Anti-bias Curriculum - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1408 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/02/05 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Racism Essay Did you like this example? Anti-bias curriculum is an approach to education that presents ethical principles and moral approaches in supporting respect and inclusivity among all people. This all-embracing and all-encompassing way of teaching is essential in all schools in order to combat bias and inequality among all individuals. Anti-bias instruction can be taught to both children and adults alike, but it requires people to put their critical thinking skills to work. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Anti-bias Curriculum" essay for you Create order It is through this information that we, as human beings, can begin to battle against the thick barriers of bias, misinformation, and prejudice. I propose that Nelsonville Local Schools implement a program of anti-bias workshops on race as a point of entry for a communal respect for ourselves, each other, and all people in our world. Socio-Political Environment As our contemporary society continues farther into the 21st century, educators at all levels are working to respond to not only the educational needs of our students but also to societal needs of our people. From this societal standpoint, our world places a huge value on one’s identity. Our human history has taught us that it is a fiery conversation and often results in conflict, making â€Å"race† one of the most challenged areas of one’s identity. Race, in this way, is essentially a classification and categorization of people based on their appearance, language, and cultural traits. As we consider this knowledge, it becomes obvious that race is an incredibly complex concept in the socio-political realm. â€Å"Institutional racism,† or â€Å"systemic racism,† is a type of racism that is specifically found in various social and political institutions—including schools. Our textbook affirms, â€Å"Many incarcerated peoples of Color have atten ded under-funded and deteriorating schools, have had poor access to health care, have historically been denied mortgages and other wealth building programs, and have received inequitable treatment in every other major institution that would have given them and their children an equal starting point in life (Alexander, 2010)† (129). The authors explain that it is not an individual-based fault, but instead one of society, and the way that we break down the problem is the way that people respond to it. The author continues, â€Å"But if we perceive the problem as one of structural racism, we might change the way we fund schools, ensure that every family has affordable access to health care and social services, work to decrease racial profiling, and change the policies that allow wealth to be ever more concentrated in fewer hands† (130). I found this quote to be one of the most compelling statements in the entire text because it showcases connected issues that are affected by racism as well as different approaches to tackling this societal fault. Leaders on a federal level as well as images on different types of media coverage can impact the way that we think and feel about these issues as well. This can impact education by the stories that our students read, the images and videos that are exposed on the in ternet, and leaders who are elected to model strength and unity within our country. Even though our nation has made great strides in the right direction in terms of tackling this issue head on, racism continues to work and thrive in altered ways. Introspective Reflexivity Environment Privilege, in connection to the topic of race, can often only be offered to individuals who belong to the most dominant race. Our textbook makes an intriguing point about this topic asserting, â€Å"In other words, peoples of Color are almost always seen as â€Å"having a race† and described in racial terms†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Black man†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦whereas Whites are rarely defined by race†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"a man†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦thereby allowing whites to move through society as â€Å"just people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (126). It seems as if sometimes we feel the need to clarify if someone is a person of color or of a unique background in order to describe them accurately and completely. It is also important to consider that in addressing topics of both dominance and privilege that one might tend to mentally picture someone on a basic level to be a white person—a â€Å"normal† person. It is understood that anyone who is outside this box of â€Å"normalcy† should additionally in clude descriptions of their uniqueness and differences. This concept of privilege is especially crucial to consider when shaping young minds in the classroom, and even more so when building a â€Å"classroom community.† As a future educator, I have already seen firsthand the importance of uplifting and encouraging students to pursue their academic and professional goals. In my classroom, I plan to implement these topics in my own instruction and make resources accessible to students that address relatable concepts. I firmly believe that it is important to show students of all backgrounds and experiences how people of all backgrounds and experiences have worked together to learn about our world in order to make it a better place. However, educators must educate themselves and continue to educate themselves that they are role-models in the classroom. Our textbook affirms, â€Å"Concerns and assumptions about their abilities constantly surround students of Color. It is important to remember that these stereotypes are not just ‘in our heads’; Whites do hold these stereotypes and they do affect the way Whites evaluate peoples of Color† (136). As a white woman and a citizen of this country, I believe that it is easy to forget about these issues when teaching the state’s curriculum in the classroom at any age level. We tend to forget about our identity and the way that people perceive our identity through our language. Educators must learn and remember that internalized racism can also exist within our students. Teachers of all areas, and particularly White teachers, hold an incredibly powerful position in teaching students—specifically students of Color. Becoming an anti-bias educ ator is not a â€Å"quick-fix† or something that one is able to understand through reading a book or attending a seminar. It is through this reflective, life-long process of defining one’s own positionality and biases at the core in order to impact students on a plethora of levels. Becoming an ant-bias educator means that one is truly able to become an ally for all students collectively, and become part of a community of supporters in this focus. School, Curriculum, Pedagogical Environment As we keep these issues in mind, I wholeheartedly believe that the center of our focus when addressing these issues should begin in the classroom. Not only should teachers empower students from backgrounds different from their own, but they should also include their voices in these conversations. Educators need to allow students to educate each other by initiating and intertwining these conversations into curriculum-based instruction to validate their ways of thinking. However, when thinking about how to do this as a white teacher like myself in a classroom full of students, this can sometimes be difficult. This mission may seem like a simple one from an outside perspective, but this can be challenging and require great courage. As a school system it is absolutely necessary that we, as a teaching team, reflect students’ identities through our curriculum as our curriculum reflects our students’ identities. Our textbook addresses the central differences to mainstream ways of multicultural education against that of antiracist education, and which action does more work in addressing the issue at its core. Our textbook states, â€Å"Antiracist education deliberately goes beyond the celebrating approach most common to most multicultural programs†¦Anti-racist education seeks to interrupt these relations by educating people to identify, name, and challenge the norms, patterns, and institutions that keep racism in place† (142). This is a notable distinction because as educators, we are taught to include resources that relate with not only students in our classroom but also students in various parts of the world. This is important for educators to consider because my implementing anti-racist education within our learning environment, we are addressing this issue at its core rather than coming up with ways to work around this fault. As an educational professional, I again, propose the absolute importance of sharing and interacting with these ideologies through discussions and programs within our schools. These programs should be available to not only our staff employed at Nelsonville-York Local Schools, but also to the guardians of our students and the individuals in our community as an entirety. Ultimately, these conversations and learning environments will not only further analyze racism in education but also provide our society with the tools that we need to liberate perspectives of all kinds.

Should the Drinking Age Be Raised to 21 - 785 Words

Should the drinking age be raised to 21? Teenagers between the age of fifteen to eighteen are drinking an average of nine to eleven cans of beer per week. They will ruin their lives if they dont cut down on the alcohol. Should this be enough to raise the drinking age up to twenty-one? Teenagers do not understand how dangerous alcohol can be. BBC News proved that the UK has one of the worst problems in Europe, with a fifth of children aged eleven to fifteen drinking at least once per week. There is evidence that teenagers are drinking an average of forty-four bottles of wine or one hundred and seventy seven pints of beer in a year. Articles in the Telegraph show that there are one hundred and ninety thousand, fifteen to sixteen years†¦show more content†¦The article from the Sun Newspaper shows a good example of how bad teenagers want alcohol they they take an innocent mans life just to get drunk. Arguments conflict of how you are allowed to get married, have a job and have a child but you are not allowed to have a drink of alcohol at sixteen. I totally agree with the law been made that you should not be allowed to drink alcohol at sixteen as teenagers are still to immature and abuse alcoholShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Reflect Today s Societal Values And That The Legislations Liquor Act 20071285 Words   |  6 Pagesthe laws related to the legal drinking age does not reflect today’s societal values and that the legislations ‘Liquor Act 2007 No 90 (NSW) Part 7 Division 1 Sections 117 116’ should be reformed to raise the drinking age in Australia from 18 years of age to 21. Through surveying different age groups and socio-economic backgrounds of society, information has been gathered to demonstrate that the current laws do not reflect society’s opinion on the legal drinking age in Australia. Research suggestsRead MoreThe Legal D rinking Age Should Not Be Lowered988 Words   |  4 PagesThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered There are copious amounts of people who believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. Others think the drinking age needs to remain the same. A few of those also conclude the legal age of adulthood should be raised to 21. The belief is if the adolescent brain has not matured enough to support alcohol use by age 21, it cannot make the responsible decisions required at 18 years of age. Voters should make the decision toRead MoreThe Minimum Drinking Age Act1700 Words   |  7 PagesMinimum Drinking Age Act made all 50 states raise the legal drinking age to 21(Dejong). The debate is on whether the age should be lowered or not. Statistically, having the age at 21 has been very helpful in keeping the nation safe. If there is not an issue with age now, would it make sense to lower the age and create unnecessary problems? In this case, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Simply because there is no good in lowering the age. The legal drinking age ha s been set at 21 for 30Read MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered From The Age Of 21 Essay980 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidered â€Å"adults† cannot even make their own decisions? The drinking age on alcohol is a controversial social and cultural issue in today’s society; all fifty states have a minimum drinking age of 21. The legal drinking age should be lowered from the age of 21 to 18 allowing young adults to be granted the right to drink in restaurants, bars, at social events, in the comfort of their own home, and so on. If anything, lowering the legal drinking age would have a positive impact on the United Sates economyRead MoreThe Debate Over The Drinking Age1025 Words   |  5 Pageshave always wondered why the drinking age was raised to twenty-one. I have looked and researched the following information but still don’t have a true explanation as to why it was raised to the age of twenty-one. The movement called Amethyst Initiative began recruiting university presidents to provoke national debate about the drinking age. College Presidents from about 100 of the nation’s universities, are calling on law makers to consider lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen byRead More The Drinking Age Should NOT Be Lowered Essay1006 Words   |  5 Pagesminimum legal drinking age. Choose Responsibility, a group founded by John McCardell, proposes that upon completion of a 40 hour course to educate young people about alcohol, 18, 19, and 20 year old people should be licensed to drink. The Amethyst Initiative, part of Choose Responsibility, is a petition to Congress to rethink the minimum legal drinking age. Several college leaders have signed this petition in the belief that lowering the minimum legal drinking age will reduce binge drinking on collegeRead MoreBang! A Soldier Just Got Shot, And Most Likely P Never1676 Words   |  7 Pagesfreedom of drinking? The drinking age was moved to the age of 21 in 1984 due to many drunk drivers. Now I think everyone gets the point not to drink and drive due to the serious consequences. If we lowered the drinking age underage drinking wouldn’t be as big. More money for our government will be made, therefore we can buy and reproduce more goods. The drinking age should be lowered, because it will stop binge drinking, you are considered an adult at age 18, and it helps colleges. Binge Drinking is whenRead MoreTempest in a Bottle Essay732 Words   |  3 Pagescollege students drinking have been a longstanding problem in the American culture. They look at drinking as something glamorous, and I am here to say that I feel the drinking age should be higher. Just because at the age of eighteen you are a legal adult and can do adult things like vote, smoke, marry, drive, fly, pay taxes, take out loans, hold public office, serve on a jury, and fight for their country doesn’t mean you should have a drink. My first reason on why the drinking age should be higherRead MoreDrinking Age1012 Words   |  5 PagesDrinking Age The drinking age was moved from 18 to 21 for a reason. The higher drinking age of 21 has saved many lives, helped reduce the amount of underage drinking, and therefore should not be lowered. Many studies from a large variety of sources have proven higher drinking ages have a positive effect on society. Alcohol is harmful to the development of younger people. Research has shown that an adult is less likely to bingeRead MoreLowering Legal Drinking Age Essay1417 Words   |  6 PagesLowering the Drinking Age Half the United States population starts drinking at the age of 14.When you are 18 you have privileges like joining the army. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) You can go to war and die for your country but you still can not enjoy an ice cold beer. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) How is being 21 different from being 18? How does three more years of not drinking make you mature enough to drink? The longer you drink the more you start to

Amman, Jordan free essay sample

Amman, Jordan is my home. Until I was 15, I lived in an environment filled with joy, with friends, with luxuries, and with freedom; I enjoyed every second of my life and did not worry about school during the years I studied in Jordan. Because I seldom studied or worked hard in school, my grades suffered and I found myself in difficult situations. I needed to be motivated to do homework, to go places or to meet people I wasn’t interested in – sometimes, even to get out of bed. As time passed and I entered the upper grades of the Amman IB School, my parents and teachers began showing serious concern about my poor performance. I needed to do well in school and to learn much in order to get into a good college and earn a degree in Business Administration, my first choice to study in college. At the same time my parents realized that I was becoming too dependent on them, on my brothers, on my friends, even on my teachers. We will write a custom essay sample on Amman, Jordan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So for three straight years, I attended the six-week Culver Summer Camps in Indiana. I learned a lot through going there each summer; I especially learned how it felt to be independent and responsible by flying overseas alone. I enjoyed feeling the confidence I gained from doing well outside the comforts of my life in Amman. But summer camp didn’t do much to improve my academic performance. Halfway through my freshman year, I was drooping badly; my grades and my effort were falling steadily. My parents felt I needed to change 180 degrees, so they decided to send me to the Culver Academies for boarding school. They knew I would benefit there; they knew I would enjoy it there as I had enjoyed it in summer camp. As the last weeks of March passed, and the application materials from Culver started drizzling in by mail, by fax, and by email, I got excited about attending. At another point, though, I grew worried and disheartened because I knew that I would miss my friends and mig ht not see some of them again. I wondered how I was going to survive three years away from home. The fun days were over. I was off to boarding school. When school started, discipline, responsibility, team work and hard work came down to me pretty fast. I knew I had to change; the difference between what I did when I was home in Amman and what I did here at Culver was immense. I had to be more independent, more aware of everything I did and was supposed to do – I knew I faced difficult consequences when I did wrong. Over time, I realized that my life has been changing by the hour, changing in the effort I have put forth, in the responsibilities I’ve faced and fulfilled, in the discipline I’ve learned, in the risks I’ve taken to grow and learn in any ways I can. I became more aware of life, more familiar with both Jordanian and American cultures, as well as with those of students from Mexico and China and Korea and Taiwan and Croatia and Honduras. At first, I couldn’t imagine why my father would be hollering at me. Was it because I did something wrong the night before? Was it because he got a phone call from school? Or was it because I’ve mistreated my mother the night before? What he was yelling about was my indifference towards studying, the way I didn’t care about the future, and the way I wasn’t responsible enough to go out to some places. This all bit me at the end, with what my dad used to tell me and encourage me turned out to be real. After coming to the Culver Academies, I have learned to be responsible, to be disciplined, and to be engaged with other people and with my own goals. Culver has not only taught me content and subject matter, but also how to learn, how to study wisely, how to understand better, and how to help myself succeed by using school resources like the Writing Center and the library’s technology networks. Now, as I realize that it has all turned out to be real, I see that coming to Culver has made all the difference. I am not as I was three years ago; I am now motivated to work hard and to be responsible for my actions, my goals, my future.

Save The Animals! Essays - Animal Welfare, Animal Rights, Animal Law

Save The Animals! Do you have any idea how many animals are killed each year just so we can have little things that we do not need and that are not necessities? Too many to put it lightly. Almost 2 million animals are killed each year for their fur, for usage in experiments, and for decorations for humans! Not only is that cruelty to animals, but that is inhumane and should be unconstitutional! That is an outrage! In 1998, over 10,263,600 animals were sold for experiments in Japan. These animals include 20,000 dogs, 2,000 cats, 1,600 monkeys, 160,000 rabbits, 80,000 hamsters, 3,000,000 rats, and 7,000,000 mice. Japan does not have national level control. We need to find an alternative to murdering these helpless animals. In the year 2000, over 5,300,000 animals were imported to Japan for their fur. These animals include 600,000 minks, 400,000 foxes, 3,000,000 rabbits and 1,300,000 goats and sheep. One method of killing these poor animals is that they are caught, bred, and killed. They normally only live six months which is not good enough. They should be able to live full, free lives without the worry of being hunted and killed. Other methods of killing these animals are very cruel, such as electrocution of anal. We need to stop killing these beautiful creatures just for their fur when we can use the alternatives such as fake fur. They deserve to live full lives like God intended them to. They deserve better than this cruelty. Too many animals are also killed for decorations for humans. Turtles, elephants, and tigers are killed still alive. That is absurd! We can find other alternatives rather than harming these glorious creatures for our benefit. What is the benefit in losing things that God created? He made these animals for a reason and if he wanted them to die, he would take them when he thinks they are ready, not when we decide we want such things as a coat! Altogether, over 15,563,600 animals are killed each year for their fur, experiments, or to make decorations! That is over 15,563,600 too many! If we do not stop this insanity, many animals might become endangered and some may even become extinct! They have just as much right to live on this earth as we do. They are part of the circle of life just like us humans. Even though you may think we are superior beings you are wrong, because we are equal to every other living thing. It is wrong to kill any living thing, it even says so in the Ten Commandments! It does not say that it is okay to kill anything but humans, it says, Thou Shall Not Kill and we should not harm magnificent creations of our own Mother Nature which without her we would not be here anyway. Too many animals are being harmed and even killed for our benefit and we need to stop this before it gets even more out of hand. You can help make a difference. Animal Science

The Disadvantages of Socialized Healthcare essays

The Disadvantages of Socialized Healthcare essays Socialized healthcare has emerged as a highly debated issue in the United States, attracting the attention from the media, as well as policy solution for political leaders. Both political parties are under increasing pressure to address the insurance and healthcare crises, in America. However, socialized healthcare has not been an effective or efficient solution to address these issues, in other countries, and rather has caused many healthcare systems to crumble. A portion of the challenge of rising healthcare costs is due to individuals not becoming sufficiently involved in decisions regarding their health and medical care or payment for services rendered. Instead, they simply entrust third parties, such as insurance companies, to make these decisions. Bills to fund health insurance for underprivileged children continue to be debated in Washington D.C.. There is a significant amount of support for some form of socialized medicine, a system of government controlled healthcare funded via taxation; however, there are significant downsides that must be considered before such a system can become a reality. One only has to look at the National Health Service (NHS) in Great Britain to begin to appreciate the challenges with socialized medicine. Founded in 1948, the NHS experiment quickly became more costly than anticipated. Today, one in eight patients wait more than a year for treatment (Carvel, 2007, s), prescription drugs are limited or unavailable for many, and the facilities are not up to par (Kelland, 2006, 1). Add to this government officials skimming funds and lagging research, and it quickly becomes a system no country would want to emulate. In order to cut costs in France, as is typical of government officials, their socialized healthcare program decided to buy heat-treated blood from foreign labs. Much of this substandard blood was tainted with AIDS and infected 3,000 patients. Canadians too find lengthy waits f...

Strontium - Elements in Fireworks

Strontium - Elements in Fireworks Metal salts are important in fireworks and other pyrotechnics. One of the most common metallic elements is strontium, which is atomic number 38 on the periodic table, with element symbol Sr. However, the pure metal isnt used. Fireworks are made using strontium salts, especially  strontium carbonate (SrCO3) and strontium nitrate (Sr(NO3)2). Strontium nitrate acts as both a colorant (the strontium part) and an oxidizer (the nitrate portion). Strontium salts impart a red color to fireworks. Strontium compounds are also important for stabilizing fireworks mixtures. Youll find it in emergency flares, including road flares and flare guns. Is Strontium Toxic? Strontium is one of the safest metals found in fireworks (biologically speaking). As with other metals, it has its uses, but overexposure can lead to problems. Strontium chloride is found in some toothpastes intended to reduce tooth sensitivity. It forms a barrier over the nerve endings in tooth dentin that is exposed by receding gums. Strontium supplements are available, said to aid bone health. In Europe, strontium ranelate is available by prescription to reduce fracture rate from osteoporosis. The strontium compounds available online or in the United States are more commonly strontium citrate or strontium chloride, which have not been shown to be effective for osteoporosis. While exposure to trace levels of strontium isnt a concern, taking a large amount of it is associated with side effects, including blood clots and heart damage. Sources J. Paul MacMillan, Jai Won Park, Rolf Gerstenberg, Heinz Wagner, Karl Kà ¶hler, Peter Wallbrecht Strontium and Strontium Compounds in  Ullmanns Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2005, Wiley-VCH: Weinheim.ONeill GT, Rolfe LR, Kaufman MH. Developmental potential and chromosome constitution of strontium-induced mouse parthenogenones (1991)  Mol. Reprod. Dev.30:214-219​.Pradyot Patnaik.  Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals. McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Business Plan for Robert Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Business Plan for Robert - Term Paper Example The company will bear all the associated expenses of the business process rather than just passing it to the customer side and in this respect, the company will gradually have declining profit margin. Quite a favorable chance also exists in case of Robert deciding to decrease his part of the liability by increasing the per unit selling price of the chocolate consignments for increased profit in future. For instance, in the provided question multiple instances describes that the investments made by Robert on the equipment and the storage locations. As a countering part, the discussion also comprises facts depicting how Robert should increase his product selling prices by certain percentage on every quarterly basis in order to recover the additional amount of US$ 16,000, which he has initially invested on the machineries and on processes such as website designing and marketing research. Considerable facts regarding how Robert should expands his market and bring about segmentation withi n customers are also taken under consideration with the aim of enhancing business performances. Additionally, the report also signifies the necessity of an effective ‘supply chain management’, which needs to be attained by Robert to provide better quality of product delivery services to the customers. In addition, the supply chain management will also enhance the product procurement process. The idea regarding these aspects has been provided in such a manner that customers satisfied with the services will gradually bring about more demands for the products offered by the business conducted by Robert. In this context, it can easily expand his market along with periodically increase the product selling prices as well. Robert has been conducting business for many years in New York.

Moral Corporation Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Moral Corporation - Personal Statement Example Moral Corporation Since every organization operates in a given community, it is important for it to pay back to the community for allowing it to run its business in the community. An organization may not be able to achieve its objectives without the involvement of the members of the society. It is, therefore, necessary that the company should take care of the interests of the society as it does with its own objectives. That is a moral corporation. An organization’s stakeholders are the key success drivers. Therefore, behaving morally towards them will give a company a good image which will motivate the stakeholders to work harder to achieve the organization’s objectives. The practice shows that companies which show moral responsibility towards its stakeholders perform better than those who do not. This is because a morally responsible organization attracts better human capital and increases the cooperation of the stakeholders in executing the company’s operations. In order for a c ompany to exercise a moral social responsibility successfully, it needs to establish a Corporate Social Responsibility Program which will ensure that the needs of all stakeholders as well as the welfare of the society are well taken care of by the company. Moral responsibility concerns an organization’s behavior towards the society as well. It means that the company should behave ethically towards the members of the community within which it conducts its business. First of all, it should be responsible for its actions. Morally responsible organizations ensure that their operations are not only in line with the law, but also responsive to the welfare needs of the society at large. Appropriate mechanisms need to be put in place in order for companies to contribute towards a sustainable working environment and economic development. One of the ways to take care of the needs and welfare of the society is environmental conservation. Organizations in such industries as oil, automobi le, and mining have a great impact on the environment by their activities. In order for such businesses to contribute to a sustainable development, they should use approaches which are able to minimize the negative impact on the environment. A profit oriented business should operate in a sustainable environment where business operations can be undertaken smoothly without major challenges. Therefore, every organization that is determined to achieve its primary objectives should take care of the environment by minimizing negative impacts on it. Oil, automobile industries among others often contribute to environmental pollution and cause greenhouse effects which are dangerous to human life and affect the climate. If human life is threatened and the climate is affected, the economic conditions of a country will be affected negatively and business environment will also be negated. In this case, the profitability of the business will decrease in the long run. Therefore, organizations must maintain a good green environment for the success of their businesses. Mining also leads to environmental degradation and pollution. This may make land unproductive and threaten human and animal life. This also leads to the unsustainable development which results in poor performance of organizations in the long run. Such businesses should, therefore, ensure that they always behave responsively towards the community by undertaking environmental-friendly or green operations. Another way by which an organization may demonstrate

A good neighbour Essay Example for Free

A good neighbour Essay A good neighbour is a blessing while a bad neighbour is a curse. The city-bred people are generally lacking in sympathy. They are mostly cold in their manners; they are more selfish than the villagers who are large hearted. I live in a thickly populated part of the town. I like to cultivate good relations with the people around me. I believe that no man, however rich or strong, can live in self-sufficiency. My next door neighbour to the right is Mr. Tara Singh. We are on the best of terms. We are deeply attached to each other. He is a gentleman par-excellence. He has a completely non-communal outlook on life. We share each others joys and sorrows. He has a jolly temperament. His robust optimism and his constant high spirits have always cheered me. Whenever some anxiety weighs upon me, I immediately seek his company and draw comfort from his ever-smiling face and carefree looks. He makes light of an illness, a financial loss, a near and dear ones death, even an insult, whereas anyone of these things is sufficient to rob me of my peace of mind and impose a severe strain on me. His companionship dispels all my fears, doubts and worries. We daily go for a walk together. We are both fond of boating and go to the river for boating every Sunday. We both have a passion for chess and never miss a game or two every evening. He is also a cinema fan like me. We differ in our preferences for film stars but that does not prevent us from enjoying a picture together. He cannot tolerate my smoking. His hatred is not based on any religious sentiment. He just feels a natural aversion for it. He is very stingy. I have often tried to set before him an example of liberality but he continues to be close-fisted. He is very much interested in sports. He does not miss any sporting event. We like each other immensely and I can call him a good neighbour who is very accommodating. Just opposite me there is the palatial house of Seth Karori Mai. He is some rare specimen of humanity. He is a millionaire. He is issueless but he is so miserly that he would not spend a penny. He is a thin and lean fellow. He is putting on the same weather-beaten suit which he purchased of a second -hand dealer twenty years back. He never brushes it lest it should wear out sooner. He never takes milk or fruit. He lives on a few biscuits, a rotten banana or an orange and a cup of tea without milk. He has more than half a dozen buildings but he himself lives in a small, dark, dingy room. His room is electric fitted but he never makes use of electric light. He lights a small candle when he stands in need of light. If some drops of wax are split over, he would go on collecting them and remould them into candles. To buy a banana or an orange, he would trot all the way to the fruit market and would buy a few rotten bananas or oranges after a lot of higgling, haggling. He trusts nobody. He hates social contacts. He is a big banker. He lends money at usurious rates of interest. Money is his God. He loves hoarding. He never gives a penny in charity. He is selfish and greedy. He fleeces his tenants but seldom looks to their needs. He seldom wears shoes and never goes to the movies. He is always serious and business-like. He never presents a smiling face to anybody. He is quite illiterate but very quick at figures. He is a psychologist and can easily read your mind. He is very shrewd. He has a very strong instinct. He is too clever to be ever taken in by anybody. He is a past master in the art of exacting money from others. You will be surprised to know that his bank balance runs into eight figures. From his general appearance, one will be led to think that he is a very poor miserable fellow who is penniless. I have failed in my efforts to draw him into conversation or establish any social contact with him. He is a man of few words. People avoid his ominons looks in the morning. Small children are terribly afraid of him. My neighbour on the left-hand side is a college lecturer. He has married quite recently. His wife is also a college lecturer. They form a happy couple. They are a well-matched pair. They live in perfect harmony. They have refined tastes. They are always dressed according to the latest fashion. Their rooms are artistically decorated. The modern paintings, curtains and curios in the rooms, all make you envy them. They have cultured friends and I love to hear their fine jokes and laughter. There are some other people also in my street. But there is nothing about them worth mentioning. They just lead their lives like machines and attract no notice of their neighbours.

TV Sucks :: essays research papers

In this essay I am going to express my views on the bad aspects of TV, and explain what they are. Possibly, this essay may change your views on TV and how it is used.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The truth is that most TV shows suck. This is especially true in so-called situation comedies. The reason they have to add that stupid laugh track is so you know what part is supposed to be funny. If you’ll notice, the funniest and most successful shows don’t usually have laugh tracks, such as The Simpsons, because it’s a good enough written show that you can laugh at the parts you think are funny. Instead of the laughing machine telling you which parts are funny. Yet, people sit through shows that they don’t even like because they are too lazy to do anything else while they are waiting for a good show to come on. Personally, I have about 60 channels, and in an hour period of time, there is maybe one good show on. That’s not much to select from. Since television’s primary purpose is to advertise, you also have to sit through about 10 minutes of commercials per 30 minute program. So, a 30 minute show is, in reality, only ac tually 20 minutes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TV is mind numbing. In order to reach its maximum potential audience, so that the sponsors can sell more product, TV shows have to be brought down in intelligence to the point of having little or no intellectual value or relevance. Which causes smart people to get unintelligent. TV is always moving at a fast speed, there is usually action or a confrontation in every scene of a show so that viewers don’t lose interest. This tends to make people bored in real life which is a bad thing because then you will get lazy and board, which will cause you to watch more TV (do you see the cycle).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TV is too censored. Only a handful of corporations control what you can and can’t see on TV, and who are they to say what should be censored and what shouldn’t. Often, what happens, is that kids (aged 1-12) ruin it for everybody else, because even though they are a small part of the population, TV’s censorship is run at their needs. It’s just the same as a classroom running at the speed of the least intelligent kid, which slows everybody else down.

Study Guide Bnc1

Chapter 13, Power and Politics – Learning Objectives 1. Define power and contrast leadership and power. 2. Contrast the five bases of power. 3. Explain the role of dependence in power relationships. 4. Identify nine power or influence tactics and their contingencies. 5. Show the connection between sexual harassment and the abuse of power. 6. Identify the causes and consequences of political behavior. 7. Apply impression management techniques. 8. Determine whether a political action is ethical. Chapter 13, Power and Politics – Section Outlines I.Power is the capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B, so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. A. Definition of power the ability to influence the behavior of others. 1. Potential 2. Dependency – B ’s relationship to A when A possesses something that B requires. B. Contrasting leadership and power. 1. Leaders use power as a means of attaining group goals. 2. Power does not require goal compati bility, but relies on dependency. 3. While leadership focuses on the downward influence of one's followers, power also deals with lateral and upward influence. II. Bases of powerA. Formal power = based on an individual’s position in an organization. 1. Coercive power: A power base that is dependent on fear of the negative results from failing to comply such as controlling by force of basic physiological or safety needs. 2. Reward power: Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable. 3. Legitimate (formal authority) power: The power a person receives as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization. B. Personal power = Influence derived from an individual’s characteristics. 1.Expert power: Influence based on special skills or knowledge. 2. Referent power: Influence based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. C. Dependency: The Key to Power 1. General depe ndency postulate: The greater B ’s dependence on A, the more power A has over B. 2. Factors creating dependency a. Importance – think of technology engineers of Gettyimages b. Scarcity – think of Ferruccio Lamborghini; he memorized the manual and destroyed it. c. Nonsubstitutability – the fewer viable substitutes for a resource, the more power control over that resource provides. III.Power Tactics: Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific actions. Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the most effective, especially when the audience is highly interested in the outcomes of a decision process. A. Legitimacy: Relying on your authority position or saying a request accords with organizational policies or rules. B. Rational persuasion: Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate a request is reasonable. C. Inspirational appeals: Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a targetâ €™s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations.D. Consultation: Increasing the target’s support by involving him or her in deciding how you will accomplish your plan. E. Exchange: Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. F. Personal appeals: Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. G. Ingratiation: Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making a request. H. Pressure: Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. I. Coalitions: Enlisting the aid or support of others to persuade the target to agree. J. Political Skill: The ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance one’s objective.IV. Sexual Harassment: Unequal Power in the Workplace A. Any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment and creates a hostile work environment. B. Sexual harassment negatively affects job attitudes and leads those who feel harassed to withdraw from the organization. C. Some ways managers can protect themselves and their employees from sexual harassment: 1. Make sure an active policy defines what constitutes sexual harassment, informs employees they can be fired for sexually harassing another employee, and establishes procedures for making complaints. 2.Reassure employees they will not encounter retaliation if they file a complaint. 3. Investigate every complaint, and inform the legal and human resource departments. 4. Make sure offenders are disciplined or terminated. 5. Set up in-house seminars to raise employee awareness of sexual harassment issues. V. Politics: Power in Action A. Definition of Organizational Politics 1. Political behavior, in organization, consists of activities that are not required as part of an individual’s formal role but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization. . Legitimate political power b. Illegitimate political power VI. Causes and Consequence s of Political Behavior A. Factors contributing to political behavior 1. Individual factors 2. Organizational factors B. How do people respond to organizational politics? 1. Decreased job satisfaction 2. Increased anxiety and stress 3. Increased turnover 4. Reduced performance VII. Impression management VIII. The Ethics of Behaving Politically Chapter 13, Power and Politics – Key Terms †¢Power- A capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. Dependence – B ’s relationship to A when A possesses something that B requires. †¢Coercive Power – A power base that is dependent on fear of the negative results from failing to comply. †¢Reward power – Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable. †¢Legitimate power – The power a person receives as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization. †¢ Personal power – Influence derived from an individual’s characteristics. †¢Expert power – Influence based on special skills or knowledge. †¢Referent power – Influence based on identification with a person who has desirable esources or personal traits. †¢Power tactics – Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specifics actions. †¢Political skill – The ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance one’s objectives. †¢Sexual Harassment – Any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment and creates a hostile work environment. †¢Political behavior – Activities that are not required as part of a person’s formal role in the organization but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization. Impression Management (IM) – The process by which individuals attempt t o control the impression others form of them. †¢Defensive behaviors – Reactive and proactive behaviors to avoid action, blame, or change Chapter 17, Human Resources Policies and Procedures – Learning Objectives 1. Define initial selection, and identify the most useful methods. 2. Define substantive selection, and identify the most useful methods. 3. Define contingent selection, and contrast the arguments for and against drug testing. 4. Compare the four main types of training. 5. Contrast formal and informal training methods. 6.Contrast on-the-job and off-the-job training. 7. Describe the purposes of performance evaluation and list the methods by which it can be done. 8. Show how managers can improve performance evaluations. 9. Describe how organizations can manage work-family conflicts. Chapter 17, Human Resources Policies and Procedures – Section Outlines I. Selection Process A. Initial selection are the first information applicants submit and are used fo r preliminary rough cuts to decide whether the applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job. 1. Application forms including letters of recommendation 2. Background checks B. Substantive selection 1.Written tests 2. Performance-simulations tests a. Work sample tests: Hands-on simulations of part or all of the work that applicants for routine jobs must perform. b. Assessment centers: A set of performance-simulation tests designed to evaluate a candidate’s managerial potential. 3. Interviews have a disproportionate amount of influence on employee selection decisions. a. In addition to evaluating specific, job-related skills, managers are looking at personality characteristics and personal values to find individuals who fit the organization’s culture and image. C. Contingent selection 1. Drug test is a common contingent selection method. . Argument against drug testing: Drug is a private matter. II. Training and Development Programs A. Types of training 1. Basic lite racy skills 2. Technical skills has become increasingly important in organizations. 3. Interpersonal skills 4. Problem-solving skills 5. Ethics training B. Training methods 1. Formal training a. Types of formal training 1. On-the-job training (i)job rotation (ii)apprenticeship (iii)understudy assignments (iv)formal mentoring programs 2. Off-the-job training (i)classroom lectures (ii)internet courses is most likely to be the fastest growing training. (iii)public seminars (iv)videotapes 3.E-training b. Individualizing formal training to fit the employee’s learning style c. Evaluating effectiveness 2. Informal training III. Performance Appraisal A. Purposes of performance evaluation 1. Helps managers make human resource decisions 2. Assists in identifying training and development needs 3. Provides a criterion against which management validates selection and development programs 4. Provides feedback on employees 5. Basis for reward allocations – determine promotions, B. Wh at do we evaluate? 1. Individual task outcomes 2. Behaviors 3. Traits – least predictive set of criteria used to evaluate employees. C.Who should do the evaluating? 1. Immediate superior 2. Peers 3. Self-evaluation a. Lead to employees rating themselves highly b. Make excellent vehicles for stimulating job performance discussions between employees and their superiors c. Often low in agreement with superiors’ rating d. Tend to be biased estimates 4. Immediate subordinates 5. 360-degree evaluation is to pool feedback from all the employee’s customers or provide performances feedback from the full circle of daily contacts that an employee might have, ranging from mailroom personnel to customers to bosses to peers. D. Methods of performance evaluation 1.Written essays – does not require no complex forms or extensive training to complete. 2. Critical incidents – the evaluation method that focuses the evaluator’s attention on those behaviors that are key to executing a job effectively. 3. Graphic rating scales consider their usability in quantitative analysis 4. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) – When an appraiser rates employees based on items on a continuum with the points reflecting actual behaviors on a given job 5. Forced comparisons a. Group order ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular classification, such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth. . Individual ranking is an approach to performance evaluation rank-orders employees from best to worst. E. Suggestions for improving performance evaluations 1. Use multiple evaluators 2. Evaluate selectively 3. Train evaluators 4. Provide employees with due process F. Providing performance feedback 1. The human resources department is not supportive of the feedback process. IV. Managing Diversity in Organizations A. Work-life conflicts B. Diversity training V. Global Issues A. Selection B. Performance evaluations

AGRANA †From a local supplier to a global player Essay

The home market from the European Union is one market which everyone has free movement with goods, services, capital and people. This was not always the way if we look back before the time of the EU we had a Europe which was overfilled with conflicts and wars. Because of the foundation of the EU we got a lot of opportunities in the Western Europe and in Central and Eastern Europe but also challenges because it’s not easy to bring so many different countries together with different rules, cultures, norms and ethics under one big Union. Western Europe The Western Europe refers to the countries in the west of Europe, where the distinction is different depending on the context. But the borders between Western Europe and CEE were once determined by the ratio of power between USA and UDSSR during the Cold War. Europe was then divided in half by the Iron Curtain. Opportunities: One big opportunity for Western Europe is that the firms can get cheap human capital for their own work. Even today a blue-collar worker in Germany earns a lot more than in Poland. Another point is that the firms can invest in other enterprises from the CEE. So they can grow extremely fast as we have seen this with the AGRANA Company. With the difference in culture between Western Europe and CEE the firms can enter in a new market which can be really profitable. Challenges: But the fact, that the firms can get so cheap human resources, is on the other hand also a problem. Because of the cheap human resources, the own home country workers will lose their job and the unemployment rate of the country will rise. Another challenges is, that firms from the CEE area can expand to the Western Europe area, so there is the danger, that it will get dumping prices. The other culture and norms makes the whole situation a lot harder. The firms have to consider lots of different aspects. When they don’t do that the new branches cannot rise and flourish in the CEE countries. These are a few challenges for the Western part of Europe and it is not easy to solve these problems. Central and Eastern Europe The Central and Eastern Europe countries include all the Eastern bloc countries west of the Iron Curtain, which was collapsed in 1989-90. Also included are the three Baltic States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Opportunities: For the CEE states the integration of EU markets brought with it many opportunities to grow economically and politically. One of the big opportunities is that the CEE countries can benefit from the higher level of living from the Western Europe countries. Everybody can work easier and live in another country. So if you want to leave your home country and settle down somewhere else that is no longer a problem. We still see this phenomenon to this very day in the Western European countries. More and more people are coming to live in the country than emigrate. The firms which can make business in the CEE countries are creating new workplaces and paying taxes on the profit. So the whole country and the government have the chance to raise their level of living. Challenges: Of course there are on the other side also challenges for the CEE countries. One of them is that the countries have to pay attention to their own experts in the country. A lot of firms in the Western part of Europe want to win the elite of the country over. This can be very dangerous for the own economy. The second aspect is that because of the globalization the poverty gap is getting bigger and bigger every day. The CEE countries have to be very careful that they don’t lose the access to the industry states. Question 2: From a resource-based view, what is behind AGRANA ´s impressive growth? â€Å"AGRANA was founded in 1988 as a holding company for the Austrian sugar and Starch industry. Operations started with 3 sugar plants, a potato starch plant and a corn starch plant.† â€Å"Nowadays, AGRANA is one of the leading suppliers to the multinational brands around the world with revenues of US $ 2.6 billion and capitalization of $1.4 billion. In the last two decades, it has become a global player with 52 production plants in 26 countries with three strategic pillars: sugar, starch and fruit.† The resource-based view focuses on a firm ´s internal resources and capabilities, for instance rare knowledge in the refining and processing of agricultural raw materials like AGRANA. These specific knowledge is a big advantage for the AGRANA company and not easy to copy by other competitors. â€Å"After the reorganization of the European sugar market by the European Union, AGRANA was motivated to look for new directions to ensure future growth of the enterprise. AGRANA decided to diversify into the fruit-processing sector in the future.† This was a really well-chosen decision, because AGRANA was able to transmit their core competence of the refinement process comparatively easy to the fruit sector. With the existing knowledge â€Å"AGRANA focused on fruit preparations and the manufacturing of fruit juice concentrates to sell them globally to fruit juice and beverage bottlers and fillers.† An analysis of the dates of the Tables 4.1a and c (AGRANA plant locations) shows, that the fruit sector is mostly responsible for the impressive growth of the AGRANA Company in the last years. In only four years (from 2002/3 to 2006/7) AGRANA ´s plant locations increased from totally 20 plant locations (15 Sugar, 5 Starch, 0 Fruit) to 53 (10 Sugar, 4 Starch, 39 Fruit). It is noticeable that during these four years the reduction of the number of sugar and starch plants was completely compensated by the new fruit plant locations. Moreover, AGRANA expanded during the growth period across the world. Especially with the fruit sector AGRANA practiced plant ´s in countries like Argentina, Brazil, China and USA for example. The key to the impressive growth of AGRANA and particular the fruit sector were firstly acquisitions and secondly â€Å"the ability to integrate those acquired into the group to realize synergistic effects† . It started with the acquisitions of Denmark ´s Vallo Saft (presence in Denmark and Poland) and Austria ´s Steirerobst (presence in Austria, Hungary, Poland Romania, Ukraine and Russia) in 2003. Furthermore, this was followed by acquisitions of France Atys Group (largest acquisition, 20 plants across every continent), Belgium ´s Dirafrost and Germany ´s Wink Group. â€Å"AGRANA ´s most recent expansion was a 50-50 joint venture with Xianyang Andre Juice Co. Ltd. in China.† The chosen consistent acquisitions policy of AGRANA ´s CEO Johann Marihart was only possible because of existing relationships and a huge amount of capital. AGRANA benefited from existing relationships to the food and beverage industry from the sugar and starch sector, whereby the diversification into a new sector was a bit more straightforward. With the existing relationships it was easier to find on the one hand acceptors for the new AGRANA products and on the other hand new business partners in the area of distribution for example. Furthermore, â€Å"Johann Marihart believes that growth is an essential requirement for the manufacturing of high-grade products at competitive prices.† For this very reason, AGRANA is prospecting for new growth opportunities in the future. Hence, AGRANA has started to diversify into the biofuel sector to ensure future growth and expansion of the company. Question 3: From an international perspective what challenges do you foresee AGRANA facing as it continues its expansion into other regions such as Asia? The impressive growth of the AGRANA Company is connected with an expanding strategy in Europe as well as in other continents like America and Asia. With this strategy AGRANA discovers new regional, cultural and language challenges for instance. AGRANDA already have a lot of experience in Asia because in 2006 they acquired a 50 % stake in concentrates manufacturer Xianyang Andre Juice Co. Ltd the company is located in the province Shaanxi China and also in 2008 AGRANA started a second joint venture for apple juice concentrate in Yongji China. But maybe they might have the problem of adapting to a different business culture. The business model that AGRANA use in Europe and the western world might not work as well in Asia. AGRANA will have to be flexible and adapt to the business characteristics of that certain country that they expand too. Many Asian countries have certain business characteristics that are deeply related to the countries tradition and these traditions will not in most cases be changed. Because of this many of AGRANA’s business standards such as work ethics and management styles may not match up well with Asian culture. In Asia a lot of administrative tasks that have been made easy in the west can be very time consuming. Many procedures that would be handled electronically in the West need a lot of paperwork which need to be filled out and stamped by hand. Cultural misunderstanding from miscommunication could be one of the biggest challenges that AGRANA will have to face. It might be very hard to make a business deal in Asia because of communication problems as there are a lot of English speakers in Asia but not many of them would have a strong enough understanding of both Chinese and western culture to help in business negotiation situation. Also Many Asian countries have high context cultures and AGRANDA would be more used to operating in low context cultures like in most of Europe. â€Å"In high context cultures communication relies upon unspoken conditions or assumptions.† This means that â€Å"yes† does not necessarily mean â€Å"yes† and this could be a major challenge for AGRANDA as they would not be used to this. Also another challenge that AGRANA might face would be that their products might not be as popular in these regions and because of this it might not be as profitable for the company to open a branch in Asia. Some of the infrastructure might not be very good in some eastern Asian countries so things like transportation of their products might not be delivered very safe or as efficient as in their European branches. Also because of climate and pollution it might cost more money to keep the products fresh. ARGANDA might have trouble with human resources because in the western world employees give a lot of responsibility and would have more flexible lines of authority whereas most of the Asian workers are more accustoms to a hierarchical structure in which each worker has their own role. All in all AGRANDA cannot guarantee success in another region but if they stay sensitive to the areas culture and local traditions for instance they can at least avoid some basic mistakes. Question 4: Compare the growth strategy of AGRANA to that of Danisco, one of its competitors in the sugar market. Which strategy do you expect to be more sustainable in the long run? To sum up the second question, AGRANA ´s impressive growth strategy is affected by acquisition associated with the diversification into the fruit sector. AGRANA acquired competitors particularly in Europe and expanded around the World and led them to be one of the biggest players. â€Å"The Danisco Company is a Danish bio-based company with activities in food production, enzymes and other bioproducts as well as a wide variety of pharmaceutical grade excipients.† â€Å"Danisco employed 6800 people in 17 countries† and â€Å"is one of the world’s leading producers of ingredients for food and other consumer products and was also one of the biggest sugar producers in Europe until the divestment of its sugar division to Nordzucker in 2009.† However, to look at the things in the right sequences: â€Å"Danisco had been created in 1989 by a merger of three companies aiming to create a strong Danish company that could compete in the EU common market after its completion† The new company reinforced the foods, food ingredients and packaging businesses, particularly in the sugar sector, â€Å"Danisco first consolidated its dominant position and Denmark, and then grew by acquisitions.† But after the reorganization of the European sugar market and also because of the intensity of competition in the sugar market, Danisco was motivated to alter and started a longtime transformation process. In 1997, the new CEO Alf Duch-Pedersen of Danisco â€Å"started focusing on becoming a global food ingredients company.† During the following years, Danisco started to acquire lots of ingredient and similar companies to initiate the transformation. The first step to become a global food ingredients company was to acquire the Finnish ingredient company Cultor in 1999 and at the same time the divestment of the De Danske Spritfabrikker Company (spirits and liqueurs) and branded foods and food packaging. In June 2004, â€Å"Danisco acquired the Rhodia Food Ingredients Company which becomes Danisco ´s dairy cultures division. The division is one of the two leading producers of dairy cultures and food safety products†. Rhodia is located in France and is an international operating company with a worldwide presence in Asia Pacific, Latin America and North America for instance. This will be followed by the acquisition of Genencor International in 2005, â€Å"which became Danisco ´s enzymes and bio-chemicals division†. Furthermore, Danisco invested in new research establishments in Shanghai, China for example. In contrast to AGRANA, Danisco divested as well, for example the flavor division to Firmenich. But the most important decision was the divestment of Danisco ´s sugar division to the German Nordzucker AG. With the divestment of the sugar division, which was one of its main divisions in the past, the transformation process was completed. During the transformation process the internationalization of sales of the company increased rapidly. It is mentioned that the sales outside of Denmark rose from â€Å"69 per cent 1995 to 88 per cent in 2004 and over 95 per cent after the sale of the sugar division†. In addition, it is impressive to see that the turnover of Danisco was â‚ ¬ 1.7 million in 2009 and that the turnover consisted mostly of all the continents, that means that Daniso has become a global player operating all over the world. â€Å"After the transformation, Danisco was positioned as a specialized supplier of food ingredients based natural raw materials. Its customers included global food giants such as Unilever, Kraft, DANONE and Nestlà ©, as well as regional and local players in all major economies.† In a final step, Danisco were acquired by the DuPont Company in 2011. â€Å"Danisco ´s attractive industrial enzymes and specialty food ingredients businesses have clear synergies with the DuPont Applied BioSciences and Nutrition and Health businesses.† This merger advances both companies ‘global efforts to provide sustainable solutions and to ensure future growth and expansion of the company. Summing up one can say that AGRANA grew by acquiring a lot around the world and by diversifying their business. Danisco grew by internationalizing their sales, transforming their business to the leading producers of ingredients for food and selling their previous businesses in order to focus on the new ones. The most important difference between these two growth strategies is that AGRANA wanted to ensure future growth by diversifying into other products with their existing knowledge. Danisco wanted to guarantee future growth by transforming themselves into a leader in a niche market. To answer the last question we want to define â€Å"Sustainability in the long run†. Sustainability or sustainable strategy at its most basic level â€Å"suggests that a company will improve its chances of survival in the future by ensuring that resources used by the business are responsibly managed and maintained.† Moreover, â€Å"in business, it is the ability of a company to develop and implement winning strategies that lead to long-term success† and the ability to decide â€Å"when to stay on course with the proven strategies or when it is time for change.† We expect the AGRANA’s strategy to be more sustainable in the long run thanks to their diversified sources of income such as their three main pillars: starch, sugar and fruit. AGRANA has more sectors to play on so AGRANA is not as dependent of a specific product sector like Danisco if business does not go as planned. The opportunities of growth are also bigger, because AGRANA has more capital and AGRANA has more companies to sell their AGRANA products to in the future because AGRANA is present worldwide and especially in emerging markets. In addition, AGRANA is part of a safe market, AGRANA ´s three pillars are always in demand also due to the fact that the earth population will grow. Moreover, AGRANA could enlarge their product line by diversifying to another sector with their existing knowledge as well as the fruit sector. All in all, AGRANA has a very good sustainable business strategy and we think that AGRANA will continue to be very successful in the future. Resources: http://www.danisco.com/about-dupont/duponttm-daniscor/history/ http://www.agrana.com/en/agrana-group/about-agrana/history-of-agrana/ http://www.us-pacific-rim.net/the-five-biggest-challenges-for-businesses-in-china.html http://www.mapconsulting.com/articles1-177/BusinessSustainabilityTheStrategiestoAchievetheLeadershiptha- tMakesItHappen http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-long-term-sustainability.htm http://www.rhodia.com/en/about_us/worldwide_presence/index.tcm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrana#History

The Settler’s Impact Essay

The Settler’s Impact Essay The Settler’s Impact Essay From the beginning the affect the Europeans had settling in the Americas, was known. Although they didn’t have the best of starts, they still managed to create settlements along the coast and eventually entire provinces. Their beginnings were rough with the Native Americans, but they soon learned to live amongst each other and learn each others tricks to survival. The affect the settlers had was nearly immediate and occasionally tragic as the settlers brought with them diseases, advanced weaponry, and in some places, a sense of entitlement to the land. Disease was one of -if not the largest- issue that the Natives had to face. European settlers carried illnesses, such as: typhus, cholera, and smallpox. None of the listed the Natives had immunity to. The spreading of these diseases led to massive amounts of death in Native communities that came in contact with settlers and explorers. This affected Natives for years to come as the generations built up immunity to them. With weakened tribes along the coast, settlers took the advantage while they could and expanded their settlements. Expansion led to the Natives losing precious farmland, sacred grounds, ritual sites, and valuable hunting territory. Effectively pushing Natives westward into surrounding tribe territories and creating more conflict. This also eventually led to more disease being spread amongst settlers and newer tribes. Newer and weakened tribes led to a greater lust for land amongst settlers, bringing about fights over who has the more effective weapon: bow and arrow or the rifle? Early rifles, although powerful, weren’t very reliable. Natives had a better sense of aim with their bow and arrows, and even with weak numbers this helped them a lot with conflicts with pushy settlers. Over time, rifles became more advanced and readily made. This changed warfare and hunting in favor of the settlers. Eventually, as land lust died down this became a very important trade item between settlers and natives. Trade was a big deal between settlers and natives from the beginning. Natives taught the settlers how to grow their crops and where to hunt. They even gave some of their crops to the settlers just getting on their feet until they had established enough of their own. In return, settlers introduced newer crops and

Definition and Examples of Theme-Writing

Definition and Examples of Theme-Writing Theme-writing refers to the conventional writing assignments (including five-paragraph essays) required in many composition classes since the late-19th century. Also called school writing. In his book The Plural I: The Teaching of Writing (1978), William E. Coles, Jr., used the term themewriting  (one word) to characterize empty, formulaic writing that is not meant to be read but corrected. Textbook authors, he said, present writing as a trick that can be played, a device that can be put into operation . . . just as one can be taught or learn to run an adding machine, or pour concrete. Examples and Observations: The use of themes has been maligned and vilified in the history of writing instruction. They have come to represent what was bad about the Harvard model, including an obsession with correcting the themes in red ink, but the womens colleges typically used themes to get students writing regular essays based on common topics. . . . Theme writing, as David Russell notes in Writing in the Academic Disciplines, 1870-1990, continued to be a model for required composition courses at small liberal arts colleges much longer than it did in the larger universities, in large part because the universities could no longer keep up with the labor-intensive practice of having students write multiple essays over the course of a semester or year.(Lisa Mastrangelo and Barbara LEplattenier, Is It the Pleasure of This Conference to Have Another?: Womens Colleges Meeting and Talking About Writing in the Progressive Era. Historical Studies of Writing Program Administration, ed. by B. LEplattenier and L. Mast rangelo. Parlor Press, 2004) Camille Paglia on Essay Writing as a Form of Repression[T]he present concentration on essay writing at the heart of the humanities curriculum is actually discriminatory against people of other cultures and classes. I think its a game. Its very, very obvious to me, having been teaching for so many years as a part-timer, teaching factory workers and teaching auto mechanics and so on, the folly of this approach. You teach them how to write an essay. Its a game. Its a structure. Speak of social constructionism! Its a form of repression. I do not regard the essay as its presently constituted as in any way something that came down from Mount Sinai brought by Moses.(Camille Paglia, The M.I.T. Lecture.  Sex, Art, and American Culture. Vintage, 1992)English A at HarvardHarvards standard, required composition course was English A, first given in sophomore year and then, after 1885, moved to the first year. . . . In 1900-01 writing assignments included a mix of daily themes, which were brief two- or three-paragraph sketches, and more extended fortnightly themes; topics were up to the student and thus varied widely, but the dailies usually asked for personal experience while the longer ones covered a mix of general knowledge.(John C. Brereton, Introduction. The Origins of Composition Studies in the American College, 1875-1925. Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1995) Theme Writing at Harvard (Late 19th Century)When I was an undergraduate at Harvard our instructors in English composition endeavored to cultivate in us a something they termed The daily theme eye. . . .Daily themes in my day had to be short, not over a page of handwriting. They had to be deposited in a box at the professors door not later than ten-five in the morning. . . . And because of this brevity, and the necessity of writing one every day whether the mood was on you or not, it was not always easyto be quite modestto make these themes literature, which, we were told by our instructors, is the transmission through the written word, from writer to reader, of a mood, an emotion, a picture, an idea.(Walter Prichard Eaton, Daily Theme Eye. The Atlantic Monthly, March 1907)The Chief Benefit of Theme-Writing (1909)The chief benefit derived from theme-writing lies probably in the instructors indication of errors in the themes and his showing how these errors are to be corrected; for by these means the student may learn the rules that he is inclined to violate, and thus may be helped to eliminate the defects from his writing. Hence it is important that the errors and the way to correct them be shown to the student as completely and clearly as possible. For instance, suppose that a theme contains the sentence I have always chosen for my companions people whom I thought had high ideals. Suppose the instructor points out the grammatical fault and gives the student information to this effect: An expression such as he says, he thinks, or he hears interpolated in a relative clause does not affect the case of the subject of the clause. For example, The man who I thought was my friend deceived me is correct; who is the subject of was my friend; I thought is a parenthesis which does not affect the case of who. In your sentence, whom is not the object of thought, but the subject of had high ideals; it should therefore be in the nominative case. From this information the stud ent is likely to get more than the mere knowledge that the whom in this particular case should be changed to who; he is likely to learn a principle, the knowledge of whichif he will remember itwill keep him from committing similar errors in future.But the theme from which one sentence is quoted above contains fourteen other errors; and the forty-nine other themes which the instructor is to hand back to-morrow morning contain among them about seven hundred and eighty-five more. How shall the instructor, as he indicates these eight hundred errors, furnish the information called for by each one? Obviously he must use some kind of shorthand.(Edwin Campbell Woolley, The Mechanics of Writing. D.C. Heath, 1909)

TELENURSING Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

TELENURSING - Research Paper Example In the field of nursing, there have been such kinds of technological development that target to address the problems of long distance between the caregivers and the receivers of the care. This has led to the development of a telecommunication system in nursing that enhances communication and ensures that many people from distant places can receive care according to the plan. Tele-nursing is a technology that ensures that communication in the field of nursing is easier than when the nurses have to travel to the places where patients are situated. This technology has come to ensure that the services like consultation, patient education, examination of test results and, therefore, assisting the physicians to administer treatment and the technology are used in transmission of medical record from one place to another. This technology in nursing has a lot of benefits that can ensure that nurses are able to provide care to as many patients as they could at a low cost and within a short time (MEDINFO, Kuhn, Warren & Leong, 2007). Discussion Background Nursing practitioners offer a variety of services to their clients and in different places in the world. This means that these nurses are required to travel to different places to meet their clients and provide the services that they need and carry out a follow up to the things that they need to ensure that those clients recover from their ailments. At one time, a nurse may have more than five patients whose health statuses he or she needs to track and afterwards prepare a report that shows the history of the services they have offered. When patients are not located within the same locality, the nurse may have to travel too much, and therefore, he or she will spend a lot of money on transport to achieve his or her goals. This means that the development of a system that would reduce frequent movement to patients is good to ensure that they can receive nursing care at their convenient time. The development of tele-nursing i s a technological development that will ensure that many patients can access the required services from anywhere in the world (Briggs, 2007). Services offered through Tele-nursing Tele-nurses offer similar services as other nurses who use travelling mode to avail information to and acquire it from patients in a particular place in the world. This means that all people who need care from the nurses link up through telecommunication systems to get the information they need in their different situations. The services that these patients receive may vary according to the problem from which they are suffering and which may need immediate or delayed care. Briggs (2007) notes that the services that tele-nurses offer include professional consultancy in which a patient seeks information about a particular condition. The tele-nurse involved in a situation may choose from various media through which he or she can provide the information that his or her client needs. This could be through calli ng, sending text message, faxing, emailing or any other electronic method that conveniently transmit information from one place to another. Tele-nurses transmit medical records that physicians may need to enable them to administer treatment to a patient who seeks care from them. This will mean that they will not need to transport through physical means the records that they have collected about the patient for whom they are caring. Tele-nurses may transmit this information

Alcohol impact on college students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Alcohol impact on college students - Essay Example The play â€Å"Cat on a hot tin Roof† by Tennessee Williams paints the real picture of harmful effects of alcoholism on the family life. Brick is the most loved son of big mama and big daddy. He married Maggie, a beautiful girl from a poor family background. Brick is great football player. Skipper is the best friend of Brick. Maggie humiliates skipper for having sexual relations with his husband Brick. Skipper negates it and starts drinking alcohol for mental peace. He died of extensive drinking. Brick considered himself the cause of skipper’s death and indulged in alcoholism. This ruined the life of complete family. Memory loss Alcohol reduces short-term memory by transferring information to long term memory. Therefore, attention span reduces to 48 hours after the drink. Drink causes memory loss to college students this memory loss in known as blackouts (O’Malley & Wagenaar 479). Retention and assimilation capabilities of students are largely affected by alcohol ism. A study shows the statistics that, 54% of overindulged drinkers described that they did not remember anything about the world and their mind away in some other world when extensively drunken (Andreasson & Allebeck 634). We can find a good example of memory loss in the play â€Å"Cat on a hot tin roof†. Everybody of big daddy’s family knew that big daddy is suffering from cancer but big daddy knew nothing about his real disease. Brick was heavily drunk during conversation with big daddy on the birthday of daddy. During the same conversation, he told big daddy about his real ailment. This created big tension and trauma in the family life. Memory loss takes some time to regain short term memory. Behavioural Abuses Alcohol causes fluctuation in student behaviour. Sometimes they behave very rudely with the close relatives especially when they are just over with a drink. Hangover captures the senses of college students and makes them behave different from the normal (Gr ossman, et al 349). This behaviour leads them to property damaging and pulling of fire alarms. In one national study, 8% college students accepted damaging public property and pulling fire alarm. 25% administration staff of low drinking level colleges and about 50% of high drinking level campuses reported severe damage to property (Andreasson & Allebeck 636). Students after drinking get very emotional and break everything coming in their way. Brick also showed behaviour problem in the play â€Å"Cat on a hot tin roof†. He quitted sleeping with his wife and broke all the relations with her after the death of Skipper. Maggie tried to convince her husband to live a normal life but he did not listen. Complete family tried their best to make him quit drinking. Brick did not pay any attention to the family will and kept drinking extensively until the time he felt a click of peace in his mind. Physical Injuries and Deaths Students who misuse alcohol are exposed to danger of serious injuries and even death. The US department of education revealed death of hundreds of students per year due to alcohol trauma. Students most of the times face hangovers and vomiting. Long-term effect includes loss of immunity against the diseases. Cirrhosis of liver is a lifelong physical damage to human organ (Abbey, et al 1014). There is evidence that alcohol misuse can compel students to commit suicide or

Internatoinal business mangement 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internatoinal business mangement 3 - Assignment Example Hence, a prudent thing to do is to expand the market internationally in the effort to increase profitability and survival at the same time (Hill, 2012). Expanding internationally has many benefits, which increase chances of survival. An organization is able to boost its reputation and boost the staff morale. In addition, the existing products are introduced to new markets, especially if they have become less popular in the domestic markets. The firm’s overreliance on the domestic markets reduces and the risks, though hard to do away with can be spread. The great sales volume as well translate into higher profits However, in establishing a business internationally, it requires coordinated effort as well as sustained management effort. This practically implies management talent. This is easily attained by just setting up an economic model. Such a model is meant for solving problems as it offers a structured solution to the dilemma under review. Global industries are those industries whose firms must compete in all world markets. These industries have the characteristic of gaining economies of scale across markets. These companies pursue a global strategy whereby they compete in all markets and they provide the same product for each market. They identify customer needs and wants in the international borders. Global industries are also characterized by high development and recurrent costs, thus requiring more than one market to recover the costs. The following firms are categorized in the global firms’ category as they have those features. Movie making, bulk chemicals, pharmaceuticals, branded food products, television manufacturing, personal computers and airline travel (Hill, 2012). Multidomestic industries on the other hand, are those industries with a strategy of producing products and services, which are commonly tailored to individual countries. Innovation comes locally and managers decentralize decision-making as well as encourage local sourcing. They

Impact of Mobile Communications on Construction Industry

Impact of Mobile Communications on  Construction Industry 1. INTRODUCTION The total annual turnover of the building and construction industry in most economies around the world amounts to billions of dollars per annum, contributing approximately 10 per cent of GDP (Olomolaiye et al, 1998, quoted in Farin et al 2001). Although the Construction sector is pivotal in any economy as noted above, it is however an industry which is plagued by inefficiency which is caused by the lack of communication within organisations involved in the delivery of a project solution. According to Bowden and Thorpe (2002), 65% of contractor rework is attributed to insufficient, inappropriate and conflicting information on construction sites. The problem of communication on most construction sites are exacerbated because many operatives working in the field capture data manually (or maybe use a standalone handheld device) which is then physically transported to office. The information may then have to be manually keyed into the office computer system. This process is time consuming and requires extra workforce to re-enter data into the office computer. The introduction of Internet and communication technologies has seen the urgency in the expectations of people within the industry to have access to the latest information produced at any point in the project life. These expectations reflect the increasingly competitive pressure within the construction sector to deliver quicker and cheaper solutions. It also reflects the increased electronic awareness that internet use has cultured, realising a one-stop information on demand medium. The invention of handheld computing device enabled with a suitable wireless capability has proved a valuable innovation which reduces travel costs, increase operative efficiency, and speed data transfer. Data can easily be keyed on site and communicated wirelessly to the office computer. This information can further be uploaded on from the computer to the internet or extranet enabling faster and quicker process which reduces times. The use of project extranet solutions (a single project database shared by all project members: Client; Designer; Contractors; Suppliers) and document management systems is now common on large projects. Mobile communication technologies therefore can strategically be implemented to reduce cost and increase returns on investment. There are many applications of mobile communications in the construction industry. This report however focuses on the impact of mobile communication technologies in the construction industry. 2. Mobile Communication Mobile communication is a technology that eases communication by linking individuals or groups who are not physically present at the same location via wireless means. There are various software and hardware been used such as PDA, mobile phones, CAD application, data capture, project management etc. The mobile phone is still the king of mobile communication, and it has evolved to include smart features such as picture messaging, diary management, e-mail and web browsing. Likewise, many handheld computers (Personal Digital Assistants) are being produced with phone capabilities. For many individuals however, affordable smart phones have become feature rich enough to lure them away from their handheld computer, mainly because smart phones are more compact (Kinns and Babtie, 2005). As smart phones win over the personal computing device market, handheld computers are being developed more for the business computing market. Users in this market are more willing to sacrifice device size for increased computing power, and so devices such as the Tablet PC and Ultra Personal Computer (uPC) are being developed. Unlike most personal use, business use of mobile communication is concerned with the transfer of all forms of electronic data. Equally important is the way in which data and information is captured, and then managed to ensure it is readily available to other people/ devices when and where required. Improved cost effective mobile computing power will further reduce the office/ field divide. The uptake of integrated mobile communication computing devices and services has been significant. This growth in use will continue as smart phone devices gain more features, and handheld computers gain increased computing power. This is the belief of many leading players within the construction and telecom industries. Companies need to plan for this wireless future, and exploit the expected growth in their business strategies. 3. BENEFITS OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION With the introduction of laptops into the work environment as a substitute for personal computers, the potential of the mobile worker became evident(Bowden et al, 2005). 3.1. Reduction in construction time and capital cost of construction According to (Bowden et al., 2005) mobile technologies can help minimise time and cut capital cost in the construction industry. Generic benefits of the provision of mobile technologies to point of activity workers include: doing away with retyping/redrafting, minimizing travel time in order to retrieve information and cut travel time to view point of actions or activities. Further explanation of cost savings and time are touched on in each of the developments assisted by mobile technologies below. 3.2. Reduction in operation and maintenance costs Mobile technology can help reduce maintenance cost and operation by improving upon the efficiency of workers and as well gather and provide information throughout the life cycle of a building or structure. The following construction industries (Network Rails London, North East and East Anglia Region) are using a PDA, GPS and GIS system to perform earthworks checks; look at the integrity of their embankments and cuttings. Network Rail currently obtains data from the inspections team on a week to week basis instead of waiting till the end of a 4-month inspection. This allows Network Rail to proactively organise their workload systematically. Getting Data using GIS can easily be grouped by condition enabling the identification of all ‘poor’ earthworks, including their location (automatically recorded by the GPS). A maintenance team can then be instructed to rectify groups of faults in a single pass. Within 1 year Network Rail achieved benefits for the solution(Bowden, 2004) . GPRS connected to PDA has been implemented by Rosser and Russell for obtaining new developments in terms of information from their maintenance engineers and delivering work orders. This has caused a significant change in administration required to accomplish their maintenance operation (Gooding, 2004). According to (Gooding and Bowden, 2004) GPS trackers are been utilised by Biwater for the implementation of fleet management system. This has given them the opportunity to able to analyse and track the actual position of their maintenance crews. Time has reduced drastically since the nearest crew to an incident could be spot on and instructed. The improved planning and implementation has considerably reduced maintenance cost, mileage, and also the fuel costs of the fleet. 3.3. Reduction in defects There have been several changes in national initiative that challenge the construction industry to target zero defects in handover. An example, even though Egan(Egan, 1998)came up with target for United Kingdom construction industry as a 20% annual reduction in the number of defects on handover, Egan proposed that there is considerably number of evidence which suggests that within 5 years the aim of zero defects could be achieved across the construction industry. Egan again touched on how some clients in the United States and the United Kingdom have already attained zero defects on handover. Taylor Woodrow and Mace piloted digital pen and paper solution and PDA solution respectively in their project. Both results gave them the knack to gather data electronically at source in a standardized format, and later were stored in a central database. The following trends could be searched on the database; reoccurring fault, re-offending subcontractors and setbacks in correcting errors. The various trends could be outline proactively. An additional benefit of having a central system for defect management is that the costs of rectifying snags can begin to be understood and hence a more proactive approach to managing quality throughout the construction process should be adopted to avoid these costs(Sommerville et al, 2004). According to (Newton, 1998) a research conducted in Australia depicted that 65% of contractor-rework is attributed to inadequate, unsuitable or contradictory information. Tablet PC system linked to a central database via a wireless LAN was developed by 3.4. Reduction in accidents For workers to report near misses, Mobile technologies could provide a mechanism that would increase the number of near misses reported in the construction industry. Those areas which need improvement in terms of electronic data could be analysed and highlighted. According to (Kiser and Fosbroke, 1994) the most common fatal injury is falling from height. OSHA Fall-Safe programme in the USA came up with a tablet PC audit tool(Becker et al, 2001). The work concluded that contractor control of fall hazards were improved when the conduct of an audit and the reports were generated. Next to fall from height are workers being struck by a moving vehicle which accounted for 10 fatalities in the UK in 2003/2004. In the Oil and Gas industry work is been carried out on the application of virtual exclusion zones for oil platform cranes. Cameras mounted on a crane boom can compute the position of personnel in an area hence could provide audible alert for the crane driver and personnel who are in d anger. Although, some vehicles give audible alerts this caution is not directed specifically to the person in danger and can be overlooked and identified as surrounding noise. This virtual exclusion or information zone could be utilized in the construction industry providing warning around machinery such as piling rigs or cranes and to provide information when entering areas with specific safety requirements. A step further along the line towards improving health and safety on-site is the possibility of automated construction, eliminating the need for personnel to be in dangerous areas. An example application is presented by 3.5. Reduction in waste Construction and demolition (CD) debris constitutes the waste generated during construction, renovation, and demolition projects. CD waste commonly includes building materials and products such as concrete, asphalt, wood, glass, brick, metal, gypsum wallboard, roofing, insulation, doors, windows and frames, flooring, and furniture. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that approximately 136 million tons of building-related CD debris were generated in 1996 — the majority from demolition (48%) and renovation (44%). New construction generated only 8% of building-related CD debris(Fishbein, 1998). The first step in understanding and reducing wastage on-site is to know what materials and equipment have been delivered. Several construction suppliers are currently considering or piloting Mobile IT solutions to facilitate their goods delivery process, providing electronic goods received notes (GRNs) and proof of delivery. A commonly held view is that the weakest point of the supply chain in the construction industry is the site; paper gets delivered and then lost. It may not get filed properly and the people on-site have no real awareness of how all the documents in the supply chain are linked. Lost GRNs are a huge problem for both the contractor and the supplier. One supplier stated that out of 4.5 million tickets issued each year contractors asked them to replace 300,000 GRNs. A contractor stated that on a  £45M project  £133,000 of invoices was being queried on any one day; Chen et al, 2002). The benefits achieved in relation to waste reduction include: faster location of materials/equipment; certainty that only the correct materials are used, reducing costs associated with damaged items; reduction in lost or stolen items; easier maintenance of a materials tracking database. CPIC (Centre for Performance Improvement in Construction) has developed a toolkit for measuring performance on-site; CALIBRE 2000. Wastage in time, materials and energy are collected by construction â€Å"observers† using a PDA device, which is then synchronised with a central database. The PDA enables information to be collected in real-time and it is then available for analysis by the site team the next day. (Chen et al, 2002).According to (Chen et al, 2002)suggest the use of bar-codes to facilitate a crew-based incentive reward programme (IRP). The workers are rewarded according to the amounts and values of materials they saved from their operations. This resulted in a 10% saving of material wastage. In both of these examples the drawback is that collection of the data still requires manual intervention. (Li et al, 2005). This reduces the possibility of damage to materials from ingress of weather and movement of people, plant and equipment within temporary storage facilities. As stated above, the majority of CD waste is generated during demolition and renovation. RFID tagging provides the capability of attaching information permanently to building components, which in turn offers the opportunity to provide future owners with information about the make-up of each component. Items can then be easily identified for recycling or reuse; even those items that cannot currently be recycled may be recyclable in the future. This would eliminate some of the prohibitive costs associated with identifying and sorting materials, making recycling a more viable option. 3.6. Increase in productivity Productivity is defined as the ratio of the amount of work produced to the resources used in its production. Productivity is increased if it takes fewer resources to do the same amount of work, or the same number of resources can achieve more. The drive for improved productivity in the construction industry has come with the recognition that productivity is inextricably linked to international competitiveness(Teicholz, 2004). Several of the national construction change initiatives promote the use of information technology as a tool to increase productivity, through automating tasks and enhancing collaboration. Task automation provides the following productivity enhancements: delivery of required information e.g. method statements; production of reports e.g. daily progress reports; alerts e.g. notification of safety hazard; data collation, reduces number of administration staff required. One area where significant losses in productivity occur is downtime on-site due to unforeseen problems. The opportunity for mobile technologies to provide immediate access, from the point of activity, to the personnel which may be able to resolve the problem has been an ongoing subject of research(Ballard and Howell, 1994). The Last Planner system has been set up to facilitate this method of planning and its toolset includes: collaborative programming; look-ahead meeting; weekly work plan meeting. The premise is that better planning improves productivity by reducing delays, getting the work done in the best constructability sequence, matching manpower to available work, and coordinating multiple interdependent activities 3.7. Increase in predictability The construction industry is noted for its delays in project delivery and over budget(Bourn, 2001). This is engineered by the following reasons methods of procurement, communication issues and culture. This section of the industry could be transformed by using mobile technology to provide precise real-time progress and cost information as the project progresses. In the above sections it can be observed that communication enhancement from one phase to the other became possible and in some situations have been achieved by most of the construction industries. The following Mobile applications are already in use progress reporting, timesheet, materials management and plant utilisation. This should now pave a way for most construction industries to compare and contrast planned programmes or budget and use this information in future projects. 4. CURRENT USE OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IN CONSTRUCTION. 4.1 Software and Hardware Innovations in Mobile Communications 4.1.1 Software Mobile CAD applications: Mobile devices equipped with CAD applications used by Construction personnel can mark-up, view, create and edit 2D/3D AutoCAD compatible designs at any place at anytime on construction site. CAD application may contact engineers, drafters and designers etc. who needs supports of designs and drawings in the construction site. Majority of mobile CAD applications are compatible with well-known mobile devices that run Windows mobile and Windows CE operating systems (COMIT, 2003). In order to communicate drawing files with desktop PCs, mobile CAD applications can connect and swap data with PCs by using ActiveSync for Windows OS or HotSync for Palm OS. The following are some of the CAD applications been used PocketCAD, PowerCAD and ZipCAD. Data capture applications: Bar code scanning, wireless sensors network and data capture are the three various types of data capture application used on sites. One of the mobile data capture system known as SHERPA enable users to collect real time piling work data by using mobile computers through a wireless local area network (WLAN) (Ward et al., 2003). Mobile construction chain supply(M-ConSCM) also named as bar- code enabled PDA, has been developed to create convenience and improve information flow in the construction supply chain environment through the integration of bar code scanner and PDA combined (Tserng and Dzeng, 2005). A new innovation has come into play i.e. Wireless sensor network that consists of various devices capable of a cooperative sensing task and is compared with the concept of ubiquitous computing. A mass concrete curing management system (CMS) has been developed to investigate the possibility of applying wireless sensor network to on-site data collection proces ses (Lee and Kang, 2006). This system can allow the collection, transfer, and delivery of the recorded curing temperature data automatically in real time in a wireless sensor network environment. Project management applications: Applications in the project administration area provide users with the capabilities of project and programme management such as construction activity review, activity monitoring and updating, progress management, risk management, Microsoft Project file view and update, and material and equipment management, through their on-hand mobile computers. Available commercial applications include Primavera Mobile Management, CYtools, and OnSite FDM. 4.1.2 Hardware Palmtops / PDA – Personal Digital Assistance PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), sometimes known as a Palmtop, is a mobile computer that allows you to store, access, and organize information. More sophisticated PDAs can run word processing, spreadsheet and industry specific applications and also provide e-mail and internet process. Some models now offer the functionality of a mobile phone and a PDA in a single unit. These units use either a Palm or Microsoft Windows Pocket PC operating system. In general, the more functions offered on the device, the shorter the battery life. Currently, there are no rugged devices available in this category, since they could be seen as more akin to a non-rugged mobile phone. Many of these devices use an electronic pen (called a stylus) rather than a keyboard for input. This is associated with special operating systems that support handwriting recognition so that users can write on the screen or on a tablet instead of typing on a keyboard. Hand-held Computers A hand-held computer offers the main functionality of a laptop in a smaller package. They feature a full QWERTY style keyboard and a landscape display. Typically, they run on a Windows-based operating system, like a desktop PC. Because they have a keyboard, this type of device is probably best suited where it can be used on a stable base, for example in a pick-up truck. Although the Windows CE OS is more demanding on battery life and memory, many of the devices will compensate for this by providing more memory space and larger capacity batteries as standard. 4.2 Health and Safety One of the most hazardous industries to work in the is the construction industry; it is noted that 3.6 per 100,000 workers in the United Kingdom encounter fatal injury, associating with 70 people, depicts an unfavourably average of 0.81 in the industry(Mckerman, 2001). 4.2.1 Case Study (Health and Safety-Skanka) The civil engineering division of Skanska known as Skanska Tekra Oya in Finland is currently using SMS/WAP and MMM based system which propels them to collect data electronically by using the supervisor’s phone. It then passes problem notifications on to the subcontractors who then respond with via SMS when problem is resolved. Issues which took days to complete could be dealt with in few hours and since then accidents have decreased drastically with the use of the system. The gathered data are stored on a central database facilitating the classification of trends to be automated. Continual non application can be emphasized and a more positive approach of doing away with their reoccurrence can be established, such as training preventative measures put in place e.g. warning signs placed at dangerous areas and barriers around overhead electricity cables. In addition, subcontractors who are time and again causing safety issues and are reluctant in putting an end to them can be dea lt with properly. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health came up with a mobile system that replicates MVR safety method for civil engineers and is used in most construction industry in Finland. Coming up with a single tool and comparing across construction sites will smooth the progress of improvement hence reduce. The â€Å"Accident Triangle†(Heinrich et al, 1980)illustrates that fatal injuries are just the tip of the iceberg (Fig 1). Theory states that â€Å"if you reduce the number of near misses, this in turn will reduce the number of fatalities†. The records show near misses is performing badly. The reason could be the number of times they occur and the amount of paperwork that has to be completed and recorded. 5. Emerging Trends and innovation The core reason of mobile in the built environment is its mobility. Mobile phones (speech and text messages), cameras in cell phones, GPRS are the commonly used within the construction industry. In terms of logistics, quality control and control of equipment, RFID reader is applied. Additional use of RFID is the access right control, emerging in janitorial services; access rights controls and mobile access managements with very short-range wireless point-to-point interconnection technology. This technology is likely to become common in mobile phones, and in fact such kinds of phones are been in use in the industry offering intuitive and user-friendly touched based communication. The interactions that exit between the two devices are reasonable in terms of price and also low immunity to eavesdropping. According to (Tolman et al., 2006b) the new messaging and communication systems been used gives current method and possibilities to communicate and manage with embedded sensors networks in a buildings with general terminal equipments through local or global information networks. During the past decade the port of services has been rated as one of the most powerful trends in information technology. Services offered by web can be thought as environment where services are delivered in a formal way and this formal are interpreted by client side browsers. With the nature of all browsers been able to use all services it is of no importance to install locally specific software to use a specific service. Web paradigm is gradually taking place in mobile devices but there have been several impediments that slow down the trend. In technology mobile browsers are not in the same level as compared with that of desktop browsers and top of that since the web has been design with more resources, the of resources in mobile devices are limited hence makes it a problem. That indicates that mobile devices that use web pages should be designed for them. Web paradigm is a natural fit to mobile devices as distributing software to mobile devices is cumbersome and leads to difficult maintenance problems. 6. Challenges of mobile Technology in the construction industry Though the above benefits of mobile technology shows a headway for most construction industry in using mobile technology there are several challenges faced by the industry that needs to be addressed. 6.1. Hardware for Mobile Technology Handheld computers, lightweight and compact laptops have come into extensive use over the past few years; other devices like wearable computers are also making great impact as well. Where improvement has been sluggish the integration ofmobilehardware seams to bridge a user’s desktop, activities whilemobile, and the Internet. There are four basic issues that complicate implementation and design (Satyanarayanan, 1996). In relation to static element mobile elements are resource-poor in terms of weight, size and power. Due to the transmission of data through open space mobile communication are vulnerable to security violation. In addition, wireless connectivity is very unpredictable in reliability and performance. Finally,mobile elements must rely on limited energy sources. It is important to note that these issues are not artifacts of current technology but are intrinsic to mobility. Collectively, they complicate the design ofmobile technologysystems. As a result, even though imp ortant research progress has been conducted, the implementation and design of mobile computing systems still remain a problem. 6.2. Location-Sensing One of the most widely used location-sensing today is the Global Positioning System (GPS). Using time-of-flight information derived from radio signals broadcast by a group of satellites in earth orbit. GPS makes it possible for a relatively cheap receiver (on the order of $100 today) to deduct latitude, longitude, and altitude to an accuracy of a few meters (Hightower and Borriello, 2001). The U.S. Department of Defence maintained the expensive satellite infrastructure, but with the investment been made many civilian benefits from it. Without a doubt, the past few years there has been a real sudden increase of GPS-based services for the consumer market. Although GPS is certainly important its location mechanism is not universally applicable. It cannot function indoors, particularly in places where there are steel-framed buildings and for many applications its resolution of a few meters is not adequate. GPS requires coordinates relative to specific objects whereas some applications (e .g., guidance systems for robotic equipment) use an absolute coordinate system. Further, the specific mechanism required for GPS impose cost, energy use requirements and weight that are difficult formobilehardware. Consequently, the following mechanism for tracking location (e.g., active badges, e911, and Cricket) considerably varies in their capabilities and infrastructure requirement. System costs vary as well, reflecting different trade-offs among device portability, device expense, and infrastructure needs. For applications involvingmobileobjects, orientation sensing (determining the direction an object faces) is also important, and this continues to be an active area of research. 6.3. Wireless Communications There has been a tremendous growth in the deployment of wireless communication technologies in the past decade. Although there has been considerable increase in data communication technologies, the most recognised one is voice communication (cell phones) which has been the primary driver. With many vendors offering hardware that supports the IEEE 802.11, wireless LAN technologies is now widely embraced in the construction industry (Williams, 2000). Although Bluetooth offers no bandwidth advantage as compared with 802.11, its standard has been backed by a number of hardware and software vendors and it is cheap to produce and frugal in power demand (Haartsen, 2000). The lowest-cost wireless technology in the market is the Infrared wireless communication this is due to the fact that it is primarily used in TV remote controls. IrDA supports handheld computers, laptops and other peripherals devices like printer been used today. Infrared wireless communication must be by line of sight, wit h range limited to a few feet. It is also affected adversely by high levels of ambient light, such as prevail outdoors during daylight hours. Greenhalgh claim that WI-FI network do perform well in open space when on construction site, due to the fact that when projects starts, getting wireless signals is easy but at a stage when they are boxed there seems to be interferences (COMIT, 2003). It is difficult to foresee what new wireless technologies will emerge in the future. Power consumption clearly will be an important factor for untethered devices, such asmobile computers, PDAs, and Smart Dust. In addition, it is clear that advances will be constrained by trade-offs among four factors: frequency, bandwidth, range, and density of wired infrastructure. Devices operating at a higher frequency could have greater bandwidth but would require major advances in high-frequency very-large-scale integration (VLSI) design. Advances also will be constrained by policy decisions on frequency usage (spectrum allocation) by the Federal Communications Commission. Range is fundamentally related to transmission power, but generating high pow er at high frequency always has been a difficult technical challenge. This is not a short-term annoyance but a core, long-term requirement of successful system architectures 6.4. Privacy and Trust Mobile computing and distributed system have been experiencing problems when it comes to privacy and this is greatly complicated by pervasive computing. Smart spaces, surrogates imonitor and location tracking are mechanisms used on a continuous basis. As a users keep on depending on this pervasive computing systems, they get more knowledge about the behaviour pattern, habits and the movement. Utilising this information becomes vital to successful proactivity and self-tuning. In addition, unless information used is strictly controlled, they will be unsafe from targeted spam to blackmail. Indeed, the constant loss of confidentiality will discourage users from using computing system. Greater dependence on mobile communications on site means that users should have confidence in that infrastructure to a considerable extent. On the other hand, the infrastructure has to be confident enough to authorise and identify users credential before responding to request. It is very challenging to cre ate this mutual trust in a manner that is minimally intrusive and thus preserves invisibility. Privacy and trust are likely to be enduring problems in Mobile communication technology in the construction industry. 7. Conclusion The current usage of mobile communication in the construction industry brings many change improvements wished for within the industry by enabling point of activity workers to participate in the electronic flow of information using mobile technologies. Although this is not the only solution to the problems to be addressed, it does offer the potential of significant impact in reducing construction time and cost, defects, accidents, waste