Financial Implications of Staff Morale problems Essay

Financial Implications of Staff Morale problems - Essay Example In a report made by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, most health care organizations have decided to reduce its employee number since the economic downturn. According to the survey that they have recently conducted, the top workforce issues faced by the local and state governments are â€Å"retaining staff needed for core services, reducing employee health care costs, and addressing employee morale and workload problems.† It was also reported that there were 62% pay freezes, 54% hiring freezes, and 41% layoffs. The CEO of Center for State and Local Government Excellence, Elizabeth Kellar, mentioned that "As they face hiring freezes, moral issues, layoffs, and accelerating retirements, more than 70 per cent of state and local governments say staff development is a priority issue." The American College of Health Executives reported that the effects of staff shortages due to layoffs are felt acutely by hospitals and other health care institutions. Now, the hea lth care industry is facing a new dilemma, they must fulfill their responsibility to provide high quality yet affordable patient care and of course addressing low morale problems among its employees. The American College of Health Executives took a stand that â€Å"healthcare executives have an ethical responsibility to address any shortages that exist within their organizations in such a way that patient care is not compromised, existing staff are not unduly burdened and financial costs do not become excessive.†

Beyond the arabin poetry Essay Example for Free

Beyond the arabin poetry Essay Beyond the Arabian Poetry In the light of Arabic literature in Muslim Spain, It was one of the greatest lands at that time. Most of people were educated in too many studies, due to the Abd al-Rahman III one of the Umayyad Rulers. Abd al-Rahman III was interested greatly in books and education, which made him to collect a lot of books around the world. Arabic literature’ books were also interested by Abd al-Rahman III, which made a lot of Muslim Spain’s people interested on in and study it as well. Muslims and Jews were inherited in the Arabic literature which made them write stories and poetry. All that had a deep effect on literature scholars and especially Jewish scholars. When they were studying Islamic, Arabic literature they were also studying Islamic literature and the influence of the relationship of Arabic language and Islam. In that vein, many of the Jews converted to Islam by their own, But not all about Jews. And this raises the mind a question that what are the sources and the power of the Arabic literature which make these Jews converting to Islam by their own? And it appears that the larger spiritual vision of Islamic religious traditions and the Ideology of Islamic Arabic poems are involved with that. Therefore the Islamic traditions and the Islamic, Arabic poetry are the source of converting some of the Jews to Islam by their own in Muslim Spain. According to the book the Jews of Islam says â€Å"Islam had its sway over Jewish cultural life too. In literature, and the arts, the Muslim influence on the Jews is enormous.† (Lewis 81) It appears from that Islam affected on Jews through literature and the arts which means by traditions and poetry. In the same note of converting the Jews to Islam, the Islamic literature was very strong, because it was getting through the soul and shapes it. And writing famous poems on the walls of Madden T Al-Zahra, helped Jewish to read poems in the in that time, so one line of any Islamic poem has that huge effect for the reader. But that script was in Arabic, how did the spoken Hebrew, Jewish did read that? What kind of influence that the script has if it has translated to Hebrew? Would it be strong as it is in Arabic?  There were people in Muslim Spain who were in interested in reading Arabic poem translated to Hebrew. And according to book The Dream of the Poem for Peter Cole that it says there is a scholar who was translating poems to Hebrew by comparing meters to their Arabic models. (Cole 333). So this shows that yes by an effort of scholars the influence of Arabic poetry kept as itself, therefore spoken Hebrew Jews got a chance to read the Arabic poems with its influence which helped to make some of them convert to Islam. According to book of Daily life of Jews in the Middle Ages for Norman Roth he says â€Å"While some Jews, indeed, converted to Islam of their own free will in the early medieval period.†(Roth 202) and also Roth said that there are some of Jewish scholars in Muslim Spain Wrote in Arabic poems for them and one of them converted to Islam as Ibrahim Ibn Sahl, as he believe(Roth 165). By reading this book or some quotes of it we will see how the poetry affected these Jews to convert, even if it is not the big motive of converting, but Poetry was the media of the motive of converting these Jews to Islam. In that time Art was greatly considered as poems, due to the Islamic religion and the many of poets in that time, the poems were spread a lot in Muslim Spain, so it was easy for all to read them, and this shows that how the poems were the media of converting the Jews to Islam by their own. Furthermore the Jews were very interested with the Arabic poetry, and most of the Arabic poetry is describing Islam and how it is good for life. According to book of Arabic and Hebrew Love Poems in Al-Andalusia By Shari Lowin which says â€Å"Brann similarly maintains that Jews had primary knowledge of the sacred texts of Islam† (Lowin 40) and this shows that Jews were affected very deeply from the poems to know about Islam which made them to go and read holy texts from the Islamic religion. Moreover the connection of the poetry with science by proving that holy Quran proved a lot of science statements, and that was really convincing to the Jewish to convert to Islam, because the Jewish people believe in the concrete and the logic (Gwynne 160), and when they found that Islam is logical with the earth and it’s science so they will be more attracted to convert to Islam. All that is just from a link from Arabic poetry that talks about science and how Islam in the holy Quran proved it. In the line with that, it proves that  Jews converted to Islam by their own, because they read these sacred texts by their own and without any force from anyone, and this shows how strong was the Islamic literature, it affected the mind and the soul of Jews in Muslim Spain thus makes them convert to Islam. So the source of that is the literature of Islamic poetry and traditions. The poetry in Islam was very nice, great and wonderful and Muslim’s prophet Muhammad said to have enjoyed the poetry (Scheindlin 7), which made Muslims do great efforts to add in the Islamic poetry, which makes a lot of kind of attractive ways to Islam, which made the Jews be Muslims and be satisfied of converting, and this proves that the converting Jews in Muslim Spain to Islam by their own by the poetry. Even though the Jews reacted to most creative way of the brilliant Arab culture as I will show here â€Å"according to Bargebuhr, Hispanic Jews reacted in a most creative way to the influences of the brilliant Arab culture (though without converting to Islam, as the Persians did). (Jayyusi and Marin 515) † So it appears that Jews did not convert to Islam by reading that smart Arabic poems. But in the beginning I said some of Jews converted to Islam. And the same book said that some of Jews did not use the Hebrew language as well in reading the Islamic poems. Moreover they have reacted the Arabic poems not the Islamic one, but when it appears that the Hispanic Jews reacted to the smart Arabic poems it appears not the all Jews converted to Islam, but Some of them, who reacted to the Islamic Arabic Poems. The holy Quran is in Arabic and it has its language, and most of the Arabic in Muslim Spain were influenced in the holy Quran, and how it has the secret way to attract non-Muslim people to it, that are the Holy Quran ways, But the Arabs poets as I said they influenced of that and they started to work with it to attract people to Islam. And how about some of Jews Scholars had been influenced and attracted to the Quran language, and converted to Islam, they will have the power of attracting their previous people the Jews. Therefore the possibilities of converting Jews to Islam were so high because of the many of the Converted Jews scholars to Islam, and the knowing of the Hebrew language, they will be able to know how to attract people to Islam by making good Hebrew poets, that has the attraction ways of Holy Quran. Adding knowledge to the pomes in the Muslim Spain was so great, some of the Poets added a lot of knowledge in his poems, and by clever way the poets were adding attracting language to make the Jews convert to Islam when they were reading knowledge. All that made the Jews convert to Islam by reading the Arabic poetry in Muslim Spain. But did these converted Jews really converted to Islam just by reading the poems? Why if they were converting to Islam just not to pay the (Jyzia) which is a tax that Muslims take it from non-Muslims people? It could be, and this would happen, but not all of Jews who converted to Islam just because of the Jyzia, because the one who converted should not be so poor to not pay a small amount of money as a tax. Moreover a lot of poor Jews in Muslim Spain were able to pay the Jyzia, unless if that Jew is cheap or greedy, he would do that. But another question is in the mind now, which is what kind of poems affected the Jews that range to convert to Islam? We said before that the poets were Arabs from Muslim Spain and Jews scholars too who wrote poems in both languages as well, Moreover the Holy Quran’s Influence which attracted all those to convert to Islam. But the kind of poems are the one which were describing Islam and how it is, and the one which described other religions, and making Islam the best of them. Moreover the poems which describes the Islamic architecture, and the science as well especially the one which discovered by Muslims scientists. However these poems are showing in its form, it talks about architecture or science, how would that help or motive or being a media to convert the Jews to Islam? The questions here is logic and it appears that it has no answer. But the answer is simple, the poets really care to make the readers being pleased reading the poems they wrote, that would not happen they appeared they are trying to let non-Muslims readers to get bored fast, or to leave the poems by thinking it is trying to make them Muslims, so the poets used a hidden way to let the readers not feeling that they added the thing that make them convert, so they added in a hidden way, for example when they want to describe the architecture, they will describe the Mosque in purpose to let the readers to be attracted to the Mosque (Ruggles 171-8) , and also if they want to write about science they write about the Muslims scientists or how Islam explained science in perfect way, all that just by great poems that did not seemed to be like that. As Ibrahim Ibn Sahl did after he converted (Roth 165-9). In the end of this it was a clever idea to make the Islamic poetry strong to be capable to convert people by their own, and also the traditions of Muslims i n Muslim Spain were much educated to make a lot of ways to add the Islamic  sense at the poetry to make the Jews to convert. Moreover the secret way of attracting Non-Muslims to Islam was really strong because it was within the language which is the most playable media to attract people to Islam. Especially the Jews, but how about the Christians did they also converted to Islam by poems in Muslim Spain? If they did so, what was attracting them, to be converted? But are not they were jealous of Muslims who were able to convert Jews by their own, so they did the inquisition and forced people to convert to their religion by force. Or they were scare to be attracted by Muslims and then convert to Islam. And this raises the concept of Muslims verses Christian’s tactics of conversion. And the Muslim’s cultural influence verses Christian’s state violence. Work Cited Cole, Peter. The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print. D, F R. Arabic Poetry and Architectural Memory in Al-Andalus. Ars Orientalis. 23 (1993): 171-178. Print. Gwynne, Rosalind W. Logic, Rhetoric and Legal Reasoning in the Quran: Gods Arguments. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2014. Internet resource. Lewis, Bernard. The Jews of Islam. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1984. Print. Lowin, Shari L. Arabic and Hebrew Love Poems in Al-Andalus. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print. Roth, Norman. Daily Life of Jews in the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print. Scheindlin, Raymond P. The Gazelle: Medieval Hebrew Poems on God, Israel, and the Soul. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991. Print. Jayyusi, Salma K, and Manuela MariÃŒ n. The Legacy of Muslim Spain. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992. Print.

Much Ado About Nothing - A Feminist Perspective of Hero Essay -- Femin

A Feminist Perspective of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing  Ã‚     Ã‚   Unlike the title of this piece suggests, Hero did not undergo her transformation in Much Ado About Nothing through magic.   Rather, Hero was a victim of the double standards and illogical fears that the men of Shakespeare’s plays commonly held.   The following quote sums it up quite well:   In the plays female sexuality is not expressed variously through courtship, pregnancy, childbearing, and remarriage, as it is in the period.   Instead it is narrowly defined and contained by the conventions of Petrarchan love and cuckoldry.   The first idealizes women as a catalyst to male virtue, insisting on their absolute purity.   The second fears and mistrusts them for their (usually fantasized) infidelity, an infidelity that requires their actual or temporary elimination from the world of men, which then re-forms [sic] itself around the certainty of men’s shared victimization (Neely 127).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hero’s plight in Much Ado About Nothing is a perfect example of how the skewed male perspective can turn a sweet and innocent girl into a scheming strumpet in no time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main problem is young Count Claudio.   He is immature when it comes to matters of love, and it shows when he hints of his growing feelings for Hero when he asks Benedick what he thinks of her (I.i.161).   Claudio cannot come out and just say that he has feelings for Hero, he has to seek approval from his male counterparts first.   While talking to both Benedick and Don Pedro, Claudio describes his feelings as passion first (I.i.219-220), and then he says, â€Å"That I love her, I feel† (I.i.228), indicating that he knows he feels something for Hero, but he is unsure of exactly what his feeling... ...   Ironically, this has occurred because of the folly of the men, almost making up for the double standards exercised in the beginning†¦But not quite.   Hero should not have had to depend on the men to regain her honor. Works Cited   Ã‚   Much Ado About Nothing.   Directed by Kenneth Branagh.   Samuel Goldwyn Company and Renaissance Films, 1993.    Much Ado About Nothing.   The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed.   Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997.   366-398.    Neely, Carol Thomas.   â€Å"Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.†Ã‚   Shakespeare’s Personality.   Ed. Norman N. Holland, Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris.   Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.   116-134.    Ranald, Margaret Loftus.   â€Å" 'As Marriage Binds, and Blood Breaks': English Marriage and Shakespeare† Shakespeare Quarterly 30, (1979): 68-81.      

U.s. Foreign Policies :: essays research papers

Speaker: An Iraqi student in the U.S. Crowd: Senators and University professors Situation: Madeline Albright just gave a speech about U.S. foreign policy/ relations Imagine the fear of not knowing how your parents and little sister are doing back home. Imagine the shock of finding out your little sister is dying because there were no medicines available for her treatment. Imagine the sorrow you feel when you go back home and find your hometown in ruins and not anymore as beautiful, modern and safe as it once used to be. Well, I experienced all of that, and still wish that it's only a bad nightmare. Mrs. Albright who was speaking about U.S. foreign policy failed to mention Iraq in her speech. About 5 months ago I saw her on TV in an interview with CNN. The reporter who had just returned from Iraq was describing that a million children were dying (died) due to sanctions imposed on the people of Iraq. He told her: "†¦..that is more children that have died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Do you think its worth it?" Mrs. Albright looked into the camera and replied: " Yes, it is worth it." Let me tell you more about Iraq, because it only gets worse from this point onwards. I believe there is a genocide happening in Iraq. It is a second holocaust. I have read of such bad things in history happening, like the Word Wars and people dropping atomic bombs without even thinking of the ramifications. 2.5 million people have died in Iraq so far, but still sanctions continue. For the last 10 years you wouldn't imagine the kinds of things that aren't being let into the country: heart machines, lung machines, needles, infrastructural parts to build the economy. Even for cancer patients sometimes only some of the medicine will be let in, but not all. It's very strategic what is let in and at what time, because what it does, is, it prolongs life, but doesn't save it. Iraq which before the sanctions had the best medical services in the Arab World, now has to use gasoline to clean they're hospital floors, because detergents aren't allowed into the county due to sanctions. This is how U.S. policy has brought Iraq into such a bad shape. The problem is that even though USA has imposed sanctions and recently even found out that Iraq has no nuclear capabilities they continue to bomb them. U.s. Foreign Policies :: essays research papers Speaker: An Iraqi student in the U.S. Crowd: Senators and University professors Situation: Madeline Albright just gave a speech about U.S. foreign policy/ relations Imagine the fear of not knowing how your parents and little sister are doing back home. Imagine the shock of finding out your little sister is dying because there were no medicines available for her treatment. Imagine the sorrow you feel when you go back home and find your hometown in ruins and not anymore as beautiful, modern and safe as it once used to be. Well, I experienced all of that, and still wish that it's only a bad nightmare. Mrs. Albright who was speaking about U.S. foreign policy failed to mention Iraq in her speech. About 5 months ago I saw her on TV in an interview with CNN. The reporter who had just returned from Iraq was describing that a million children were dying (died) due to sanctions imposed on the people of Iraq. He told her: "†¦..that is more children that have died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Do you think its worth it?" Mrs. Albright looked into the camera and replied: " Yes, it is worth it." Let me tell you more about Iraq, because it only gets worse from this point onwards. I believe there is a genocide happening in Iraq. It is a second holocaust. I have read of such bad things in history happening, like the Word Wars and people dropping atomic bombs without even thinking of the ramifications. 2.5 million people have died in Iraq so far, but still sanctions continue. For the last 10 years you wouldn't imagine the kinds of things that aren't being let into the country: heart machines, lung machines, needles, infrastructural parts to build the economy. Even for cancer patients sometimes only some of the medicine will be let in, but not all. It's very strategic what is let in and at what time, because what it does, is, it prolongs life, but doesn't save it. Iraq which before the sanctions had the best medical services in the Arab World, now has to use gasoline to clean they're hospital floors, because detergents aren't allowed into the county due to sanctions. This is how U.S. policy has brought Iraq into such a bad shape. The problem is that even though USA has imposed sanctions and recently even found out that Iraq has no nuclear capabilities they continue to bomb them.

Martin-Pullin Bicycle Corporation Essay

Martin-Pullin Bicycle Corp. (MPBC), located in Dallas, is a wholesale distributor of bicycles and bicycle parts. Formed in 1981 by cousins Ray Martin and Jim Pullin, the firm’s primary retail outlets are located within a 400-mile radius of the distribution center. These retail outlets receive the order from Martin-Pullin within two days after notifying the distribution center, provided that the stock is available. However, if an order is not fulfilled by the company, no backorder is placed; the retailers arrange to get their shipment from other distributors, and MPBC loses that amount of business. The company distributes a wide variety of bicycles. The most popular model, and the major source of revenue to the company, is the AirWing. MPBC receives all the models from a single manufacturer overseas, and shipment takes as long as four weeks from the time an order is placed. With the cost of communication, paperwork, and customs clearance included, MPBC estimates that each time an order is placed, it incurs a cost of $65. The purchase price paid by MPBC, per bicycle, is roughly 60% of the suggested retail price for all the styles available, and the inventory carrying cost is I % per month (12% per year) of the purchase price paid by MPBC. The retail price (paid by the customers) for the AirWing is $170 per bicycle. MPBC is interested in making an inventory plan for 2011. The firm wants to maintain a 95% service level with its customers to minimize the losses on the lost orders. The data collected for the past two years are summarized in the following table (Table 1). A forecast for AirWing model sales in the upcoming year 2011 has been developed and will be used to make an inventory plan for MPBC. Figure 1. QM output for given data. To keep the total costs as low as possible, the optimal order quantity should be maintained. This means an average inventory of 34.14. The Annual Setup cost and Annual Holding cost would both be $417,89. As a result, the total annual inventory cost is $835.78 (2 x 417.89). Discuss ROPs and total costs To determine the Reorder Point (ROP), the demand and the demand standard  deviation must be known. The demand is determined by dividing the total of the 2011 forecast by the number of months and the standard deviation is determined using Microsoft Excel. Figure 2. QM output for ROP As a result of the sum of the Demand standard deviation and the safety stock, the ROP is 76.89 which the inventory position at which an order should be placed. The total costs can be found in Figure 1. Annual inventory holding cost plus annual setup cost plus purchase cost gives the total cost of $45613.79. How can you address demand that is not at the level of the planning horizon According to the sample date, the determined demand shows there is not a so called level demand over the planning horizon. Therefore, the EOQ for an entire year should not be used due to seasonal sales. A planning horizon to use might be a quarterly planned horizon because this would be more evenly distributed and help make a plan for each segment. Reference Render, B., Stair, R. M., & Hanna, M. E. (2012). Quantitative analysis for management (11th edition). Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Free Essays on The Letter

, again, carry a simple and ... Free Essays on The Letter Free Essays on The Letter â€Å"The Letter† by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, speaks to the reader with emotion; passionately capturing one’s deep and in fatuous love for another. The poem written by a man about a woman, begins by describing her most beautiful features, and transcends to the question of whether or not she will marry him, if he were to ask her via letter. Although the poem is in simple matters, the idea of the poem, purely driven by the forces of affection creates abstraction to content, thus the poem becomes simplistically rich. Tennyson achieves this richness through the use of assonance- every other line creating a rhyme scheme, as the language remains intense and concentrated, and vivid are the pictures reflected from the wording. From four stanzas’ a pattern is created (A/B form) where every other line, the last word rhymes. The first stanza sings: â€Å"Where is another sweet as my sweet, Fine of the fine, and shy of the shy? Fine little hands, fine little feet- Dewy blue eye.† This use of assonance pleases the reader, because it carries a consistent beat much like the beat of a human heart. In turn, a natural or biological rhythm is produced, paced at the rate of a heart that is experiencing the â€Å"rush† of love expressed throughout the poem. As the poem strides on, a break occurs just after the eleventh line where the one-syllable- word â€Å"fly† replaces A/B form. This may give the impression that the heart has skipped a beat. He who writes the poem of this girl has felt something as he takes the reader along beats of experience. Not only does the use of assonance liven the poem, clearly, it also captures the mood in which the writer swings his thoughts. Indeed Tennyson concentrates and intensifies the poem through his use of language. Beginning in the first stanza, a detailed description, of the girl who captures the heart of a man, is written so tightly and concentrated, that the words, again, carry a simple and ...

How a Top Startup Consultant Turned a Blog into his Debut Book

How a Top Startup Consultant Turned a Blog into his Debut Book How a Top Startup Consultant Turned his Blog into his Debut Book In the first season of Reedsy’s podcast, Bestseller, host Casimir Stone followed a single author’s journey from idea to publication. In the coming months, Stone will be releasing a series of one-off episodes (or addendums, to keep with the publishing theme). The first of these episodes has just dropped, and it features Bretton Putter: a London-based expert on â€Å"startup and high-growth company culture.† A great listen for all aspiring non-fiction writers, Putter’s story also contains a lot of the lessons we’ve gathered from other authors over the years. Namely, the value of writing a book to boost your professional authority, and the benefits (and pitfalls) of turning a blog into a book.And if you haven’t had the change to listen to the full first season of Bestseller, now’s your chance. Enjoy the show!If you have any suggestions for the kinds of authors we should be featuring in these one-off podcast episodes, just leave them in the comments below.

African American vs. Caucasian Americans essays

African American vs. Caucasian Americans essays At first glance some people might consider this paper to be on the racial side, however it was all written by observations made. There are many differences between African Americans and Caucasians, some people don't see the differences because of ignorance . You must read the paper with an open mind and take none of this to heart. African American and Caucasians function differently in public surroundings. When you see a young African American you usually see them in groups of four of more. However, when one of them gets into a disagreement five to ten more show up in their defense. They are a very close knit group of individuals. I have also noticed that when you see a young African American walking around they are usually singing, talking very loud or running around. Also when they are in groups they are very loud and take over the area that they occupy. On the other hand when you see Caucasians they are rarely in groups of three or more. To top it off when someone in one of their groups gets in trouble the rest of the group is nowhere to be found. Most times when you see young Caucasian people in a group they are for the most part within a normal speaking level. These two groups tend to act differently in the public due to their cultural differences. There are a number of differences between the churches of African Americans and Caucasians. At most typical African American churches there are no true sermons. The African American churches tend to do more entertaining rather than teaching. They also do a great deal of singing and dancing involved in there praising of God. They emphasize fellowship in their churches especially after church when they all gather and close the celebration with a meal together. However at a typical Caucasian church there are a few differences. To start it off when you first walk in you get a program detailing what will be happening through the service. The...

Summarize chapter one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summarize chapter one - Essay Example A network of packet switches and communication links work hand in hand with end systems since they are effectively connected together. Some of the communication links include optical fiber, radio spectrum and cooper wire and they are made up of different physical media types. This links differ since each one of them transmits data at different rates in bits/second. A route or path is referred to as a sequence at which packet switches and communication links are traversed by a packet from the sending end system to the receiving end system. A Services description defines the internet as an infrastructure which provides various services to different applications such as social networks, remote login and video streaming. An application Programming Interface helps in specifying how a program running on one end system asks the Internet infrastructure to deliver certain data to specific program running on another end system destination. By considering some human analogies, humans in all times, execute protocols in order to understand the notion of a computer network protocol. The actions taken by humans when they send or receive messages through the internet contributes to the practice of human protocol role. Different humans have got different protocols since they respond differently when they send or receive these messages. In network protocols, the entities used in exchanging messages and taking actions are software components like computers or hardware, unlike human protocols. A network protocol largely governs all activities in the internet which involve two or more entities in communicating remote. Through internet network connection, digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, Dial- up and satellite has been developed. For example a residence may obtain DSL Internet access from the same local telephone company which provides its local phone access that is wired. On the other hand, cable Internet access enhances us e of the cable television

Political Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political Ethics - Essay Example Many political initiatives include national health care, public education reform, the so-called digital information superhighway, affirmative action, disposal of toxic and nuclear wastes, abortion, and immigration. In each instance, the breadth of membership in a particular "we" is at issue. In some of those instances, belonging to a "we" in the first place is at issue (Bernstein, 2002). The duty and responsibility of a political leader is to change life of ordinary people and improve social institutions. In each instance, significant changes loom in the lives of those who belong to a "we." In each instance, competing proposals for transforming an institution-such as health care in the United States-are central features of the debate. n each of these contemporary cases, members of a particular "we" seek ways to protect what is important to them, and they frame the prospects for particular kinds of institutional change in such terms. Even if political leaders drop out their promises it should not considered as ethical behavior. The opportunity to retain the services in any new national system is a case in point about a politics of inclusion tied up in a politics of institutional change (Nader and Krimsky 2004). Members of the political media expose and shame the politics by singing the praises of political persons who make social contributions of their own choosing.

Short critical refelction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Short critical refelction paper - Essay Example I know many teenagers who can download movies, post to Facebook, find a YouTube video and more, but the minute they need to learn something there is a lack of knowledge. Am I wrong here? What would the author of the textbook say? Explain. Without a doubt, with every new interface and technology innovation comes a lack of knowledge even amongst teens. However, teens are more likely to take interest in these things and investigate these matters even more. Hence, teenagers become experts at the technological sphere. Most teenagers learn something through other friend and through trial and error. In addition, most teenagers lack the ideals of coding, C++ and other key computer languages that make social networking susceptible. Some teenagers even feel threatened with the new technology and are reluctant to adapt it. The younger generation is not tech savvy as expected as they will miss out on some key pieces of essential information that comes with new technology. The author of the textbook agrees with all the principles and insists that there is a culture difference and not an age factor. The advent of the 21st century has no doubt made improvements in technology. However, crimes have also become more sophisticated as well. Gaining access to information has become drastically happy. Personal information can be easily fallen in the wrong hands which can be detrimental to individuals. The major types of cybercrime can be fraud and identity theft. Identity theft occurs to 9.91 million Americans whose losses accumulated to a hefty $52.6 billion. In order to prevent identity theft, it is critical that one does not provide personal information to unreliable sources. Furthermore, a user must be aware of phishing and other suspicious email that asks individuals of personal information. Lastly, there are many scams that are also available in popular sites such as craigslist and careerbuilder. Most of these scams do not give their name or a telephone number.

The report should contain an evaluation of the most popular resources Assignment

The report should contain an evaluation of the most popular resources weighing the positives and negatives (critically analyse) - Assignment Example In this regard, the literature suggests that there are various options available for small businesses. Sources of Finance Available to Small Businesses The most important concern of an investor or a small business owner, like Thunder Egg, is the sources from where finance can be raised to satiate financing needs of the business. Among various options available for small business entrepreneurs, crowd funding, business angels, bank loans, government initiatives and private investments are considered as amongst the most preferred ones by them. Whether the business is small, medium or a large multinational corporation, the need for securing sufficient finances holds significant importance for the entrepreneur, which in turn determines the success of planned strategies and business plan (Rodriguez, 2003; Moles et al., 2011; Baker & Martin, 2011). The common sources of finance identified earlier have been discussed as follows: Crowd Funding It is often witnessed that small and medium enter prises rely on unconventional means of obtaining finance in most of the times. The conventional means can be considered as venture capital and/or obtaining loans from financial institutions (Lambert & Schwienbacher, 2010; Abdulsaleh & Worthington, 201

Industrial And Organizational Psychology Assignment

Industrial And Organizational Psychology - Assignment Example So it can be said that in this field the risk of job shortage is less, but competition level is high and in order to receive a handsome salary skill needs to be enhanced in customer dealing and convincing for which the soft skilled need to be brushed. I have been working in a phone shop for the past 2 years as a customer consultant (sales) in Carphone warehouse. This signifies that I am competent in dealing with customers, have a decent presentation skill and excellent communication skill (Rao, 2009). SECTION I: Personal Analysis In this section of the study I would be discussing my personal skill that would be the stepping stone towards a gap analysis. As far as the basic skills are the concern, I have already mentioned that my verbal communications are excellent, so this assists me to fluently interact with my customers and deal with their queries. I am also equipped with a decent presentation skill, which also helps me to demonstrate all the features of the phones to my customersà ¢â‚¬â„¢ pretty well (Randhawa, 2007). ... 2.1 Gap Analysis In this section I would be conducting a gap analysis so as to judge where I stand. The ideal skill sets of a sales consultant would be my guiding star and I would be examining my skills against those, which will give me an idea of my drawbacks. Sales executives should have proper knowledge regarding the changes in the field he/ she is working in. They should have the knowledge to assess the statistics related to sales so that they can predict future sales. They should have the ability to understand the strategies of the competitors, so as to employ better strategies to achieve success (Kaila, 2006; Talwar, 2006). If I consider my skill and compare them with this, I can say that I do understand statistics and can assess the future sales to be. I have immense interest in gadgets, so I explore phones thoroughly when they come to the store. This assists me to explain to my customers in a better way as I can interpret where they might face problems.

The report should contain an evaluation of the most popular resources Assignment

The report should contain an evaluation of the most popular resources weighing the positives and negatives (critically analyse) - Assignment Example In this regard, the literature suggests that there are various options available for small businesses. Sources of Finance Available to Small Businesses The most important concern of an investor or a small business owner, like Thunder Egg, is the sources from where finance can be raised to satiate financing needs of the business. Among various options available for small business entrepreneurs, crowd funding, business angels, bank loans, government initiatives and private investments are considered as amongst the most preferred ones by them. Whether the business is small, medium or a large multinational corporation, the need for securing sufficient finances holds significant importance for the entrepreneur, which in turn determines the success of planned strategies and business plan (Rodriguez, 2003; Moles et al., 2011; Baker & Martin, 2011). The common sources of finance identified earlier have been discussed as follows: Crowd Funding It is often witnessed that small and medium enter prises rely on unconventional means of obtaining finance in most of the times. The conventional means can be considered as venture capital and/or obtaining loans from financial institutions (Lambert & Schwienbacher, 2010; Abdulsaleh & Worthington, 201

Are GM crops the state of the art of intensive agriculture or a step Essay

Are GM crops the state of the art of intensive agriculture or a step too far Discuss with reference to the conservation of nature - Essay Example ild species of plants such as corn or blueberries, then you will notice that their fruit is much smaller than that of varieties sold in the local grocery store (p.9). The reason for this difference in size he explains is that for centuries, farmers have sought to improve the size –and other characteristics- of the crops they grow. This allows them to produce a greater volume of food per acre of land, and it produced more food to feed people. GM foods have been around for much longer than most people know, in fact in the U.S, and 30% of Americans have been eating food made from GM crops since the year 1998 when the first Flar-Savr Tomato was introduced into the U.S supermarkets. Still, even with hundreds of millions of people around the world eating GM foods for more than a decade, controversy over the use of this technology remains very high all over the world (Diehl Paul 2014:1). This controversy is mostly fired up by the fact that GM foods were released into the market without the public knowledge. The Real Truth Magazine (2014), states that several reasons as to why the GM food issue has remained a huge topic for discussion and controversy around the world (p. 1-2). Biotech corporations market their products by selling the idea that they are ideal solutions to nutrition, world hunger and the environment yet all these foods have managed to do to attract speculations and fear about their possible side effects to the hu man race. To further explain this, The Real Truth Magazine lists these areas of controversy; Producers of GM crops claim that their genetically altered crops are more nutritious than natural crops. The promoters of ‘Golden Rice’ said that this rice was more superior to natural rich in vitamin A among other nutrients. After several tests, this rice was discovered to be inferior to natural rice. This lie was uncovered by Ticciati and Ticciati (1998), the authors of â€Å"Genetically Engineered Foods: Are They Safe? You Decide." They present

Environmental Studies Essay Example for Free

Environmental Studies Essay The population of the world has been on an upward trend for the most part of the past many years. The rapid rise in the population in the past had been attributed to factors like improved medical care and good nutrition. However, the statistics appear to be changing as the 21st century wears on. There has been recorded a decrease in the overall global population growth rate such that although there is still a growth in the population, the rate is reducing. However, the rate is not evenly distributed. Instead, only the developed nations where industrialization and modernity are advanced are experiencing the population slowdown. The developing World still has rising rates of population growth (I. R. C. , 2005). The reduction in the growth rate can be attributed to climatic changes that have in turn caused people to resort to totally new ways of living. There has been a lot of destruction to the atmosphere and the resultant effect has been that some of the plants and animals that were useful for improving the immunity of the people when included in the diet are now extinct. Global warming has killed many such plant and animal species; and the other effects have been that there is an increase in strange, previously uncommon diseases caused by climatic changes which are making more people to die faster than before. Life expectancy has also reduced because of these changes (Johansen, 2009). In addition, the lifestyles of people have changed drastically, including having diets that are less healthy such as the consumption of genetically modified substances whose chemical contents are harmful to the body and shorten life. This trend is bound to go on for as long as industrial development is going to continue, worsening as the effects of global warming resulting from industrial pollution increase (Vormedal, 2005). New factors are bound to come into play, including increased child mortality and increased resistance to medication available even as new species of pathogens and parasites emerge with changing environmental conditions. It is also expected that more people will be less willing to have children as the pressure on available resources increases, thereby pushing the population growth rate down. With globalization opening up doors of nations, more technologies and immigrants are expected to get in, and not only will there be a real pressure on resources available pushing families to downsize but there will also be a massive movement away from the use of natural, more nutritious food items to those that are artificial and developed through technology (I. R. C. , 2005). As such are likely to be more harmful to the body, many people will find themselves less fertile while the fertile ones will be less willing to have more than a few children. The few children born will have a reduced life expectancy due to increased diseases; and child mortality will be very high. As the figure below shows, the population of Canada has been on a downward trend ever since the start of this century. It is expected that this will go on as the country becomes more industrialized and as global warming becomes more pronounced. By the year 2030, the country will most likely be faced with the problem of having a majority of its population being people over the age of 65 years because the young people are those who are likely to be affected negatively by the forces causing this trend (I. R. C. , 2005).

Causes and Solutions to the Obesity Epidemic

Causes and Solutions to the Obesity Epidemic Poor eating habits and the physical health of 21st century human beings has become the centre of worldwide discussions. It is far more complex than merely understanding and using the nutritional information available. A mixture of an individual’s financial position, geographical location and will power are to blame but it seems as if unethical scientific studies, uninformed decisions by members of government and the availability of false information are major contributing factors to the status quo. However, it is evident that healthy people are less of a burden on society than those who overeat and do not partake in regular exercise. Obesity is an epidemic defined as the abnormal or excessive fat accumulation of which millions of individuals around the world have fallen victim to. The disease is preventable but more than 65% of the world’s population live in areas where overweight and obesity kills more than underweight, 10% of the world’s adult population is clinically obese and 40 million children under the age of 5 are classified as being overweight. The statistics are horrifying but the effects are evident particularly in the United States of America where its affects are seen in every state. The obesity statistics in South Africa are no better. Currently 29% of men and 56% of women are classified as being overweight or obese and of those individuals 71% have never tried to cut down and 78% think that they are perfectly healthy. The blame seems to be on Westernisation and Urbanisation as well as the fact that we are among the highest consumers of alcohol in the World. Obesity has doubled since 1980 and it is currently the 5th leading cause of death. The fix is near impossible especially with the current nonchalant attitude with regard to the addressing of the disease. The lack of urgency towards addressing the problem is evident worldwide, particularly in the United Arab Emirates where type-2 diabetes is now seen in children as young as the age of 10. It appears that in affluent countries such as the UAE-where people are spoiled by higher incomes-that overeating rather than the sedentary lifestyle is to blame for the poor health statistics. The rapidity of the problem took hold half a century back where their lifestyle changed as a result of population growth and urbanisation. The UAE staple diet now consists mainly of rice, bread and sweet fruits and the sudden explosion of delivery services and restaurants has compiled the problem. According to Dr Kazem Behbehani, â€Å"We need to invest heavily in nutrition,† and so the UAE draft strategy was implemented. The aim is to educate the public with regard to health and nutrition and also target the manufacturing sector where it will emphasise ethical marketing and labelling strategies. The epidemic can be reduced through a combined effort by the individual, society and the food industry. The individual has the responsibility to limit energy intake and partake in regular physical activity. Society must show its sustained political commitment and make pursuing a life of health, affordable and easily accessible. The biggest responsibility lies with the food industry as they are the ones that should provide healthy and nutritious choices and ensure responsible marketing. Another factor to consider with regard to the poor health of individuals around the world is the fast food industry. According to the Huffington post about 50% of all meals consumed daily are away from home and one in five breakfasts is eaten from McDonalds. The calorie intake has surged since 1980 from 3200 calories per day to a whopping 3900 and can be seen by looking at figure 14 that shows the changes of calorie intake over the past 40 years. The fact that there are over half a million fast food restaurants staking their claim around the world is a concern as it shows the demand for them outweighs the supply. McDonalds alone feeds 68 million people per day and is the largest toy distributer in the world which explains why children develop such resilient reliance and trust with McDonalds at a very young age. Calorie intake varies according to gender, age and height. There are, however, calorie intake guidelines for adults. The recommended calorie intake per day for sedentary males and females is 2,000 to 2,600 and 1,600 to 2,000 respectively. If an individual is active these amounts increase, for males it is 2,400 to 3,000 and for females it is 2,000 to 2,400 calories per day. What many people do not realise is how many calories are in the food they consume particularly in fast food. If we compare the amount of calories in a fast food meal (regular burger, fries and a milkshake) from the three major fast food chains around the world, namely KFC, Burger King and McDonalds one will notice that an individual would have almost expended their daily calorie intake in one meal. †¢McDonalds (Big Mac, Regular Fries and a Chocolate Milkshake) = 1780 †¢KFC (Burger, Regular Fries and a Crusher)= 1125 †¢Burger King (Whopper, Regular fries and a Chocolate Milkshake)= 1750 As a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act all restaurant chains with 20 or more locations in the United States are now required to post the calorie contents of their products on menus or boards. The calorie information is relatively easy to find but whether or not people use them is debatable but a study conducted by NYU Langone confirms that the posting of nutritional information at fast food chains does not influence an individual’s choice in product consumption. As a result it has no effect on the amount of calories consumed, â€Å"10 percent of the respondents in our study said that calorie labels at fast-food chains resulted in them choosing fewer calories.† A comprehensive study conducted in Boston and Philadelphia by Bryan Bollinger, Phillip Leslie, Alan Sorensen and their team found that, â€Å"Mandatory calorie posting does inà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence consumer behaviour at Starbucks, causing average calories per transaction to decrease by 6%.† But the effect is insignificant when you look at figure 12.4 where calorie posting before and after produced practically identical graphs of calorie consumption. They also note that, â€Å"Calorie posting did not cause any statistically significant change in Starbucks revenue overall.† If calorie posting does not affect a company’s overall revenue one wonders why every fast food chain does not partake in global calorie posting. Whether or not the effects on weight loss are statistically significant or not calorie posting should become the norm. Society needs to be constantly exposed to calorie posting if the effects on an individual’s health are to be meaningful. Bryan Bollinger makes an interesting comment. It seems only reasonable to assume that the providing of nutrition information to consumers would assist them in purchasing healthier products. The idea is that consumers would be shocked to realise how many calories are in the beverage and/or food that they consume. However, it appears that consumers at chain stores are more concerned about convenience, price and taste, rather than the nutrition information. And those who do care about nutrition information and calories either do not go to fast food chains in the first place and/or are already well-informed because the information is easily accessible on company websites. If nutritional information were going to make a difference it would appear at chain stores, however, if they assume that the calorie consumption for all chain stores was reduced by 6% then, â€Å"It would imply a decrease in total calorie consumption on the order of 1.5%† This amounts to a mere 30 calories and if it was going to have any meaningful effect on weight loss it would have to be between 500-1000 calories per day. The paper suggests that mandatory calorie posting is only an acceptable policy if the benefits outweigh the costs. If anything they hope that calorie posting will encourage companies to offer more low-calorie items and that the consumer’s exposure to this information will make them more aware of the nutritional value of the foods they eat. They conclude that, â€Å"Our back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that average reductions resulting from calorie posting in chain restaurants will not by themselves have a major impact on obesity.† The study does have its shortfalls and the effects of calorie posting may have been understated as they acknowledge in the paper: 1.The study assumed that the calorie intake of every individual was 2000 calories per day. They comment that it may be higher and this would mean that the reduction of calories per day could be much higher. 2.The study was only taken from Starbucks and this could understate the impact of nutrition information at other chain stores. In their study they found that consumers were more sensitive to calories ingested from food and not beverages which means that the effects of nutrition posting could be higher at other chain stores. 3.The impact of nutrition posting could be much higher chain stores promoted tasty, low-priced, low-calorie products. The single most significant factor on the state of an individual’s health and eating habit is their diet. A diet is a concept whereby an individual eats food in a regulated fashion with the aim to either maintain, increase or decrease their current weight. It is often used in combination with exercise but studies by the APA journal (among others) have found that the majority of individuals regain all weight irrespective whether or not they maintain diet and exercise. There are a variety of diets that either restrict calorie intake or a particular macronutrient but meta-analysis of randomised controls found no difference in weight loss. It appears that as long as calories are reduced weight will be lost but it is also evident that the restriction of certain macronutrients such as carbohydrates results in fast weight loss over a shorter period of time. Diets appear to arise as a result of an individual’s own miraculous weight loss and William Banting is no exception. In his Letter on Corpulence that he wrote in 1863 he describes his low-calorie and low-carb diet. Banting was morbidly obese and he blamed it on his love for farinaceous foods such as, â€Å"Bread, milk, butter, sugar and potatoes [†¦] these, said my excellent advisor, contain starch and saccharine matter, tending to create fat.† Many individuals-like Banting and others-do not realise that their daily eating habits have a detrimental effect on their health. Generally poor eating habits result in a poor state of heath. †¢Drinking alcohol: Increases ones insulin resistance which results in the storage of excess carbohydrates in the form of fat and hinders its use as fuel. †¢Compulsive snacking and food binging: Eating large amounts of food (often driven by emotions) results in eating beyond the point of being full. †¢Skipping breakfast: It is by far the most important meal of the day and failing to eat at this time results in an energy drain, disruption of metabolism, reduction in the amount of carbohydrates burned and increases likelihood of snacking. †¢Eating heavy meals before bed: Your body fails to burn and digest the carbohydrates as fuel and as a result the body stores it as fat. Dieting is not as simple as it is made out to be as many individuals have realised. However, Tim Noakes believes that the current poor health of individuals around the world is the result of an unethical study conducted by Ancel Keys that has resulted in decades of individuals failing to lose weight. The ‘Seven-Countries Study’ conducted by Keys is considered a case of manipulated bias. The study was published in 1953 by Keys who was already a well-respected American biochemist. In the publication he drew a comparison to the cholesterol levels in individuals and the amount of fat that one consumed. Despite having enough statistics from 22 countries he only selected 7 of them that supported his theory. The countries that were omitted did not support his hypothesis such as Holland and Norway whose diets comprised of large amounts of fat but who had some of the lowest cases of heart disease. Conversely there were cases where fat consumption was low but heart disease was high such as in Chile. There were many flaws in Keys work: 1.The data came from 7 of the 22 countries that suited his theory. 2.He failed to use randomised controlled clinical trials and only ever reported observational studies. As a result he could not prove his theory unequivocally. 3.He never considered other variables that could explain the relationship explored in his theory such as the growth in cigarette consumption. 4.He was not a clinician and had never treated a patient that suffered from the disease. Political events such as the desperate need to bring down the food price and increase the wealth of US farmers allowed for the global exploitation of Keys false theory. Senator George McGovern wanted to restrict the intake of saturate fats and eggs by implementing the United States Dietary Goals for Americans (USDGA). The guidelines for the USDGA were compiled by Nick Mottern who had no formal training in nutrition science and now the American diet was based on 8-12 servings of grains and cereals a day so that they could successfully implement industrial scale production of corn and soy. US government agencies such as the National Institute of Health used research budget to prove that people that follow the guidelines will become immune to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. They spent over $700 million promoting the Food Pyramid but could not prove that a dietary change would produce significant health benefits. Figure 2 shows that the sudden increase of obesity since the 1980s is as a result of the USDGA. The stimulatory effect of carbohydrates on hunger results in the increase in calorie consumption and figure 5 shows that the increased consumption of calories from carbohydrates matches exactly the increasing rates of obesity from the beginning of the 1980s. What many people do not know is that out of all the macronutrients (fat, protein and carbohydrates) available the one that our body can do without are carbohydrates. Humans have the ability to obtain their energy requirements from proteins and fats-a process called gluconeogenesis-and there are no scientific studies that show that avoiding carbohydrates have short or long term effects on humans. There are, however, studies that support the Low-Carb, High-Fat diet (LCHF) promoted by Noakes and his team as a more suitable means of weight loss as opposed to other diets. A study conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003 found statistically no difference over a period of 12 months but low-carb diets are a more effective means of weight loss over a shorter period of time when compared to low-fat diets. History shows that ancient humans such as the Egyptians suffered from severe tooth decay, bone fractures, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. These are symptoms similar to those that we now see in many individuals today. It is believed that the Egyptians diet, like ours, comprised mainly of refined carbohydrates. As Michael Eades says in his book Protein Power if such is the ultimately health diet, â€Å"Rich in all foods believed to promote health and almost devoid of saturated fat and cholesterol [†¦] then ancient Egyptians should have lived forever.† There are many shortcomings to the LCHF diet promoted by Professor Tim Noakes as explained by Christopher Gardner in a presentation presented at the Stanford University. One cannot confirm if it is the reduction of carbohydrates or the increase of fat in an individual’s diet that is behind the miraculous weight loss. The mere fact that you are restricting your carbohydrate intake to extremely low levels means that you immediately reduce calorie intake and despite having the ability to eat copious amounts of fat one cannot eat a tub of butter without bread to put it on. The result of the LCHF diet means your stomach shrinks and you have the ability to go without feeling hungry for 6-12 hours. There is also the important issue of fat loss versus muscle loss. Weight loss typically involves loss of fat, water and muscle. The aim of weight loss is to reduce the percentage of body fat. Muscle tissue, however, is denser than fat and a mere 10% reduction can have a dramatic effect on the shape of the body. The fact that muscle loss occurs is based on our Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the amount of calories the body requires when at rest and is influenced by the weight and muscle mass of an individual. More muscle means more calories without any ‘weight’ gain. In order to lose fat one must have a daily caloric intake that is greater than or equal to the BMR. Muscle and fat loss occurs when the daily caloric intake is less than or equal to the BMR. Maintaining muscle whilst losing fat is difficult but muscle loss can be restricted by regular lifting of weights and sufficient protein intake. There are many other diets such as the famous Atkins diet but a more recent diet based on the idea that no two humans are the same and that means one should eat according to their genetic make-up. The diet is as a result of Dr Peter D’Adamo’s work that certain foods are beneficial to certain blood types where others are harmful. It is evident that there is just far too much information out there surrounding proper dieting and nutrition. Individuals are bombarded with information that could possibly be false and based on no scientific studies but even those that are could not work for some individuals. It comes down to will power. If one partakes in regular exercise, follows an eating plan that contains sufficient nutrients and stays committed then I believe that anyone has the ability to live a healthy lifestyle. Finally the effect of obesity on the modern world is a financial one. It costs the United States government $190 billion a year in treatments alone and it is expected to rise to $344 billion by 2018. This means that the obesity-related treatments make up 10% of the annual medical spending. On average obese people spend 42 percent more on healthcare costs than healthy-weight people and obesity-related job absenteeism costs $4.3 billion annually. In closing poor eating habits and the physical health of human beings is only partly dependent on the availability and the understanding of nutritional information as the issue is far more complex. Individuals are bombarded with information (correct or not) and are far more concerned with price and taste rather than their well-being. Simplistically, the more educated we are in nutritional information the more informed we can be as individuals to take responsibility for our own health. It is however clear that healthy people are less of a burden on society.

Maria Theresa :: History

Maria Theresa Birth Date and Birth Place Maria Theresa, the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and Elizabeth Brunswick-Wolfenbà ¼ttel, was born in Vienna on May 13, 1717. Early Life When the only son of Charles VI died and left no heir to the throne, Charles furthered the Pragmatic Sanction. The Pragmatic Sanction is a royal act, which allowed a female to inherit the territories of the Habsburg. In 1736 Maria Theresa married Francis Stephen of Lorraine. The marriage of Maria to Francis was one of love, which was very unlike many in that time. The French strongly opposed the marriage of Lorraine lands to the Habsburg lands and demanded that he give up his ancestral rights of Lorraine for the succession of Tuscany. Schooling Maria Theresa did not have much schooling in politics, so when her father died on October 17, 1740, she was ill prepared. She had never had book-learned education and was only taught the proper etiquette and court manners that the ladies of her time learned. Family Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen had sixteen children, only ten of them survived. Maria loved her children very much, even though they were rebellious and often irritated her greatly. After they moved away she still kept in tight correspondence, and gave them wise advise. Her children became famous well-known people such as, the later Emperors Joseph II, Leopold II, and the later queen of France, Marie-Antoinette. Maria’s favorite out of all her many children was Maria Christina, who was the only one allowed to marry for love to Prince Albert of Saxony-Teschen, and was showered with vast gifts of money. Accomplishments Maria Theresa Accomplished many things during her reign, she established a strong army, centralized the administration of the government, and initiated reforms in agriculture and education. She approved drastic changes in universities, such as the introduction of textbooks. She also managed to hook the University of Vienna’s medical school with the public Health service. She tried to improve the lives of the peasants and put an end to the cruelty of the landlords, she tried to abolish serfdom in Bohemia but met opposition from her husband who was getting complaints from the lord-holders. Hardships After Charles VI died, the war he had tried so hard to prevent broke out after Maria inherited the throne. Besides having to deal with the war, Maria found that Charles had left the Habsburg territories in a dire state of disrepair, along with an empty treasury.

Death Of A Salesman: Societys Alienation Of Willy Loman :: essays research papers

Death of a Salesman: Society's Alienation of Willy Loman It is often stated that society is very judgmental. It can be seen in movies, literary works, or just an everyday walk of life. Arthur Miller chooses to portray society's prejudice against the protagonist, Willy Loman, in his play, Death of a Salesman. Society, in this case, rejects Willy Loman because he isn't upper class, and because he is getting up in age. Many occurrances highlight society's judging of Willy, including him being fired, the "spite" that he recieves from his sons, and the way he alienates himself. All of these eventually lead to the downfall of a strong, determined, but confused character. Perhaps the most defeating action that happened to Willy was the loss of his job. All he had ever been in life was a salesman, therefore it was the only trade that he was any good at. When he had the conference with Howard, he had his hopes up. Willy had regained his confidence in himself and was ready to take control of his life at a very crucial time. However, Howard crushed all of that by firing Willy, simply because he thought Willy, "needed some rest." Actually, Howard never intended to give Willy his job back. He was merely trying to take Willy's position because he didn't believe Willy could hack it anymore. This is a reflection of society's present day treatment of the elderly. Younger generations now, move older people into rest homes and try to keep them out of public view, for risk of embarassment. This is reflected by Howard's statement, "I don't want you to represent us anymore." Society's assumption of Willy's capabilities, in this case, cost him his job. A second occurrance that displayed Willy's alienation happened in his own family. Biff doesn't believe whatsoever in his father and has no hope for him at all. Biff even says in act one that his father has no character. Biff is a perfect symbol for society in the play. Biff knows his father has problems, but even as a son, "can't get near him." Even though he accepts his father as a fake later in life, Biff tries over and over again to reach his father and to help him, but an unseen barrier prevents Biff from doing so. Happy is the type that knows what's going on with his father, but won't try to help him. Although it is never actually said verbatum, it is obvious that Willy has some kind of mental problem that needs some attention. Yet even in his own home, he can't get

Computers Are Necessary Part of Daily Life Essay

Computers are the necessary part of modern life. It is really true. It is very difficult to imagine our life without modern devices and especially without computers. The main thing it is of course Internet. It is the ocean of information. Information about all spheres of life, scientific, cultural, political etc. Internet is very important for us students. It is the source of information for compositions, reports, control papers. Sometimes our teachers want us to do it ourselves but we used to do it with the help of computers and canR17;t imagine ourselves going to the libraries as our parent did. Computers can help to find people who seemed to be lost forever. The example can be such web sites as Odnoklassniki.ru and VcontacteR30; My mum found her classmates that finished the school 20 years ago and her friends from OdessaUniversity. As for me I spend all my spare in time in contacts, speaking with friends not only from Odessa but for example from Canada. Also I know that if my dads want to know something about medicines they also use Internet and different web sites. Different studying programs are also useful; I like to use wwww.freetranslation.com to make my translations easier and faster. But of course there is another side of medal. Internet takes more time that many of us can allow. It is sometimes replace books, theatres and alive communication. We begin to forget that it is more better to communicate with our friends not only in online mode but to go together to have fun, or may be it is better to read interesting book then playing computer games where people kill each other on very high speed. Of course our 21 century is the century of technical progress. We canR17;t live as our grandma and grandpa, but we had to remember that everything must have its logical boarders and never computers, modern devices, Internet; games can replace people, their relations, love, friendship and real life.

Promoting effective communication Essay

There are a number of factors to consider when promoting effective communication. When using verbal communication with patients it is important to speak looking at them, speaking slowly and clearly and using simple language,. It is important to note that when working with patients with learning disabilities we have made sure they have understood what I have said. When speaking with colleagues or professionals the language I use can be more complex and often I will speak faster however most factors remain the same, it is still important that information given verbally is clear and concise. An example of this is when this is when I have mentored new staff I make sure I talk over everything slowly and clearly and I also get then to repeat some of that information back to show they have understood. Verbally communicating in this way will differ dependant on weather I am talking on a one to one basis or to a group. If I am talking to a group I must remember to address everyone and not exclude anyone. When using non-verbal communication there are many different factors to consider. For example, if I am slummed back in a chair, it may show that I am not interested in the conversation. Eye contact is also very important as this can show that I am engaged in the conversation, other things to consider would be hand gestures, body language and facial expressions, for example, if I frown or have my arms folded I may give a negative impression. Finally it is important to remember that for effective communication to take place it involves both parties to be engaged. Being able to listen well is vital in a two way conversations.

Criminology Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminology - Movie Review Example Danny Ocean recruits his old friend Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), and they pool a dream gang of criminals, each of whom has a special role. There is a computer expert, a destruction expert, a con man, a pickpocket etc. When the plan is on move, Danny Ocean goes to the Bellagio. Benedict sees him and has him confined in storeroom to be tortured by the Bruiser. But, Bruiser his is friend and allows him to escape via a ventilation shaft to join his group in the vault. Linus pretends to be a gaming agent and informs Benedict that one of his workers is a former con. Linus and Frank stage fight in presence of Benedict so that Linus can steal codes to access the vault written on a paper inside Benedicts coat. Yen joins the team in the casino vault to help in activating the explosives from the inside. Posing as rich arms dealer Saul sneaks explosives into the casino and then fakes a heart attack that is treated by Rusty pretending to be a doctor. The group triggers a stolen device to briefly interrupt the casinos power system, allowing them to break the vault unnoticed. As Benedict tries to restore calmness resulting from the power outage, Rusty secretly calls him and informs him that the vaults is being robbed and that all the money will be damaged if he fails to cooperate in stocking some money into a car waiting outside . After observing video footage of the vault, he cooperates in loading the money but orders his team to follow the car after it leaves and calls security to safeguard the money left in the vault. The men following the car find out that it is being remote controlled and instead of money its carrying flyers. Benedict realizes that the vault video footage he had been watching was pre-recorded and was pre-recorded. A flashback shows that Danny had used the vault replica to produce the false video Benedict had watched. The rest of the group posed as security officials and steal the money in the

Risk management in Aviva Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Risk management in Aviva - Essay Example Introduction The current state of this society is an effect of outcome of the long term process. Today, the entire world economy is facing a tremendous growth in every aspect of life. It can be interpreted as an effect of globalisation which can be termed as broadening of the ideas, innovation, relationship and other types of activities among the different countries of the world. Many scholars believe that globalisation is the primary reason behind these. Moreover, they also consider that international trade and business and technological developments are the most importance and crucial effect of globalisation. In fact, the growth of international trade and business and technological advancement are two primary sources of globalisation. In case of international trade, the countries form different parts get opportunities to enter into a new arena of business. In this process, the international traders come into the contact of new experiences like cross cultural diversities, better opp ortunities, and different market exposures etc. Due to effect of globalisation, the nature of trade and business has changed significantly as its importance for inter-dependency has been urged for the development of society. The term, international trade denotes to the commercial transaction between or/among countries that involves transfer of product, wealth, money, services, technology, resources etc. Due to emergence of international trade and business, the world economies have experienced a missive growth. However, with this rapid development, the multinational companies are also being exposed to multiple types of risks. Therefore, in effect, the structure and nature of business and its strategies have been changed to cope up with these risks making the entire process complex (Daniels et al, 2010, p.7). This paper will attempt to analyse the implications of multiple types of risks faced by a multinational organisations. In order to meet this objective, the primary focus of this paper will be on Aviva, a global insurance company. As this company is present in many world economies, it is exposed to a number or risks like political risks, financial risks like interest fluctuations, foreign currency fluctuations, market risks etc. This paper will also include appropriate strategies for diversifying such risks in respect of Aviva’s global insurance business. 2. Brief Description about the Company: Aviva Aviva is one of the most popular global insurance companies in the global financial service market. It is basically an UK-based company and the sixth largest insurance company in the world and the biggest in the UK market (Aviva-a, 2011). The major market for Aviva includes the broad regions like Europe, North America and Asia Pacific market covering more the 28 countries. For its international business management, the company primarily focuses on the three core strategies. Firstly, the company aims to heighten and enhance its focus on geographical segmen ted market. Secondly, it is tries to increase its consumer’s value by offering the best combination of general and life insurance. Thirdly, Aviva is also trying to strengthen its core competencies that have enabled it to be one of the market leaders in global context. The company has gained a high expertise in technical excellence, effective operational, financial discipline and marketing related activities like promotional, distribution etc (Aviva-b, 2011). The company has acquired a large base of consumers in the global market and it service nearly 53.4 million of consumer by offering value-created product with its 45000 employees worldwide. The primary products of Aviva mainly include the life

MGT 671 LEADER PROJECT INTERVIEW PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MGT 671 LEADER PROJECT INTERVIEW PAPER - Essay Example Finally, during the early part of the first quarter of year 2000, the company was able to gain business eligibility by completing all the necessary documentations necessary for its operations. Shortly thereafter, the first flight of JetBlue Airways took to the skies. The company then proceeded to add more routes as it expands its business operations. Before the year 2000 ended, the company reached a major milestone by reaching a million customers serviced while at the same time earning $ 100 million revenue for the year. All these have been achieved prior to the company’s first anniversary and shortly afterwards the company has flown about 2 million customers (JetBlue Corporate History 2011). The company further expanded its operations as the delivery of its Airbus units continues giving the company about 20 units of operational crafts. The company’s massive fleet continues to grow when in 2003 the company was able to receive its 50th Airbus. As such, a new hangar compl ex was needed and acquired at JFK International. The company grew rapidly and operations expanded extensively necessitating the additional order of 65 more airbuses and 100 more Embraer 190 aircrafts. In flight entertainment was improved further the following year and by the early half of 2004 the company already has on its laurels the honor of flying 25 million passengers. In just five years, the company was able to secure its 71st airbus and was subsequently awarded the prestigious Diamond Certificate of Excellence Award from the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). Also, JetBlue was able to receive its Embraer 190 aircraft, the first airline to have such a unit. Furthermore, the company was able to acquire a bigger hangar and is also able to secure a partnership with American Express to integrate credit card payments with their operations. The company further improved its in house entertainment and was even able to pioneer in-flight email and even instant messaging services. In 2008, J etBlue even became the official airline of the Red Sox and the following year even became the official airline partner of the New York Jets. All the while, the company is introducing innovations of the jet liner service and is also expanding its routes. With all these achievements and despite breaching the top 50 in just half a decade, JetBlue was not yet a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) . After a decade, JetBlue established its office in the bustling city of New York and was officially included into the folds of the IATA. Brief Biography of Robin Hayes – EVP, Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Robin Hayes joined JetBlue last May 2008. He was appointed to the commercial side as the Chief Commercial Officer handling the airline’s marketing strategy including sales and revenues as well as the network of the airline. His appointment gave him an Executive Vice President position, a title he also had before he left his previous company (JetBlue Airwa ys, Press Release May 2008). Prior to joining the JetBlue, Mr. Robin Hayes was with British Airways also as an EVP. JetBlue is banking on the experience Mr. Hayes had when he was with British Airways to help their company surge forward faster. No less than JetBlue’s CEO, Mr. Dave Barger, highlighted the vast capabilities of Mr. Hayes emphasizing on the years that he had in the industry as well as the knowledge that he amassed from his

Quastions ch 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quastions ch 3 - Essay Example ndispensable to fathom those political philosophies besides influencing economic, and social activities may contribute to stable practices internationally and locally. Contemporary profile trends of political systems involves democracy and totalitarianism. Totalitarianism constitutes non-democratic government political spectrum with issues such as dictatorship, communist, fascist, and authority. Democratic government profile remains reactionary, liberal, radical, and conservative. Other profile trends in political systems revolves around engines of democracy and third wave of democracy issues. Third wave democracy issues and engines of democracy constitute the modern trends in contemporary political systems. Third wave democracy relates to the main surge of democracy in history. The surge results from vast international push towards democracy in the 21st century. Engines of democracy constitute developments that drives success of modern political systems including improved communications technology and failure of totalitarian regimes in delivering economic progress. Another engine of democracy for contemporary political trends includes economic dividends of increasing political freedom. Political risks entail perils faced by corporations, investors, and governments during economic relations. The risks also involve political decisions or events within a nation that may adversely affect sustainability or profitability of investments. Management of political risks consists of a three-step process that includes identification of fundamental perils, measuring political influence on performance, and determination of the appropriate method of managing the risks. Identification involves risk managers scanning horizons for political risks and developing inventory of specific risks types. The next step involves assessment and quantification of potential impacts of political risks. Quantification may involve the use of discounted cash flow method to estimate financial

Case Submission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Case Submission - Essay Example Acceptance of offer Sent by offeree I. Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company 1. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Carbolic Smoke Ball advertisement Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893] 1 QB 256 is one of the most famous leading cases in English law that helped establish the requirements for the formation of a contract. B. Contents 1 Background 2 Ruling 3 Later influence 4 External links 5 See also C. Background The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company made a product called a smoke ball that it claimed could protect the user from contracting influenza. The smoke ball was a rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid (phenol). The tube was then inserted into the user's nose. It was squeezed at the bottom to release the vapours into the nose of the user. This would cause the nose to run, and hopefully flush out the cold. In fact the inflammation caused by the device would have probably increased susceptibility to catching influenza. The Company published advertisements claiming that it would pay 100 to anyone who got sick with influenza after using its product according to the instructions set out in the advertisement. Specifically, they stated: 100 reward will be paid by the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company to any person who contracts the increasing epidemic influenza, colds or any disease caused by taking cold, after having used the ball three times daily for two weeks according to the printed directions supplied each ball. 1000 is deposited with the Alliance Bank, Regent Street, showing our sincerity in the matter. Mrs Carlill, relying on the promises made in the advertisement, bought one of the balls and used it in the manner specified, yet still managed to contract... The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company made a product called a smoke ball that it claimed could protect the user from contracting influenza. The smoke ball was a rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid (phenol). The tube was then inserted into the user's nose. It was squeezed at the bottom to release the vapours into the nose of the user. This would cause the nose to run, and hopefully flush out the cold. In fact the inflammation caused by the device would have probably increased susceptibility to catching influenza. 100 reward will be paid by the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company to any person who contracts the increasing epidemic influenza, colds or any disease caused by taking cold, after having used the ball three times daily for two weeks according to the printed directions supplied each ball. 1000 is deposited with the Alliance Bank, Regent Street, showing our sincerity in the matter. The Carbolic Company claimed that there was no enforceable contract between it and the user of the smoke ball on the grounds that there was no acceptance of its offer, because Mrs Carlill had never notified the Company that she accepted its offer, or consideration, since the Company did not receive any benefit from a purchaser's use of the product once the sale had been completed. The court rejected

Individual Assignment Essay Example for Free

Individual Assignment Essay Determine which level of measurement— nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio—is used in the following examples. The Association of Accountants is conducting a survey to determine the ranking of the top 100 accounting firms in the world. Ordinal How many years did it take you to earn your college degree? Ratio On a questionnaire which asks for gender, males are coded as 1 and females are coded as 2. Interval Respondents are asked to rate a list of high-tech companies as excellent, good, fair, or poor in terms of their service delivery. Ordinal Cereal brands are arranged in an ordered sequence in which an equal interval exists between each point. Interval LeBron James wears the number 23 on his jersey. Nominal The length of time it takes the winner of a marathon to cross the finish line. Ratio Students are asked to rank computer manufacturers. Interval The brand of charge card used by a customer. Nominal The pin number used to access your checking account. Nominal Which sampling method—simple random, systematic, stratified, cluster, convenience, judgment, quota, or snowball—is most appropriate for the following examples? The unemployment rate is calculated each month by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey consists of 50,000 households in about 2,000 counties and cities in all 50 states. Simple Random A researcher for Kraft Foods selects five states randomly, and then selects 10 supermarkets chains within each state to call for a phone survey as test markets for a new cookie. Quota A new pr oduct researcher would like to investigate the use of virtual teams. After conducting an interview with a manager, she asks for the names of other managers that use virtual teams. Convenience A news reporter asks people on the street their opinion about the president’s new bill. Snowball Jamie select Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and San Diego, California as test markets for a new potato chip line base on her experience with these markets. Judgment A researcher instructs field interviewers to interview customers of different cell phone companies in a nearby shopping mall so that they each interview 10 ATamp;T, 8 T Mobile, 6 Verizon, and 4 owners of other cell phone providers. Convenience The Consumer Price Index represents a sampling of 90,000 items from 364 categories, chosen from 20,000 retail stores in 85 geographically distributed areas that are chosen to be as similar as possible. Cluster A finance professor wants to know how many MBA students would be willing to take a course in international finance this summer. She surveys students in the class she is currently teaching. Convenience Which hypothesis-testing procedure would you use in the following situations? The mean time an American family lives in a particular single-family dwelling is 11. 8 years. A sample of 100 families in the Sycamore, OK area shows the mean time living in a single family residence is 12. 7 years. Can we conclude that the time people live in Sycamore is significantly more than the national average? One Sample Z-Test A researcher would like to know if there is a significant difference in clothing purchases between full-time working women, part-time working women, and women who are homemakers. ANOVA Eighty percent of those who play the state lottery never win more than $100 in one play. A sample of 500 players was drawn and the mean winning was $125. One Sample Z-Test A drug manufacturing company conducted a survey of customers. The research question was as follows: Is there a significant relationship between packaging preference (size of the bottle purchased) and economic status? There were four packaging sizes: small, medium, large, and jumbo. Economic status was categorized as follows: lower, middle, and upper. Regression Hypothesis Test A company has 24 salespeople. The test must evaluate whether their product knowledge has improved or remained unchanged after a training program. T-test of dependent samples A computer company has a brand loyalty rating of 6. 8 on a 7 point scale. Is this company’s rating significantly different from the industry average of 6. 4? Two-tailed One Sample T-Test The manager of an office supply store wanted to determine which color folders she should discontinue based on low sales. The colors stocked were black, blue, red, green, and purple. ANOVA

Fundamental Strategies Towards Sustainable Construction Construction Essay

Fundamental Strategies Towards Sustainable Construction Construction Essay Abstract- Since the construction industry has great impact on the environment, the consideration of sustainable development through sustainable construction is needed. Sustainable construction is a way for the building industry to move towards achieving sustainable development, taking into account the environmental, socio-economic and cultural issues. Specifically, it involves issues such as design and management of buildings, materials and building performance, energy and resource consumption. Therefore, sustainable construction provides solutions that require optimization all sort of environmental impacts since global warming is no longer a remote concept but a real threat to the future of mankind. This paper is review of sustainable practice in construction industry. Mixed methods of quantitative research by way of questionnaire survey and qualitative research using semi structured interview will be applied. For the first stage of data collection, the quantitative method will be a pplied to identify the barriers in implementing the sustainable construction. On the other hand, qualitative method will be used to produce strategies for the Malaysian construction participants to implement the sustainable construction. Interview session will be conducted among experienced professionals in construction industry in order to generate their opinion towards the implementation of sustainable construction in Malaysian construction industry. At the end of the research, discussion and recommendation will be covered, summarising the research content. This research is attempted to develop a framework policy of sustainable construction in Malaysia. A new strategies and guidelines seem to be part of the framework design. The framework derived from this research will be used as the criteria to benchmark the gaps in process and strategy for sustainable construction industry in order to capture good practices in terms of minimising environmental impacts and improve Malaysian read iness towards the sustainable issues. Keywords- Global warming, sustainable development, sustainable construction, environmental impact, policies Introduction The newly launched National Green Technology Policy in 2009 reflects Malaysian Governments seriousness in driving the message that clean and green is the way forward towards sustainable construction which will benefit current and future issues related to economic, social and environment and also quality of life. Such policy showed that government were seriously encouraged the efforts in tackling all related green issues in the country that complement the global vision on sustainable development. This research will be looking into the sustainable practices in Malaysian construction industry and will be focusing on the sustainable policy in other Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan which very much active in Green Technology and sustainable projects. The reason for this is to show the gaps that should be filled in by the policy makers in order to catch up with the current developments that have been happening in other countries. The purpose of this paper is to disclose the overall structure of the research that is currently being undertaking by the researcher. Therefore, it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss any findings from any of the research methodology adapted to date. PROBLEM STATEMENT Nowadays, one of the most pressing concerns for this industry is global warming which is an increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans as a result of the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere [1]. Global warming, sometimes called climate change, is causing an increase in the earths near-surface temperature due to changes in the atmospheric composition. Many scientists believe recently observed global warming is partially caused by greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, transportation, industry and agriculture [2] (Oh and Chua, 2010; Radhi, 2009). In Malaysia, the major contributor of the greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide emissions and the trend has been increasing every year since 1982. The global carbon dioxide emission has risen significantly from 19,380 million tons in 1980 to 31,577 million tons in 2008. It is predicted that carbon dioxide emission will increase to 40 billion tons in year 2030 if no tremendous effort are thrown in to mitigate it [3-4]. In addition, according to Dato Sri Peter Chin Fah Kui Minister Of Energy, Green Technology And Water in his speech in the ASEAN Affairs and the Malaysia-Europe Forum, greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia has increased substantially by 13% and 32% per GDP and per capita respectively between 1994 and 2000. Malaysian total greenhouse gas emissions increased by 55% in 2000 when compared with the 1994 levels. Furthermore, he stated that Malaysias emission of CO2 per capita which is about 7.1 tonne per capita was higher than the average for Asia Pacific of 2.6 tonne per capita based on the National Communications Report. Since global warming has emerged as the most serious environmental issues of our time and since sustainability becoming an important issue of economics and political debates worldwide therefore, it is vital important for Malaysian construction industry to further implement the sustainable construction which eliminates the negative impact on the construc tion industry. At present, Malaysia is a population with about 27.73 million covering area of 329,750 km2 based on the latest census in 2008 and the GDP grew at an average rate over 5.7% during the last 6 years [5]. As such, being a fast industrializing country, it is expected that an increased need for more houses, buildings and public infrastructure. Due to that matter, the government introduces the Sustainable Concept that can be applied to the construction industry to maintain the ecosystem and built environment as well. While standard building practices are guided by short term economic considerations, sustainable construction is based on best practices which emphasize long term affordability, quality and efficiency (Isover, 2009). Sustainable construction, which has inevitably been dubbed green construction, describes the responsibility of the construction industry in attaining sustainability (Nazirah, 2009). Besides that, sustainable construction aims at reducing the environmental impact of a building over its entire lifetime, while optimizing its economic viability and the comfort and safety of its occupants (Aguilar, 2008; Isover, 2009; PediaPress, 2009). Furthermore, sustainable construction is all about maintaining a balance between the human need for buildings for shelter and business operations and infrastructure for higher quality of well-being at one hand, and preserving natural resources and ecosystems, on which we and future generation depend at the other hand (Singh, 2007; Nazirah and Aini, 2010). As mentioned previously, sustainable construction is seen as a way for the construction industry to contribute to the effort to achieve sustainable development. However, in Malaysia, the green movement is still at low level where sustainable projects in Malaysia are mostly at the pioneer stage [6]. She pointed out that the modest number of sustainable projects being built in Malaysia is a sign of the slow intake of the sustainability concept among construction prac titioner. Thus, this indicates that the concerted efforts by the government, non-governmental and education institutions have not fully penetrated into construction activities. Looking the above statement, it can be conclude that there is still lack of effort in the application of the sustainable concept among construction practitioner and this scenario shown that it seems difficult for the Malaysian construction industry to further implement the sustainable construction. Thus, more efforts are needed and should be directed towards realising the green agenda of the industry to enhance the level of environmental awareness and civic consciousness among the people to build sustainably in the future. Therefore, this research will identify the barriers in implementing the sustainable construction in Malaysian Construction Industry. Government policies have been recognised as important instruments in driving the market for sustainable buildings [7]. At recent, the green technology promotion was further emphasized in the 9th Malaysia Plan (2006-2010). This indicate that government were seriously encouraged the efforts in tackling all related green issues in the country that complement the global vision on sustainable development. The establishment of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water to replace the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia in early 2009 reflects Malaysias seriousness in driving the message that clean and green is the way forward towards creating an economy that is based on sustainable solutions. The launch of the new National Green Technology Policy in April 2009 by the current Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, shall provide guidance and create new opportunities for businesses and industries to impact on the economic growth positively. The National Green Technol ogy Policy is built on four pillars which are seek to attain energy independence and promote efficient utilization, conserve and minimize the impact on the environment, enhance the national economic development through the use of technology and improve the quality of life for all [8]. The National Policy on Environment seeks to integrate environment considerations into development activities to foster long-term economic growth and human development and to protect as well as enhancing the quality of environment. Thus, the National policy is seen as a major catalyst of the governments strategies in order to promote sustainable construction since sustainable construction is a way for the building industry to move towards achieving sustainable development. More strategies and actions should be pursued actively to speed up the process in creating sustainable oriented construction industry which is paramount towards building a sustainable future. Therefore, this research is an attempt to address the issues of sustainable construction and what approaches needs to be implemented for sustainable construction in Malaysia. THE EMERGENCE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Sustainability has become an important issue worldwide. There is a growing concern for sustainability due to severe negative impacts of human development activities in the earth. The term sustainable development is basically emerged from The World Commission on Environment and Development established by the United Nations in 1983 and now known as the Brundtland Commission. The report, Our Common Future in the publication of Brundland Report provided the most simple and widely used definition for sustainable development as development to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [9]. The concept was given currency at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, and reinforced at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002. UNCED saw the first global agreement on programmes for action in all areas relating to sustainable development, as documented in Agenda 21 [10]. During the United Nations Earth Summit held by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Rio de Janeiro (1992), a sustainable development was defined as improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco systems. This definition has an impact on the economic, social and environmental development and was later formally adopted worldwide [11]. This has lead to a growing concern around the world to improve the way of our development into a more responsible way without destroying the world we lived in. SUSTAINABILITY IN CONSTRUCTION Buildings, infrastructure and the environment are part of our living environment thus affecting our living conditions, social well-being and health. Hence, it is important to explore environmentally and economically sound design and development techniques for buildings and infrastructure for them to be sustainable, healthy and affordable, and also which encourage innovation in construction [11]. Previously, the concern on environment is relatively a small part of most of construction development. However, with the growing awareness on environmental protection due to the depletion of non-renewable resources, global warming and extremity of destruction to ecology and biodiversity impact, this issue have gain wider attention by the construction practitioners worldwide. Many efforts are being directed to build sustainable in construction world. The direction of the industry is now shifting from developing with environmental concern as a small part of the process into having the developme nt process being integrated within the wider context of environmental agenda [12]. With the implementation of sustainable construction, the construction industry is bound to bring about positive and proactive changes such as less pollution, waste and even constitutes to the well being of future generations. Therefore, the construction activities must work and comply with the need to protect and sustain the environment. As a consequence, achieving sustainability means achieving quality of life. Existing research shows that construction activities are a major contributor to environmental pollution [13]. Hence, sustainable development is an answer to reduce the major impact on the environment. Sustainable development requires the construction industry itself to be sustainable first. There are three elements that are related to sustainable development, which are economic, social and environment element [14]. Sustainable in economic includes increase profitability and competitiveness. Sustainable in social elements covers aspects of the delivery of buildings and infrastructures that meets the satisfactorily meets the requirement of the users and stakeholders. While sustainable in environment would consider the concerns on the conservation of natural ecosystems and minimization of environmental impacts and the consumption of energy and natural resources [10, 14]. Apart from that, sustainable construction is seems as a way for the construction industry to contribute to the effort to achieve sustainable development [6]. In brief, sustainable construction is the construction that contributes to the sustainable development. Abidin [15] suggested that the approach of sustainable construction will enable the construction practitioners to be more responsible to the environmental protection needs without neglecting the social and economic needs in striving for better living. Therefore, the challenge of the construction industry is to find the balance between three main pillars; environmental, economic and social in order for the construction industry to move towards sustainability. Since the construction industry has a great significant impact on the environment, the implementation of sustainable construction is a must. According to Tan, Shen and Yao [13] sustainable construction refers to the integration of environmental, social and economic considerations into construction business strategies and practices. It is the application of the principles of sustainable development to the comprehensive construction cycle from the extraction of raw materials, through the planning, design and construction of buildings and infrastructure, until their final deconstruction and management of the resultant waste. However Hamid, Noor, Kamar, Ghani, Zain, and Rahim [16] further explained that sustainable construction is the creation and responsible maintenance of a health built environment, based on ecological principles and by means of an efficient use of resources. In addition, sustainable construction is a way for the building industry to move towards achieving sustainable development, taking into account the environmental, socio-economic and cultural issues [11, 17]. Aguilar [18] pointed out that the adoption of sustainable construction practices also offers environmental protections as well economic advantages for consumers and communities offering substantial savings in the buildings life-cycle operating costs. Singh [19] further added that sustainability in construction is all about following suitable practices in terms of choice of materials, their sources, construction methodologies as well as design philosophy so as to be able to improve performance, decrease the environmental burden of the project, minimize waste and be ecologically friendlier. Consequently, sustainable construction deals with limited resources especially energy and how to reduce the impacts on the natural environment. Previous studies related to the research There were various research has been conducted in the area of sustainable construction and the quantity seems to increase over the years since environmental issues become more concerning worldwide. The research that has been done in the area of sustainable construction can be grouped into four which are research on sustainable practices, research on opportunities and awareness, research on materials and research on policy. The research that has been done in sustainable practices for instance is by Tan, Shen and Yao [13] which conducted a research on sustainable construction practice and contractors competitiveness which focuses on the relationship between sustainability performance and business competitiveness. The findings showed that there is no unique relationship between the two variables. But using a long-term view, sustainability performance will have greater contribution to business competitiveness in the future. Whereas Chen, Okudan, and Riley [20] conducted a research on sus tainable performance criteria for construction method selection in concrete buildings. The study was based on a qualitative research approach. In her study, she has identified a list of possible opportunities and strategic directions for government and industry stakeholders consideration in view of the future development. While Shen, Tam, Leona and Ji [21] discussed major challenges of conducting project feasibility study to the sustainable construction practices with reference to Mainland China construction industry. The study demonstrated that there is a need for shifting the traditional approach of project feasibility study to a new approach for embracing the principles of sustainable development. Besides, Shafii [11] has done a research on sustainable Construction in the developing countries of Southeast Asia and found that the status of sustainable construction in Southeast Asia is still in its infancy. Reffat [22] in his research addressed the essential requirements for develo ping sustainable construction in developing countries including considering sustainability as a necessity, efficient management of resources, shared responsibility, quality improvement of construction processes and products, improving the capacity of construction sector, and the need for integrated research. The innovation of building materials and technologies as an opportunity of sustainable construction in developing countries is introduced. A tool for sustainable building is also presented. Mohamad [23] conducted a research on Principles of Sustainable Development in Ibn Khalduns Economic Thought which focused on the nature of pursuable development in the economic model of Ibn Khaldun. The researcher cursorily examines Ibn Khaldun famous work al-Muqadimmah, as well as the interpretations of his work offered by contemporary scholars. This research reinterprets those views and concludes that the economic growth theory of Ibn Khaldun suggests sustainable development if one opts for a moderate rate of integrated development. Ibn Khaldunà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s theory of development runs towards the same direction as that of Basic Needs, Dematerialisation, and de-growth in our time. Overconsumption, corruption of morality, and the greed for luxury are recognised the indicators of fall of civilisations which are taken here to be the indicators of unsustainable development. His views can guide Muslim countries in drafting development policy and also can be used by educators for promoting sustainable development in Muslim Countries. A research done by Destatte [24] discussed that foresight could be a major tool in tackling sustainability as well as one of the best methods of preparing sustainable strategies and policies since the efforts made to construct specific methods dedicated to building sustainable strategies seem rather weak. Futurists themselves underestimate the relationship between sustainable development and foresight, even if they are talking about sustainabl e planning. Research on opportunities and awareness for instance has been done by [6, 15] on awareness and application of sustainable construction concept by Malaysian developers. This study has been conducted to investigate the level of awareness, knowledge and implementation of sustainable practices based on the perceptions of the project developers in Malaysia. The findings was only large developers are beginning to take heed towards sustainable implementation in their projects. Due to limited understanding and the concern about cost, many developers are still reluctant and uncertain concerning pursuit of sustainability in their projects. Whereas in the research, The Way Forward of Sustainable Construction and Green Technology In Malaysia conducted by Hamid, Noor, Kamar, Ghani, Zain, and Rahim [10] investigated the challenges facing by the industry in developing sustainable agenda and discusses Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)s initiatives in implementing sustainable agenda. Fur thermore, he highlighted current research on sustainable construction and green technology and provides strategic recommendations as the way forward. While Shafii, Ali, and Othman [11] in their study focused on the public private initiatives, partnerships and international co-operations to support sustainable building development in Malaysia. The finding was there is increasing public awareness and interest in how buildings affect the environment, worker productivity and public health. As a result, both the public and private sector are beginning to demand buildings that optimize energy use; promote resource efficiency; and improve indoor environmental quality. Developers, owners, operators, insurers, and the public at large are beginning to value and market the benefits of sustainable building. Despite these responses and demand, the development in sustainable building is relatively slow; this in part, might be due to the lack of incentives and regulatory procedures to guide susta inable building construction. The Green Building Mission launched recently by the Malaysian Government is an indication of a promising effort to ensure sustainable production and delivery of the construction industry products to fulfill these demands. The paper also discussed on the trends, challenges and barriers for implementations of sustainable building with recommendations for establishing clear policy targets. Research that has been conducted on materials basically focused on the sustainable material in construction industry and based on laboratory oriented. For instance research conducted by Voo [25] presents an overview of the material characteristics of a Malaysia blend of ultra-high performance ductile concrete (UHPdC) know as DURA. The comparison studies show that many structures constructed from UHPdC are generally more environmentally sustainable than built of the conventional reinforced concrete with respect to the reduction of CO2 emissions and embodied energy. However, in this paper, the researcher intends to focus on sustainable policy. Generally, there is no similar thorough research which has been done by any other researcher in the Malaysian construction industry regarding on policy since Malaysia still do not have policy on the sustainable construction based on the preliminary interview that has been done with Encik Ishamuddin bin Mazlan from the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA). If any, it merely focuses on the Environmental policy for instance a research conducted by Ambali [26] on Malaysian Experience in Policy of Sustainable Environment. The findings of the paper have shown an empirical relationship between environmental degradations and indicators of human development activities in Malaysia and elsewhere in the world. However, the paper reflects some fundamental issues that need to be addressed by the government for future direction of its policy efforts towards protection of natural resources and the envir onment at large. Whereas Zhang and Wen [27] in her research, review and challenges of policies of environmental protection and sustainable development in China determine how best to coordinate the relationship between the environment and the economy by taking a look at the development of Chinese environmental policy in order to improve quality of life and the sustainability of Chinas resources and environment. Examples of important measures include the adjustment of economic structure, reform of energy policy, development of environmental industry, pollution prevention and ecological conservation, capacity building, and international cooperation and public participation. While a research conducted by Hezri and Hasan [28] views the recent history of Malaysias evolving policy response to development needs and environmental change as consisting of four distinct stages. Despite an impressive array of policy statements and strategies to implement sustainable development, many challenges remain today. A clear articulation of normative principles of sustainable development is of paramount importance, as is the monumental task of policy implementation. The article argues that the trajectory of Malaysias policy on natural resources and environmental issues bears the characteristics of path dependent evolution. At PhD level, Kumorotomo [29] discussed the process of decision-making on Indonesian fiscal decentralisation policy in order to explain policy changes and continuities. It focuses on developments from 1974 to 2004. Based on the review of the previous studies related to the research that have been discussed above there seems no study that has been done (yet) in the area of sustainable construction policy and this will be discussed by the researcher in this Master research. Therefore, the gap has been identified and in order to contribute to the existing body of knowledge. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this research is to develop framework policy for the Malaysian Construction participants to move towards sustainable construction. In order to achieve this aim the following objectives were identified: Objective 1: To determined the importance of implementing the sustainable construction in Malaysian Construction Industry. Objective 2: To identified the barriers in order to implement sustainable construction in Malaysian Construction Industry. Objective 3: To develop fundamental strategies in promoting the sustainable construction in Malaysian construction industry. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Research questions serves as a guide in fulfill the aim and objectives of the research. In order to resolve the research problem, the following research questions were applied: Research question for objective 1 What and why sustainable construction is important in the Malaysian construction industry? How important of implementation of sustainable construction in Malaysian? How sustainable construction can reduce the global warming or climate change in Malaysia? Research question for objective 2 What are the barriers in implementing the sustainable construction in Malaysian Construction Industry? How to minimise the barriers? Research question for objective 3 What are the strategies in promoting the sustainable construction in Malaysian construction industry? What are the roles of various sectors in promoting the sustainable construction in Malaysian Construction Industry? 2.1 What are the roles of the government agencies? 2.2 Private sector? Developers? Contractors? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research methodology serves as a guide in achieving the aim and objectives of the study. This section would focus on the method of study to be carried out in order to achieve the objective of this research. In this research, mix method of questionnaire survey and case study will be applied. Quantitative Approach For the first stage of data collection, the quantitative method will be applied in order to identify the barriers in implementing sustainable construction in Malaysian construction industry. Qualitative Approach On the other hand, qualitative method will be used in order to produce strategies to further implement the sustainable construction. Interview session will be conducted among experienced professionals who involved directly in construction industry. The aim is to generate their opinion towards the implementation of sustainable construction in Malaysian construction industry. SIGNIFICANT OF THE RESEARCH This research will add to the body of knowledge that with the implementation of sustainable construction the construction industry is bound to bring about positive changes for instance less pollution, waste and even constitutes of well being future generations. This research is expected to develop a framework policy of sustainable construction in Malaysia. A new strategies and guidelines seem to be part of the framework design. This research will emphasize the importance of implementation of sustainable construction in Malaysian construction industry in order to sustain ecological system and enhance the social well being of all Malaysian citizens. Besides that, this research will identify the barriers in implementing the sustainable construction so that methods can be taken in order to minimise those barriers and finally come out with the strategies so that Malaysian participants can further implement the sustainable construction. Apart from that, the findings that meet the objective s of this research will open new fields for future researchers and academicians to carry out extensive researches on the topics concerned. In addition, data and output analyzed from the findings can be further referred or elaborated in any educational deliverance or scholarly materials. Therefore it is anticipated that this research will generate interests from the public, academicians and also practitioners. In short, the outcome of this research will affect various parties involved in construction industry including government and private agencies, construction suppliers and finally end users. Therefore, this research will certainly be beneficial to all parties. EXPECTED FINDINGS This research is attempted to develop a framework policy of sustainable construction in Malaysia since there is no specific policy on sustainable construction. Compared to other developed countries such as UK, Sweden and even our neighborhood countries like Singapore and Thailand have their own policies on Sustainable construction. Therefore, a new strategies and guidelines seem to be part of the framework design. At the end of the research it targets to improve the practice of sustainable policy is Malaysian construction industry and indirectly assists the developers, architects and contractors in improving the performance of our industry towards sustainable issues.