recover. Intensified farming practices have pushed the rate of topsoil loss beyond that of new soil formation. Deforestation reduces the amount of carbon dioxide used from the atmosphere, and the burning of fossil fuels releases more carbon dioxide than the remaining plants and the oceans can take in. The result is an increase in the warming greenhouse effect that may ultimately melt glaciers and flood coastal cities. The loss of tropical forests means less recycling of water for rainfall and may lead to the creation of deserts. Toxic chemicals, raw sewage, crude oil, nuclear accidents, radon, microwaves, asbestos-on and on could go the listing of mans sins against the environment. State of the World 1987 warns: Never have so many systems vital to the earths habitability been out of equilibrium simultaneously. New environmental problems also span time periods and geographic areas that stretch beyond the authority of existing political and social institutions. No single nation can stabilize the earths climate, protect the ozone layer, preserve the planets mantle of forests and soils, or reverse the acidification of lakes and streams. Only a sustained international commitment will suffice. This commitment is dragging its feet, and time is running out. Hundreds of billions are spent in the arms race; a mere pittance is spent on preserving the environment that sustains us and the neglect of which can kill us. Since 1983 the United States alone has committed $9  billion to the Strategic Defense Initiative research and wants $33  billion more for it from 1986 to 1991-but turns stingy on the environment. The other industrialized nations do likewise. The State of the World 1987 puts the crisis in a nutshell: The time has come to make peace with each other so that we can make peace with the earth. A sustainable future, this report states, calls upon us simultaneously to arrest the carbon dioxide buildup, protect the ozone layer, restore forests and soils, stop population growth, boost energy efficiency, and develop renewable energy sources. No generation has ever faced such a complex set of issues requiring immediate attention. Preceding generations have always been concerned about the future, but we are the first to be faced with decisions that will determine whether the earth our children inherit will be habitable. The following article shows the crisis developing over toxic chemicals. The Ugly Side of Industrial Chemicals IT WAS just after midnight on a cool December evening in 1984 that the worst industrial accident in history happened. A world away from the Republic of India, few people were familiar with the name Bhopal, an industrial city with a population of more than 800,000, located almost at the center of the country. Its sleeping residents were unaware of the death-dealing events developing a stones throw away. At the U.S. Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, a storage tank holding 45  tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC), a deadly chemical used in making pesticides, began building up dangerously high pressure. Suddenly, from a malfunctioning valve, a cloud of poisonous gas began spreading death and agony over the quiet city. It snuffed out the lives of more than 2,500 men, women, and children. It maimed more than a hundred thousand others. The death of thousands of animals-water buffalo, cattle, and dogs-caused the countryside to be littered with dead bodies that clogged the roads and city streets. Bhopal became a giant makeshift crematory, burning the dead around the clock. Seventy funeral pyres, with bodies stacked 25 high, consumed the dead in their flames. Others were buried in hurriedly dug mass graves-scores of bodies at a time. Later another catastrophe hit Europe and was called Bhopal on the Rhine. A chemical spill from an industrial plant above Basel, Switzerland, dumped 40  tons of poisonous waste into the Rhine. It killed hundreds of thousands of fish and eels as it drifted downstream along the German-French border, into the Rhineland and then through the Netherlands to the North Sea. One newspaper editorialized: The Swiss used to be considered clean, their industry safe, and that included the chemical industry. That is all past now. The residents of Bhopal and communities along the Rhine River had become the victims of a technological age that boasts the compounding of more than 66,000 chemical concoctions. Many are formulated to make life easier for man, yet, ironically, a vast number are highly toxic and can cause fatal and devastating side effects, both to humans and to the entire biological system. One expert classified these chemicals as biocides. Many are the chemicals with long names that few people can pronounce and that for convenience bear letters such as PCB, DDT, PCDD, PCDF, TCDD. This alphabet soup of toxic chemicals is a deadly hazard both to humans and to earths resources on which man must rely to live. Thousands upon thousands of releases of toxic substances into the environment occur each year, said a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Such releases pose a threat to the quality of air, surface water, and underground drinking supplies, and poison the soil for decades to come. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in the United States alone, 1.5  trillion gallons of hazardous chemical wastes find their way into the underground water systems each year. Knowing that just one gallon of solvent will contaminate 20  million gallons of groundwater to exceed safe levels, it is staggering to compute what catastrophic damage 1.5  trillion gallons of poisonous chemicals are doing. Because of hazardous chemicals and wastes and the careless dumping of them, rivers and streams are being polluted. Fish are dying. As the rivers and streams enter the oceans, the death-dealing chemicals pour with them, and in some places where ocean life was once plentiful, today, according to famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, fish can no longer be found. Bird and animal life is also threatened by the contamination. Even wildlife sanctuaries prove to be no haven. Ten national wildlife refuges are contaminated by toxic chemicals and another 74 may be in danger. .  .  . Agricultural runoff containing selenium and other chemicals has killed large numbers of waterfowl in the refuge, reported The New York Times of February  4, 1986. World experts do not paint a promising picture for the future. The rapid diminishment of earths resources does not end with the loss of soil and the pollution of air and water. What about earths great tropical rain forests that for millenniums have raised their leafy arms hundreds of feet into the air? Are these too in danger of going the way of other resources that are diminishing before our eyes? Whether we realize it or not, our lives are affected by these luxuriant handiworks of Jehovah, as the next article will show. What Future for Us and Our Children? A FAMILY cannot spend more than it makes and remain solvent. A nation cannot pay out more than it takes in and still prosper; nor can we continue our deficit spending of the environment. We cannot squander more soil than is formed, create more carbon dioxide than plants can use, cut down more trees than we replace, pollute more air and water than earth can recycle. Environmental deficits, like national deficits, will demand an accounting. They will be paid, either in money and international cooperation or in lives-ours and our childrens. Modern technology has made the ruining of the earth possible. It could be used to prevent it. Why isnt it? Love of money. It would cost billions. This world cannot see-or in its selfishness will not see-beyond its own shortsighted materialistic desires. Since it refuses to pay in money, it will pay in loss of topsoil, loss of forests, loss of aquifers, hothouse atmosphere, poisoned water, mounting sickness, human lives. And to hold onto its money, this world is selling off its childrens future. Will it wake up in time? Historys answer is not reassuring, but Gods answer is. Jehovah God himself says that he will step in and bring to ruin those ruining the earth. (Revelation 11:18) He will remove from earth those ruining its environment and destroying its beauty, for he created it to be life-sustaining and beautiful. The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool, he says, and: I shall glorify the very place of my feet.-Isaiah 66:1; 60:13. He created it to be inhabited by people who love righteousness-and it will be, by millions who once lived in the past, by millions who are living now, and by millions of children yet to be born. This he has recorded in his Word, the Bible, and you can read it for yourself at Isaiah 45:18 and John 5:28,  29. Then, cared for by those who love it, the earth will regenerate itself into the beauty with which our Creator originally endowed it. Then righteously disposed persons and their children will have a future, a glorious one: Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.-Psalm 37:10,  11,  29. And never die? And never die! God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:3,  4) Too good to be true? No, this present wicked world is too bad to remain.-Daniel 2:44. But you and your children can remain. Jehovah God makes it possible through the sacrifice of his Son. To learn of Jehovah and of his Son will mean everlasting life for you and your children-life in a new world wherein righteousness is to dwell. (John 3:16; 17:3; 2  Peter 3:13) This can be the happy future for you and your children. Whether it is or not is up to you. Pollution-Who Causes It? THIS island is government property under experiment. The ground is contaminated with anthrax and dangerous. Landing is prohibited. This sign posted on the Scottish mainland opposite Gruinard Island warns off would-be visitors. For the past 47 years, since an experimental explosion of biological weapons during the second world war, this beautiful island has been contaminated by the disease agents of anthrax. Gruinard Island is an extreme example of pollution. But milder forms of ground pollution are a problem that is widespread and growing. Ground Pollution on the Increase One cause of this ground pollution i

Common Core of Skills Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce

Common Core of Skills Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce The common core of skills and knowledge for the childrens workforce describes the knowledge and skills that people working with children and young people in the United Kingdom are expected to have. There are six areas of expertise involved in the common core of skills, and these six areas offer a single framework aimed at underpinning an integrated multiagency cooperation, training, qualification and professional standards across the childrens workforce. The common core of skills is inclusive of people working with children all the time, as well as those working with the children on a part time basis. It is also inclusive of paid staff as well as those working as volunteers on the childrens workforce. The common core of skills also sets out common values for childcare professionals, thereby promoting equality and challenging stereotypes, while at the same time respecting diversity. The common core of skills and knowledge was initially launched in 2005, with the goal of enabling professionals and volunteers working in the childrens workforce to carry out their duties more effectively in the interest of the children and young people being cared for. The common core was developed in an effort to underpin successful integration and multiagency cooperation in the United Kingdom. The Childrens Workforce Development Council identified six areas of expertise that are deemed to be essential for people working with children and their families. These include: 1. Effective communication and engagement with children, young people and families 2. Child and young person development 3. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child or young person 4. Supporting transitions 5. Multi-agency and integrated working 6. Information sharing Each of these areas contains information about the required knowledge and skills for childcare workers. These basic requirements enable care providers to do their jobs well. Within the common core of skills, skill is defined as the ability to do something, usually through experience or training, while Knowledge is described as an understanding or awareness gained through learning or experience. (The Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce) The common core of skills also sets out that providers should apply these skills and knowledge in their work and take account of the background and circumstances relevant to a situation. (The Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce) Recently, the Childrens Workforce Development Council (CWDC) refreshed and published some new guidance which updates the common core of skills that childcare workers should possess in the United Kingdom. The last update of the common core of skills happened in 2005. In partnership with some other government organizations, the Childrens Workforce Development Council investigated the relevance of the contents of the common core of skills. Thus, the common core of skills was updated to ensure that childcare professionals possess a common set of basic skills and knowledge that would enable them to do their job in harmony with each other. The common core was also refreshed to ensure that childcare professionals can communicate effectively, so as to be able to support the children and their families better. Effective communication and engagement with children, young people and their families Effective communication is vital when working with children, their families, young people and other care providers. Good communication will help in building trust and encourages children in need of childcare services to seek advice and to utilize the care services provided. Appropriate communication is important for the establishment and maintenance of relationships, as well as being an active process which involves listening, asking questions, understanding issues and responding. Effective communication extends to involving children, young people, their parents and caregivers in the design and delivery of services and decisions that affect them. It is important to consult the people affected and consider opinions and perspectives from the outset. Another crucial element of effective communication is developing trust between the workforce and children, young people, parents and care providers as well as within different sectors of the workforce itself. (The Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce) Child and young person development This area of the common core of skills and knowledge deals with the intellectual, social, linguistic, physical and emotional growth and development of the children and young people receiving care services, it is important to understand the changes that occur during development in children and young people, and how these changes affect the behavior of the children. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child or young person People in the childrens workforce are responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of these young ones. This is a very important responsibility which requires paying close attention to the needs of the children. It involves the ability to recognize situations in which a child or young person is failing to reach his or her developmental potential, or when a childs mental or physical health is impaired. Childcare workers are also required to b able to recognize when a child is displaying harmful or risky or behavior, or when a child is being abused or neglected. Care providers should also be able to identify sources of help for these children and their families. It is important to identify concerns and where appropriate take action as early as possible so that children, young people, their families and caregivers can get the help they need. Supporting transitions It is expected that the use of the common core of skills may vary according to the roles of childcare professionals and the sector involved. Thus, different organizations should be able to find the most appropriate ways of expressing the various areas of expertise indicated in the common core of skills. Those who work with children and young people all the time will use the common core in different contexts and to different levels of depth from those who come into contact with children and young people as only part of their job (The Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce.) It is also expected that certain roles in the childrens workforce will focus more on certain areas of the common core. Childcare professionals who interact with children on a regular basis will utilize the common core to a different level of depth and in a different context from part-time or voluntary workers who work with the children and young people less frequently. It should be noted that not every practitioner will be regularly involved in supporting transitions, although all practitioners will have to understand at least the most important aspects of the sections of the common core of skills in a manner that is relevant to their work. Multi-agency and integrated working It has been observed that the common core of skills should be more clearly positioned to work in conjunction with the every child matters initiative, the National Occupational Standards and the common assessment framework, although there should be adjustments in order to take care of any future change in laws or programs related to the common core of skills. There is also the issue of initial training as relates to the common core of skills. This is because currently, the common core of skills applies only in England, and accredited qualifications are based on standards in the United Kingdom. A lot of people believe that the common core of skills should be incorporated into regulation and inspection in order for it to be accepted and embraced by everyone. This is evident in the responses and feedback from questionnaires, and studies carried out about the efficacy of the common core of skills. Information sharing In order to be able to deliver quality childcare services to children in the United Kingdom, it is essential to share information in a timely and accurate manner. Accurate sharing of information can actually help in saving lives, so childcare professionals should be able to work together and share information in a proper manner for the safety and wellbeing of the children. Information sharing also enables childcare workers to understand situations better, and more quickly. When interviewed, most parents were happy about the information sharing requirement of the common core of skills. They responded that information sharing among childcare professionals ensured that the caregivers and the parents did not have to keep repeating information many times over. Sharing information in a timely and accurate way is an essential part of delivering better services to children, young people, their families and care providers. Sometimes it can help to save lives. Practitioners at different agencies should work together and share information appropriately for the safety and well-being of children. It is important to understand and respect legislation and ethics surrounding the confidentiality and security of information. It is crucial to build trust with the child or young person and their family from the outset by clarifying issues and procedures surrounding confidentiality, consent and information sharing. Practitioners should adhere to the correct principles, policies and procedures for information sharing, ensuring that the child or young person, parent or caregiver understands the process. (The Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce)

Oloudah Equianos The Slave Trade Essay -- Equiano Slave Trade Slavery

Oloudah Equiano's The Slave Trade Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in an area of Africa which is now Nigeria. At the age of eleven he was captured and brought into slavery. In his book, The Slave Trade, Equiano describes the slave trade during this time. He illustrates how he became a slave and how slaves were treated. Through his descriptions of his homeland and other aspects of his life, we gain insight into the state of world trade at that time. Equiano's description of his homeland exemplifies "the Columbian Exchange" in operation. First of all, Equiano discusses how planters from the West Indies preferred slaves from Benin because of their ability and hardiness. This statement illustrates a connection between the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. Equiano also describes some of the crops which were grown in his homeland. He mentions corn and tobacco which are both native to the Western Hemisphere. One can see an example of "the Columbian Exchange" through Equiano's experiences. A network of trade can also be seen in Equiano's discussion of the marketplace of his homeland. He describes the presence of Oye-Eboe people at his village's marketplace. Oye-Eboe is translated as "red men living at a distance." These men would bring European goods such as guns and gunpowder along with hats, beads and dried fish to trade. The Oye-Eboe Equiano describes could actually be Aro people from the south of Isseke who were involved in the slave trade. The Aro would trade these goods for captives to be sold as slaves. Because these people had fish to trade, one can see they were from the coast, therefore, they most likely had direct contact with Europeans. The network of trade between Africa and Europe is mapped out by his... ...e worst of it suffocated. Equiano was very ill and was able to spend a good deal of time on deck, where at least the air was a bit fresher. The crew of the ship were brutal to the slaves. They once tossed fresh fish overboard while the slaves begged to eat some. Equiano was treated like a human being while still in Africa, but like a wild animal on the British slave ship. Through my reading of Equiano's memoirs, much of what I had known before was reinforced. However, there were a few things I didn't understand before. First, I didn't know before that Africa even used slave labor. I was also surprised to learn that African people were enslaved by other African people. I was glad to learn, however, that slavery was used as a form of punishment. I was also very surprised at the strong contrast between the treatment of slaves in Africa and in the Western Hemisphere.