Organic Food Research Essay

When it comes to the food that you put on the dinner table, it is extremely important to understand how the food is grown and how nutritious it is. Some foods are grown using synthetic fertilizers, while others are grown using natural fertilizers. There are foods that are grown using chemical weed killers, while other foods are grown using crop rotation and mulch to help control weeds. You can buy meat that has been raised with antibiotics, growth hormones, and medications. On the other hand there is meat that has been raised using more humane methods. These animals are fed an organic diet as well as given access to the outdoors and raised in cleaner housing to help reduce disease. Organic foods are healthier because they use fewer preservatives and chemicals; therefore they are extremely important in the growth and development of your family. Every parent wants to put the best food on the table for their family. However, it takes an amazing amount of resources and is costly to our planet. The way that food is farmed has changed more over the past fifty years than it did in the previous ten thousand years (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). The industrialization of our society has forever changed the way farmers grow crops and raise livestock. Farmers are using man-made chemical fertilizers and pesticides to control their crops. While you may think that the beautiful fruits and vegetables in the local supermarket’s produce section are impressive, it might surprise your what you are putting in your body. There are not seasonal fruits and vegetables any more in the supermarket. Tomatoes are picked green from half way around the world and ripened with ethylene gas during shipment (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). It’s astonishing how many chemicals a farmer uses to grow their crop. The average apple has been subjected to twenty-seven chemicals and the average peach has twenty-two chemicals used throughout its growth cycle (Juad & Juad, 2008). What is surprising is that when tested, a conventional piece of fruit or vegetable has positive results for lead and pesticides (Juad & Juad, 2008). When it comes to the livestock that we are consuming, it used to take a farmer nearly three months to raise a chicken. Tyson has perfected this science with the help of growth hormones and antibiotics. They are now are able to raise a chicken that is three times as large in less than half of the time (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). The cattle farmer is now raising their cattle on mainly corn feed and antibiotics (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). According to Kenner & Kenner (2008), farmers now have to use so many antibiotics mainly due to the fact that the livestock is being raised in a manner that was not intended. Cattle are not supposed to eat an all corn diet and chickens are not supposed to be raised in a chicken house without ever seeing daylight until they are on the truck to be processed (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). There are more humane ways of raising livestock and it makes for a much healthier meal at the dinner table. It is simply amazing how far food travels to make it to your local supermarket. On average, food travels over fifteen hundred miles from the time it leaves the farm until it reaches its final destination (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). Another amazing statistic is that the transportation of our nutrition accounts for nearly thirty percent of global warming (Juad & Juad, 2008). This is because there are only a few multi-national organizations that actually control the industrial food chain. It might be surprising to find out that the largest purchaser of ground beef and potatoes in the United States is McDonald’s (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). They are also one of the largest purchasers of pork, chicken, and apples as well (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). The largest producer of chicken in the world is Tyson (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). The side effects of these monopolies is that you, the consumer, get what the few powerhouse food corporations want you to have and you are left with very few choices. All of these amazing changes would not be possible without modern science. One of the biggest players behind the scenes and the supplier of the herbicides and pesticides is an organization by the name of Monsanto. Over the past few decades, Monsanto has had several groundbreaking developments in the area GMO’s or genetically modified organisms (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). Over seventy percent of the items in the local supermarket contain one form of GMO (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). There are several unintended side effects to all of these chemicals being used to grow our food. One is that the soil that farmers are using is literally being killed (Juad & Juad, 2008). The outcome is that the farmers are becoming more and more dependent on the chemicals to produce food (Juad & Juad, 2008). Another environmental issue is that a percentage of this chemical ends up in the water supply and it is simply impossible from preventing this from happening (Juad & Juad, 2008). The amount of chemicals that are finding there way into our food is simply amazing. There are health side effects from all of the growth hormones, chemicals, and genetically modified organisms. Studies show that the current generation is the first in history that is predicted to live a shorter life than their parents (Kenner & Kenner, 2008). Cases of obesity and diabetes have tripled in the past two decades (Juad & Juad, 2008). Type-two diabetes used to be only found in adults in the previous generation and now we are seeing it in our children (Juad & Juad, 2008). In Europe, seventy percent of cancers have been linked to the environment (Juad & Juad, 2008). When that seventy percent is broken down, thirty percent is linked to pollution and forty percent are linked to the food (Juad & Juad, 2008). Also, 100,000 children every year die from diseases caused by the environment (Juad & Juad, 2008). If that is not amazing enough, cancer in males has increased ninety-three percent over the past twenty-five years and their sperm count has decreased fifty percent over the past fifty years (Juad & Juad, 2008). Top that with the fact that cancer in children has increased one percent a year for the past twenty-five years (Juad & Juad, 2008). There are studies that show that fifty percent of all cancers worldwide are linked to the environment and that in certain cancers that ninety percent of the cause is the environment (Juad & Juad, 2008). It does not take a Doctor to figure out that all of these chemicals are making their way into our food and they are extremely bad for us. With all of these overwhelming statistics, there is hope for the food that we are eating. According to Duram (2008), â€Å"Agriculture is a highly effective means of converting solar energy into food and fiber. Given sufficient water, and properly managed, the system can operate provided with nothing more than sunshine. But modern agriculture technology has disrupted this efficient relationship. † Thankfully, there are still farmers out there that believe in the organic way of raising their crops and livestock. â€Å"Products must be at least 95 percent organic to use this term† (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). Organic farmers are supplying local restaurants and families through their local farmers market (Siegel & Taylor, 2008). They control weeds and disease within their farm with crop rotation and treat their livestock in a humane manner. According to Danford (2010), â€Å"mainstreaming of eating locally and organically grown fresh food is almost complete. † The demand for organic food is growing at a rate of twenty percent annually and the major food organizations have taken notice (Danford, 2010). â€Å"For the past fifteen years large multinational food corporations have been buying up organic producers of food in an effort to enter the profitable niche market† (Hauter, 2012). The Demand is extremely obvious and that is why major food corporations are jumping on the bandwagon. In summary, there are two ways to put food on the table. A consumer can purchase conventionally grown food or they can purchase locally grown organic food. Organic foods use only natural fertilizers, mulch, and crop rotation while traditional foods use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to control disease. There have been numerous studies that link multiple health issues to our food and the environment that it is grown in. As a consumer, society has a choice of how to put food on their dinner table and the smart choice is to choose organic. References: Danford, N. (2010). Vegetable vs. Meat, And Everything in Between. Publishers Weekly, 257(9), 19-26. Duram, L. A. (2005). Good Growing: Why Organic Farming Works. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. HAUTER, W. (2012). BIG ORGANIC. Boston Review, 37(6), 5. Juad, J. (Producer) & Juad, J. (Director). (2008) Food Beware [Motion Picture]. France: CTV International Kenner, R. (Producer) & Kenner, R. (Director). (2008). Food Inc. [Motion picture]. United States: Participant Media Mayo Clinic Staff (2011) Organic Foods: Are they Safer? More Nutritious? Retrieved on May 5, 2013 from http://www. mayoclinic. com/health/organic-food/NU00255 Siegel, A. , Taylor, C. (Producers),& Taylor, C. (Director). (2008). Food Fight [Motion picture]. United States: Positively 25th Street.

MWDS : The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 to Sir William Wilde and Jane Wilde, the second of three children. Wilde studied at Oxford, and joined the Freemasons in 1878 after failing to join the Oxford Union. After graduation, he went home to Dublin and began writing poems. The Picture of Dorian Gray was his first and only novel. Wilde married Constance Lloyd in 1884 and perished on November 30, 1900 to cerebral meningitis. Historical Information As the second industrial revolution went on, steel, railroads, and electricity allowed for the economic growth of the United States and Western Europe. The standard of living rose dramatically, and health concern and sanitation caused infection and death rates to drop greatly. During the decade, gothic novels, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, were published. Characteristics of the Genre The setting, atmosphere, and emotions are dramatic and gloomy. Dark suspense and mystery are strongly tied to gothic novels, al ong with the supernatural. Plot Summary The Picture of Dorian Gray is an American novel centered on Dorian Gray, a handsome wealthy young man living in the nineteenth century in London. Even though Dorian is a very intelligent person, he often finds himself easily manipulated and this fault will ultimately lead him to failure. Dorian has his picture painted by a friend named Basil, and when Dorian meets his friend Lord Henry Wotton, his life will soon collapse. Dorian begins to believe that youth and beauty will bring him everything he desires, so he makes a wish that the portrait will age, and he will stay forever young and handsome. The picture begins to show Dorian’s truths portraying him as a demon-like creature, and eventually he will come to realize all the terrible sins he created over fourteen years. After Dorian realized he is the result of numerous deaths, he retreats to his old school room to stab the picture in the heart. This relieves him of all his sins and the picture and he switches back , finally showing Dorian’s age. Author’s Style Wilde writes with strong details and vocabulary. His tendency to write through dialog is evident, as the growth of the characters and plot are through spoken words. Example â€Å"‘He has a simple and a beautiful nature. Your aunt was quite right in what she said of him. Don’t spoil him. Don’t try to influence him. Your influence would be bad. The world is wide, and has many marvelous people in it. Don’t take away from me the one person who gives to my art whatever charm it possesses: my life as an artist depends on him. Mind, Harry, I trust you’† (12). Basil describing Dorian’s importance to stay innocent from Lord Henry. 1890’s London, England, in the upper west side. Dorian moves from the west (wealthy) side of London to the east (decrepit), representing his double personality of being a gentleman, but also a skulker. Significance of the Opening Scene A background of Dorian Gray is built in the first chapter, giving him a mysterious and wildly curious air. The two most important characters that influence Dorian are brought up immediately and are given strong personalities through their dialog. The plot has strong ties with what is talked about in chapter one. Major Symbols, Motifs, Images Sibyl Vane: innocence, purity, and naà ¯vety. Her interaction with Dorian caused her life to end shorter than it should’ve been, and Dorian wouldn’t be effected as strongly should he had not met Sybil. Significance of the Ending/Closing Scene The novel ends and begins with a painting. Dorian has evolved for the worse and decides that destroying the painting would destroy the image of his disgu sting, corrupted soul, but inadvertently kills himself. The picture gives Dorian all of his monstrous deformities, while the painting is restored to the original, untouched beauty. Possible Themes 1. Innocence is fragile and impressionable 2. Transformation doesn’t just have to be for the better; it can go for the worse and progress to a form of despicable terribleness. 3. Eternal youth is something humans strive for, but once attained, it can become to much of a burden and have too much consequence to bear.

Why might employers have an intrest in the work - life balance of Assignment

Why might employers have an intrest in the work - life balance of their staff What is the evidance to suggest that they are tak - Assignment Example 2008). Carmichael et al. (2008) note, however, that WLB continues to be missing or weak for several sectors, such as the informal carer sector. But are employers truly interested in the work-life balance of their employees? This paper aims to answer this question through reviewing literature. It is found out that more employers apply WLB through flexible work, because of political, economic, and social factors, although substantive effects for gender equality are not yet met. More employers are developing work-life initiatives, because of international organisations’ directives. Within the European Union, WLB initiatives centralise in the ‘reconciliation of work and family’ that impact EU and nation-state level, such as the EU directives on parental leave and part-time work and the EU Council of Ministers’ declaration of 29 June 2000, which stresses the growth of paternity leave (Gregory and Milner 2009: 122). Furthermore, the EU has emphasised gender equal ity (particularly through its Framework Strategy for Gender Equality and through the creation of ‘gender mainstreaming’ in policy design and evaluation) has also significantly involved different stakeholders and influenced national legislation and collective agreements that are related to WLB (Gregory and Milner 2009: 122). For instance, because of the EU, trade union involvement in the carrying out of WLB policies has changed from â€Å"hard law to soft law† and to a greater implementation of these policies (Gregory and Milner 2009: 122). Hence, international laws and organisations have a huge impact on compelling employers to advance WLB efforts in the workplace. Flexible work is one of the predominant practices of WLB. In a comparative study, Ollier-Malaterre (2009) states: â€Å"As many as 70% of American and 67% of British employers state that flexible hours are available for employees...† (164). This article shows that depending on the culture, laws, and human resources (HR) frameworks and practices, many employers in the UK improve work-life balance through flexible work time. In the UK, traditional spheres that divide work and personal lives continue to exist, although recently, the Labour government played a larger role in promoting WLB among employers (Ollier-Malaterre 2009: 167). National laws and changing cultural views on WLB contribute to more employers seeing the importance of WLB to their employees and manifesting that through providing the option for flexible work. Maruyama, Hopkinson, and James, (2009) conducted a multivariate analysis of work–life balance effects of a telework programme. Findings showed that time flexibility variables are important and had positive effects to work and family matters. Industrial relations and unions’ viewpoint toward work-life practices can affect the application of WLB among employers. British and American unions have progressively become implicated in work-life (Olli er-Malaterre 2009: 168). Trade unions have become more involved in the introduction and execution of WLB measures, which indicate an evolution of their role from managing wage and wage-related bargaining towards providing information and application of WLB policies (Gregory and Milner 2009: 127). It also shows modernisation efforts through WLB development in the public sector and a supplementary â€Å"modernisation of modes of action, with a shift from distributive to integrative bargaining† (Cressey 2002). Integrative bargain

Employment tribunal & employment appeal tribunal Case Study

Employment tribunal & employment appeal tribunal - Case Study Example However, if shares of a business is transferred or either machineries or assets are being transferred to a buyer, then, TUBE regulation will not be applicable. There is a category of employees’ namely self-employed worker who is also known as an independent contractor. These independent contractor offer services for a business through a contract for services. This category of contractor is not an employee of a company as they are offering the business with high-skilled or specialised skills. These self-employed persons can offer their services for a business through an umbrella company or as a sole trader or through a limited company or through a partnership. It is to be noted that an employee works for a business through a contract of service whereas an independent contractor works for a client’s business through a contract for service. To determine whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor, HRMC offers an employment Status Indicator (ESI) kit that e mployees or contractors can use to decide whether they are self-employed or employee of that business (Contractorcalculator.co.uk 2010). A self-employed contractor is an individual who is really carrying on a business for themselves if he or she assumes accountability for the failure or success of the business and is either a staff or an employee of the business. Thus, a self-employed contractor is somebody who is a sole trader and not employed through a service company or through their own limited company.

How do you define success Do you feel that you have been successful Essay

How do you define success Do you feel that you have been successful How would you work to achieve greater success both professionally and personally - Essay Example I feel very disheartened when I see people who have started very well early on in their careers, excelled at the threshold of their professional lives but fizzle out very soon. Is it due to the clutches of materialism? Or does the initial spurt of success get the better of their consciousness? I would not know. I for one have been fortunate to be blessed with little successes along the way – enough to motivate me and keep me going, yet scarce enough to play the role of appetizers, making me crave for more. At the very beginning of my career, as an employee of the Building Permit Department of Kuwait Municipality along with issuing approvals for building designs, an occasional client who could not afford an engineering consultancy would ask me to design. Thus, I began discovering my inherent creativity, my natural desire to create and my deep-rooted love for real estate. I did feel a little sense of achievement doing this, but success would not be the right word to describe the feeling. I went on to establish a trading firm in partnership and became the managing partner. We diversified into a lot of businesses. From taking sub-franchisees of an ice-cream company to taking the distributorship of an automotive company, our mainstay of course being buying and selling real estate – dealing in land and building on them. My initial experience with my own business taught me that I have a natural instinct to manage and run a business and a positive attitude towards dealing with people and getting work done. It also made me realize that the only way to understand the concept of Business Management on your own is to actually be in the thick of the action. Since it was my own money and assets involved, my commitment could not be questioned. I feel I have the necessary qualities to be a successful manager. An Executive MBA program, besides honing my technical skills, will give me an insight into markets and the financial world. This

Contemporary Communications Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contemporary Communications - Assignment Example However, in communicating with others and preparing for your career, all scholars need to know what communication skills they do and do not have and which ones need improvement. Within the education of communicating and interacting with others educators assist their students in understanding personal skills inventory charts to look at where the person may need to look at some of their own concerns that may be hindering them from being a person who communicates well and without seeming defensive or unprofessional, who can take care of business, and gets a job, special request, and tasks done with little effort and eventually within their new career. Having control and knowing what strategies and techniques you are good at and can apply at work will benefit the company and make you a stronger person in your position and help build the worker’s morals and ethics while being able to handle situations that may not always be pleasant will prepare you to control and handle future iss ues and problem-solving with others. First, people must become educated on what communication skills they have, which ones they are good at, which ones they no little or nothing about, learn about them, practice them when working and interacting with others to make conversing and working with other people easier regardless if it as home, in a social setting, and especially in meetings with superiors, working with co-workers, and being able to be an asset to whatever project you want to implement. One of the biggest communication skills that most people understand and become aware of first is when the student is in school, yet have already been taught by their parents and other caregivers, which is simply conveying a message to another person. However, a lot of times it is not the message that one person wants to say to another it is how they say it that makes a conversation go sour and get nowhere fast. If people have issues just getting their point across then that is telling them they do need to reevaluate how they talk to others, as well as look at other communication skills.   Some personalities clash because people are different, yet in the professional world most people learn to respect that others are different, and that is the whole reason that makes that person who they are, so many of these people who work as a team, will do what they can to get along with others because they know that regardless of what they do the other person is not going to come around and they are big enough to overlook it.

Teaching of Socrates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Teaching of Socrates - Essay Example The three great Socratic philosophers, Socrates, Plato(www.wsu.edu:8080/dee/GREECE/PLATO.HTM), and Aristotle(www.philosophypages.com/hy/2n.htm), were to be "rediscovered" during the Renaissance(www.absoluteastronomy.com/ encyclopedia/c/ch/christendom.htm) and their rational, practical, and scientific ideas were to influence the thinking and the governmental, religious, and educational institutions of the entire western world" it also says that "Socrates was distinct in inculcating ideas on (a) Ethics(www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/jmoral01.htm) that that influenced later Greek philosophers (b) Inductive method of reasoning. (www.cs.miami.edu/geoff/Courses/ CSC545-F05/Content/LogicalConsequence.shtml) (c) Imposed Knowledge is happiness. He believed that knowledge or insight is the foundation of virtue (depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ classics/dunkle/studyguide/apology.htm) and happiness (plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-character/) (d) Rationalism. Thru reasoning, man can reach the truth. His question and answer method, as described below, caused his students and future philosophers to use thinking as a major way of getting to the truth. Future philosophers and Catholic Saints like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas delved into his virtue, knowledge and happiness theories and expanded and brought to the next level Socrates' theories by adding their own modern day philosophical theories. In the "SOCRATIC METHOD . Athens(web.utk.edu/utfp/eoc/athens/) became the classroom of Socrates. He went about asking questions of authorities and of the man in the street in order to arrive at political and ethical truths. He questioned groups of his students as a means of instruction, to compel them to think a problem through to a logical(www.roangelo.net/logwitt/) conclusion. His dialectic(www.english-test.net/gre/ vocabulary/meanings/031/gre-words.php) method, or method of investigating problems through dialogue discussions, came to be known as the Socratic method. It involved: 1. SOCRATIC IRONY(depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ classics/dunkle/studyguide/apology.htm). Socrates pretended that he knew no answers. His assumed ignorance or willingness to learn from others was the background for adroit questioning to reveal the t truth or expose the error of the answers he received. 2. DEFINITION(www.thefreedictionary.com/definition). The initial question usually required the definition of the concept. 3. ANALYSIS(www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/glothi.htm - 101k - 28 Okt 2005). Subsequent questions elicited an analysis of the definition in all its implications.4. GENERALIZATIONS(www.friesian.com/founda-1.htm). After examining all of the particular applications and consequences of the concept(radicalacademy.com/philsocrates.htm), Socrates reasoned, or persuaded his students to reason, from the particular to the general, or by the process of induction, to reach a general conclusion". His style of pretending to know

Music essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Music - Essay Example This album created a better environment for other artists who we cherish today. It is through such albums that the musical history was laid in place. The son† Burn Baby Burn† by Rob Zombie an Alice Cooper , from this album got a nomination to The Grammy Awards. This is an annual event where highly rated songs are awarded. The song got an award for â€Å"Best Metal Performance†.(Hogarth .G. 35). This song is also present in Zombie’s album â€Å"Past, Present and Future â€Å". This song was also remixed by Alice Cooper and it can be obtained from â€Å"The Life and Crimes† box set. The song has a span of about two minutes and forty five seconds and it has been featured in many films, among them †Rosemary’s Baby†. Music had widely spread in these days (Tilley .A. 8)) and therefore it was appreciated though not compare ably with today’s state. It is through the efforts made by early musicians such as Padre Martini who condemned the old hymns in church claiming that they were the same one’s even in King David’s times. (Hogarth .G. 38) Music should be looked up and should not be taken for granted as advocated by many critics. It is through Chapter X that we are able to understand how music was in the past. Songs such as â€Å"Burn Baby Burn† have moral teachings that guide us in our day to day

Why were Jewish refuges on the SS St. Louis denied entry to Cuba and Essay

Why were Jewish refuges on the SS St. Louis denied entry to Cuba and what decided their fate - Essay Example The Nazi ideology and policies targeted first of all Jews, who were considered as the most â€Å"inferior races† of all, on a hierarchy which included the â€Å"Herrenvolk† (Master race) of the â€Å"Volksgemeinschaft† (German national community) at the top and Jews at the bottom. In November 1938, the violent anti-Semitic campaign, called Kristallnacht, or â€Å"night of the broken glass† or also known as â€Å"Pogromnacht† started, in which Jewish homes and business were destroyed and up to 200 Jews were killed in Germany. After this incident, Germany’s 600,000 decided that it was time to leave and many European Jews fled for their lives. Hundreds of ships set their voyage crossed the Atlantic carrying thousands of immigrants to new lives, primarily in the United States. The S.S. St. Louis, owned by the Hamburg-American Line (Hapag) was one such ship (Stahl, 1999, para.1-12) On May 13, 1939, the German transatlantic liner St. Louis started its voyage from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba. On the voyage, there were 937 passengers, almost all passenger were German Jews citizens, fleeing from the Third Reich and, some were from eastern Europe, and a few were officially â€Å"stateless†. Although the majority of the Jewish passengers had already applied for U.S. visas, and they had planned to have a temporary stay in Cuba until they could get their visa approval from the United State State Department, yet there were signals that political conditions in Cuba might keep the passengers from landing there.

Discussion Board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Discussion Board - Assignment Example By investigating and considering the diets of a suspect, psychiatrists, who always help establish the mental stability of suspects, readily establish the motives of the suspects thereby influence the entire judicial process. The phrase â€Å"Twinkie defense† portrays the importance of behavior analysis in court cases. In the trial of Dan White, a former police officer in San Francisco in 1979, the psychiatrist observe that the police officer killed the two victims involuntarily an was suffering from depression. Such determinations arose from the fact that White fed on junks a feature that portrayed his emotional and mental instability. The junks were therefore a symptom of the suspect’s psychological stability. The explanation changed the justice system as the judge later fund White guilty of manslaughter but not murder (Weiss, 2010). Briefly, observing diets among other external factors is vital process of psychoanalysis that helps determine the mental stability of people. In judicial processes, such observations are important since they prove the motives of the various actions. Observing such features is therefore vital inclusion in court proceedings that influence the effectiveness of the entire

Types of assessment Essay Example for Free

Types of assessment Essay What is meant by assessment? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the assessment types and methods you use? How would you involve your learner into the assessment process? Why do we need to keep records of assessment? Assessments are a critical part of the education system; highlighted by Black and Wiliams’(1998) who define assessments as activities providing â€Å"information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged†. There are two forms of assessment; formative and summative. Formative assessments are carried  out as the course progresses. These are an informal and simple way of gauging how and what your students are learning. This then allows teachers to amend their teaching to accommodate the results as evaluation and reflection takes place. Furthermore students can identify the areas of development and ‘ensure that objectives are being met’ (Minton,1991, p183). Feedback is therefore considered to be significant for the continued development and progression of learners (Petty, 2010). Summative assessment, however, refers to a more traditional approach for testing learners. see more:describe how to find out the history preferences wishes and needs of an individual It  involves assessing learners at the end of the course/year providing a final grade. Summative assessment can be very effective, however, it could be very demanding for an adult with learning disabilities as they may find it difficult to recollect information from the beginning of the course. Initial assessment should take place before a learner begins the course; these are ‘an evaluation of a learner’s skills, knowledge, strengths and areas for development. ’ (Gravells, 2012). This is effective when working with adults with learning disabilities as it will help establish the appropriate  pitch, pace and content/resources to be used. Furthermore, it will be a way of recognising prior learning and such experience/qualifications can be validated. Rules of assessment should be adhered to ensure equality and fair testing: they should be valid, reliable, authentic, current and sufficient. Teachers/Assessors should not discriminate against learners in their choice of assessment method and planning and should advance anti-discriminatory practice. There are many forms of assessment strategies in English; these include speaking and listening assessments, controlled assessments, quizzes/worksheets, essays etc. Speaking and listening assessments are means of measuring a learners’ communication skills. Individuals are assessed on their ability to project their ideas, viewpoints and their listening skills. This allows learners to work in a group, supporting each other by sharing ideas and improve their functional skills. Furthermore, it can be videoed as evidence. However, it is difficult to assess the level of understanding of the learners through this method alone. Furthermore, this is a subjective strategy and feedback can be limited. Worksheets and quizzes both can be set as individual or group work. They provide an objective mark at the end which can lead to informative feedback based on the learner’s strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. The tasks can be fun, engaging and interesting for learners. This strategy has reliability because worksheets/quizzes are consistent as similar results can be gained. Furthermore, they are valid because they measure understanding as the learners attempt to answer questions and the marks obtained shows the stage, progress and understanding of each learner. The benefits are highly valuable as the learners enjoy completing the activities. Mitchells (1997) recognised that games and quizzes can be motivating for those learners who struggle with formal teaching styles. Other assessments include observation, watching and evaluating the learners’ progress. Observations should reflect a learner’s daily performance and should be recorded fully on paper; audiotape or video, with an awareness of confidentiality issues, signed and dated by the teacher/assessor and learner. The more detailed and factual the record, the stronger the evidence may be in terms of validity and reliability. Such observations should be planned in advance with the 1 / 3  agreement of the learner’s manager and colleagues. However, teachers can take opportunities to record observations of unplanned events, if useful as evidence. Through observations, teacher/assessor can gather sufficient evidence and can then relate the observation back to many different units/elements of the qualification. Also, it allows teachers to see natural competence first hand in an authentic and reliable manner. Nevertheless, there are disadvantages of observations: A learner’s normal duties may not cover all assessment criteria; observations may be unnerving for learners and observations can take a lot of  an assessor’s time and expense. Brookfield’s (1998) model of reflection states that it is critical that one views themselves and their teaching through the perspective of their learners. In this lens there is a strong focus on the learner’s ‘voice’ and so value is placed on their viewpoints and also their articulation of work. Therefore, it is important to gain the learners’ thoughts on the assessment strategy. Learners should be informed of how they will be assessed from the onset, involved in feedback and evaluation at every level. Furthermore, prior to assessment, learners could be shown a model  answer and given success criterion to ensure they understand how to achieve the desired level/grade. Involving learners in the assessment process is a key way of helping them to manage and ‘take ownership’ of their learning, by reflecting on achievement and progress. Involving them in recording their own and each others’ progress and planning the next steps in learning can deepen their understanding and reinforce their sense of achievement. Therefore they should be briefed about expectations, purpose and benefits of becoming involved in assessment. Self-assessment will allow learners to reflect upon their own progress and assesses their own development and achievements. However, self-assessment is not always easy and teachers should guide learners in a step-by-step process so they learn how to evaluate their own work and learning style, perhaps by modelling. Reid (2011) suggests that you can use other learners if, for example, they observed your learner. This refers to peer assessment, where peers assess the learner’s developments and achievements through observation of their practice during an activity. Peer assessment and feedback activities give students opportunities to internalise the criteria, learn from examples, enables evaluation and reflection and allows development of responsibility for own learning. However there might be some drawbacks from this as some students may express concerns about showing their work to others that are not qualified to assess their work. Also, it needs to be reliable and accurate; therefore strategies need to be put into place to ensure objectivity. Records are an integral part of the teaching and learning process. Gravells (2012) argues that  records must be maintained, to support the teaching and learning process and to satisfy auditors, inspectors, regulators, verifiers, internal and external quality assurers and your own organisation’s requirements. Teachers should retain documents such as the syllabus, scheme of work, session plans, action plans, hand-outs/activities for the learner, and assessment records such as tracking sheets, marked assignments, portfolios etc. Holding records of the course and content would allow inspections on the manner in which the course is being taught and to ensure it is being delivered in accordance to  specifications. Teacher must also keep records of learners’ progression. This will identify whether the student is on task to complete course or having difficulty. Clear, concise information and evidence will lead to a greater understanding of learner needs and enable teachers to amend their teaching styles to accommodate the learner needs. Records must be kept for a length of time stipulated by your organisation in case of an auditing process. However under the Data Protection Act 1998, this information should be â€Å"kept secure with appropriate technical and organisational measures taken to  protect the information’ and confidentiality should be maintained. A very good explanation of why records must be kept in an institute. 2 / 3 Word count: 1102 (excluding references) References Benjamin S Bloom. (1980), All Our Children Learning, New York: McGraw-Hill. Black, P. , amp; Wiliam, D. (1998), Inside the Black Box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. King’s College London School of Education, pg 2 Brookfield, S. (1998) Critically reflective teacher. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions Data Protection Act (2008), Information Commissioners Office, lt; www.ico. gov. ukgt; Date accessed 21/02/14 Gravells, A. (2012) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (5th Edition) Learning Matters Ltd Exeter Minton, D. , (1991), Teaching Skills in Further and Adult Education, Macmillan Press Ltd. Mitchell, C. (1997), Transforming Teaching; Selecting and evaluating teaching strategies. Further Education Matters. Petty, G. (2010) Teaching Today Home page, http://www. geoffpetty. com/, 201O Read, H, (2011) The Best Assessor’s Guide. Bideford: Read On Publications POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).

Impact of Movies in Generating Social Awareness

Impact of Movies in Generating Social Awareness INTRODUCTION Movies are rollercoaster ride that have the tremendous power to entertain and to teach. They can be a powerful tool to bring about effective social change true or false? It seems intuitive and logical that a well made film- especially one with a compelling narrative and well-crafted outreach plan would serve as a catalyst to change minds, encourage viewers to change entrenched behaviors, and start inform or reenergize social movements (Diana Barrett and Sheila Leddy, Assessing Creative Medias Social Impact, Fledging Fund, Dec08). But another group of people believe that it can be surprisingly difficult to make a firm connection between the power of a film and social change so the social impact of movies needs to be better understood and documented although it is important to note that not all films are intended to be agents of social change, nor should they be. Some are simply lovely moving stories whose primary purpose is to entertain and share a compelling story. Researchers also believe that even if movies do not intend to contribute to the formation of values, they most assuredly do. By virtue of its interactive nature and arousing content, movies are influencing our values and expectation of reality, regardless of our willingness to be influenced. Although the learning is unintentional, it is just as effective as intentional learning and influences our thoughts and behavior. The impulse to celebrate the impact of movies is understandable-all that glamour, glitzy visibility and cultural panache (G. Kendrick MacDowell, Yes, movies affect us, but). Movies can be seen as a source of diversion in peoples everyday lives. They are loved by one and all, irrespective of gender and age. It cannot be out rightly denied that movies influence us and affect our behavior in some way or another. The impact can be either good or bad. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between films and coordinated outreach efforts as change agents. i.e. whether an individual would actually change his opinion after seeing a movie. If yes, then movies are a very powerful medium to fight against the perils of the society. RESEARCH AVAILABLE Early studies on impact of movies on people In 1920s movie exploded as mainstream entertainment as there were no radio or TV set during that period. A lot of researchers believed that movies had impact on attitude and behaviours of people and they launched a series of studies focusing on effect of films. There were 13 studies conducted primarily by Edgar Dale. He studied film content and categorized them into 10 groups. An observation which came out was more than 75% fall into crime, love and sex categories. Interestingly same kind of trend can also probably been seen today. Edgar Dale used census, survey, questionnaires, case studies and personal interviews in his study. It was observed movies caused attitude, emotions, behavioural change in people who were the part of the study. Herbert Blumer conducted questionnaires and interviews with people to study how watching movies affected their behaviour. Most of the people who were studied believed that they had been influenced by movies in some way (A brief History of Media Effects Research). In one of the study, Andrew Butler of Washington University decided to simulate a classroom where films were used as a teaching tool. The accurate version of an historical event was taught to the students and they were also made to watch a movie associated with that event. The movie that was shown contained both accurate and inaccurate information about the historical incidents they depicted. The idea was to see which method led to the most accurate comprehension of the events: teaching or watching a movie. The results were really interesting, when the information in the film and the reading were contradictory that is, when the film was inaccurate the students were more likely to recall the films distorted version and were very confident in their memories, even though they were wrong (Herbert, Wray, I Learned It at the Movies, Scientific American Mind). In the last ten years, however, outreach strategies, have become a central component of movies, spurred by a new generation of producers (Whiteman, David , The evolving impact of documentary film: sacrifice and the rise of issue-centered outreach (1)). Thus at the societal level, movies are assumed to play a role in transmitting, maintaining, and reinforcing the societal and cultural consensus. They cultivate images of society by interpreting the world in terms of what is what is important what is right' and what is related to what else. In other words, movies generally show a view of reality (Kane, Harrison D., Taub, Gordon E., Hayes, B. Grant, Interactive Media and Its Contribution to the Construction and Destruction of Values and Character). Films affect perceptions that people hold about the world at large and its inhabitants in particular. Even though some people may like to disregard cinema as only a frivolous means of entertainment and nothing beyond that, one cannot ignore the fact that there have been film makers who have managed to lift veil on a hidden plight. It might be about an injustice to a minority, or the courageous story of change by a single individual, but either way it raises awareness about the issue at hand (Robert Oakes, Movies Promoting Social Change). One of the most popular papers on this topic considers the following factors to be important for a movie to make an impact: Quality of the movie The movie should have a compelling narrative that can not only engage the viewers but also illustrate complex problems in a lucid manner. Ability of the film to create awareness about an issue- Awareness is the first step to any kind of social change. Care should be taken to see whether the film could reach people beyond those who already knew and cared about the issue illustrated in the movie. Public engagement This implies not only being aware of the issue to taking action on it. To evaluate a films success in this regard one can look at participation in response to facilitated dialogues, blogs, activity on various social networking sites and participation level in various Actions campaigns that are organized around that issue. The ultimate objective is the social change. It is a long and complex process, however, in some cases there are key indicators of success. These can be in the form of legislative or policy changes or a shift in public dialogue or how issues are framed and discussed. A lot of film makers are making full use of the social power of the internet to drive their social campaigns. Not only are viewers being encouraged to visit and discuss the movie on online forums after having viewed it ,but, a lot of filmmakers are also using websites to create a community before the film has been released. This is slowly becoming a critical strategy to deepen the reach and impact of films. Engaging a pre release audience increases their investment in the film and logically increases the likelihood that they will see the film and take some action. The film makers are expanding their digital reach to the likes of Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter to draw in new and diverse audiences who generally may not have been interested in a movie of that particular genre or issue. (Diana Barrett and Sheila Leddy, Assessing Creative Medias Social Impact, Fledging Fund, Dec08) RESEARCH GAP The current research available is mainly based on the movies being an effective teaching tool but little research is available on role of movies and their influence on values of an individual to generate social awareness. The little research that is available is based on impact of Hollywood movies (English) which become rather irrelevant as majority of people in India primarily watch Bollywood movies. We came across no article that measures the change in social behaviour of people vis-Ã  -vis a Bollywood movie. This is a research gap which we would like to address by trying to analyze the effect certain Hindi movies had on changing the perception of masses pertaining to particular social issues. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The purpose of the paper is to understand and analyze the extent to which movies influence peoples perception about various social issues. Contributions of factors such as the movie characteristics, movie success in making a movie an effective instrument for generating social awareness will also be analyzed. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Hypothesis 1: Movies have a favorable impact in generating social awareness. Hypothesis 2: Box office success of a movie is the most effective factor in generating social awareness. The variables and the metrics for measurement can be listed as: Concept Variable Instruments Respondents attributes Age Gender Questionnaire (closed questions) Movie Characteristics Storyline Questionnaire Interviews (Rating Scale Likert Scale) Popularity of director Questionnaire Interviews (Rating Scale Likert Scale) Popularity of the star cast Questionnaire Interviews (Rating Scale Likert Scale) Promotion Done Questionnaire Interviews (Rating Scale) Success of the movie Critical Acclaim Secondary Data Box Office Success Secondary Data Awards Won Secondary Data Action Pre- Post Questionnaire Impact Pre- Post Questionnaire Media publicity Secondary data Pre- Post Questionnaire to gauge the level of participation (Rating Scale) MODEL The model links the movie characteristics and success of the movies to the overall social awareness generated. Respondents attributes consisting of gender acts as the mediator for this model. The constructs decided for the research are: Movie Characteristics: This construct consists of variables such as the storyline of the movie, popularity of the director star cast and the promotion done for the movie Success of the Movie: This construct consists of variables such as critical acclaim, the movies box office success and the various awards won by the movie Social Awareness Generated: This construct consists of certain variables such as the action taken, the impact generated and the media publicity generated due to the movie Respondents age and gender are taken as the mediator to analyze whether they have any influence on the success of the movie and consequently the impact generated by it. Both primary and secondary data will be used to measure the various variables used in this research. For the primary data, an online questionnaire will be given to people across different age groups. We plan to survey as many people as possible who are regular movie watchers, regular readers of newspapers, magazines and people who watch television are exposed to the internet. We will also go through relevant articles and journals from EBSCO and other web sources to carry out a literature review, which would consist of the secondary data. The issues we would be addressing are patriotism, religious tolerance and women empowerment. We would take 2 movies per issue and study the impact they had. The movies chosen would be differentiated on the basis of the variables we define. Movie Characteristics Success of the Movie Social Awareness Generated The variables will be measured with the help of the survey floated to the respondents. The variables will be measured with the help of : Primary data gathered through a survey floated to the respondents Secondary data in the form of online research and literature review The variables will be measured with the help of : Primary data gathered through a survey floated to the respondents Secondary data in the form of online research and literature review Model Parameters Movie Characteristics: This parameter consist the characteristics of the movie, various components which define the movie Storyline This component indicates how well the issue has been depicted through the movies script. The film should have a compelling narrative that can not only engage the viewers but also illustrate complex problems in a lucid manner. Popularity of the Director Star Cast The popularity of the director has a major impact on the pre release success and ratings a movie. The more the popularity and fame of the director and the star cast the more will be people talk about it. Promotion Done This component will incorporate the promotional activities undertaken before the release of the movie. The pre-release promotion and publicity of the movie plays a significant role in the revenue generated. Through our research we will try to analyze how these variables impact the success of a movie and the social awareness generated by it. Success of the Movie: Different people have different criteria while measuring the success of a movie. For some it is the revenue generated by the movie, for others it comprises of the number of awards the movie has won. The various components which represent a movies success are listed below. Critical Acclaim Movies are often judged by the reviews from the critics. Many people go to watch a movie only if it has a good critical rating. Word of mouth is usually perceived as more credible and trustworthy, and it is more readily accessible through social networks (Banerjee 1992; Brown and Reingen 1987; Murray 1991). Box Office Success This component refers to the box office revenue generated by a movie. This directly depends on the ticket sales and the number of people who come to watch the movie. Many people associate the success of a movie with the revenue generated by it. Awards Won The success of a movie also depends on the number of awards won by it. Movies like Ben Hur, Titanic and Lord of The Rings are considered to be one of the most successful movies and each of them won 11 awards at Oscars. Social Awareness Generated: The ultimate objective is the social change. It is a long and complex process, however, in some cases there are key indicators of success. These can be in the form of legislative or policy changes or a shift in public dialogue or how issues are framed and discussed. One needs to be clear about the kind of social issue that a movie addresses and accordingly set reasonable expectations in respect of impact generated. In this paper we intend to evaluate the social change in the society by the following three variables: Action- Under this we look at the short term effect i.e. in terms of the immediate actions taken by the respondents as result of the impact caused by the movie in question. Impact- This variable looks at a more long term effect caused by the movie in terms of changes in peoples perception, attitude and behavior towards a particular issue or cause. Media Publicity- The social awareness generated by the movie can be assessed by the publicity generated in the media about the issue addressed in the movie in terms of talk shows dedicated to it, stars who endorse the issue, forum dedicated for it on social networking sites and articles or papers published in the print media. In this research paper we intend to study these variables via pre-post questionnaire, where in we will try and gauge the change in the level of activity under all these variables before the respondents saw the movie and after they saw the movie. Literature Review Diana Barrett and Sheila Leddy in their paper Assessing Creative Medias Social Impact (Fledging Fund, Dec08) stated that while looking at a movie as having the potential for social impact it is important to move beyond the box office success and look at the overall impact generated. While one looks at the number for people who saw the film, whats more important is how many people understood the issue for which it was made. It is not reasonable to expect broad social change if there is little awareness of the fact that a problem exists. In some cases, just getting the audience to watch the film and better understand the issue is sufficient. Creating awareness is of prime importance while trying to bring a social change. According to this study the films promotion and outreach activities play an important role in not only increasing the size of the audience and sales but to use films as vehicles of social change. The core dimension of impact remains the quality of the film. This basically means that the film should have a compelling narrative that can not only engage the viewers but also illustrate complex problems in a lucid manner. For this measure researchers look at a lot of dimensions such as festival acceptance, theatrical success, online buzz, international and national DVD sales as well as traditional film reviews and awards. The next is the ability of the film to create awareness about an issue, as awareness is the first step to any kind of social change. Here the researchers have considered both the audience size as well as the diversity of the audience. It makes an attempt to see whether the film could reach people beyond those who already knew and cared about the issue illustrated in the movie. A regularly debated question is whether the presence of stars critical to the success of a movie? The industry is full of actors and actresses but it is the ones who are on the top of the pyramid who command the highest payments. There is a lot of academic literature on whether the presence of stars affects the performance of a movie, however, the results have been mixed. Direct and absolute causal relationship has not been established. Movies are complex creative goods that are the results of teams of creative people working together (Caves 2000). A popular star as a part of a movie is like a source of free advertising for the movie. He/she can help the film maker to garner valuable resources (in this case the audience) for him/her to be able to reach out to the masses to make the presence of his movie felt (Anita Elberse , The Power of Stars: Do Star Actors Drive the Success of Movies?). In the arena of new product development, word of mouth (WOM) plays significant roles because building consumer awareness is of vital importance, and consumers need information when deciding whether to purchase a product they do not know well (Mahajan, Muller, and Kerin 1984). Word of mouth is supposed to be more credible and trustworthy, and it is more readily accessible through social networks (Banerjee 1992; Brown and Reingen 1987; Murray 1991). A McKinsey Company study found that 67% of the sales of consumer goods are based on WOM (Taylor 2003). EXPECTED FINDINGS This research aims to analyze whether movies have a favorable impact in generating social awareness. The literature review shows that people are influence by movies and their behavior and thought process is shaped by what they see on celluloid. Through this paper we want to study how peoples thought process, perceptions, attitude and actions change if the movie is successful in generating awareness about a particular social cause. In addition to this we would also be studying the various factors that determine the success of a movie as contributors to the social impact generated by the movie. In this category our primary focus would lie on finding out whether box office success of a movie is the most effective factor in generating social awareness or not. This is because the box office result of the movie is the most widely known and acknowledge parameter to establish its success. LIKELY IMPLICATIONS Likely implications of this research is that if movies can be established as an instrument for creating social change, then they can be used effectively in the future for generating awareness about various social issues and mobilizing the masses for the same. Some of the benefits that are likely to arise as a result of this study are: Understand the extent to which the various determinants of success factor influence the social impact generated Influence and impact of the star cast, directive and narrative in facilitating the reach of the movie and the issue involved to the audiences in various strata of society Analyzing the sustainability of the awareness created among the people LIMITATIONS Limitations of this research study would be as follows: The respondents personal bias towards the movie or its related characteristics such as star cast et al. may distort the responses obtained There is scope for recency error to occur when respondents are asked to recollect details about the movie characteristics The sample taken for study is very small and may not be much diversified as compared to the actual population that watches movies FUTURE RESEARCH Further research may be carried out on a more extensive scale to determine exactly what factors influence the impact of a movie on the people and accordingly an appropriate mix of these factors can be designed to make a movie more effective. Specific research may be carried out to determine those issues where movies as a medium of social change are most effective.

Research Proposal E Construction Dispute Model Construction Essay

Research Proposal E Construction Dispute Model Construction Essay Construction industry cannot avoid from disputes as many parties involved in one industry. All the parties insert dispute resolution mechanisms into the contract in the hope that the disputes can be avoided or solved as quickly as they can as they arise. If disputes are not managed properly, they tend to drag on and escalate to cause projects delays and ultimately ruined the relationships. There is now a wide armoury of dispute resolution methods available for resolving construction disputes. The most popular out of these being litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes such as arbitration, mediation, and conciliation. These dispute resolution processes suffer two key disadvantages, which arise from the fact that these processes only come into play after a dispute has arisen. One disadvantage is that, during the dispute resolution process, trust between the parties may be sorely tested, or even destroyed. The other disadvantage is that the time and cost of resolvin g a dispute may affect the expected project gains of parties concerned. It is essential in construction industry to adopt an anticipative approach to management. Since disputes have been one of the major factors affecting cost and time, it is necessary to determine the classification of dispute from the construction law cases and then the e-CDM can be the tool/database to prevent the conflicts or disputes at any stages of construction. By having thorough knowledge and information in this tool/database, it will definitely help the project manager and contract manager to anticipate problems at an early stage of the project without going through any other Alternative Dispute Resolution method which will cost extra money on the top of the project cost. INTRODUCTION Malaysia has been developing rapidly in tandem and racing a head to become industrialised nation. Undoubtedly, the building and construction industry are instrumental as the driving forces to contribute towards realising this aspiration. The construction industries are expected to play a vital role by contribution of 11.2% to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013.  [1]  According to CIDB Chief Executive Datuk Sri Dr. Judin Abdul Karim, the construction industry is expected to secure RM 120bil worth of the project in 2013.  [2]  In order to achieve this encouraging but challenging target, the Government and the private sector must work closely together to ensure projects under the Economic Transformation Program (ETP), the Entry Point Project (EPP), project under the 5 corridors and the Greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley are implemented in the timely manner to avoid any delays that would increase cost. The construction industry in Malaysia is fast growing and in light of the economy uncertainty, the world is now facing, great challenges face players in the industry. Dispute amongst parties involved in the industry are unavoidable. It would be impossible to create an environment where the industry would not be affected but great effort should be expended to minimize the effect that would be failing the industry. To do so, it is important that disputes be resolved in the most expedient and economic manner to enable parties in the industry to move forward without being badly affected. BACKGROUND STUDY Modern day construction projects vary from simple houses for individuals to complex infrastructure projects for governments. Some construction projects may even involve cross border movement of resources and not limited to the control of a single jurisdiction. A variety of factors, including, unfair allocation of risks, multiple contracts, unrealistic expectations and schedules, poorly drafted or inadequate contract documents, design omissions, tighter funding, the lack of experienced personnel, communication problems, and even the state of the economy, add to the complexity of construction projects. As a result, construction projects are a breeding ground for contractual dispute. Cooke J in Canterbury Pipe Lines Ltd v Christchurch Drainage Board  [3]  said Building contracts have been traditionally a fertile source of disputesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The enunciation aptly summarizes the very nature of construction industry as an industry notorious for complex disputes.  [4]  The primary cause of such disputes arises from inadequate legal knowledge.  [5]  Majority of construction practitioners comes from technical engineering and architectural background without adequate legal knowledge in contracts and this has led to numerous disputes in construction contracts. Lack of knowledge in construction laws by construction players has been the leading cause of dispute. Employers, Consultants and Contractors though with years of experiences in the industry are usually lacking of the legal knowledge and understanding on the operation and effects of various clauses in construction contracts in general and handling dispute. The lacking in understanding the legal and contractual aspects of contract may be caused by not having the experience to undergo the process itself or just plain ignorance of the topic overridden by over-zealous attitude of churning maximum profits and in the understanding that legal experts are there to provide all the required advice and service. Lack of knowledge in construction law will lead to wrong interpretation of contracts in which the party tends to take trivial matters to the dispute. Construction industry cannot avoid from disputes as many parties involved in one industry. All the parties insert dispute resolution mechanisms into the contract in the hope that the disputes can be avoided or solved as quickly as they can as they arise. If disputes are not managed properly, they tend to drag on and escalate to cause projects delays and ultimately ruined the relationships. Lord Denning  [6]  , when commenting on construction disputes, is quoted as saying; One of the greatest threats to cashflow is the incidence of disputes. Resolving them by litigation is frequently lengthy and expensive. Arbitration in the construction context is often as bad or worse According to Hibberd and Newman  [7]  , litigation gains an unpopular name when time goes on. They quote that A substantial majority (70%) suggested the whole system takes too long, whilst almost 30% suggested that the costs of litigation are far too high. As the litigation cannot solve dispute effectively, arbitration had been introduced. Professionals believed that arbitration can solve the problems without ignoring the main desire of clients. Most of the clients depend on those who know contract better than them. They hope these professional can help them with the lowest cost and fastest way to solve the problem. There is much truth in the old adage that prevention is better than cure. The various dispute resolution processes referred to mediation, conciliation and arbitration all suffer two particular disadvantages, which arise from the fact that these processes only come into play when a dispute has crystallized. One disadvantage is that, during the dispute resolution process, trust between the parties may be sorely tested, or even destroyed. The extent to which this occurs is likely to be proportional to the time and cost (in both money and resources) of resolving the dispute. As ongoing trust between contracting parties is such an essential ingredient of healthy and efficient project delivery, this can be a significant disadvantage in a continuing relationship such as will typically be found in a BOOT project. The longer and more acrimonious the dispute resolution process, the greater the likelihood that there will be a loss of trust in any continuing relationship. By having a readily accessible resource such as e-Construction Dispute Model (e-CDM) which the parties can access during the course of the project at any construction stages, the impact of disputes is minimized. In contrast to the dispute resolution processes earlier described, e-CDM seek to avoid or minimize the incidence of disputes by a timely, little costly and relatively informal process which takes place while the work is in progress. Used effectively, they can lead to a reinforcement and enhancement of trust, with a positive impact on the project as construction unfolds. PROBLEM STATEMENT The construction industry is notorious for high levels of conflicts and disputes. It is a project based industry with each project being unique. Some construction projects may even involve cross border movement of resources and not limited to the control of a single jurisdiction. A variety of factors, including, unfair allocation unfair allocation of risks, multiple contracts, unrealistic expectations and schedules, poorly drafted or inadequate contract documents, design omissions, tighter funding, the lack of experienced personnel, communication problems, and even the state of the economy, add to the complexity of construction projects. As a result, construction projects are a breeding ground for contractual disputes.  [8]   It could be said that the adversarial nature of the construction industry contributes to the germination and manifestation of construction disputes. As such, the construction industry has been at the forefront of the search for effective and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms. Project procurement and construction disputes are two of the major concerns in the construction industry worldwide.  [9]  There is now a wide armoury of dispute resolution methods available for resolving construction disputes. The most popular out of these being litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes such as arbitration, mediation, and conciliation. These dispute resolution processes suffer two key disadvantages, which arise from the fact that these processes only come into play after a dispute has arisen. One disadvantage is that, during the dispute resolution process, trust between the parties may be sorely tested, or even destroyed. The other disadvantage is that the time and cost of resolving a dispute may affect the expected project gains of parties concerned. In the circumstances, the current trend is to look for methods other than processes such as litigation, arbitration, mediation, and conciliation that could be put in motion before or at least, soon after a conflict has arisen. The aim is to ensure that dispute prevention measures, or at least measures for minimizing the scope of any dispute is put in place before the parties positions have hardened. Traditionally, resolving construction disputes are done through litigation. This can be confirmed by 72 cases related to building contract being reported by the Malayan Law Journal between 1990 and 2007 and the Current Law Journal which reported about 200 cases of construction related issues since 2004.  [10]  Yet, today the litigation procedures have fallen into disrepute, particularly due to excessive costs, delays, procedural complexity and adversarial approach.  [11]  The earlier research have come out with the new approach by developing eDR model but it only focus on on contractual variations  [12]  in construction projects. The lacking of law knowledge in every term of contact still needs to be addressed. It is essential in construction industry to adopt an anticipative approach to management. Since disputes have been one of the major factors affecting cost and time, it is necessary to determine the classification of dispute from the construction law cases and then the e-CDM can be the tool/database to prevent the conflicts or disputes at any stages of construction. By having thorough knowledge and information in this tool/database, it will definitely help the project manager and contract manager to anticipate problems at an early stage of the project without going through any other Alternative Dispute Resolution method which will cost extra money on the top of the project cost. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The objective of this study are: To classification the types of dispute in the Malaysian construction industry base on the related law cases; To develop an e-CDM model as the database for construction industry; and To develop an application of e-CDP prototype/system based on types of the disputes, the parties involved, type of the project, when do the disputes occurred, and standard form of contract for the project. RESEARCH AIM The research has highlighted the problem statements on poor understanding of contract administration and lack of contractual knowledge toward the most litigious issue in construction. Therefore, the aim of this research is to classify the types of dispute based on related law cases in construction and subsequently propose and develop eCDM tool/database on construction disputes as an alternative way for resolving disputes in construction projects. SCOPE OF STUDIES This research is limited to the following:- a) To construction disputes reported by Malayan Law Journal. b) Cases related to Building Contract in Malaysia. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Briefly, this research will be carried out with five (5) different stages: Identifying the research issue Literature review Data and information collection Data and information collection Research analysis Data and information collection Conclusion and recommendations Data and information collection Identifying the Research Issue Identifying the research issue is the very initial stage from the whole research. Initial literature review was done in order to obtain the overview of the particular research topic. In identifying the issue, firstly, it will involves reading on various sources of published materials such as journals, articles, seminar papers, cases, previous research papers, or other related research materials, newspapers, magazines and electronic resources as well as World Wide Web and online e-databases from UM librarys website.  [13]  At the same time, discussions with supervisors, lecturers, as well as course mates have been done to gain more ideas and knowledge relating to the topic. Literature Review The second stage in executing a research is literature review. Literature review stage is basically a stage when the researcher will be reading and also need to criticize on each and every material that has been read. Published resources, like books, journals, varies standard form of contract and related statutory are the most helpful sources in this stage. Literature review also will be involving the collection of documents from the secondary data research, such as books, journals, newspapers.  [14]   Data and Information Collection This stage is data and information collection stage. This is an important stage towards achieving the objectives of this research. In this stage, the further action is to collect the relevant information based on the secondary data from the published resources. Lexis-Nexis database which provides cases of Malayan Law Journal is the main sources in getting the related cases. Research Analysis During this stage, all of the data collected data, information, ideas, opinions and comments were specifically arranged, analyze and also will be interpreted based on the literature view which will be carried out. This stage also could be called as the heart of the research as from this chapter; we can see how the objective has been achieved. Conclusion and recommendations Conclusion and recommendations is the final stage of the research. In this stage the findings will be able to show the result of the research. A conclusion needs to be drawn in-line with the objectives of the research. At the same time, some appropriate recommendations related to the problems will be made for a better solution in relation to the said problem. CONCLUSION Disputes between parties to construction projects are of great concern to the industry; nevertheless, the subject is dominated by anecdote and hearsay. The study of construction industry disputes, and the causes of those disputes, is essential. In fact, it would seem that effective management action can be taken only if based on reliable evidence and as contract manager it is essential for them to consider all kinds of dispute in construction industry.

Bullying in School Essay -- essays research papers fc

It was a bright sunny Saturday morning. All the neighborhood children were playing soccer at the homeowners’ picnic. There was a new kid on the block; a quiet fellow by name of Mustafa. I saw him sitting with him mother the whole time. He never came to play with the other children. I automatically termed him a ‘mama’s boy’. So I invited him to play with us. At first he refused. Ultimately him mother convinced to come and play with us and that we were really harmless and that it would be really good for him. What nobody else knew was that I did not invite him to play because I wanted to play with him. I only wanted to make fun of him, and for that I needed him to leave his mother’s lap. As soon as he came to play I started to make fun of him. On hearing what I had to say about the innocent kid, all the others joined in teasing him. It was the first time that boy had come to play with us and we made him cry. Now the nickname ‘glue Mustafa’ (because he was always glued to his mother) stayed with him for a very long time. Eventually he got fed up. He told the other kids and me on many occasions to stop teasing him. He could not complain to anybody because nobody thought it was really that bad. And so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He figured that the only way he could defend himself was to be part of a gang. And so at the tender age of 14 he was already a part of the ‘Iggypura’. Good morning to you all. I want to tell you about bullying little children in sc...

English Revolution :: European Europe History

English Revolution The history of the English Revolution from 1649 to 1660 can be briefly told. Cromwell's shooting of the Levellers at Burford made a restoration of monarchy and lords ultimately inevitable, for the breach of big bourgeoisie and gentry with the popular forces meant that their government could only be maintained either by an army (which in the long ran proved crushingly expensive as well as difficult to control) or by a compromise with the surviving representatives of the old order. But first there were still tasks to be done. (1) There was the conquest of Ireland, the expropriation of its landowners and peasantry - the first big triumph of English imperialism and the first big defeat of English democracy. For the petty bourgeoisie of the Army, despite the warnings of many of the Leveller leaders, allowed themselves to be distracted from establishing their own liberties in England and, deluded by religious slogans, to destroy those of the Irish. Many of them set up as landed proprietors in Ireland. (The Leveller revolt of 1649 had been occasioned by the refusal of many of the rank and file to leave for Ireland, for that meant violating their Engagement of 1647 not to divide until the liberties of England were secure.) (2) There was the conquest of Scotland, necessary to prevent a restoration of the old order thence; Scotland was opened up to English traders by political union. (3) A forward commercial policy was undertaken with the Navigation Act of 1651, the basis of England's commercial prosperity in the next century. This aimed at winning the carrying trade of Europe for English ships, and at excluding all rivals from trade with England's colonies. It led to a war with the Dutch, who had monopolised the carrying trade of the world in the first half of the seventeenth century. For in that period the royal policy had frustrated all attempts of the bourgeoisie to throw the resources of England into an effective struggle for this trade. In this war, thanks to Blake's fleet and the economic strength the Republican Government was able to mobilise, England was victorious. (4) An imperialist policy needed the strong Navy which Charles had failed to build up, and under Blake the Commonwealth began to rule the waves to some purpose; war in alliance with France against Spain brought Jamaica and Dunkirk to England. (5) The

Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay -- Literary Analysis

Following the fall of the great Roman Empire a new age was born, the age of knights in shining amour and the great kings in stone castles. Yet, it was also a chaotic time, War and plague was a disease upon Europe. Countries fought for land, resources, and above all, the attention of God. The world was young and so was the English Language. Few writers wrote in English, the language of the commoners, as French and Latin was the Language of the powerful à ©lite. Yet one writer dared to speak against the feudal society of which he was born into. Geoffrey Chaucer served most of his life in the employment of the crown, as both a soldier and a clerk. Yet through all of these titles, Chaucer would be forever immortalized as Geoffrey Chaucer the writer, and the Satirist. The true goal of any Satire is to point out the flaws in certain aspect of society, while also inspiring reform to that very same aspect in one way or another. In Chaucer’s Canterbury tales, Chaucer satirizes the co rruption Catholic Church and those associated. Chaucer saw that hypocrisy polluted the pureness of the church and expressed his disillusionment through the use of satire. Fearless of discommunication Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of satire, dared to speak openly of the absolute corruption of the medieval church. Medieval society was centered on the flawed Catholic Church, where hypocrisy and corruption poisoned the purity of religion. When one individual spoke against the way the church‘s way, the church would simply retaliate. One such example is that of Joan of Arc, a French farm girl turned soldier. The Church was outraged at her choices, performing deeds that were reserved for men. Joan wore men’s clothing and wore her hair short as to avoid being the s... ...t man in a time of great despair. Through the greatness of his actions, satirically pointing out the corruption in the Catholic church, Chaucer earned a reputation as one of the greatest writers in the English language. Fearless of the Church’s retaliation, Chaucer continued to educate his audience, the English speaking commoners of Medieval Europe, who had long been taken advantage of by the Church, becoming one the greatest and first English satirist and the Father of English satire. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse . â€Å"The Prologue†. Hackett Publishing Company, INC. United States of America, 2005. Chaucer, Geoffrey. â€Å"The Canterbury tales: The Prologue†. Our Literary Heritage. Ed. Desmond Pacey. 4th ed. Montreal, Que.: Mcgraw-Hill Ryerson ltd., 1982. Shaw, Bernard. Saint Joan. Penguin books, London 1952.

Lewy Body Dementia

Non-preventable and Non-reversible: Lewy Body Dementia On April 10th 2010, my dad informed me that my grandmother had passed away. She was 90-years-old, and although she may have lived a long life, the last eight or so years of her life were very rough. The official reason she passed away was because of Lewy Body Dementia. This degenerative disease, meaning it is not reversible, is thought to have sprouted from an infection she had in her kidneys in 2002.She lived at home for a while after her kidney disease was found and treated, but was moved to an assisted living center in 2007 because of occasional hallucinations, and family was unable to stay with her at her home. As time progressed, her dementia got worse. She slowly started having hallucinations more frequently, became very forgetful, and eventually was unable to perform any tasks on her own. â€Å"Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and beha vior,† stated by Google Health. Mayoclinic. om suggests that â€Å"in Lewy body dementia, abnormal round structures — called Lewy bodies — develop in regions of your brain involved in thinking and movement. †Although the specific cause of dementia is unknown, specialists believe that it relates to Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease. Evidence of these two diseases has been seen in Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) The cause may not be known, but there are many symptoms that can be easily noticed without difficult tests, such as detailed hallucinations, trembling hands, delusions, sleep difficulties, and more. A clinical diagnosis of LBD can be probable or possible based on different symptom combinations,â€Å" discusses Lbda. org, the Lewy Body Dementia Association website. A probable diagnosis consists of dementia plus two or more core features, or dementia plus a single core feature and one or more suggestive features. A possible diagnosis is dementia plus one core feature, or dementia and one or more suggestive features.Core features are changing cognition with variations of attention or alertness, very detailed hallucinations, and unconsciously having Parkinson’s Disease movements. A suggestive feature includes REM sleep behavior disorder, sensitivity to neuroleptics (a drug used for calming), and low dopamine transporter uptake in the brains basal ganglia, which connects to main parts of the brain like the cerebral cortex and thalamus. LBD cannot be cured, it can only be slowed down. Since there is no cure, doctors can only treat individual symptoms.They use medications for Alzheimer’s Disease to increase the levels of neurotransmitters to help with cognition, Parkinson’s Disease, for muscular issues, but these can increase hallucinations and delusions. Also, doctors may use an antipsychotic medication, which is a neuroleptic, and many LBD patients are severely sensitive to these. Some simple therapy can also be used, such as removing clutter and background noise from the environment, and breaking tasks into simpler steps which will help them focus.Also, how a caregiver responds to a person with LBD is crucial. They should not quiz the person, or question them, they should just validate any concerns, which will usually get rid of the issue at hand for the moment. Lewy Body Dementia is not preventable, but there are certain risks that make it more likely for one to have it when they are older, such as being over 60, being male, and having history of dementia in the family. In conclusion, LBD is an issue that has an effect 15-35% of all dementias, virtualmedicalcentre. com confirms.I have realized that I will probably be diagnosed with this when I am older, because my grandma, and great-grandma on my dads side both had this, and my great-grandma on my moms side is getting the beginning signs of LBD. Because of research, we can understand why certain things happen to us, an d how they happen.Works Cited â€Å"Dementia. † Google Health. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. . Mayo Clinic Staff. â€Å"Lewy Body Dementia – MayoClinic. com. † Mayo Clinic Medical Information and Tools for Healthy Living – MayoClinic. com. 17 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. . Welcome to the Lewy Body Dementia Association. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. .

Overpopulation Problems

Before we move on to over macrocosm problems, we motivating to know ab unwrap the various f achievementors that be responsible for this incessant rise in macrocosm. Significant improvement in role of life and basic health go has resulted in decline in expiration rate, and at the same date has caused an accession in the birth rate. Continuous migration of spate from under demonstrable areas to developed areas has triggered an unnatural produce in existence in developed areas, thus, putting immense pressure on available resources.Our failure in rationality the problems caused by over creation in urban areas is reflected in unplanned growth of newer towns and cities. More importantly, a look at the projected existence growth is even to a greater extent(prenominal) horrendous, which in itself stresses on the fact that we are not learning from our mistakes. Read more oncauses of over state. Problems Caused by Overpopulation Overpopulation problems refer to a series of twin e problems which are basicall(a)y caused referable to population explosion. The worst thing about these problems is that they act as major hindrances in the handle of development.Though restricted to the urban areas as of now, these problems have already begun and it allow be just a matter of time before they engulf the entire planet. scarcity of Resources Available resources get out not be sufficient to meet the demand of upgrade population. Only 3% of water on the planet is potable, so overpopulation problems give set-back with the lack of drinking water for millions of batch across the globe. Land available for boorish production is overly shrinking, which means the meter of money of crop produced allow decrease with time.If population emergences and crop production decreases, a braggart(a) part of population willing be left to die of hunger. In fact, doubting Thomas Malthus had predicted this problem of food shortage due to rise in population two centuries ago t hrough his theory of population. scarceness of resources will not just be restricted to food and water, it will also affect various other walks of life, including health services, jobs and many basic amenities. Health Problems The amount of waste produced by increasing population will hamper the waste anxiety program in several countries.untreated waste and poor hygiene will result in the spread of diseases. A plumping population will restore the spread of contagious diseases even more easier. Health resources available with us will not be sufficient equal to cater to the leases of the huge population in case of an epidemic, and the death damage will be difficult to handle. completed planet will experience large scale outbreaks of diseases, which will wipe out a large part of population by itself. Environmental Issues Increase in population will also increase the anthropogenic activities which cause global warm up and related climate change.Larger the population, more will be the environmental issues that we will have to deal with like contamination and deforestation. We have proved time and again that we wont hesitate to encroach upon the natural surroundings and destroy them if we dont have a shoes to stay. This will result in personnel casualty of habitat for various species and cause a severe ecological imbalance on the planet. It would be foolish to expect that we will be safe from these overpopulation effects, as all lifeforms subsisting on this planet, including humans, are dependent on each other, either directly or indirectly.These overpopulation problems would not have affected us if we had unlimited land and resources, but that is not the case. Already limited resources are creation continuously divided into smaller and smaller portions, especially the land. Perhaps we are to date to understand the hazards of overpopulation, or maybe we will continue to turn a concealment eye to them until it causes some serious calamity. The need of the hour is to identify the solutions for these

Abortion in the United States Essay

Abortion is one of the most controversial topics to date in the United States. Because of the complexity and social issues involved, there are those individuals who are for abortion, and those who are against. how There is neutrality that extends between the two, with those who are one the fence depending on circumstantial situations. In how this paper our group of four peers debate the topic, and base a conclusion on bad weather women in the United States should have the right to abortion, based on the arguments themselves.It should remain legal.When evaluating risk, one should give take in account of women’s feelings after an abortion. Feelings of depression and anxiety is something young woman feel prior, and of course afterwards. Women sometimes choose abortions because of medical issues with the babies, or horrifying circumstances leading to the unwanted pregnancy. Henry P.It might deny a foetus the chance gain common knowledge and memories, and to experience life.

Usual feelings after an abortion is relief, loss, sadness, and grief.It is okay to grieve and you should give yourself time to grieve. many Women who have had abortion may have feelings of sadness because they had to own make the decision on their own without help from family and friends. Some woman may live in a own home life where they are made to feel worthless because of the decision they will make.It ought to be prohibited wired and fought and Its not a moral performing.Abortions are performed with in the first 9 weeks of pregnancy. Early termination the better is for the woman, less complications. Most woman receiving their abortion within the first 9 weeks report no complications afterwards. Less than 0.Several have pondered upon the importance of abortion.

Deciding to have an abortion is an important decision in itself and having others dictate you can or cannot choose makes the situation even more confusing.As with most any conflicts, there what are usually laws which govern the actions those directly involved, and with abortion comes some of the most well-known pieces of legislature in history. Today in the United States abortion is legal in every state due to the decision of Roe v. Wade.Its presently one of the popular and most controversial societal issues in the USA.On the same day of the Roe decision, another case in the state3 of Georgia was also decided on, in the case of Doe v Bolton we the state in question also was found to be in violation of the appellants constitutional rights.The twenty Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage several others retained by the people. The Fourteenth Amendment: Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the U nited States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.Abortion isnt just the legal right of a woman, its the choice of a woman.

The side effects of abortion are sometimes critical. Some of them involve spotting logical and bleeding. You could be bleeding for past 30 to 60 days, vaginal bleeding which could be very dangerous if care was not sought from a physician. Another side affect is headaches and dizziness, fever and chills, nausea and vomiting, cramping, and diarrhea.Its the selection of a lady in whether part she wants to get one.Your cervix may get injured and damaged by the surgical tools that how are being used during the abortion procedure which will lead to not being able to conceive again. Women who have gone through abortion are at a greater risk of ovarian and cervical cancer. Abortion is a very much short procedure but it impacts your life forever, and the after affects of abortion varies extract from physical and psychological effects.Women may develop an eating disorders, or drugs on alcohol abuse, or they may have flash backs about the procedures themselves.Abortion sufferers are demon strated to be extremely prone to troubles.

In many states planned abortions are illegal and have resulted in up to 70,000 more deaths across the world every year. Many arguments support the issue on abortion. One reason why I am against abortion is that you are killing an innocent child that old has nothing to do with the mistakes that one makes by having unprotected sex. You should not kill an unborn child because you are ashamed and afraid of what people might say about you.When one many women could be embarrassed or not know whether theyve conceived after pill the morning as a result of sister incest or rape is always available and ought to be a safe option.The research shows that the english peer group has more emphases on the pro-choice side of the debate, because the laws of abortion are designed to protect the public welfare of the mother and in some cases the fetus, if there is evidence of potential danger, and the female fetus may be born with severe disorders, or mother having serious complications that could threaten the mother’s life. In the past, abortions were not as safe as they are today due to advanced technologies, making abortion safer than they’ve ever been before.Abortion is sometimes the best course because of medical issues, and sometimes due to other horrifying circumstances in which some women may become pregnant, such as rape, incest, and or other circumstances that may be legitimately valid reasons, and may lessen the quality of life for the child or mother. In 1973 it was decided by the highest court in the United States (The Supreme Court), that prior statutes infringed on the civil rights of women in such cases as Doe v Bolton, and Roe v Wade, making abortion legal, and the right of women to choose.Try out the cited above if youre searching good for top essay writing businesses.

Arguments for Pro Choice. Retrieved from Buzzle.com website: http://www.buzzle.Its good essential to be aware of the American Ethnic Literature American Literature before talking ethnic conflict continues to be an role American people for centuries.(n.d.). In Legal Information Institute.Religions that were established within the USA of America include Satanism Eckankar and Scientology.

html. Dudley, S., Ph.D.There are several reasons why you could be pro-life.d.). Retrieved from multi National Abortion Federation. Revised December 2006.Abortion was legalized in the usa of 1973 on January 22.

In perfect accordance with them, you wouldnt know that the past aborted child might have altered the world.(2012, late April 14). No One Called Me a Slut. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.Human life begins at the time of conception.d.). In Legal additional Information Institute. Retrieved from http://www.

The usa is the most important nation on the planet.They has fought a lot of times for various reasons.html. Sengupta, S. (2010, early June 30). Should Abortion Be Legal.America faces many troubles.