How a Solid Propellant Rocket Works

Solid propellant rockets include all of the older firework rockets, however, there are now more advanced fuels, designs, and functions with solid propellants. Solid propellant rockets were invented before liquid-fueled rockets. The solid propellant type began with contributions by scientists Zasiadko, Constantinov, and Congreve. Now in an advanced state, solid propellant rockets remain in widespread use today, including the Space Shuttle dual booster engines and the Delta series booster stages. How a Solid Propellant Functions Surface area is the amount of propellant exposed to interior combustion flames, existing in a direct relationship with thrust. An increase in surface area will increase thrust but will reduce burn-time since the propellant is being consumed at an accelerated rate. The optimal thrust is typically a constant one, which can be achieved by maintaining a constant surface area throughout the burn. Examples of constant surface area grain designs include: end burning, internal-core, and outer-core burning, and internal star core burning. Various shapes are used for the optimization of grain-thrust relationships since some rockets may require an initially high thrust component for takeoff while a lower thrust will suffice its post-launch regressive thrust requirements. Complicated grain core patterns, in controlling the exposed surface area of the rockets fuel, often have parts coated with a non-flammable plastic (such as cellulose acetate). This coat prevents internal combustion flames from igniting that portion of fuel, ignited only later when the burn reaches the fuel directly. Specific Impulse In designing the rockets propellant grain specific impulse must be taken into account since it can be the difference failure (explosion), and a successfully optimized thrust producing rocket. Modern Solid Fueled Rockets Advantages/Disadvantages Once a solid rocket is ignited it will consume the entirety of its fuel, without any option for shutoff or thrust adjustment. The Saturn V moon rocket used nearly 8 million pounds of thrust that would not have been feasible with the use of solid propellant, requiring a high specific impulse liquid propellant.The danger involved in the premixed fuels of monopropellant rockets i.e. sometimes nitroglycerin is an ingredient. One advantage is the ease of storage of solid propellant rockets. Some of these rockets are small missiles such as Honest John and Nike Hercules; others are large ballistic missiles such as Polaris, Sergeant, and Vanguard. Liquid propellants may offer better performance, but the difficulties in propellant storage and handling of liquids near absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin) has limited their use unable to meet the stringent demands the military requires of its firepower. Liquid fueled rockets were first theorized by Tsiolkozski in his Investigation of Interplanetary Space by Means of Reactive Devices, published in 1896. His idea was realized 27 years later when Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. Liquid fueled rockets propelled the Russians and Americans deep into the space age with the mighty Energiya SL-17 and Saturn V rockets. The high thrust capacities of these rockets enabled our first travels into space. The giant step for mankind that took place on July 21, 1969, as Armstrong stepped onto the moon, was made possible by the 8 million pounds of thrust of the Saturn V rocket. How a Liquid Propellant Functions Two metal tanks hold the fuel and oxidizer respectively. Due to properties of these two liquids, they are typically loaded into their tanks just prior to launch. The separate tanks are necessary, for many liquid fuels burn upon contact. Upon a set launching sequence two valves open, allowing the liquid to flow down the pipe-work. If these valves simply opened allowing the liquid propellants to flow into the combustion chamber, a weak and unstable thrust rate would occur, so either a pressurized gas feed or a turbopump feed is used. The simpler of the two, the pressurized gas feed, adds a tank of high-pressure gas to the propulsion system. The gas, an unreactive, inert, and light gas (such as helium), is held and regulated, under intense pressure, by a valve/regulator. The second, and often preferred, solution to the fuel transfer problem is a turbopump. A turbopump is the same as a regular pump in function and bypasses a gas-pressurized system by sucking out the propellants and accelerating them into the combustion chamber. The oxidizer and fuel are mixed and ignited inside the combustion chamber and thrust is created. Oxidizers Fuels Advantages/Disadvantages Unfortunately, the last point makes liquid propellant rockets intricate and complex. A real modern liquid bipropellant engine has thousands of piping connections carrying various cooling, fueling, or lubricating fluids. Also, the various sub-parts such as the turbopump or regulator consist of separate vertigo of pipes, wires, control valves, temperature gauges, and support struts. Given the many parts, the chance of one integral function failing is large. As noted before, liquid oxygen is the most commonly used oxidizer, but it too has its drawbacks. To achieve the liquid state of this element, a temperature of -183 degrees Celsius must be obtained--conditions under which oxygen readily evaporates, losing a large sum of oxidizer just while loading. Nitric acid, another powerful oxidizer, contains 76% oxygen, is in its liquid state at STP, and has a high specific gravity―all great advantages. The latter point is a measurement similar to density and as it rises higher so to does the propellants performance. But, nitric acid is hazardous in handling (mixture with water produces a strong acid) and produces harmful by-products in combustion with fuel, thus its use is limited. Developed in the second century BC, by the ancient Chinese, fireworks are the oldest form of rockets and the most simplistic. Originally fireworks had religious purposes but were later adapted for military use during the middle ages in the form of flaming arrows. During the tenth and thirteenth centuries, the Mongols and the Arabs brought the major component of these early rockets to the West: gunpowder. Although the cannon, and gun became the major developments from the eastern introduction of gunpowder, rockets also resulted. These rockets were essentially enlarged fireworks which propelled, further than the longbow or cannon, packages of explosive gunpowder. During the late eighteenth century imperialistic wars, Colonel Congreve developed his famed rockets, which trave range distances of four miles. The rockets red glare (American Anthem) records the usage of rocket warfare, in its early form of military strategy, during the inspirational battle of Fort McHenry. How Fireworks Function A fuse (cotton twine coated with gunpowder) is lit by a match or by a punk (a wooden stick with a coal-like red-glowing tip). This fuse burns rapidly into the core of the rocket where it ignites the gunpowder walls of the interior core. As mentioned before one of the chemicals in gunpowder is potassium nitrate, the most important ingredient. The molecular structure of this chemical, KNO3, contains three atoms of oxygen (O3), one atom of nitrogen (N), and one atom of potassium (K). The three oxygen atoms locked into this molecule provide the air that the fuse and the rocket used to burn the other two ingredients, carbon and sulfur. Thus potassium nitrate oxidizes the chemical reaction by easily releasing its oxygen. This reaction is not spontaneous though, and must be initiated by heat such as the match or punk.

`` Let Them Eat Code `` By Atossa Abrahamians - 871 Words

In Atossa Abrahamians article titled â€Å"Let Them Eat Code,† she discusses the growing problem of homelessness in America and society’s failure to recognize their contribution to homelessness. Abrahamian specially focuses her discussion on technology entrepreneurs who approach alleviating homeless in a negative manner or exploit the homeless to benefit their businesses. Throughout her paper, Abrahamian examines numerous problematic instances in which technology moguls used the misfortune of homeless citizens as learning tool to develop innovations for their businesses. Abrahamian traces this exploitation to society’s tendency to view homeless individuals as â€Å"primordial† instead of human beings like the rest of humanity. By observing different problematic incidents of exploitation and their origins, she supports her argument that â€Å"polite society† has contributed to the â€Å"plight† of homelessness (Abrahamian 3,4). In analyzing Ab rahamian’s article, I agree with her opinion that American society has a negative outlook toward the homeless and often refuses to acknowledge their contribution to homelessness in the United States. Early in her argument, Abrahamian emphasizes her belief that â€Å"society has failed its poorest members† (Abrahamian 4). She supports her point by describing a situation in which two prominent entrepreneurs made cruel insensitive comments about the disadvantage people of San Francisco on social media. The successful entrepreneurs, Greg Gopman and Peter Shih,

Introductory to Organisational Behaviour Principles Free Essays

Essay Title:Introductory to organisational behaviour principles Books, journals and articles on organisational behaviour (OB) can be found anywhere nowadays. Experts and professionals in this area have done a lot of research, coming up with theories, models, concepts, explanations and views on how a person will behave in an organisation. This paper argues that there are other resources to help us understand OB better. We will write a custom essay sample on Introductory to Organisational Behaviour Principles or any similar topic only for you Order Now This paper will firstly define what OB is and discuss the similarities and differences found from other resources to our main textbook, ‘Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim’ written by Steven Mcshane and Tony Travaglione. It will then analyse the relevance and usefulness of information to people working in organisations and students of OB. So what does OB actually mean? Robbins and Judge (2007, P. ) defined that ‘OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organisations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organisation’s effectiveness. ’ While, Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1999, P. 3) points out that ‘OB is the study of how people behave in organisations as individuals, teams and how the organisations structure human resources to achieve goals. ’ Comparing these two long definitions on OB, I would rather go along with the statement by Mcshane and Travaglione (2007, P. ), where it says that OB is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organisations. It’s so much easier to grasp and understand the gist of OB especially to students like me. What all these experts are trying to say is actually the same and what they had done is only putting their own thoughts into words. This signifies that we humans have a lot of views on one issue, it can be either the same or different, there’s no right or wrong either, it’s just a matter of how we perceive things. Thus we need to look into other resources to tap into other peoples’ views and concepts to learn more about OB. So why do we study OB? As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) had put it, we need to understand, predict and influence the behaviour of people, by doing so it will benefit the individual and the organisation. However, Tosi, Mero and Rizzo have a slightly different kind of say, they say that we study OB to understand, predict and improve the performance of people and ultimately to the organisation which they work (2000, P. 2). The latter statement seems to be more appropriate. Organisations are always trying to improve their employee’s performance, communication and decisions making ability by sending their employees for courses like team building. Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) have clearly identified and explained the five anchors on which OB is based on, which are the multidisciplinary anchor, systematic research anchor, contingency anchor, multiple levels of analysis anchor and lastly the open systems anchor. It appears that this is the only book that includes all five anchors in one book. These clearly explained concepts would help students to understand OB with ease and clarity than any other resources researched. With regards to the multidisciplinary anchor, Robbins and Judge (2007) only talks about the contributions to OB field from four behavioural disciplines which are psychology, social psychology, sociology and anthropology. Mcshane and Travaglione talks more than that, they even listed and discussed how emerging disciplines like communications and marketing contribute to the study of OB. Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) say that scholars have been depending on systematic research to form research questions, and apply test hypotheses against collected data. Mcshane and Travaglione also suggest that researchers are adopting grounded theory to understand the working environment. It’s a qualitative method whereby concepts and theories are formed by data collections like observations and interviews. For example, the Department for transport in the United Kingdom did a project to find out what factors affect the choice of transport of their citizens (Department for transport 2003). Maybe the Land Transport Authority in Singapore can refer to this article and find out the reason for the increasing number of people owning cars in Singapore. Mcshane and Travaglione (2007, P. 17) state that ‘no single solution is best in all circumstances. ’ What works in one situation may not be successful in a different situation (12Manage, 2008). This is a view shared by Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1999) where they say for each situation a different kind of respond is required. An example can be money; money can be a motivator for some people but may not be that effective on others, it all depends on the person’s financial needs and status (Vries 2007). Therefore, OB experts and managers in organisations learn to understand factors of different situations in order to respond more appropriately and effectively (Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1999). Similarly to our main text, Robbins and Judge (2007) states that there are three levels of analysis on OB, the micro which studies the individual, middle level which covers the small group and the macro level which looks into organisations. However, the latter book had included a model for visualisation, creating an image of importance on this classification will help students to understand topics area of concern later in the book. Now let’s look at the last anchor, the open system anchor. Similarly to our main text, Thomas (2005) points out that organisations are open systems that will receive input of information and resources from the environment and in turn transform them into goods or service before returning them back into the environment. Organisations are always restructuring and strategising to survive in the corporate world (Taplin 2005). This information will definitely be useful to top managements of organisations. They can apply this knowledge to strengthen their market share and strengthen their company image. This paper has argued that in order to understand OB principles more, a lot of reading and research had to be done. We have looked at what OB exactly is and due to the ever changing environment, peoples view and perceptions change, so we need to understand, predict and influence the changing needs of people. By using the five anchors we will be able to do that. Even though some information researched is the same, it still increases my knowledge on OB through the constant readings, some information may be irrelevant, but it is still useful even if only one percent of new knowledge is gained. Total word count (1060) References Cummings, TG 2005, ‘open systems’, Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior, viewed 2 August 2008, http://web. ebscohost. com. libproxy. sim. edu. sg/ehost/detail? id=4hid=120sid=add89e44-3e79-4bf6-ac4d-7c90f405c030%40sessionmgr103bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lmhAN=20986772 Department for Transport 2003, ‘Psychological Factors Affecting Transport Mode Choice’, viewed 2 August 2008, . Mcshane, S. Travaglione, T. 2007, ‘Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim’, 2nd edn, McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd, NSW. Nahavandi, A. Malekzadeh, A. R. 1999, ‘Organizational Behavior, The person-organizati on fit’, Prentice –Hall Inc, New Jersey. Robbins, S. P. Judge, T. A. 2007, ‘Organizational Behavior’, 12th edn, Pearson education Inc, USA. Taplin, I. M. 2005, ‘Strategic change and organisational restructuring: How managers negotiate change initiatives’, Journal of international management, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 284-301, viewed 4 August 2008, Science Direct. Tosi, H. L. , Mero, N. P. Rizzo, J. R. 2000, ‘Managing Organizational Behavior’, 4th edn, Blackwell Publishers Inc, USA. Vries, M. K. D. 2007, ‘Money, Money, Money’, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 231–243, viewed 29 July 2008, Science Direct. 12 Manage 2008, ‘Contingency Theory’, Bilthoven, viewed 2 August 2008, How to cite Introductory to Organisational Behaviour Principles, Papers

Equality and Diversity Policies

Question: To what extent is the business case a convincing rationale for equality and diversity policies and practices? Answer with reference to theory and research evidence. Answer: Management of diversity is significantly said to be different from earlier approaches to equity that may be affirmative action in a various number of ways. Developing a quite robust business case for the diversity management is the first step of any business. A general business case consists of organizational benefits evaluation from workforce diversity investment that includes the cost of investment. A business case focuses on specific and narrower benefits of the organization. The benefits of business case are influenced by factors such as internal and external factors. The business case evidence shows the effective management for managing diversity that is the success factor of any organization. There are many well-developed theories consisting of literature for understanding the effect of diversity on the performance of the organization. The dimensions for diversity management are gender, race, ethnicity, tenure, nationality, education, and functional background. The organization al outcomes for the diversity management are team performance, innovation, decision making ability, final performance and corporate reputation. With such factors into consideration, there have been outcomes that are conflicting with diversity. The main crucial management is the effective management of diversity. For this reason this essay assumes the diversity and equality policies that values wider diversity management in bringing out organizations diverse workforce. Organizations today generally do not include the finance function to determine the diversity of workforce (Ainsworth, 2013, p. 231) Inclusion of finance function is much necessary in an organization. Human resource management has been traditionally associated with the diversity management. The finance function role has yet not been studied for managing diversity. The finance function plays certain roles for organizations like strategic role and departmental strategic services. For effective partnership with the organization the realization of the finance function is much important. Finance function helps in gathering evidence for the impact of diversity management. For developing diversity, indicators and return on investment indices, external and internal impacts of stakeholders, legal and sectoral regulation compliance, as well as global operations in international parity, are hold in relation to any business case (Singal, 2014). A key strategic asset is diversity and finance function that monitors the effective management role considering diversity for capital management of an organization. A non-financial capital value like human capital is considered to be the strategic resource for the finance function. The extensive utilization of human capital ensures the finance function partnership with diversity management (Sloane, 2010). For leveraging diversities, finance function looks over the information that the organization already contains (Roh and Kim, 2015, p. 67) This is accomplished by accounting hidden cost and direct cost for diversity leverage. Functional finance has developed diversity priorities and metrics in many organizations. Inclusion and diversity have been developed by the global leaders for monitoring the gender diversity effects across the career management and talent acquisition (Roh and Kim, 2015). This system ensured the relationship between diversity management with business priorities relating to finance. The practical fact is that diversity needs to be built into operational objectives that consider factors beyond finance. The business case can be tailored by priorities and business needs for all the functional areas in the concerned organization. The possible backlash and resistances can be eliminated by specific functional business cases (Schwabenland and Tomlinson, 2015). Organizational business case is related to organizational priorities, a multiplicity of accounting interest considering stakeholders. (Hee-Jung Lim, 2010, p. 101) If the business case is broadened, then it is found that there is no particular case that relates to diversity. Diversity management business case relates all the arguments and evidence that suggest together diversity leveraging to contribute organizational priorities. The diversity management relates to three categories. Social demography- gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion, age, belief, disability, and race are the demographical social factors. Job-related characteristics- education and tenure, expertise and job function are the job-related factors Idiosyncratic categories- these factors originate from accent, local settings, political ideology, appearance, and nationality. The diversity types have been studied beyond all these factors that consist of team level, individual level as well as organizational level. Diversity in consideration to individual level deals with job satisfaction-productivity, commitment, and turnover retention. Considering team level diversity leads to creation, communication, and decision making. Considering organizational level, diversity in workplace drives performance improvements and innovation (Sminkey, 2014). Corporate reputation and stakeholder engagement are also included. There are also many negative consequences with regards to workforce diversity that consists of staff bonding, communication problem, job-embedded levels and conflict (Rask, Korsgaard and Lauring, 2010). For mapping the diversity benefits, diverse workforce is not sufficient for finding the potential diversity benefits. With effective diversity, management organizations should include a culture of inclusion. This will help in positive outcomes. According to Esfahani and Hashemi (2014), diversity management practices motivate the organization to embark practices on management. Particularities of the business environment include shareholder value, stakeholder value, regulatory context and global value chain. According to R. Rao and Bagali (2014), all the organizations today are careful about their resource utilization with the consideration of single bottom line; organizations focus on workforce diversity, profits ad return on investment. Talent acquisition and performance management are the main aspects of every business for understating the shareholder value. For diversity management, organizations today primarily deal with the investment return and profit calculation. Also the budgetary considerations, monetary value, third sector organizations and public are in concern with diversity management. According to Haikio (2010), with consideration to a higher range of diversity management, employees, shareholders, clients and customers are the wider factors for understating stakeholder value. The triple bottom line consists of all these factors like turnover rates, profit diversification, customer satisfaction and job satisfaction. There is a relationship between corporate social relationship and stakeholders value for assessing the diversity benefits. To shape the business case, certain factors with consideration to employees are an ethical employer, positive reputation and employer of choice. All the diverse interest cannot be catered for if different stakeholders interest is considered. The next point comes regulatory context that serves the widest interest of stakeholder interest. Carter, Schmidt and Hirons, (2015), believes self-regulation is the widely used regulatory context, but that can be coercive legal regulation and economic regulation. National agencies, international regulators and diversity networks produce many diversity-related business cases. The shareholder value and stakeholder value is underpinned by market regulations. Voluntarism concept delivers certain creative policies for the organizations. Strategic business priorities help in regulatory measures to ensure business plan. Human resource management along with policies help in the conflation of diversity. The business case for managing diversity depends on number changing as well as promotion related inclusions. The organizations today go beyond the legal compliance and are associated with innovation and creativity that are to be crafted in business areas (S, 2010). Both the diversity regulations that consist of coercive aspects and voluntary measures formulate the aspects of arguments rel ated to a business case. Moreover, the diversity quotas will help in promoting meritocracy and high-performance culture at any organization. The range from designing of a product to its development as well as service delivery refers to the interconnected activities of the global value chain (Bush, 2010, p. 321) Reputation, brand value, and global pool of talent make up the business imperatives and consumer market (Bush, 2010). IR Framework or Integrated Reporting Framework is the way that determines the non-financial and financial dimensions of the diversified strategic value that can be captured. The responsible governance is found to be quite responsible for managing diversity. The transactional opportunities are not managed by the involvement of shareholders and stakeholders, but amplified governance is required as well. International regulation and transnational regulation are important for delivering robust, diversified business case. The global value chain helps in identifying the long-term gain as well as quick fix solutions. Lumby and Coleman (2010), described the diversity management paradigms that promotes diversity and equality. They delivered some factors that achieve equal opportunities for human resource management. Equal treatment- equal treatment is a kind of approach that focuses on making the processes to be equal. For every organization, there are a lot of diversities in consideration to human resource. Thus, the treatment for every individual must be confronted to be equal. This will enhance the business case to deal with a comfortable atmosphere where there will be no sense of injustice and partiality. Positive Discrimination- a direct kind of approach must be ensured that is radical enough for justification. Measuring workforce diversity is quite a hectic job. But positive discrimination will lead to better productivity. If an individual is not able to deliver tasks in time, he needs to be justified with the reason. Motivating him to work will lead to enthusiasm. This is a kind of positive discrimination. Positive action- an immediate approach that determines additional support is known as positive action. Workforce diversity cannot be justified if support from the management is not ensured. Thus additional support irrespective of diversified discrimination will lead in fir accomplishment of tasks that will be measured by quality by different stakeholders. Mastracci and Herring (2010), is of the view that from the past, it has been found that there is a shift in management discourse that has resulted from discrimination and fairness to legitimacy and access in terms of learning and effectiveness. The business case has been popularized from the past context that consists of- Rise of neo-liberalism, new public sector managerialism and labor market deregulation. Kurt April (2012), stated the strengths that the organizations need to follow for managing business case accordance to diversity management. He said organizational generally gets benefited from the positive potentials of diversity. Diversity determination has narrow legalistic approach avoidance that leads organizational culture to be open to all perspectives and views. Business case helps in integrating the organizational equalities and diversities in decision making that is beyond legal discrimination. Further all the other potential aspects of the organization are evaluated. Kurt believes social arguments based on justice are traditional. At present business related arguments are more necessary. Kurt April (2012), stated certain fatal flaws for the business case that results to certain limitations. He believes business case arguments are short-termist, dangerous, blinkered and contains flawed assumptions. Arguments related to business case are variable, contingent, partial and selective. This results in derailed approach in managing diversities. Diversity concept is hard enough to be defined and operated. In comparison to social justice cases, business case is found to deal with low priorities for tackling discrimination. He believes arguments related to business case are effective in employment cooperation context and areas of consensual context. Ayub (2013), delivered certain factors for developing an effective business case so that diversities and equalities can be managed by an organization. Requirement of a robust base of evidence for a proper business case requires combination of both the hard and soft evidences that are to be collected for a business case. Data that are related to business case are often found to be partial and so direct prioritizing of data and its identification on related cases are to be provided for business case arguments. The business cases draw representation issues heavily. But though the representations are quite important, the business cases must relate to all possible inclusions, procedures, cultures and organizational standards that relate to diversities. Ayub believes that business cases operate at multiple level but multiple level of business cases must contain data from all sources from team, individual, national, organizational, sectoral and transactional levels. Business cases relates w ith business priorities and so business case must be arranged according to demands, contextual needs and organizational priorities. Business cases deals with focus on organizational workforce impact so business cases must deal with processes, behaviors and contexts. According to those the diversity and equality management must be confronted. Michalos (2013), described three most important practices that consider the development process of certain business cases which are sharing responsibility, achieving commitment and maintaining momentum. Proper delegation of tasks among the human resource in an organization helps in reducing confusion. Organizations today deal with diversified employees. They have different ways of accomplishing tasks. Moreover, they may be experts and educated in their respective parts. Thus, the proper delegation of tasks must be accomplished to share responsibilities among the professionals so that equality is restored. For achieving commitments and total participation, the diversity leaders need to take considerations from the different stakeholders in decision making. A diversity plan that may cater the core needs of the business has to be determined. This kind of approach will lead in robust business activity and commit a unified diversity policy to secure the organization from wider commitments. If the policy of diversity is succeeded, it will attract for future commitments and motivation for accomplishing tasks. For maintaining momentum, the business case must deal with all sorts of short-term, mid-term and long-term activities (Michalos, 2013). Resistance forms and strategies creation will prepare the programs for the future that will drive the business in achieving diversified activities. Roh and Kim (2015), stated ten action points that organizations need to develop in their business case for managing diversity. The action points are defining the diversity means for an organization, identification of priorities of the strategies that are taken earlier, different data sources from multi-levels are to be aligned for organizational priorities and diversity policies, both the current data and new data needs to be fed in forming arguments for business plan, proper integration of thoughts, demonstrations, trust and allocation of data has to be ensured in a business case, business cases have to be developed by linking diversity data with results from the associated business, stakeholders commitment has to be achieved for forming business case, diversity strategies that are generated from a business case has to be crafted, mutual responsibility sharing for management of diversity and equality across the organization has to be ensured and effectiveness of the business case fo r managing diversity in workplace has to be monitored from time to time. These actions serve as recommendations for formation of effective business case for any organization. The business case for managing diversity and equality varies from each context that is likely to be stronger for high growth, diversify consumer markets and higher innovation sectors. The business case for diversity and equality is mostly selective than applied universally. For enhancing business performance, effective and appropriate management of context has to deal with diversities. Effectiveness and learning approach for business cases will help in achieving greater benefits to access the legitimate approach of an organization. Diversity management is most likely to be effective if it is based on positive business case arguments, strong legal frameworks, and employee voice through consultation and negotiation. In conclusion, the diversity management of a business case is a convincing rational for a great extent that includes economical reasons. The reasons encompass increase in profit and revenue of the organization. Corporate goodwill and talent acquisition though has certain limitations but still can be used in contextual manner. There are many other cases such as legal reasons, social justice that supports the workforce diversity. As it is said that Society is unity in diversity organizations need to undertake workforce considerations to enhance business case and increase their productivity and service. Reference List Ainsworth, J. (2013). Business Languages for Intercultural and International Business Communication: A Canadian Case Study. Business Communication Quarterly, 76(1), pp.28-50. Ayub, M. (2013). Case for Following the Business Ethics. JIBM, 3(1), pp.5-13. Bleijenbergh, I., Peters, P. and Poutsma, E. (2010). Diversity management beyond the business case. Equal Div and Incl: An Int J, 29(5), pp.413-421. Bush, T. (2010). Diversity, Sexuality and Faith. Educational Management Administration Leadership, 38(5), pp.522-524. Carter, H., Schmidt, S. and Hirons, A. (2015). An International Assessment of Mangrove Management: Incorporation in Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Diversity, 7(2), pp.74-104. Esfahani, A. and Hashemi, S. (2014). The Effect of Diversity Management on the Employees Happiness (the Case of Yaran Paper Company). IJARBSS, 4(5). Hiki, L. (2010). The Diversity of Citizenship and Democracy in Local Public Management Reform. Public Management Review, 12(3), pp.363-384. Hee-Jung Lim, (2010). The current status of diversity management and the effect of diversity management on organizational performance. Productivity Review, 24(3), pp.181-217. Kurt April, (2012). Diversity management in South Africa: Inclusion, identity, intention, power and expectations. African Journal of Business Management, 6(4). Lumby, J. and Coleman, M. (2010). Leadership and diversity. School Leadership Management, 30(1), pp.1-2. Mastracci, S. and Herring, C. (2010). Nonprofit management practices and work processes to promote gender diversity. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 21(2), pp.155-175. Michalos, A. (2013). The Business Case for Asserting the Business Case for Business Ethics. J Bus Ethics, 114(4), pp.599-606. R. Rao, S. and Bagali, D. (2014). Workforce diversity and management: An emphirical study on relationship between diversity management practices, obstacles and acceptance of gender diversity among employees in IT industry; Bangalore. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(2), pp.12-25. Rask, M., Korsgaard, S. and Lauring, J. (2010). When international management meets diversity management: the case of IKEA. EJIM, 4(4), p.396. Roh, H. and Kim, E. (2015). The Business Case for Gender Diversity: Examining the Role of Human Resource Management Investments. Human Resource Management, p.n/a-n/a. Schwabenland, C. and Tomlinson, F. (2015). Shadows and light: Diversity management as phantasmagoria. Human Relations. Singal, M. (2014). The business case for diversity management in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 40, pp.10-19. Sloane, P. (2010). International Handbook on Diversity Management at Work; Perspectives on Diversity and Equal Treatment20101Edited by Alain Klarsfeld. International Handbook on Diversity Management at Work; Perspectives on Diversity and Equal Treatment . Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar 2010. Equal Div and Incl: An Int J, 29(5), pp.539-541. Sminkey, P. (2014). Under the Umbrella  of Case Management. Professional Case Management, 19(6), pp.296-297. S, S. (2010). Quo vadis Diversity-Management: Legitimationsfassade oder professionelles Management personeller Vielfalt?. Zeitschrift fr Management, 5(3), pp.283-304.

Can Social Order Emerge Spontaneously

Deathwatch - Literary Analysis essays

Deathwatch - Literary Analysis essays In Robb White's novel, Deathwatch, the author develops a theme of survival through the character of Ben. By examining Ben's actions, we can learn how people use instinct and creativity to survive in severe situations. After escaping from Madec in the hot, dry, desert with no clothes, shoes or water, Ben not only finds ways to survive the hunt; he also finds ways to survive the harsh desert elements. Ben does many things while stranded in the desert that contributes to his survival. One important thing Ben does in the desert to help him survive is when he covers his feet with nests to ease the pain of walking on the stones of the desert. Even though this was a painful process, "once his feet were inside the nests the pain eased and, when he stood up, he knows that, with just that much protection from the stones, he could go ahead" (77). Ben collected more nests, knowing they were brittle and would not last long, and carried them with him for future use. This action proves that Ben was planning to guarantee his survival. This action by Ben also demonstrates his creativity and determination to survive. The author gives his readers a visual of how hard it is to survive in these elements when he explains how individuals can only survive for 48 hours without water and when they do get water, drinking one quart is only equal to one additional hour of survival. Ben's actions illustrate the extreme measures people will go to survive when he tries to get water. He finds a puddle of dirty water that had bird droppings caked to the floor and drank it. To the reader, this sounds horrid, and one may think they would never do that under any circumstances, but to Ben, because of the situation he was in and because he was determined to survive, he drank the water, and it tasted delicious. He knew that he needed this water to keep going and he was able to look past how dirty it was and see it more as a tool for survival. ...

Hospital Atmosphere and a Noble Profession Essay

Hospital Atmosphere and a Noble Profession - Essay Example I had always developed an impression that hospitals and patients would do better with more readily available service. Hospitals are perpetually short of hands and either fewer nurses are available, or hospitals are not employing enough of them. Many times I have noticed that patients are more in need of constant help, whereas hospitals are unable to provide such help. This usually ends in patient dissatisfaction and deprival. While being hospitalized, people need more individual attention, constant companionship and staff presence. It is very important for me to get admission into nursing, as I cannot compromise with another career easily. I do not like to take up a career for which I do not feel a positive response. I would like to do the work that motivates me. And till now, hospital work is the only work in which I am sure, that I will find fulfilment. Hospital atmosphere inspires me to be kind and helpful to fellow human beings who are, at that moment, in need of help. It could b e due to the right vibes I received from my mother’s routine work in the hospital, or could be my own mental make-up; I always thought that nursing is a noble profession and never changed my mind on that ideal. It is imperative for me to find the right career at this juncture of my life so that I could proceed about my future in a systematic way and avoid confusion about the chosen goal. I would like to impress that I am passionate about this work and hope to have a long and fulfilling career in it.

Environmental Management and Quality System Essay

Environmental Management and Quality System - Essay Example In addition, it is a formal approach to managing the aspects of an organization’s activities, products, and services that have or could have an impact on the environment (Sheldon & Yoxon, 2002). According to Muchemu (2008), a quality management system is the organization’s structures, processes, procedures, and resources needed to implement quality management. The international and national standards are used to form the foundation for effective quality management systems (Schlickman, 2003). Hallmark is the largest greeting card company in the world owned by a family since it was started more than a century ago. It has an ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified system and other certified systems like BRC, SMETA/SEDEX Ethical, and FSC. In addition, it has other non-certified systems like ISO18001, PEFC, and ISO26000. Having this certified systems means that it is dedicated to management review, legal compliance, continual improvement, internal communications, traceability, concer ns/ incidents and training. This organization has environmental objectives that build to a strategic plan for each area of operations business. It also has personal objectives via appraisal process and independent verification of achievements. The Hallmark’s approach to implementation of environmental management system is by identifying key performance indicators, improvising a mean of measuring those performance indicators and designing a way of improving those performance indicators. One of the key performance indicators that the company has chosen in its approach to implementing environmental management system is to reduce water consumption by a further 5% by the end of this year, based on a 2009 baseline. The company measures this performance indicator using the monthly water usage figures provided for each site by the Yorkshire water company. In the company implementation approach, it aims to improve this key performance indicator by increasing awareness about water cons umption and the costs it brings to the company among all its employees. Moreover, the company is introducing an initiative on reducing water usage. This will be working with cross-functional teams to ensure a reduction for resources that the company uses in its processes. Another key performance indicator that Hallmark decided to use in its approach to implementing an environmental management system is ensuring a reduction in its carbon footprint by a further 2% by the end of this year compared to a 2008 baseline. In this approach, the company uses the annual reporting on energy consumption, LPG consumption and diesel consumption to measure this key performance indicator. To achieve various improvements on this performance indicator Hallmark has designed an energy management team that consists of cross-functional members. This team has been holding several meetings to discuss possible energy reduction initiatives that require being introduced. Moreover, the company has also designed staffs awareness program to educate its staffs on maximum energy utilization and effective energy saving techniques. To continue working towards recycling 95% of all solid wastes by the end of this year is another key perform

How Have Changes In The World Economy Since 1945 Affected Room For Essay - 1

How Have Changes In The World Economy Since 1945 Affected Room For Maneuver Of Multinational Firms - Essay Example The World War of 1945 proved to be a massive disaster for world’s economy with its most effects on the European countries and Japan. These two countries were considered to be the greatest raw material suppliers throughout the world which significantly fell down in the war years. The countries who were not directly involved in the war were the gainers of the economy soon after the war as they fulfilled the gaps and needs of world economy in that crucial time. However, post war phase that is the recovery period from the war had been quite rapid and remarkable for the affected countries, the reasons being that the civilian production came to a halt in the war period and there was growth in the fields of metal working, engineering, chemical capacity etc that boomed during the period and was utilized in the peace time. The infrastructure of the countries was well established in the pre war phase and had to go through the repairs after the war. Additionally there was ample trained a nd knowledgeable human resource to be mobilized to improve and recover the conditions. All these reasons altogether along with the help from some undamaged countries like USA and Canada helped them in the recovery phase. It was seen after 5 years, in the available statistics of 1950 that the GNP and income levels of most of the affected countries was way more than it was in 10 years before the war in 1930s. USA had played a significant role in world economy after the world war. Right after the world war the European countries faced shortage of fuel, food and resources. The only country who could have helped them with its undamaged economy was USA, but to buy all these resources huge reserves of dollars were required and dollar shortage was faced. It seemed in that era that all the world’s resources were shifting from Europe to North American regions and the US economy boomed and it looked it would be impossible to catch up with such an economy which is richer in resources and is the hub of investment. This era give US the opportunity to utilize its resources to the maximum and US utilized this well. (POLLARD. 1997) Post World War II Period: After the Second World War many imbalances were seen in the world’s economy in technological advancements, investment and consumption policies etc. In the late 1950s the prices of primary commodities in the world started decreasing along with general fall in the world trade which led to accumulation of debts for many countries. These reasons mainly later on accounted for the economic crisis in 1970s. The poverty and problems increased in the world economy with an increasing trend of international division of labor introduced by the uncontrolled activities of multinationals all over the world. The result of this unequal distribution in the world’s economy lead to unequal and imbalanced international relationships among highly industrialized and experts and monopoly of industrial research and technology a nd peripheral countries which were dependent on few industries but were technologically controlled by the transnational companies. The most affected by these imbalances were the developing countries which paved ways to global world crisis in later years. (GONZALEZ, CAMPO URBANO & MESA.1984; TOLENTINO. 2000) The boom in the development of MNCs was a result to various important forces. The economic conditions prevailing in the post world war era were more nurturing. The bad experiences faced in 1930s provided the guidelines for not repeating the economical mistakes. The set of policies adopted were designed to rebuild, strengthen and restore the economies of affected countries during the World War. (COHEN. 2007) Role of USA: A few theorists argue that after 1945 the conditions to ‘

Education for Sustainable Development

Education for Sustainable Development A sustainable society is one that is far-seeing enough, flexible enough, and wise enough not to undermine either its physical or its social systems of support. (Donella Meadows) What should people learn? And how could they be taught? There is no real shortage of curriculum materials, lesson plans, and classroom activities for teachers wishing to educate for sustainable development. This section makes reference to a sample of the resources on the internet that embody its recommendations. It aims to provide some anchor points that should enable teachers to evaluate such material, use it more constructively, and increasingly plan and produce their own materials based on the needs of their pupils and community. Overcoming nature and society dualism (science and ICT) Modern societies alienated people from the rest of nature as industrialization and urbanization separated them from the land. One cause of this alienation is the division of academic knowledge (and school subjects) into those concerned with the natural world (the natural sciences) and those concerned with the social world (the social sciences). Such dualism encourages the belief that the bio-physical world of ecological relations is separate from society and social relations. Our own bodies and everything that surrounds them (the environment) is the product of both ecological and social relations and processes. Indeed everything can be regarded as natural or nature in that there is nothing un-natural about people. Such a philosophical diversion is relevant because primary schools have long celebrated a nature separate from society. The nature walk, the nature table, the science lesson, the assembly, too often suggest that nature is something separate from society to be contacted, experienced, investigated and manipulated, or worshipped. While mainstream primary education has been guilty of such dualism it is also a feature of progressivism. By suggesting children should be educated according to nature progressive educators idealized or romanticized a nature outside society and similar ideas are current today amongst those environmental educators who advocate ecological or earth education. The challenge of sustainability is to reconnect the development or evolution of the bio-physical and social worlds with appropriate technology governed by appropriate ethics, laws, institutions and ideas. This requires a primary curriculum that integrates knowledge and school subjects so that pupils can study science and technology in a social context. Basic ecology, ecological limits and ecological footprints Childrens awareness of ecological limits is perhaps best developed by practical experience of growing crops or talking to gardeners and farmers. There is a limit to the food, fiber or energy crops that can be grown on a fixed area of land and attempts to increase yields by removing limiting factors (as with artificial fertilizers) may have unintended consequences. Similarly children are likely to understand limits on the use of renewable resources (e.g. over-fishing) through the use of simple simulation games or the analogy to savings in the bank. Living on interest is sustainable but living on capital is not. Modern lifestyles depend on fossil fuels and productive land and water throughout the world that produces the resources we consume and treats our waste. Our ecological footprint is the area of land and water required for the sustainable production of all the ecological resources and services that enable us to live in the way we do with particular forms of technology and a particular standard of living. The ecological footprint of the average US citizen is over twelve times larger than that of the average Indian. Other example: watering the plants by flooding and Injection method. 4.2 Pedagogy a) Related disciplinary holistic (Holistic Content) Holism (from Holos, a Greek word meaning all, whole, and entire, total) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave. Holistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise (logic) that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to humanitarian values such as compassion and peace. Holistic education aims to call forth from people an intrinsic reverence (honor or respect) for life and a passionate love of learning. Robin Ann Martin (2003) describes this further by stating, At its most general level, what distinguishes holistic education from other forms of education are its goals, its attention to experiential learning, and the significance that it places on relationships and primary human values within the learning environment. The key pedagogical goal is to help students intellectually understand and solve problems. Managing sustainable requires students to develop passion for sustainability. Passion for sustainability can be taught using a holistic pedagogy that integrates physical and emotional or spiritual learning. A prototype course design on managing with passion for sustainability is suggested. b) Values driven Values are also an integral part of ESD. In other cultures, however, even if values are not taught overtly, they are modeled, explained, analyzed, or discussed i.e. flexibility. In both situations, understanding values is an essential part of understanding your own worldview and other peoples viewpoints. Understanding your own values, the values of the society you live in, and the values of others around the world is a central part of educating for a sustainable future. Two common techniques are useful to the values component of ESD Values clarification values analysis In ESD, values have different roles in the curriculum. In some ESD efforts, pupils adopt certain values as a direct result of instruction or modeling of accepted values. In other cultures, studying the relationship between society and the environment leads pupils to adopt values derived from their studies. Three types of values are very important and those are Curiosity values Shared values Content values Objectives of values can be summarized as To develop an understanding of values in education strategies To consider the relation between values and personal behavior affecting the achievement of sustainable futures To develop skills for using values clarification and values analysis in teaching To reflect on your futures awareness, commitment and actions c) Critical Thinking and problem solving Education systems everywhere will need to include a focus on the causes, consequences and solutions to climate change, if the necessary changes in society are to be effected in time. Addressing the causes and the consequences of climate change requires content and methodologies that will build capacity in society for Mitigation (relief) Adaptation (Variable adjustment) Transformability (Applied to function) More over following points are notable, All levels and forms of existing educational and teaching and learning programmes need to be reviewed and re-oriented to address the causes and consequences of climate change. Climate change requires educators to include new content into education, training and public awareness programmes. Creativity, problem solving and social transformation skills need to be developed. Positive, participatory action and solution-centered approaches to education and learning need to be developed. d) Multi-method (word art, drama, debate, life experiences. LINKING ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT The multi-method approach is necessary because we need To link environment and development by exploring the global implications of weakening ecological webs To study the phenomenon of deforestation (as an example of non-systematic thinking): its causes and effects To consider the web of factors leading to activities which cause deforestation To reflect on the different roles involved in the making of decisions about activities with significant environmental impacts (such as logging, mining etc) Examples of Issues for Multi-method: Deforestation, Green House Gases, Health, Recycling, Luxuries, Promoting simple life, Deforestation, Tissue paper, Sewage water vegetation, Professional exposure to Pollution, Energy storage and sustainability (Mobile battery, UPS, Black leather etc) and health problems. Solar Cell sustainability etc SESSION 3: CLIMATE CHANGE Aims To explore the science of climate change To increase participants knowledge and understanding of the commonly used terms and figures used in discussions about climate change To highlight the major challenges involved in combating climate change To highlight climate change as a global justice issue To brainstorm positive responses to the challenges of climate change. Session Outline Energizer PowerPoint presentation Group discussion Mind-map drawing Materials Needed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Power Point presentation, Climate Change: The Numbers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Numbers from the presentation written on separate scraps of paper à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Flipchart paper à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Markers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Blu-tac (pressure-sensitive adhesive, commonly used to attach papers to walls or other surfaces) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Post-it notes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Laptop and data projector à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Broadband connection (for closing activity only) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ For Alternative World Cafà © Activity you will need tables, chairs, paper tablecloths, crayons, post-its, flipchart paper, markers- and coffee! ACTIVITIES Suggested Warm-Up exercise: Outrageous Lies (non conventional lies) There is a lot of misinformation about climate change in the media, sometimes even there are outrageous lies! This exercise encourages participants to think creatively and will warm them up to contribute their guesses to the slide show. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Divide the participants into smaller groups of 4-5 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Give them each an ordinary object such as a stick, a glass, a piece of chalk. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Each person in the group must talk about the object for one full minute before passing it to the next person. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ When this is finished, bring the whole group back together. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Have a selection of objects, including the ones used in the smaller groups. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Invite the participants to pick any one object and tell an outrageous lie about it. They may be slow to start but once they get going they will have fun linking their lies about the objects together. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Keep going until you feel the group has warmed up. Activity 1: Climate Change: the Numbers The presentation is intended to make the science of climate change more accessible and understandable. It comprises a series of numbers that have a specific relevance to climate change. It begins with an image of a confused-looking George Bush, signifying the confusion that many of us feel when confronted with the jargon (meaningless talk or writing) and statistics of climate science. This confusion can lead to inaction so it is important to have a basic scientific understanding of climate change. Our learning should also be accompanied by a critical appraisal (decision analysis) of the sources of information on the issues. 1. Hand out the scraps of paper with the numbers written on them to participants. (Make 2 or 3 copies of each number if your group is larger.) Explain that the presentation will be based on all the numbers that the participants have. They could be measurements of time, of greenhouse gases, they could be dates or deadlines. The purpose of this is to involve the participants in the presentation and to make the facts more memorable. 2. Ask them to think about the special number they have received. What might it signify? How might it be relevant to climate change? 3. The slides move from historical reasons for climate change through to current challenges, carbon emission limits and deadlines. As you go through the slides ask for suggestions for what each number might be. (They will probably have no idea at first but gain in confidence as the presentation proceeds.) 4. The presentation finishes with a different US President- Barrack Obama and his positive yes we can mantra (spiritual transformation). This leads to the next activity. 5. Before moving to the next activity finish the presentation by asking for feedback from participants. What facts did they know before? What was new? What was most surprising/ troubling/outraging? Activity 2: Brainstorm in groups It is important not to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge of climate change. ESD empowers learners to take action on issues they feel are important. 1. Ask the group to form smaller groups of 3-4. 2. Give each group a flipchart page, markers. 3. Ask each group to create a mind-map the theme of Yes we can! or positive responses to the challenge of climate change. Ask them to think about what changes they can make to their own lives to respond to the issues about which they have just learned. 4. When they are finished ask each group to feedback to the whole group and post the mind-maps on the wall as a continual reminder. Mind-maps: A diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Activity 2: Alternative Activity Mini World Cafà © conversation on adaptation for and mitigation against climate change. (This will take at least an hour and a half.) The aim of World Cafà © is to make the most of the collective knowledge and ideas of the people in the group. The group talks at their tables about the issue, responding to one or two well-thought-out questions. 1. Form groups of four. 2. Rearrange the tables in the room to create table clusters, as in a cafà ©. 3. Place a flipchart paper on each table along with some markers and crayons (stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other materials used for writing) and post-it notes. 4. Briefly explain the World Cafà © concept. (Through both our research and the decade of practice that followed its emergence, we have come to view the World Cafà © as a conversational process based on a set of integrated design principles that reveal a deeper living network pattern through which we co-evolve our collective future) 5. Ask for one person in each group to volunteer to be a table host. A table host stays at their table and welcomes new people to it. The other members of the group are ambassadors and will move from table to table. 6. Before starting clarifies the question with the group to make sure everyone understands it. Have a question prepared that is relevant to your group. E.g. How can we as M.A Education students in UE and affiliated Colleges Schools raise awareness among our peers of climate change? What are the first steps we must take to make a change? How do we proceed from here? 7. When everyone is clear about the question and the process, begin the first 20 minutes of conversation. Give the group notice 5 minutes from the end of the first round. Give them 5 minutes break and then start the second round. 8. After every round the ambassadors are asked to leave their conversation and move to any other table to join in the discussion there or start a new discussion. 9. All the time the ambassadors and/or table hosts must record the conversations on the flip chart paper. Key ideas or moments of inspiration can be captured on the post it notes and stuck on the wall for everyone to see. 10. Do this 3 times if possible. In the 3rd round ask the groups, whatever back to the whole group. 11. Give 15 minutes at the end for this feedback and discussion. 12. If possible pick out points from the feedback that could become actions. Assign responsibility for those actions to group members. Table they are at, to summaries the discussion at that table into some key points. These will be posted on the wall and fed e) Participatory decision making Some experts have argued that links between sustainable development and gender pertain primarily in traditional contexts and at the local level, while major (global) environmental threats have little connection with gender relations and equality. However, this argument may partially stem from a lack of research and data on the links between gender equality and sustainable development at the global level. For example, two of the main global environmental threats that face us today are the depletion of the ozone layer and climate change. Both of these threats stem largely from consumption and production patterns related to industrialization and the dominant processes of economic globalization. Change requires reexamining the ways in which trade, industry, development and other economic policies are pursued. In this sense, global environmental threats are a question of macroeconomic policies and governance. Other Gender Briefs in this series have demonstrated that enhancing attention to gender equality will bring greater accountability and focus on social justice. While more research is required to determine the precise nature of this link, it can be argued that greater gender equality in decision making positions and the adoption of social justice criteria for macroeconomic policy will also enhance attention to sustainable development, including a sustainable global environment. The goal regarding sustainable environment and development policy is therefore: *Closer investigation of the links between policy that promotes sustainable environmental development and policy that promotes gender equality; and using these links as the basis for promoting a more sustainable development agenda, in both human and environmental terms* Progress towards the above goals can also be aided by promoting equal participation of men and women in the highest environmental, macroeconomic and development policy-making positions. f) Locally relevant; Global Issues, Languages and Culture The Maldives is an archipelago of 1,200 islands of which 200 are inhabited. In the past, the Maldives had been exposed to moderate levels of natural disasters and had an ad hoc emergency response system until the tsunami of 2004. The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004, the worst natural disaster in the history of the Maldives, affected the entire country. All but nine islands were flooded and 13 islands were totally evacuated. The disaster claimed 82 lives, left 26 people missing and displaced over 15,000 people (about 5.5 per cent of the population). In line with the national disaster preparedness policies, the Ministry of Education of Maldives aims to establish a disaster preparedness policy for island schools. Schools as Gateways for Education for Natural Disaster Preparedness The Maldives has a young population; close to 45 per cent of the population is less than 18 years old with a great majority enrolled in schools. According to the 2005 official statistics, there were 102,073 students enrolled in 334 schools across the Maldives and 5,616 teachers teaching students in those schools. Thus, more than 40 per cent of the total population (270,101) is directly engaged in the schools on any given school day. In addition, schools have a strong bond with the community through the active engagement of the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in school affairs. Moreover, with the very limited public infrastructure on the islands, schools are not only a place for the students: they also serve as the islands multi-purpose convention centers where community activities, meetings and public events are held. Identifying Priorities Initial consultative meetings were held with the officials of the Ministry of Education. It was decided that the first step towards disaster preparedness education through schools would be to formulate a disaster preparedness policy for schools. Lessons Learned A low probability of hazard occurrence yet high vulnerability due to the geographical, topographical and socio-economic factors of the islands exposes the Maldives to a moderate level of risk overall. Hence, it is critical that specific policies and measures are implemented to reduce the level of vulnerability in order to avoid a disproportionate scale of losses and damage. The most important lesson learned from the consultations and feedback for material development was that education for disaster preparedness is an endless process that requires a constant collaborative effort from all parties concerned. The project team had discussions with officials from the government sector, NGOs, island chiefs, school administrators and teachers. Meetings at the islands were conducted in a relaxed environment at a time and a place convenient to the respondents. Maldivian have strong religious faith. This may be the reason why some respondents argued that a natural disaster is an act of God and however much we try, we cannot prepare for it. It was difficult to convince them that in preparing for disasters, people may be acting with the will of God rather than against it. Others are still in denial of disasters and believe that a large-scale disaster such as the tsunami will not happen again. Thus, educational initiatives should address not only how people should prepare for natural disasters but also why they should be prepared for them. 4.3 Schools and Learning a) Co-Learning Self Learning Together The learning involves knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits of mind that make it possible to live with in nature. Develop a shared understating of sustainability and Education for Sustainability (EfS) with in institutional community Provide a shared professional development experience to develop a shared vocabulary and understanding that can be used to create change Lead change in curriculum and instruction by developing units Provide professional development as per indicators Encouragement and support to student -led initiatives CelebrateWhat is EfS Quote Social Links b) The Learning Classroom-Action Steps In the learning classroom, curriculum and instructional methodologies produce authentic and engaged learning. Document and map the Operational curriculum for the whole school/district Design/document units using assessment tools Map the vertical and lateral operating curriculum and assessments on a web based curriculum mapping or curriculum documentation tool Continuously read the feedback and improve practices overtime Fully integrate the EfS Standards and performance indicators in to the curriculum Scope and Sequence in the appropriate disciplines and grade levels Integrate the physical plant changes directly in to curricular innovations Celebrate c) Schools that Learn-Action Steps Collaboratively develop a strategic plan for EfS with goals, measurable indicators and timelines Align performance assessment and incentives with the strategic plan Dedicate and align time, resources, funding and deeper professional development (for example: Content, Instruction, Curriculum development and assessment) to the strategic plan Communicate the strategic plan to whole school community and set expectations Develop participatory and leadership vision Sustain vertical and lateral curriculum integration along with organized learning assessment Reflective journal Celebrate d) Communities that Learn-Action step Identify develop authentic learning opportunities for students in the community. Identify develop relationships with the key stakeholders as resources to the school/district. Identify community needs and develop the way a school can be an authentic resource to other schools to the community. Identify develop authentic ways for sustainability Monitor the success Celebrate e) Physical Plant, Procurement and Investments-Action Steps: Conduct a baseline assessment of building materials, maintenance products and how the school community travels to and from schools. Set goals to source locally or regionally, reclaimed or recycled sustainably harvested, non toxic materials. Set goals to increase the mode of sustainable mode of transportation. Track progress overtime Ensure reuse and recycling of materials as a fundamental function in school environment Conduct an energy audit and take steps to promote renewable resources of energy Promote institutional farming/relationship for food etc. avoid packaging Celebrate 4.4 Whole School Approach for ESD Action Learning in ESD A whole-school approach to ESD calls for sustainable development to be integrated throughout the formal sector curriculum in a holistic manner, rather than being taught on a stand alone basis.  This philosophy supports the notion that ESD is education for sustainable development rather than education about sustainable development.  In practice, this approach means that a school will incorporate teaching and learning for sustainable development not only through aspects of the curriculum, but also through sustainable school operations such as integrated governance, stakeholder and community involvement, long-term planning, and sustainability monitoring and evaluation.  Whole-school approaches also advocate for active and participatory learning, a hallmark of ESD, and call for the entire school, including students, educators and administrators, to be actively engaged in working towards a sustainable school with ESD fully integrated into the curriculum as the driving factor. Statements of Different Countries about Decade of ESD: UNESCO: ESD should be interdisciplinary, holistic and participatory, with learning for sustainable development embedded in the whole curriculum, not as a separate subject Australia: A cross-disciplinary studies and integration of sustainable development in key learning areas that provide opportunities for participation and action   Finland: Sustainable development must be included in all subjects and that the entire operational culture of a school must support learning for sustainable development   The United Kingdom: The integration of sustainable development throughout the curriculum and through the management and operations of school facilities, such as transport, food and buildings These approaches provide students, teachers, and other staff members with opportunities to be active participants in the learning process. The whole-school approach: from pilot projects to systemic change  : An example of a successful pilot project is the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), which is a partnership between the Australian Government, States and Territories that aims to support schools and their communities in becoming sustainable through a whole-system and whole-school approach to sustainability.  AuSSI promotes the active engagement of stakeholders in programme development and management, including students, teachers, administrators, and communities.  AuSSI started as a pilot initiative in 2001 and recently received government endorsement to expand and consolidate beyond the pilot stage in several States and Territories.  Over 2,000 schools now participate in the Initiative, providing a potential model for other jurisdictions on how to expand beyond the pilot stage.    The International Eco-Schools Programme also takes a holistic, participatory approach to learning for sustainability.  The aim of the Programme is to engage students through classroom study, school and community action to raise their awareness of sustainable development issues.  Eco-Schools provide an integrated system for the environmental management of schools and involve all stakeholders in this process.  After a period of participation, each school participating in the Programme is assessed; successful schools are awarded a Green Flag, a recognized eco-label for environmental education and performance.  Initially a European programme, Eco-Schools are now represented in almost all European Union Member States, various countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and some pilot projects in Japan and other parts of the world.   Key challenges and opportunities   Time and resource constraints are identified by teachers and school administrators as common barriers to ESD implementation. Leadership challenges from local government authorities and a consequent lack of institutional support for implementation of ESD in schools. Studies show gaps in appropriate pedagogy and curriculum development in teacher training, the absence of a positive vision, and a general lack of conviction that individual teacher efforts will really make a difference.   A whole-school approach to ESD presents a significant opportunity for the formal education sector.  Not only can it enhance the environmental performance of schools as institutions, but it can raise the quality of education and build a more sustainable future by imparting the values and tools that todays children and youth will need to build and maintain more sustainable societies.  Commitment to change is required from all stakeholders, from grassroots activists to educators to policymakers.  Only by working together at all levels can we ensure that ESD moves beyond the realm of pilot projects and individual case studies to a more system-wide catalyst for change. 4.6 Excursions, School trips and SWOT analysis for ESD It can be used to gauge the degree of fit between the organizations strategies and its environment, and to suggest ways in which the organization can profit from strengths and opportunities and shield itself against weaknesses and threats (Adams, 2005). However, SWOT has come under criticism recently. Because it is so simple, both students and managers have a tendency to use it without a great deal of thought, so that the results are often useless. Another problem is that SWOT, having been conceived in simpler times, does not cope very well with some of the subtler (Difficult to understand) aspects of modern strategic theory, such as trade-offs (De Witt and Meyer, 1998). Strengths: To determine an organizations strong points. This should be from both internal and external customers. Strengths arise from the resources and competencies available to the firm. Weaknesses: To determine an organizations weaknesses. This should be not only from its own point of view, but also more importantly, from those of the customers. Although it may be difficult for an organization to acknowledge its weaknesses, it is best to handle the bitter reality without procrastination. A weakness is a limitation or deficiency in one or more resources or competencies relative to competitors that impedes a firms effective performance Opportunities: After all, opportunities are everywhere, such as the changes in technology, government policy, social patterns, and

kung san :: essays papers

kung san Among the many cultures in Africa, one of the most well known cultures would be the Kung San. The Kung San are a very unique culture and are the most studied foraging society in the world. As with numerous other cultures around the world, the Kung San are faced with many problems. But one problem the Kung San don't face is that of being a nonentity, partially because of the popularized view of the Kung San shown in the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy. The Kung San are a hunting and gathering people living in southern Africa. Kung San are a varied people in terms of looks and language, and include people living Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and Namibia. The Kung San, like many human groups, have a rigid sexual division of labor, with women doing most of the gathering, food preparation and child care, and men doing hunting and some complementary gathering. There does exist a limited socioeconomic hierarchy by age, with adults controlling more resources and manufactured goods than children. The Kung San usually eat small meals during the day and eat a large supper with the whole family in the evening. Water is a limiting factor in the Kung San environment. The Kung San will disperse in the wet season, and aggregate in camps in the dry season around the few permanent water holes. A Kung San encampment consists of grass huts arranged roughly in a circle, constructed around an area of clearing in the center; these huts are constructe d quickly and rarely used for more than a few months at a time. The Kung San maintain a level of egalitarianism so that no one person is revered more than the next and so that no one thinks they are any better than the next. In the Kung San culture, many are married as young as eight years old in order to keep conflicts and extramarital relations down to a minimum. One of the Kung San's favorite activities is to sit in the shade talking amongst themselves. They are afraid of angry words and violence so the occasional dispute is worked out before it becomes a major one. Since competition might bring dispute, they try to live as equals. The Kung San effectively employ talking and joking to