Impact of life skills training on HIV and AIDS prevention

This was a qualitative research where data about the implementation were gathered through interviews and focus group discussions with chool principals, teachers and students. A sample of 4 principals, 8 teachers and 64 students was used in the study. Students were assessed on knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviour. Results showed that students exhibited high levels of knowledge of HIV and AIDS issues but their behaviour remained incongruent with this knowledge.The study also revealed that effectiveness of this prevention strategy is reduced due to teachers' perception of this part of the curriculum as secondary, since they concentrate on examinable courses. From the research it was evident that imited resources and conflicting goals in the education system had a negative impact on the programme. The research made clear the need to make the teaching of life skills more practical by exposing students to real life situations through linkages with HIV and AIDS organizations work ing within the community.Key Words: Life skills, Evaluation, Behaviour Change, BACKGROUND AIDS is amongst the leading causes of deaths worldwide and has had insurmountable negative effects on countries, in the socio-cultural, economic and political domains. Different countries have employed different strategies in an effort o combat the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS. Some of these strategies include increased condom availability and use, promotion of abstinence and life skills training amongst the youth in schools and communities.According to The Global Working Group on HIV and AIDS (1998; 8) since HIV infection is invariably the result of human behaviour, change in behaviour has long been understood as essential to curbing the spread of 1 infection. This assertion is corroborated by Gachuhi (1999;iv) who argues that in the absence of a cure, the best way to deal with HIV and AIDS is through prevention by eveloping and/or changing behaviour and values.V prevention nas been app roached trom ditterent angles; most countries nave used primarily or at least included HIV awareness and education as a strategy to combat HIV with the aim of changing people†s perceptions and attitudes as these ultimately influence their behaviour. Therefore the ultimate goal is then to catch them young and create an awareness that can help eradicate the spread of HIV and AIDS. Zimbabwe is amongst the countries that undertook a behaviour change based approach to HIV prevention. As cited on the National AIDS Council (NAC) website ?theBehaviour Change Communication programme started in 2006 after a Comprehensive Review of Behaviour Change as a means of preventing sexual HIV transmission in Zimbabwe. A National Behaviour Change Strategy was then developed after this review with the aim of addressing the major ways of HIV transmission in this country. † It is assumed that between 80 and 90% of infections are due to sexual transmission. Hence, promoting the adoption of safe sexual behaviours remains at the heart of HIV prevention in Zimbabwe (SAfAlDS, 2013).Zimbabwe†s focus was on primary prevention of HIV through behaviour change strategies. It has since recorded a decrease in HIV incidence. In 1997, an estimated 29% of adults were living with HIV in Zimbabwe. One decade later in 2007, that number had fallen to 16%. HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe declined from 23. 2% in 2003 and even further to 14. 3% in 2009. (UNFPA, 2008). Different scholars and analysts have attributed this decline to various factors, resulting in a debate.One such analyst from News From Africa propounded that â€Å"The behavioural changes associated with HIV reduction†mainly reductions in extramarital, commercial, and casual sexual relations, and associated reductions in artner concurrency†appear to have been stimulated primarily by increased awareness of AIDS deaths and secondarily by the countrys economic deterioration. Others have suggested increased mortality du e to poor health service delivery (Leach-Lemens; 2012). There is consensus however that there is indeed a reduction in HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe and that there are indications of behaviour change. The authors conclude that these â€Å"findings provide 2 the first convincing evidence of an HIV decline accelerated by changes in sexual behaviour in a southern African country. † (Gregson et al; 2010). Gachuhi (1999; 10) asserts that young people offer a window of hope in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS if they have been reached by Life Skills Programmes. This assertion brings out the importance that is placed in a country†s youth as it represents the country†s future.Zimbabwe as a nation identifies with this perspective and has found it laudable to invest in the future of its youth by making it a target group tor H V prevention education. However, the youth are taced with several challenges that also make them vulnerable to HIV. Kalanda (2010;169) asserts that young people have demands and challenges due to their physiological, sychological, social and economic situations. Among these demands and challenges are peer pressure into drug and substance abuse, early sexual debut leading to sexually transmitted diseases (ST's) including HIV.A review by UNICEF (2000) found that life skills education is effective in educating youth on alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse, nutrition, pregnancy prevention and preventing ST's including HIV. Moya (2002) states that research demonstrates that possessing life skills may be critical to young people's ability to positively adapt to and deal with the demands and challenges of life. According to Kalanda (2010:172) the objective of Life skills and HIV and AIDS education is to empower pupils and their teachers with life skills for HIV prevention, sex and sexuality issues.This coincides with the research conducted for The Global Monitoring Report ?Youth and Skills: Putting education to work† which shows the importance of investing in life skills education in school to ensure children have the confidence and negotiating skills to say no to sex and negotiate condom use. Objectives of the study The study seeks to evaluate the implementation of the life skills and HIV and AIDS ducation programmes in schools as stipulated by the Ministry of Education? The study also seeks to assess the contribution of these life skills training programmes in Zimbabwean schools to HIV prevention.It aims to assess the levels of knowledge about HIV and AIDS, risk perception, attitudes and behaviour of the students in these schools. Challenges that present drawbacks in the implementation of these programmes will hopefully be unearthed as well. 3 Research Questions 1. How is Life skills and HIV and AIDS education perceived as part of the curriculum by both teachers and students in schools? . Is the programme achieving its desired goals of increasing knowledge and decreasing risky behaviour? 3.Do the teachers ass igned for life skills and HIV and AIDS education have the necessary training and material to use in the teaching of this part of the curriculum? 4. What are the challenges faced by the teachers in imparting life skills and HIV and AIDS knowledge? Participants / Sample The sample used in the study consisted of 4 principals, 8 teachers and 64 students. Purposive sampling was used for the selection of principals and teachers for the study from the respective schools. Selection of principals was automatic as the principal of each of the four schools was involved while 2 teachers were selected trom each ot the tour schools.The criterion used to select these teachers was that they were the ones responsible within the school for Life skills and HIV and AIDS education. The students were selected using stratified random sampling; 16 students from each school, 8 from each of the forms four and six as they are about to leave school and enter ?the real world†. There was an equal represent ation for both male and female student participants in the study. Data collection instruments The study employed interviews and focus group discussions as data collection instruments.Interviews were held with the principals and teachers while data from students was generated through focus group discussions. Data Collection Procedure Interviews were held individually with each of the principals and teachers in a bid to maintain confidentiality and promote openness especially since some of the issues could be considered sensitive. Each principal availed time to the researchers for the focus group discussions to be held. The two researchers alternated in the facilitation f data generation from the interviews with the other researcher recording the proceedings.Focus group discussions were conducted for each of the four schools for the sake of convenience and ease of access to the students. Two focus group discussions were held at each of the four schools; one for the girls facilitated b y the female 4 researcher and the other one for the boys facilitated by the male researcher. This allowed for free participation and contribution by students as they identified with a facilitator of their gender. Data analysis Data was analysed thematically according to the main ideas emerging from the nterviews and focus group discussions.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Results: Demography of participants The students who participated were in forms four and six and with an age range of 16 – 18 years. The sample in terms of gender was comprised of 32 female students and 32 male students. For the principals 3 were male whilst one was female. They all had a first degree as their minimum level of education. All the teachers had a Diploma in Education as their minimum qualification. In addition to the diploma, 5 of the teachers also had a first degree. Knowledge about HIV and AIDS issuesThe students exhibited high levels of knowledge about HIV and AIDS issues. Most students were aware ot the possible me tnods ot transmission ot H V They were able to correctly answer questions on methods of preventing HIV transmission even including ideas of their reliability for example highlighting the disadvantages of condom use even going into an interesting debate about the feasibility and challenges of consistent condom use in or out of marriage. The students indicated that they knew that the best method of prevention from the virus was abstinence before marriage.Basic knowledge about the nature of HIV and AIDS, transmission and prevention appeared to be at their fingertips but when broadened to other areas of sexual reproductive health the level of knowledge significantly reduced. Students were not aware of measures that could be taken to protect their reproductive organs. Boys were better aware of male circumcision because of the national campaign advocating for male circumcision. Even girls were aware of the advantages of male circumcision. Very few (17%) of both boys and gi rls were aware of procedures such as PAP SMEAR for the screening of cervical cancer.Most students were also not well versed with strategies and precautions to be taken during home based care of HIV positive individuals citing that they had never had to deal with an ill person on a personal level. Only a few (36%) had had personal contact and real life experiences of helping to take care of or live in the same household with an HIV positive individual. They agreed though that most did have relatives infected by HIV. Very few students knew what life skills were and what the advantages of learning them were.The few who knew life skills indicated that they had learnt them in other ettings that were not school. They also indicated that their knowledge of life skills was minimal and they were not confident that other could apply these skills to the extent of claiming to possess them. Most of them could only name at most two life skills. Behaviour A significant portion of the students (35% ) indicated that they were sexually active whilst 80% indicated that they knew at least one friend who was sexually active amongst their friends of school-going age.The reasons given by some of them for engaging in sexual activity included; â€Å"Some of us will already have been sexually ctive when we first encounter such programmes so it very difficult to stop. Some have tried to do so but still find themselves engaging again. One feels bad during the period that we will be learning these things but once we finish and with time the feeling fades away. And also it is difficult to convince your boyfriend about such things as abstaining that you would have learnt at school. Some of those who said they were not sexually active stated that they did however fondle with their boyfriends but did not engage in intercourse. Despite displaying nowledge about male circumcision only 5% ot the boys admitted to having been circumcised. They acknowledged the importance but cited that they Just h ad not gotten round to getting it done though they intended to do so. The principals indicated that the number of female students dropping out of school due to teenage pregnancies had decreased significantly over the past ten years.They indicated that the mean number of drop outs was now 2 per year as compared to the 7-8 of previous years. Students' perception of the programme The majority of students (90%) viewed the programme as insignificant citing that ven their teachers did not take it seriously. They conceded however that the material they could potentially learn from the programme was important. They stated that given the pressure they sometimes 6 faced with balancing school work and responsibilities or chores at home there was very little time to concentrate on non-examinable courses, especially since they were approaching final examinations (Ordinary Level).They argued that there was no reason for them to focus on such a course when everywhere they went they also heard abou t HIV and AIDS. One student said â€Å"Why would I risk failing the important ubjects that have to do with my future by concentrating on a subject that I won't even be examined on and will not help me to get a place at high school, university or even a Job. There is no Job where they will ask you if you did life skills. † Another student said: â€Å"Those who are interested in such things Join the AIDS club, that is why it is there. The study revealed that the programme was indeed viewed as being of slight importance. The students also highlighted that it was boring and a waste of time because most of what they learnt about HIV and AIDS they already knew and was like revision to them. Teachers' perceptions of the programme The interviews also revealed that teachers thought that the Life skills and HIV and AIDS education programme was minor as compared to the core subjects they taught. So minor in fact that the implementation of this programme was entirely at the discretion o f the teacher assigned to do so.If the teacher chose not to there were no repercussions on their part. One teacher stated that â€Å"With the state the Zimbabwean economy is in and the fact that teachers are grossly underpaid, we only do the work we absolutely have to do which is teaching the core subjects we are paid to teach. Life skills and HIV and AIDS are extra-curricular and not as important because no one will assess whether you have taught it or not whilst our teaching of core subjects will be reflected in the students' results after examinations. † The study revealed that 7 out of the 8 teachers (87. %) interviewed admitted to never having taught the module seriously as they were not motivated enough to try and change the status quo. The teachers intimated that their perceptions of the programme were also influenced by their administration†s attitude towards the programme. They argued that if the administration was not taking the programme eriously who were the y to do so? Challenges faced by teachers in the implementation of the programme Teachers highlighted a number of issues that according to them hindered the effective implementation of the Life skills and HIV and AIDS programme in their schools.They cited the shortage of or entire lack of material to use in the teaching of Life skills and HIV and AIDS. They mentioned that the only material available was for example a chapter on reproductive sexual health in a biology textbook where they mention HIV and AIDS in passing. They argued that this was not sufficient to comprise a omprehensive syllabus for the entire programme. Life skills were even more challenging to teach as there was no material available and the teachers themselves were not well versed with them.Teachers highlighted that the HIV and AIDS part of the programme was easier to teach since most people had the knowledge and they had been exposed to the subject matter at their teachers† colleges. However life skills were a different matter and they did not have the adequate knowledge about life skills and how to teach them to their students. This presented a challenge in the effective implementation of he programme as teachers tended to focus on the part they were confident about; HIV and AIDS.They conceded that life skills and HIV and AIDS education were an important part of the curriculum but argued that they did not have enough time to teach these as the core subjects and extra-curricular activities such as sports and clubs took up all the students† time. Life skills and HIV and AIDS education was therefore relegated to the AIDS club, membership of which was optional for students. Teachers cited that even the administration viewed the programme as secondary uch that if one tried to teach it seriously and request the material to teach it they were viewed as embarking on a futile attempt to try and change the status quo.They said the schools† administrations were of the perception that there were better things to spend the schools† resources on than the life skills programme. The principals indicated that the resources available to their schools were inadequate and they had to make difficult decisions in order to uphold the integrity and quality of their schools and these included prioritising the core subjects since they were xaminable and had direct impact on the schools† performance rating.Discussion: This paper evaluated the implementation of the life skills and HIV and AIDS programme in Zimbabwean schools based on a number of factors; the expected outcomes of increased 8 knowledge levels and decreased risky behaviour, indicators of behaviour change and perceptions of the programme which would affect acceptance by students and implementation by teachers. Though knowledge levels on basic H d AIDS knowledge was high they are still not high enough.This concurs with the research conducted for The Global Monitoring Report ?Youth and Skills: Putting edu cation to work† which states that tests in fourteen countries in South and East Africa (including Zimbabwe) showed that only 7% of school children in the regions have the desired level of knowledge on HIV and AIDS; and Just 36% have even the minimum level of knowledge. Students† knowledge of life skills is even lower indicating that life skills and HIV and AIDS issues are not being taught well if at all in these schools.Perhaps even the knowledge of HIV and AIDS issues was not as a result of the programme but other sources external to the school. The fact that teachers consider life skills and HIV and AIDS education as extra- curricular indicates that it is side-lined when it should be considered core. Even the students do not attach much value to it citing that it does not assist them to secure a place for further education or a Job.This is without realizing that some people with very good educational qualifications are failing to secure good Jobs due to ill health as a result of bad decisions resulting from a lack of life skills. A major lack of motivation is evident when teachers indicate that they only do what they are paid for. Perhaps even the core subjects are not being taught well for this reason. Incentives have been introduced in schools to attempt to address this lack of motivation but even then these are viewed as inadequate and are different from school to school.Life skills and HIV and AIDS education is perceived by all; administration, teachers and students, as extra-curricular and therefore not very important requiring only a minimal perfunctory browse. If this is how the programme is viewed by the intended implementers there is no way it will be effectively implemented. Concerning teacher ormation and development in the context of HIVAIDS Chamba (2011 suggests that teachers have to be trained in life skills HIV-AIDS education prevention in order to teach HIV- AIDS and also to protect themselves from HIV infections.Recommendations t o improve on implementation of programme The modules on life skills and HIV and AIDS should be made examinable so as to be taken more seriously by both the teachers and the students. 9 The programme should also include the involvement of the students in HIV prevention initiatives through organisations working within the community so as to ive them a more practical bearing of the issues they learn instead of them remaining abstract ideas.Students should be exposed to real life situations where they actually come to a realization of the effects of HIV and AIDS so as to realize the impo rtance ot what they learn. This programme should be planned in such a manner that it runs continuously from primary school into secondary school so that life skills training and HIV and AIDS education are not a once off event but a continuous process providing the necessary reinforcement and revision where necessary. Teachers need to be adequately trained to teach life skills and HIV and AIDS related is sues.The programme needs to be supported practically at all levels, that it the provision of resources by the Ministry of Education and each school administration, consistent evaluation of the programme so as to ensure that it is being implemented as best as is possible. Parents should be involved so that the children are provided with consistent, noncontradictory information and are supported in the endeavour to change or develop healthy sexual behaviours.

History of Basketball Essay

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Literature Review of Business Coaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Why did London attract such a large and diverse flow of immigrants - Essay Example Lasting four days, the fire destroyed 87 parish churches and 13,200 residential houses, killing several citizens and leaving 70,000 homeless. This essay will give a description of the rebuilding of London just after the Great Fire and what it meant for the city as well as the outlook of immigration at that time. It will further address significant events in the growth of the city relating to immigrant groups that arrived in different time periods upto the period after World War Two (WWII) and the early 1960s. Each group impacted differently on the city, contributing to different aspects of life ranging from clothing, cuisine, architecture and the industrial revolution. Most of the wooden structures and the springing slums were destroyed by the fire, resulting in devastating economic and social problems. To facilitate reconstruction, King Charles II initiated and encouraged resettlement to other areas amidst fears of rebellion from dispossessed refugees. This led to depopulation of th e city just after the fire. Disputes between landlords and tenants were settled by a specially convened fire court to decide who must rebuild, and most of the plan of the old city was used for rebuilding. However, new regulations were also included such that the plan, additionally, had improved fire safety and hygiene standards, stone and brick structures, wider streets, communication infrastructure and no obstructions to the access of river Thames. A monument was also built near Pudding Lane in commemoration of the fire, together with the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral and 50 other smaller churches. The rebuilding process was slow, and within one year, the new houses did not number more than 200. However, things soon picked up and 7,000 new buildings had been completed by 1671[8]. The emergent city was by the standards a modern one, attracting back the population and wealth that had shifted to London’s suburbs and the Town. New insurance companies were also set up to fig ht fires. Presently, the houses in Spitalfields along Folgate Street in eastern London, grand and terraced, reminds any visitor to London of the refugee silk weavers who designed and constructed them[1]. Although it existed before the Great Fire of London, silk weaving was one of the economic successes that attracted immigrants to London in the late 17th century and early 18th century. It was initially introduced by the French Protestants, known as the Huguenots, along with the manufacture of guns and clocks[2]. They arrived in London fleeing a wave of persecution in their home country and were welcomed by King Charles II, joining the Jewish settlers who had earlier been expelled but allowed back into London by Oliver Cromwell. At the end of the 17th century, there were an approximate 50,000 Huguenots and 20,000 Jews in London, most notably in the Spitalfields area, who were later joined by the Bangladeshis. Recently, estimates have shown that 25 percent of London’s contempor ary population has a Huguenot ancestor. However, mass transfer of silk weaving technology into London was via Netherlands from the Far East, Middle East and Italy, during which time, early signs of an interwoven thread of cultures and ethnicities, often contrasting, began to show. By 1713, silk workers migrated from most parts of Europe into London, and the city employed close to 300,000 immigrants skilled in the industry[4]. This influx of immigrants was fuelled by the royal family’s presence in London and the fact that the city was home to England’

Child Verbal Abuse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Child Verbal Abuse - Research Paper Example When a child is verbally abused, several negative emotional and psychological problems arise, especially at the most critical stages of his development. One of the outcomes is that he is likely to develop interpersonal difficulty which defines a personality disorder characterized with the sense and emotions of doubt, guilt, mistrust and inferiority (Johnson et al. 16). It also entails a distorted way of thinking as well as behaving. For people who were verbally abused as children, they usually suffer from personality disorders as adults. This negative emotional effect caused by verbal abuse can be linked with increased risk of fanatical and irrational behavior from childhood even to his adulthood. Alloy defines negative cognitive style as a characteristic way of attributing the causes of negative life events to stable, internal, and global factors (e.g. I did not pass my exam because I am stupid), inferring negative consequence (e.g. I will never make it in life) and making self-critical judgments of ones character (e.g., I am not worthy), with Beck adding that it also involves having dysfunctional attitudes and maladaptive self-schemas (qtd. in Sachss-Ericsson et al. 72). The child suffers low self-esteem and belittles himself to the point where he does not see his sense of worth. This cognitive style may result to the child getting into depression as he advances into maturity. Besides parents, the teacher is one of the people a child spends most of his time with. As a result of this, there develops a teacher-child relationship which largely influences the child’s social skills, behavior with other children, his academic performance, as well as the emotional aspect. Brendgen et al. say that a child, who has a negative relationship with the teacher instigated by verbal abuse will adversely be affected, with the likelihood of missing out on learning opportunities as well as suffering behavioral

Reforms Regarding Easements In The UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Reforms Regarding Easements In The UK - Essay Example es of space per person even in office space, it so follows that it would probably be only natural for someone from England demanding justice if a neighbour came to fish in his or her pond, swim in a backyard pool, or use the lavatory at one’s whim. As such, it can be very difficult to actually define an easement, especially if the person using the easement does not want to formally admit that he or she is using the other person’s property illegally. Also, the dominant may not want to admit that there is an easement between both the dominant and the servient, as the dominant may feel that, legitimating that relationship might therefore give the servient some type of rights or ownership to his or her property—which it does, but that is almost entirely beside the point. The person who holds the easement doesn’t exactly own the property. It’s more like, they are borrowing it or using it for a certain time and then won’t be there anymore. Usage of an easement is, for the majority, not continuous. Thus, these facts should be taken into account when one is considering either making an easement formal or doing something in order to make the process of acquiring an easement possible. In all circumstances, paperwork should always be filled out so there is no misunderstanding between the dominant and the servient. This is essential for the relationship. III. What Can Be Done with an Easement (500 words) Although an easement itself is defined by four strict necessities by law, what can be done with an easement should definitely be clarified. It has been said that â€Å"†¦an easement is extinguished if the dominant and servient tenements come into the same ownership†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 2 That may be true, but unless it was expressly written into the law in such a like manner, one might... When someone encroaches upon another person's legal boundaries—no matter how enlightened the dominant—the servant always has the potential to face problems, due to the territorial nature of people. It only makes sense, then, that legally, there must be clear grounds where easements are concerned, for all parties involved—even if the easement is an informal agreement between two neighbors that one can fish in his pond with or without stipulations. Whatever the agreement, it must be something that can be sealed with a handshake if a verbal agreement, and agreed on paper with a signature if the dominant requires it from the servant. In any case, paperwork is only there to protect both parties from any kind of liability. Easements are definitely difficult problems to tackle, but worthwhile. That having been said, it is both the owner and the servant's best interests to know what they want, respectively, and that each party can then have boundaries which are to be fol lowed. This really helps everyone with the idea that the property is to be shared, and it encourages a sense of community between the dominant(s) and servant(s). It is hoped that, in the future, easements will be able to be more readily available without having to finagle through a long and difficult legal explanation about what it constitutes. The law should definitely be made simpler to explain these concepts well to the general public. Through clear extrapolation of the law, this is possible. Discussing easements can be quite a complicated task.

Inconsistent Triad and Mind-Body Dualism (Philosophy) Essay

Inconsistent Triad and Mind-Body Dualism (Philosophy) - Essay Example One of the best answers to this triad that Mind-Body Dualists can draw forth is epiphenomenalism, which argues that the mind and body are indeed separate, but cannot interact. Although this argument does not one hundred percent clear up all concerns, it does more or less satisfy the argument—the brain is then a physical object which controls the physical body, and the mind exists nonphysically but does not interact. There have been many ways of thinking about the interactions between the mind and the body throughout human history. Two of these are Dualism and Materialism. Dualism is the belief that â€Å"the body is material (physical) the mind is immaterial (nonphysical)† (text 59). In other words, our body is ruled by the laws of physics, or whatever law people thought existed at the time, and our mind is not ruled by that law. Instead, it stands above the law or apart from it in a spiritual or mental realm. On the other side of the coin is Materialism, a philosophy which holdes that â€Å"both minds and bodies are physical things† (text 59). According to a Materialist understanding of things, our minds are actually only caused by electrochemical processes in the brain which make it seem as though we are conscious. One of the strongest challenges to the ancient Dualistic belief is our Modern understanding of science and the physical world. Both these things â€Å"underwent a dramatic change in the seventeenth century† (text 60), leaving us with a much better idea of how things exist and what our place in the world is. We also now obviously have a much clearer science in regards to how the human brain processes and creates information. Drawing on our understanding especially of physical laws, chapter 5 of the text presents a strong challenge to Mind-body Dualist beliefs of a separate-but-equal non-physical mind. This challenge is an inconsistent triad, a sort of philosophical logic puzzle An

Federalist Papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Federalist Papers - Essay Example The overall purpose was not only to reshape the constitution of the country but also to ensure the ratification of the US as a combined State. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton as well as John Jay are considered as the authors of these papers though at the time of their publication, the original authorship of these articles were kept secret. Out of all these articles, federalist paper 10 and 51 are considered as most important papers outlining the broader scope and structure of the constitution of the country besides presenting plausible arguments in favor of the formation of one large State. Federalist 10 actually dealt with how to deal with small factions or interest groups and what should be the overall structure of the State to overcome or control such factions. It is written in continuation of the Federalist 9 and also outlines as to how the existence of such groups can tear apart the whole republic. Federalist 51 discusses as to how an effective system of checks and balance as well as the separation of the powers within the government. This paper will therefore discuss both these papers and will explore some of the key arguments made in these papers. Federalist # 10 Federalist 10 discussed extensively the role of the factions and how they can actually damage a republic. Madison was of the view that there are two ways through which such factions can be dealt with. He was of the view that either the very cause of the factions should be removed or the damage caused by such factions should be controlled. 1. His arguments therefore were largely in favor of how to balance both the aspects of factions and devise mechanism to deal with them. One of the key arguments made by the Madison outline that such factions cannot be eliminated altogether because majority can also form such factions. The republic according to Madison however, should be large and diverse enough while at the same time maintain the enough commonality. Madison argued in this paper that a direct democracy would be necessary in place of indirect democracy. Further, he was of the view that the representative democracy should be implemented in order to protect the interests of the individuals from the majority rule. (Meyerson, 2008) The role of anti-federalist however, should also be taken into consideration in the wake of their overall stance on the formation of a central authority. Madison throughout this paper argued that the formation of a large republic is essential in order to control the influence of such faction groups. Anti-federalists also argued that a diverse republic would be difficult to survive and therefore advocated giving more powers to the States based on the notion of locality. (Amar, 1993) The arguments of the anti-federalist can also be considered as interesting in the sense that they argued that the states a large state of the size of United States would eventually fail. As such the notion that a large republic is necessary in order to control the influe nce of the factions would not provide any credible or long term solution to the problem. Anti-federalist view also holds that if the republic is consolidated and a larger State is created, the overall chances of the representation of the people would be reduced. They argue that its through local participation that the representation of citizens could be ensured. In nutshell, Federalist 10 argued that the factions and their influence in the society and political activity could be controlled through the creation of a larger republic managed through representative democracy. Federalist#51 Federalist 51 is another important essay in the series of Federalist Papers outlining the need to have a proper check and balance system. Further it also outlines

Energy Audit Essay Example for Free

Energy Audit Essay

Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management

Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management Strategic alliance or partnership is solely depended on trust, faith relationship between simultaneous stages in Supply Chain. This increases ability and dependability of various stages involved in the supply chain. As strategic alliances can be between two or more organisations so each stage should be managed by welfare of the others and should not change or use that stages for own advantage without consideration of the organisation involved. This alliance is kept formal in relationship between two or more organisation to achieve some beneficial goals through business by supply chain. Here organisations also work on their desired needs. Some of the Strategic alliance resources are: Products Distribution channels Manufacturing capability Project funding Capital equipment Knowledge Expertise or intellectual property This alliance is actually a collaboration of firms to work together to form a greater effect than before. There are some reasons which can improve the performance which are : Decision making is done by the consideration of other party. Easy coordination between the parties by their managers with the trust. This result in better operational implementation and scheme valuation. It will lead to redundancy due increase in supply chain productivity. This ensures proper sharing of sales and production information, hence helping in coordinate production and distribution decisions. Above diagram shows the model of forming strategic alliances. Here operating strategy is divided into three structures: Industrial Organizational Government Building strategic alliance and its trust Building these types of alliances is totally dependent on Managers of the organization. Mostly this is done by sharing clean information trusted by every results matching with supply and demand throughout the supply chain processes and lower cost. Here it shows that better relationship helps to lower the cost between the supply chain stages. Example: As far as trust over here is concerned a supplier can avoid forecasting about information received for the retailer. Similarly the retailer can lessen the receiving effort by decreasing counting and inspections on the trust of the suppliers quality and delivery. This ensures better coordination between supplier and retailer. Wal-Mart and PG have been trying to build a strategic alliance that will help for better coordination and actions can be mutually beneficial. A typical strategic alliance formation consists of some steps which are: Strategy Development: development involves feasibility of alliance, objectives and goals, decisions, focus on critical issues, technology and people with their challenges and resources. Partner Assessment: In this assessment partners strength, potential, developing managing styles, preparing criteria for partner selection and understanding their motives for joining alliances. Contract Negotiation: It is the development of realistic objectives among the group and forming the high calibre or developing synergy. Consideration on security of information, termination clauses, and penalties for poor performance is formulated. Alliance Operation: it is linking of budgets and resources to fulfil the strategic priorities, measuring the performance etc. Alliance Termination: It is the winding down of partnership due to failure or not meeting the clauses decided before. Advantages of Strategic Alliance Each partner can concentrate on different stages of the supply Developing competences and learning form the partners Suitability and protection of resources is maintained Developing low cost models hence financial benefit. Types of strategic alliances Joint venture: In this type of alliance two or more firms create legally independent company to develop competitive advantage Equity Strategic Alliance: There is sharing of different percentages of the company. Non-equity Strategic Alliance: It is alliance on a contractual- relationship to share the unique resources. Global Strategic Alliances: It is formed between a company and foreign company. Achieving Strategic Alliance by any Organization: It is agreed that the cooperation and the trust in supply chain are quite important and develops the value but it very hard to maintain, sustain and develop till the last point. Therefore two views have been analysed to categorize into any supply chain relationship. Those views are as follows: Deterrence-based view: In this view a variety of formal contracts are formed amongst to ensure cooperation Process-based view: with this view the development of trust and cooperation is built over a long time with the series of interactions between the parties. In practical situation the contract established between parties and design of such contract is impossible to make where all contingency is accounted in future by all parties so the only way out here is to trust each other and have a long relationship relying on developed contract. Example: If there is a situation where supplier sign the initial contract containing the contingencies with the manufacturers and then those manufacturers turns out of not referring that contract again. So here hope remains to resolve such contingencies with the negotiation. Designing a relationship with Cooperation and Trust Main steps for this are: Assessing the value of the relationship Identifying operational roles and decision rights for each party Creating effective contracts Designing effective conflict resolution mechanism Assessing the value of the relationship First step always becomes the designing of mutual benefit that relationship provides. In most supply chain, member of partnership brings distinct skills needed to tp supply customer order. Example: A manufacturer produces the product which transported to retailer by passing it through various stages and retailer makes it appear to customer. Here next step is to identify the criteria used for evaluating the relationship as well as the contribution of the member. These criterions are to increase the total profits. Stages in supply chain alliances help managers to carry out productive decisions and it makes easy for producing correct decision by managerial level. Therefore leading in productivity of flow in the supply chains. Example: When suppliers work hard to reduce replenishment lead times, the supply chain benefits because of reduced safety inventories at manufactures and retailers. Suppliers are unlikely to put in the effort if the manufacturers and retailers are not willing to share the increase in profit with them. Thus, supply chain relationship is likely to be sustainable only if profits are increased with proper sharing In this step clarification of contribution of each member should be done accurate. For this flexible mechanisms should be designed to monitor the relationship periodically. Example: Chrysler negotiates a certain level of improvement per year with supplier. Identifying operational roles and decision rights for each party In identifying such things managers responsible of various members should know the interdependence between the members. A source of any conflict may ruin the level of trust and may also the level of dependency. There can also be the structure of sequential interdependence where dependency precedes on members. While in reciprocal interdependencies partners come together and exchange information and inputs in both direction. Example: Wal-Mart and PG are attempting to create reciprocal interdependence through collaborative forecasting and replenishment teams. Major example of operational roles is as follows: The relationship among Dell, Sony, and Airborne. Here dell takes order for computers it assembles and monitors that Sony Manufactures. Airborne picks up computers from Dell warehouse in Texas and monitors from the Sony warehouse in Mexico. It then Merges two and sends a combined order to customer. Creating effective contracts Handling and encouraging towards sudden contingencies arouse within alliance is difficult for managers without contracts. So contracts are most effective for governance when complete information is available and all future contingencies are can be accounted for. Contracts play only partial role over long time in maintaining effective partnership in supply chain. Example: Caterpillar and its Dealerships can terminate agreements without cause with 90 days notice. Designing effective conflict resolution mechanism As conflicts are bound to arise in relationships, unsatisfactory resolutions cause the partnership to worsen, whereas satisfactory resolutions strengthen the alliance. So a proper conflict mechanism should give the parties an opportunity to communicate and work through their differences, in the process building greater trust. It is important to be sensitive to the context of the partnership while designing the conflict-resolution mechanisms. Managing Supply Chain Relationship for Cooperation and Trust Effective management of relationship develops cooperation and trust while poorly managed relationship leads to loss in supply chain profits. Good alliance evolves and matures through following stages: Organisational SWOT analysis Core competence identification and focus Outsourcing and partnership need establishment Intent and expectation statement Requirement clarification Partner search and selection Partnership contract and negotiation Contract formulation Operationalization of emerging joint endeavour Monitoring and Performance evaluation Staffing and people issues resolution Continual relationship management Example: Relationship between Marks Spencer and manufacturer of kitchen product provides an excellent example of fair sharing of benefits. After sometime of the products introduction, the manufacturer realized that costs had been miscalculated and exceeded the price at which the product was being sold to Marks Spencer. Meanwhile, given its low retail price, customers found the product an outstanding value and made it a big hit. Strategic Alliances help to Supply Chain of the business There are many benefits of Strategic alliance but managing it is been a difficult task and with probability of forthcoming conflicts in such alliances and businesses. Finally significant part in such alliances is that it helps a lot in supply chain business. Which are discussed as follows? Collaboration For developing an effective collaborative relationship with the supply chain partner the one thing that will help the most to improve communication is ability to understand the value of the supply chain that partner needs to receive from the relationship. Example: Some procurement department might believe that its supply partner should cut their price so low that they no longer make a profit. This is simply crazy. If an effort to understand the total value of supply partner needs and help them to receive that total value package, they will perceive you as a great partner and communication will become easier. Information Sharing Difficult challenge to overcome in collaborating with suppliers and customers comes when sharing of information is to be made clearly. Where the challenge of integrating inter-company processes is to be made for execution. To improve resource utilisation among all supply-chain partners and to increase end-consumer satisfaction across the various enterprises is a new openness that will be guaranteed for all the cooperating players in alliance. The main challenge is to overcome divulge of profit secrets. Supply Chain Improvements Supply chain improvement areas available for strategic alliance relationships: Management of supply channel conflict On-time product delivery Prompt response to complaints Greater consistency in parts, supplies, semi-assembled, and completed products Detailed agreement as to handling of product problems and customer complaints Improved supply chain productivity Specific (quarterly, yearly, etc.) volume commitments Key contacts that are dedicated to your account Improved supplier loyalty Prompt response to quote requests and price problems Confidentiality of shared business strategy Example: Just-in-time inventory purchasing and supplying as exemplified by the famous relationship between Wal-Mart and Procter Gamble has continued to prove successful. Home Depot and Dell Computers have also built powerful alliances with their suppliers for cost saving just-in-time inventory in similar applications Supply chain strategic alliances can help logistics teams provide value Mainly seen that cost centres, logistic departments are most crucial for customer care and good working of supply chain operation. Example: Supply chain management issues are related with aspects as logistics, distribution, and transportation in the paper industry which can be changed to facilitate promising value for customers and end users. In todays businesses the logistics and its associated activities are an integral function of most business transactions. So Logistics service providers account for the local cross-town delivery of a product to a customer or the activities required to facilitate an important global shipment between companies located on different continents.

The Composition Of Workforce Diversity Commerce Essay

The Composition Of Workforce Diversity Commerce Essay Within each and every organization, the composition of workforce diversity is being integrated into its human resource management (HRM). In this new era, the world is increasingly globalizing and since the advent of information technology, the borders of the world are drawn so closely than ever before. Theories of diversity management have been developed by business professionals and scholars (Saji, 2004), citing that a heterogeneous organization could create better HRM practices to maximize the benefits from a diverse workforce as well as improving their competitive advantages. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs will be discussed to further understand how employees basic need affects the HRM; and how workforce diversity could contribute to achieving HRMs strategic objectives. Diversity awareness allows for a better understanding of inclusive consumers needs, and provides access to better labour pools (Agocs Bur, 2000). Hence, an organization must be able to utilize the available skills from the workforce if it is to maintain competitive advantage and achieve success. Quality skill is an important resource and companies that seek to expand its position would require much creative strategies from its employees. The definition of HRM refers to activities undertaken by an organization to utilize its human resource effectively, therefore a firm especially those with a diverse workforce have to understand the needs of the employees first. As said by Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, any person, in this case any employee have to achieve the needs that are most essential before ascending the pyramid with higher need requirements. Every generation of workforce have different expectation from their working environment; such as those of the baby boomer era and that of th e late 1980s. In order to develop and maintain effective diversity policies, it is necessary that the firm allow all employees to participate in the diversity initiative. Leading organization with good HRM practices understand that the firm have to support their employees in acquiring knowledge of effective interaction and people management in a diverse workplace. They acknowledge the added values of an employee if they continue to acquire new skills in dealing and managing people. By managing a diverse workforce well, organizations are expanding their prospect to a more diverse marketplace. Instead of having a homogeneous workforce which shares the same backgrounds and perspectives, the result of having a diverse workforce is different viewpoints that would increase level of creativity and problem-solving ability. If firms want to compete to satisfy their clients, the businesses require a more diverse workforce in order to be more successfully understood and meet the needs of a rapidly growing ba se of minority clients. All diverse workforce need to overcome stereotypes or discrimination and recognize that actual dissimilar other have distinctive and valuable information that can sustain group processes and performance (Hartel, 2004). As the economies are shifting from manufacturing to service economies, diversity issue will gain importance since in a service economy effective communication and interactions among people are necessary to business success (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). Organizations are able to produce better ideas and more innovative solutions that can solve wide range of matters. Diverse workforce not only appeal to top industry talent, but it also attracts customer support from those who prefer to buy goods and services from such organizations (Hymowitz, 2008; Konrad, 2006). Managing diversity is more than just acknowledging differences of every individual. It involves recognizing the value of difference, preventing discrimination and promoting generality. Human resource managers might face challenges such as losses in workforce and work output due to prejudice or discrimination and criticisms and legal actions opposed to the organization. These issues can be obstacles to organizational diversity because they can dent working relationships, morale and work productivity. Negative attitudes and behaviours should never be practiced by management for employment, retention, and termination practices in the workplace because these include could lead an organization to costly lawsuit. Organizations with a diverse workforce can provide superior services because they can better understand customers needs (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). Therefore, this will indirectly increase customer loyalty and also translates into effective delivery of essential services to communities with diverse needs. Workforce diversity will bring a significant increase in innovation. A diverse workforce means a wider range of different background and perspectives which gives organizations a broader range of ideas and clearer perceptions in decision making and policy development while simultaneously improves service to clients as well because it reflects the local community therefore understand its clients better. Therefore, diversity is a good business model to adapt to. Besides, workforce diversity increase competitive management practices therefore they are more productive. Organizations that value and capitalize on employee diversity workplaces will attract and retain quality employees better. These translate into savings in recruitment and training costs, as well as maintaining corporate knowledge and expertise. Managing diversity can create competitive advantage. Diversity in the workplace can be a competitive advantage because diverse viewpoints can facilitate unique and creative approaches to problem-solving, thus increasing creativity and innovation, which in turn leads to better organization performance (Allen et al., 2004). Culturally diverse groups relative to homogeneous groups are more effective both in the interaction process and job performance; these benefits occur after a diverse group has been together for a period of time. Associates and employers can gain many benefits via workforce diversity. Associates are interdependent in the workplace, yet respecting individual differences can increase efficiency. Diversity in the workplace can avoid unnecessary lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity and business reputation since discrimination and all other racial ideology is not being practiced in the organization. In an era when flexibility, creativity, speed are crucial to competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organizations success; its benefits are made for everyone who chose are in this line. It is a global moral necessity. Diversity strategic planning focuses on creating a measurable way that it can support the goals, objectives and strategic direction of the organization; while strategic level long-term development for diversity is a more recent expansion that focuses on plans that would span more than 5 years. Until quite recently diversity was not considered as an essential part of strategic planning, in the past diversity initiatives were often lacked specificity, poorly conceptualized, and were not linked to strategic organizational plans. Now, organization managers realized that in order to establish an effective and successful diversity planning it must be aligned with and provide support for strategic business objectives and operational decisions. In conclusion, workforce diversity is fundamental to any organization ability to survive the globalised economy. Organization that build experience in and reputations for managing diversity has a tendency to attract the best personnel (Carrel et al., 2000). Therefore, administration has to seriously analyse and evaluate the benefits of workforce diversity in their organization, while the management should create an atmosphere that could enhance a diverse workforce; consequently the organizations employees would be more competitive within and across organizational boundaries (Baker and Hartel, 2004) of the firm. In todays fast-paced work environment a successful organization is one where diversity is the norm and not the exception (Lawrence, 2001).

Jetliner by Naoshi Koriyama Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Jetliner† Now he takes his mark At the farthest end of the runway Looking straight ahead, eager, intense With his sharp eyes shining He takes a deep, deep breath With his powerful lungs Expanding his massive chest His burning heart beating like thunders Then†¦ after a few†¦ tense moments†¦ of pondering He roars at his utmost And slowly beings to job Kicking the dark earth hard And now he begins to run Kicking the dark earth harder Then he dashes, dashes like mad, like mad Howling, shouting, screaming, and roaring Then with a most violent kick He shakes off the earth’s pull Softly lifting himself into the air Soaring higher and higher and higher still Piercing the sea of clouds Up into the chandelier of stars -Naoshi Koriyama   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this poem, Naoshi Koriyama portrays a large and powerful Jetliner as a simple runner or long jumper. It has been disputed if Naoshi is really speaking of a long jumper, and not a runner, in this analysis I hope to prove that Naoshi is really speaking of a long jumper starting his run and lunging himself into the air. I will also break down each individual stanza and present its Imagery and compare the Jetliner to the Long jumper. Now he takes his mark At the farthest end of the runway Looking straight ahead, eager, intense With his sharp eyes shining In this stanza he shows the runner’s thoughts and intense few moments before he begins to run. The runner waits impatiently, looking at his mark a few meters away, wa...

Violent Video Games: Dangerous Entertainment Essay -- Essays Papers

Violent Video Games: Dangerous Entertainment Since the beginning of organized society, entertainment has always been an aspect closely tied with human nature. From the times of ancient empires, such as the Romans and Greeks, humans have used entertainment as an outlet to escape the harsh reality of everyday life. Although in those times, entertainment was considered duels to the death with animals and other humans opposed to the censored reality shows and formulaic movies we have today. However, there isn’t much difference between the mortal combat that was exercised in ancient times, and the mortal combat that trickles down into today’s censored forms of television, music, and especially video games. Video games have progressed over recent years, becoming popular amongst a variety of people. Many authority figures object to many of today’s more gruesome games, feeling that such games have negative psychological effects on its players. Studies have shown that violent video games are in fact more harmf ul then violent television and movies because of the interactive nature of the games. â€Å"Young men and women who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games. Brief exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of participants,† (Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., Karen E. Dill, Ph.D.). Other researchers however, have come to different conclusions regarding the effects video games have on people. â€Å"The proponents also suggest that it may be a friendly way of introducing children to computers and may increase children hand eye coordination and detention to detail,† (The Psychological and Physical Impact, Nov... ...hat immediate action should be taken in order to control the violence in video games today. There should be a profound improvement in previewing games before they are released into the market in order to get a more accurate censorship rating so that America’s youth isn’t exposed to entertainment that could affect their well being. If we do not act immediately, who knows how many more Columbines, and other tragic offenses will occur. Works Cited - â€Å"Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and Life.† Yahoo. American Online. 7 November, 2004. - Willenz, Pat. â€Å"Violent Video Games can Increase Aggression.† April 20, 2000. www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html - â€Å"The Psychological and Physical Impact.† Nov, 2000. Yahoo. American Online. 7 November, 2004. www.multimedia.design.curtin.edu/cache/g/0007/

Human Variations in High Altitude Populations :: Tibet Himalayans Adaptation Essays

Human Variations in High Altitude Populations Thesis:The purpose of this paper is to describe the high altitude stresses and the general adaptations made by the Tibetan population in the Himalayas and the Quechua in the Andes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   II Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Quechua People   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B Tibetan People   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   III General Adaptations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Physical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1 Growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3 Core temperature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4 Extremity temperature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B Non- Physical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1 Clothing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 Houses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3 Schedule   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  V Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Some ten to twenty-five million people (that is less than 1% of the earth’s population) currently make it[high altitude zones] their home(Moran,143).† The adjustment high altitude populations must make are firstly physical and secondly cultural. Although most people adapt culturally to their surroundings, in a high altitude environment these cultural changes alone aren’t enough. Many physical adaptations that reflect â€Å"the genetic plasticity common to all of mankind(Molinar,219)† have to be made to survive and even more than that thrive in this type of environment. In this paper I will describe the high altitude stresses. Along with adaptations made by the populations living in them. The two high altitude populations which I will examine in this paper are the Tibetan people of the Asian Himalayas and the Quechua of the South American Andes. The Quechua are an Indian people who inhabit the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. They speak Quechua, which is a branch of the Andean-Equitorial stock. They show many remnants of Inca heritage by their houses, music, and religion which has pagan rites under the Roman-Catholic surface. Their villages consist of kin groups . Their marriage partners are taken from within each village. Agriculture is the dominant subsistence pattern in the central Andean region but the Nunoa region where the Quechua reside can only support a few frost-resistant crops. Which include bitter potato, sweet potato, and a few grain crops of quinoa and canihua. The rest of the fruits and vegetables of the Quechua come from the eastern mountains on it’s way to the markets. The most important subsistence pattern for the Quechua is stock raising. Which is limited to the few animals that do well in the high altitudes. Their stock include alpacas,llamas and sheep.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Himalayas only â€Å"5% of the geographical area(Baker,36)† can be used for agriculture. The main crops are barley, wheat and buckwheat. The crops are grown between 3,500 and 4,300 meters. These few crops are threatened by drought, hail, frost, snow and erosion. The Himalayas also have extensive pasture areas which are used by the nomadic and sedentary peoples. The higher regions have pastures where yak, sheep, and goats are the main animals used.

Msc Accounting & Finance at LSE

During this dire economic times, the emphasis on quality accounting and finance practice is greater than ever. These two areas have been my area of focus in my education and career goals. I am looking to take another step towards my aspirations by gaining more knowledge through enrolling in the MSc Accounting and Finance program. I believe I have what it takes to do well as well as contribute to LSE during my graduate study. I was born and raised in Indonesia until I was ten when I went to Singapore seeking better education while my family remained in Indonesia. After graduating at the top of my class from my secondary school, I decided to pursue my college education in the US despite of my family's strong disapproval. In March 2009, I graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a Summa Cum Laude and College Honors after spending only three years, instead of the customary four years, pursuing my Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics with Minor in Accounting. I managed to stay on the Dean's List while being active in extra-curricular activities in clubs such as the Golden Key International Honors Society as well as the UCLA Student Accounting Society. I also volunteered at Special Olympics Southern California, a non-profit organization that provides activities to mentally challenged individuals. Here, I learnt the different accounting system involved in running a non-profit organization as compared to a for-profit. My initial interest in accounting and finance started when I was young. I observed how my parents, who were running an electrical supplies distributing company, struggled through the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Many businesses closed down and it finally led to a riot, as people demanded political reforms, which made it even more difficult for us, being a Chinese minority in a 90% Muslim population. After a couple of years, my parents managed to bring the company out of financial troubles through proper budget planning and restructuring. At UCLA, I had the privilege to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds through organizing events and project work. This gave me an insight to how people work and opened my mind to other perspectives. My professors are experts in their fields and the teaching programs are very flexible and diverse. My courses span across economics, finance, management as well as accounting. My passion in finance was further developed during my college years, particularly in hedge fund investments, real estate and currency exchange. I have been keeping track of the current updates through news and articles ever since. I always have a deep curiosity in the relationship between countries and how they interact for finance and business purposes. With the situation in the global market getting more complicated and volatile, it has become increasingly important to make informed decisions to minimize risks. When I graduated in 2009, the US was in the middle of the biggest financial meltdown and it was difficult to find a promising job when thousands were losing theirs each day. I was glad when I found one though not a well-known firm in my field of interest but it unexpectedly gave me a peek at the education system in the US. It was a supplemental education service provider that has contracts with government schools to provide extra tutorials to underachieving students with financial difficulties. The whole system looks good on paper, but on practice, I think the policy has numerous flaws. As soon as I learned the ropes and the business operations there, I decided to explore other opportunities. My professional goal is to have a strong career in financial consulting and finally able to run my own business. I will continue to seek and gain valuable experience through education and work experience. I turned to Singapore, which has increasingly become one of the strongest economies in the Asian region. I am now working as Accounts Consultant in a management services firm, providing accounting and corporate tax consultancy to small and medium enterprises. My work scope includes meeting clients, preparing financial reports, analyzing their financial conditions and giving tax-saving advices. From the job, I get to practice what I learned in school and apply it in real-world situation as well as gain skills in leadership, management and analytical thinking. The learning curve is very steep especially when I had to master Singapore's accounting and tax policies in a short time to make practical recommendations to my clients. Through my two years of work experience, the learning curve is very steep. I am glad that I have great supervisors that are willing to guide me. I am not afraid of hard work and I am very independent. I want to be able to make a difference one step at a time. With my knowledge, I hope to assist people to achieve better standards and help propel other businesses through proper practice. LSE is a leading world-class research institution that I believe will help me advance to the next step in my long-term goals. I thrive on challenges and having lived in many countries, I am used to being out of my comfort zone and adapt well to atypical situations. I have experienced the US and Asia, and now I am looking to delve into another region. What better way to do that than to immerse myself in the international community at the heart of London.

British Airways Essay

I remember going to parties in the late 1970s, and, if you wanted to have a civilized conversation, you didn’t actually say that you worked for British Airways, because it got you talking about people’s last travel experience, which was usually an unpleasant one. It’s staggering how much the airline’s image has changed since then, and, in comparison, how proud staff are of working for BA today. British Airways employee, Spring 1990 I recently flew business class on British Airways for the first time in about 10 years. What has happened over that time is amazing. I can’t tell you how my memory of British Airways as a company and the experience I had 10 years ago contrasts with today. The improvement in service is truly remarkable. British Airways customer, Fall 1989 In June of 1990, British Airways reported its third consecutive year of record profits,  £345 million before taxes, firmly establishing the rejuvenated carrier as one of the world’s most profitable airlines. The impressive financial results were one indication that BA had convincingly shed its historic â€Å"bloody awful† image. In October of 1989, one respected American publication referred to them as â€Å"bloody awesome,† a description most would not have thought possible after pre-tax losses totalling more than  £240 million in the years 1981 and 1982. Productivity had risen more than 67 percent over the course of the 1980s. Passengers reacted highly favorably to the changes. After suffering through years of poor market perception during the 1970s and before, BA garnered four Airline of the Year awards during the 1980s, as voted by the readers of First Executive Travel. In 1990, the leading American aviation magazine, Air Transport World, selected BA as the winner of its Passenger Service award. In the span of a decade, British Airways had radically improved its financial strength, convinced its work force of the paramount importance of customer service, and dramatically improved its perception in the market. Culminating in the privatization of 1987, the carrier had undergone fundamental change through a series of important messages and events. With unprecedented success under its belt, management faced an increasingly perplexing problem: how to maintain momentum and recapture the focus that would allow them to meet new challenges. Crisis of 1981 Record profits must have seemed distant in 1981. On September 10 of that year, then chief executive Roy Watts issued a special bulletin to British Airways staff: British Airways is facing the worst crisis in its history . . . unless we take swift and remedial action we are heading for a loss of at least  £100 million in the present financial year. We face the prospect that by next April we shall have piled up losses of close to  £250 million in two years. Even as I write to you, our money is draining at the rate of nearly  £200 a minute. No business can survive losses on this scale. Unless we take decisive action now, there is a real possibility that British Airways will go out of business for lack of money. We have to cut our costs sharply, and we have to cut them fast. We have no more choice, and no more time . Just two years earlier, an optimistic British government had announced its plan to privatize British Airways through a sale of shares to the investing public. Although airline management recognized that the 58,000 staff was too large, they expected increased passenger volumes and improved staff productivity to help them avoid complicated and costly employee reductions. While the 1978-79 plan forecasted passenger traffic growth at 8 to 10 percent, an unexpected recession left BA struggling to survive on volumes, which, instead, decreased by more that 4 percent. A diverse and aging fleet, increased fuel costs, and the high staffing costs forced the government and BA to put privatization on hold indefinitely. With the airline technically bankrupt, BA management and the government would have to wait before the public would be ready to embrace the ailing airline. The BA Culture, 1960-1980 British Airways stumbled into its 1979 state of inefficiency in large part because of its history and culture. In August 1971, the Civil Aviation Act became law, setting the stage for the British Airways Board to assume control of two state-run airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), under the name British Airways. In theory, the board was to control policy over British Airways; but, in practice, BEA and BOAC remained autonomous, each with its own chairman, board, and chief executive. In 1974, BOAC and BEA finally issued one consolidated financial report. In 1976, Sir Frank (later Lord) McFadzean replaced the group division with a structure based on functional divisions to officially integrate the divisions into one airline. Still, a distinct split within British Airways persisted throughout the 1970s and into the mid-1980s. After the Second World War, BEA helped pioneer European civil aviation. As a pioneer, it concerned itself more with building an airline infrastructure than it did with profit. As a 20-year veteran and company director noted: â€Å"The BEA culture was very much driven by building something that did not exist. They had built that in 15 years, up until 1960. Almost single-handedly they opened up air transport in Europe after the war. That had been about getting the thing established. The marketplace was taking care of itself. They wanted to get the network to work, to get stations opened up.† BOAC had also done its share of pioneering, making history on May 2, 1952, by sending its first jet airliner on a trip from London to Johannesburg, officially initiating jet passenger service. Such innovation was not without cost, however, and BOAC found itself mired in financial woes throughout the two decades following the war. As chairman Sir Matthew Slattery explained in 1962: â€Å"The Corporation has had to pay a heavy price for pioneering advanced technologies.† Success to most involved with BEA and BOAC in the 1950s and 1960s had less to do with net income and more to do with â€Å"flying the British flag.† Having inherited numerous war veterans, both airlines had been injected with a military mentality. These values combined with the years BEA and BOAC existed as government agencies to shape the way British Airways would view profit through the 1970s. As former director of human resources Nick Georgiades said of the military and civil service history: â€Å"Put those two together and you had an organization that believed its job was simply to get an aircraft into the air on time and to get it down on time.† While government support reinforced the operational culture, a deceiving string of profitable years in the 1970s made it even easier for British Airways to neglect its increasing inefficiencies. Between 1972 and 1980, BA earned a profit before interest and tax in each year except for one. â€Å"This was significant, not least because as long as the airline was returning profits, it was not easy to persuade the workforce, or the management for that matter, the fundamental changes were vital. Minimizing cost to the state became the standard by which BA measured itself. As one senior manager noted: â€Å"Productivity was not an issue. People were operating effectively, not necessarily efficiently. There were a lot of people doing other people’s jobs, and there were a lot of people checking on people doing other people’s jobs† . . . As a civil service agency, the airline was allowed to become inefficient because the thinking in state-run operations was, â€Å"If yo u’re providing service at no cost to the taxpayer, then you’re doing quite well.† A lack of economies of scale and strong residual loyalties upon the merger further complicated the historical disregard for efficiency by BEA and BOAC. Until Sir Frank McFadzean’s reorganization in 1976, British Airways had labored under several separate organizations (BOAC; BEA European, Regional, Scottish, and Channel) so the desired benefits of consolidation had been squandered. Despite operating under the same banner, the organization consisted more or less of separate airlines carrying the associated costs of such a structure. Even after the reorganization, divisional loyalties prevented the carrier from attaining a common focus. â€Å"The 1974 amalgamation of BOAC with the domestic and European divisions of BEA had produced a hybrid racked with management demarcation squabbles. The competitive advantages sought through the merger had been hopelessly defeated by the lack of a unifying corporate culture.† A BA director summed up how distracting the merger proved: â€Å"There wasn’t enough management time devoted to managing the changing environment because it was all focused inwardly on resolving industrial relations problems, on resolving organizational conflicts. How do you bring these very, very different cultures together?† Productivity at BA in the 1970s was strikingly bad, especially in contrast to other leading foreign airlines. BA’s productivity for the three years ending March 31, 1974, 1975, and 1976 had never exceeded 59 percent of that of the average of the other eight foreign airline leaders. Service suffered as well. One human resources senior manager recalled the â€Å"awful† service during her early years in passenger services: â€Å"I remember 10 years ago standing at the gate handing out boxes of food to people as they got on the aircraft. That’s how we dealt with service.† With increasing competition and rising costs of labor in Britain in the late 1970s, the lack of productivity and poor service was becoming increasingly harmful. By the summer of 1979, the number of employees had climbed to a peak of 58,000. The problems became dangerous when Britain’s worst recession in 50 years reduced passenger numbers and raised fuel costs substantially. Lord King Takes the Reins Sir John (later Lord) King was appointed chairman in February of 1981, just a half-year before Roy Watts’s unambiguously grim assessment of BA’s financial state. King brought to British Airways a successful history of business ventures and strong ties to both the government and business communities. Despite having no formal engineering qualifications, King formed Ferrybridge Industries in 1945, a company which found an unexploited niche in the ball-bearing industry. Later renamed the Pollard Ball and Roller Bearing Company, Ltd., King’s company was highly successful until he sold it in 1969. In 1970, he joined Babcock International and as chairman led it through a successful restructuring during the 1970s. King’s connections were legendary. Hand-picked by Margaret Thatcher to run BA, King’s close friends included Lord Hanson of Hanson Trust and the Princess of Wales’s family. He also knew personally Presidents Reagan and Carter. King’s respect and connections proved helpful both in recruiting and in his dealings with the British government. One director spoke of the significance of King’s appointment: â€Å"British Airways needed a chairman who didn’t need a job. We needed someone who could see that the only way to do this sort of thing was radically, and who would be aware enough of how you bring that about.† In his first annual report, King predicted hard times for the troubled carrier. â€Å"I would have been comforted by the thought that the worst was behind us. There is no certainty that this is so.† Upon Watts’s announcement in September of 1981, he and King launched their Survival plan— â€Å"tough, unpalatable and immediate measures† to stem the spiraling losses and save the airline from bankruptcy. The radical steps included reducing staff numbers from 52,000 to 43,000, or 20 percent, in just nine months; freezing pay increases for a year; and closing 16 routes, eight on-line stations, and two engineering bases. It also dictated halting cargo-only services and selling the fleet, and inflicting massive cuts upon offices, administrative services, and staff clubs. In June of 1982, BA management appended the Survival plan to accommodate the reduction of another 7,000 staff, which would eventually bring the total employees down from about 42,000 to nearly 35,000. BA accomplished its reductions through voluntary measures, offering such generous severance that they ended up with more volunteers than necessary. In total, the airline dished out some  £150 million in severance pay. Between 1981 and 1983, BA reduced its staff by about a quarter. About the time of the Survival plan revision, King brought in Gordon Dunlop, a Scottish accountant described by one journalist as â€Å"imaginative, dynamic, and extremely hardworking,† euphemistically known on Fleet Street as â€Å"forceful,† and considered by King as simply â€Å"outstanding.† As CFO, Dunlop’s contribution to the recovery years was significant. When the results for the year ending March 31, 1982, were announced in October, he and the board ensured 1982 would be a watershed year in BA’s turnaround. Using creative financing, Dunlop wrote down  £100 million for redundancy costs,  £208 million for the value of the fleet (which would ease depreciation in future years), even an additional  £98 million for the 7,000 redundancies which had yet to be effected. For the year, the loss before taxes amounted to  £114 million. After taxes and extraordinary items, it totalled a staggering  £545 million. Even King might have admitted that the worst was behind them after such a report. The chairman immediately turned his attention to changing the airline’s image and further building his turnaround team. On September 13, 1982, King relieved Foote, Cone & Belding of its 36-year-old advertising account with BA, replacing it with Saatchi & Saatchi. One of the biggest account changes in British history, it was King’s way of making a clear statement that the BA direction had changed. In April of 1983, British Airways launched its â€Å"Manhattan Landing† campaign. King and his staff sent BA management personal invitations to gather employees and tune in to the inaugural six-minute commercial. Overseas, each BA office was sent a copy of the commercial on videocassette, and many held cocktail parties to celebrate the new thrust. â€Å"Manhattan Landing† dramatically portrayed the whole island of Manhattan being lifted from North America and whirled over the Atlantic before awestruck witnesses in the U.K. After the initial airing, a massive campaign was run with a 90-second version of the commercial. The ad marked the beginning of a broader campaign, â€Å"The World’s Favourite Airline,† reflective of BA’s status as carrier of the most passengers internationally. With the financial picture finally brightening, BA raised its advertising budget for 1983-84 to  £31 million, compared with  £19 million the previous year, signalling a clear commitment to changing the corporate image. Colin Marshall Becomes Chief Executive In the midst of the Saatchi & Saatchi launch, King recruited Mr. (later Sir) Colin Marshall, who proved to be perhaps the single most important person in the changes at British Airways. Appointed chief executive in February 1983, Marshall brought to he airline a unique resume. He began his career as a management trainee with Hertz in the United States. After working his way up the Hertz hierarchy in North America, Marshall accepted a job in 1964 to run rival Avis’s operations in Europe. By 1976, the British-born businessman had risen to chief executive of Avis. In 1981, he returned to the U.K. as deputy chief and board member of Sears Holdings. Fulfilling one of his ultimate career ambitions, he took over as chief executive of British Airways in early 1983. Although having no direct experience in airline management, Marshall brought with him two tremendous advantages. First, he understood customer service, and second, he had worked with a set of customers quite similar to the airline travel segment during his car rental days. Marshall made customer service a personal crusade from the day he entered BA. One executive reported: â€Å"It was really Marshall focusing on nothing else. The one thing that had overriding attention the first three years he was here was customer service, customer service, customer service—nothing else. That was the only thing he was interested in, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that was his exclusive focus.† Another senior manager added: â€Å"He has certainly put an enabling culture in place to allow customer service to come out, where, rather than people waiting to be told what to do to do things better, it’s an environment where people feel they can actually come out with ideas, that they will be listened to, and feel they are much more a part of the success of the company.† Not just a strong verbal communicator, Marshall became an active role model in the terminals, spending time with staff during morning and evenings. He combined these a ctions with a number of important events to drive home the customer service message. Corporate Celebrations, 1983-1987 If Marshall was the most important player in emphasizing customer service, then the Putting People First (PPF) program was the most important event. BA introduced PPF to the front-line staff in December of 1983 and continued it through June of 1984. Run by the Danish firm Time Manager International, each program cycle lasted two days and included 150 participants. The program was so warmly received that the non-front-line employees eventually asked to be included, and a one-day â€Å"PPF II† program facilitated the participation of all BA employees through June 1985. Approximately 40,000 BA employees went through the PPF programs. The program urged participants to examine their interactions with other people, including family, friends, and, by association, customers. Its acceptance and impact was extraordinary, due primarily to the honesty of its message, the excellence of its delivery, and the strong support of management. Employees agreed almost unanimously that the program’s message was sincere and free from manipulation, due in some measure to the fact that BA separated itself from the program’s design. The program emphasized positive relations with people in general, focusing in large part on non-work-related relationships. Implied in the positive relationship message was an emphasis on customer service, but the program was careful to aim for the benefit of employees as individuals first. Employees expressed their pleasure on being treated with respect and relief that change was on the horizon. As one frontline ticket agent veteran said: â€Å"I found it fascinating, very, very enjoyable. I thought it was very good for British Airways. It made people aware. I don’t think people give enough thought to people’s reaction to each other. . . . It was hardhitting. It was made something really special. When you were there, you were treated extremely well. You were treated as a VIP, and people really enjoyed that. It was reverse roles, really, to the job we do.† A senior manager spoke of the confidence it promoted in the changes: â€Å"It was quite a revelation, and I thought it was absolutely wonderful. I couldn’t believe BA had finally woken and realized where its bread was buttered. There were a lot of cynics at the time, but for people like myself it was really great to suddenly realize you were working for an airline that had the guts to chan ge, and that it’s probably somewhere where you want to stay.† Although occasionally an employee felt uncomfortable with the â€Å"rah-rah† nature of the program, feeling it perhaps â€Å"too American,† in general, PPF managed to eliminate cynicism. The excellence in presentation helped signify a sincerity to the message. One senior manager expressed the consistency. â€Å"There was a match between the message and the delivery. You can’t get away with saying putting people first is important, if in the process of delivering that message you don’t put people first.† Employees were sent personal invitations, thousands were flown in from around the world, and a strong effort was made to prepare tasteful meals and treat everyone with respect. Just as important, BA released every employee for the program, and expected everyone to attend. Grade differences became irrelevant during PPF, as managers and staff members were treated equally and interacted freely. Moreover, a senior director came to conclude every single PPF session with a question and answer session. Colin Marshall himself frequently attended these closing sessions, answering employee concerns in a manner most felt to be extraordinarily frank. The commitment shown by management helped BA avoid the fate suffered by British Rail in its subsequent attempt at a similar program. The British Railway program suffered a limited budget, a lack of commitment by management and interest by staff, and a high degree of cynicism. Reports surfaced that employees felt the program was a public relations exercise for the outside world, rather than a learning experience for staff. About the time PPF concluded, in 1985, BA launched a program for managers only called, appropriately, Managing People First (MPF). A five-day residential program for 25 managers at a time, MPF stressed the importance of, among other topics, trust, leadership, vision, and feedback. On a smaller scale, MPF stirred up issues long neglected at BA. One senior manager of engineering summarized his experience: â€Å"It was almost as if I were touched on the head. . . . I don’t think I even considered culture before MPF. Afterwards I began to think about what makes people tick. Why do people do what they do? Why do people come to work? Why do people do things for some people that they won’t do for others?† Some participants claimed the course led them to put more emphasis on feedback. One reported initiating regular meetings with staff every two weeks, in contrast to before the program when he met with staff members only as problems arose. As Marshall and his team challenged the way people thought at BA, they also encouraged changes in more visible ways. In December 1984, BA unveiled its new fleet livery at Heathrow airport. Preparations for the show were carefully planned and elaborate. The plane was delivered to the hangar-turned-theater under secrecy of night, after which hired audio and video technicians put together a dramatic presentation. On the first night of the show, a darkened coach brought guests from an off-site hotel to an undisclosed part of the city and through a tunnel. The guests, including dignitaries, high-ranking travel executives, and trade union representatives, were left uninformed of their whereabouts. To their surprise, as the show began an aircraft moved through the fog and laser lights decorating the stage and turned, revealing the new look of the British Airways fleet. A similar presentation continued four times a day for eight weeks for all staff to see. On its heels, in May of 1985, British Airways unveiled its new uniforms, designed by Roland Klein. With new leadership, strong communication from the top, increased acceptance by the public, and a new physical image, few on the BA staff could deny in 1985 that his or her working life had turned a new leaf from its condition in 1980. Management attempted to maintain the momentum of its successful programs. Following PPF and MPF, it put on a fairly successful corporatewide program in 1985 called â€Å"A Day in the Life† and another less significant program in 1987 called â€Å"To Be the Best.† Inevitably, interest diminished and cynicism grew with successive programs. BA also implemented an â€Å"Awards for Excellence† program to encourage employee input. Colin Marshall regularly communicated to staff through video. While the programs enjoyed some success, not many employees felt â€Å"touched on the head† by any successor program to PPF and MPF.