Human Rights In Pakistan Essay

The human rights commission of PakistanSince independence and partition from British India in 1947, Pakistani political institutions have been dominated by the military. Pakistan has had a military government for thirty of its fifty-eight years of independence. The Pakistani military is a descendent of the British Indian Army and has retained the institutional structure, culture, and imperial ethos of its colonial predecessor. (Ghafoor 2007 101-18) Similar observations can be made about the next most powerful institution in Pakistan, the civil bureaucracy. Most analysts of the Pakistani state and politics have described the governance structure in the country as an oligarchic relationship between the landed feudal elites and the civil and military bureaucracy. Most accounts of the Pakistani state and society have adhered to a narrative structured around civil and military bureaucracy, landed feudal elites, and ethnic and religious nationalist forces. The traditional narrative has als o typically blamed the asymmetrical power of the tripartite oligarchic structure for the attenuated development of the civil-society institutions. (Abbas, 2005 74-79) Partially in reaction to the excesses of the Zia regime and its allies, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) was formed in 1986. In the two decades since its inception, the HRCP has become the most influential nongovernmental actor in the cause of human rights in Pakistan (UNDP 2000). The immediate impetus for the HRCP’S formation was opposition to a battery of regressive laws passed by the Zia regime, including the separate electorate for non-Muslim minorities of Pakistan and the Hudood ordinance, in addition to vastly enhanced powers of the state for arbitrary arrests, censorship of the press, and limiting political dissent .Although women and religious minorities were the main victims of Zia’s Islamization drives, the progressive elements in the society were especially targeted for state oppression because they were deemed to be aligned with the main leftist opposition, the People’s Party. It was in this environment that a group of prominent citizens , primarily lawyers, including Asma Jehangir, Justice Dorab Patel, Malik Qasim, and Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim met and decided to merge many organizations and prodemocracy groups under the umbrella of the HRCP. Among the organizations were the Malik Ghulam Jilani Foundation for Human Rights and some political-prisoner-release and legal-aid committees. (Zaman 2004 689-716)Democracy and human rights in PakistanEach of the three  discourses of national security, developmentalism, and identity politics have pulled Pakistani civil society in conflicting directions, as has the process of mobilizing social capital. The two organizations discussed here–Jamaat-e-Islami and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan–serve as exemplars of the larger tensions within Pakistani society and not as moral opposites. (Ghafoor 2007 101-18) All organizations/movements are deemed to be part of civil society unless they or their subsidiaries espouse and/or practice violence against noncombatant civilians. A civil society by definition does, and should, contain a range of agendas. Promoting a certain interpretation or vision of religion, state, and society is inherent to the dynamics of a vibrant civ il society. But when support of an agenda leaves the political sphere and becomes a violent armed struggle, questions can legitimately be raised about its place within civil society. The issue of what type of violence will qualify a nonstate actor to be excluded from the ambit of â€Å"civil† society is debatable and echoes the very contentious contemporary debate on the definition of terrorism. (Rana 2004 48-52)Military democracy and human rightsThe social-capital literature, despite its conceptual ambiguities and political pitfalls, provides intriguing insights into progression beyond the crude structural determinism of the past, but not to the extent of dispensing with structures altogether and embracing the cruder neoliberal celebration of individual and collective agency. (Daechsel 2007 141-60) All human societies have norms, networks, and horizontal associations that facilitate the agendas of individuals and groups. The more important question is, what are those norms and networks mobilized to achieve? How do certain norms become more ascendant than other norms, such as exclusivist and violent religiosity versus tolerant and nonviolent piety, or disc rimination versus democracy? (Inayatullah 2007 27-42)Benazir and Pakistan human rights Pakistan’s economic liberalization programs during Benazir Bhutto’s second term (1993-1996) encountered frequent political crises. While growth was steady during this period, external debt soared and the Karachi Stock Exchange plunged. Bhutto avoided certain quick fixes that were politically risky. She refused to impose taxes, for example, on agriculture and the politically influential feudal landlords who supported her staunchly. In 1995-1996, for instance, landlords paid only $79,000 in wealth tax–or 0.0036 percent of the direct taxes  collected. Following the assassination of Benazir in late December 2007, the human right situation of Pakistan worsens due to dictatorship of President Pervez Mushrif. The announcement of emergency rule in the country has raised the chance of violation of basic human rights in the country. (Malik 2007 117-28)Marshal Law and human rightsSince its creation as a Muslim country in 1947, Pakistan has undergone a tumultuous process o f nation building, seeking to create consensus and institutions sufficient for its stability. The straggle to establish a parliamentary democracy in a federal setting has been hampered by interethnic strife, fragmented elites, praetorian rule, and regional and global influences. Since 1947, the military officers have three times (in 1958, 1969, and 1977) administered governments by martial law, seeking to gain legitimacy en route to nation building. (Kennedy 2007 14-33)In Pakistan, the civilian rulers have often relied on the military to preserve their power. Dominated by Punjabis and representing landed and industrial interests, the military regards its dominance of Pakistani politics as vital to any attempt to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country in the face of bewildering ethnic, linguistic, and regional diversity. Military and non-military governments have equally appealed to Islam in order to maintain their legitimacy and to uphold different political, economic, and class interests. Because Islam has been, throughout Pakistan’s brief history, manipul ated for political and non-political purposes, one can argue that the religion has had a divisive rather than a unifying impact there. General Zia ul-Haq (1977-88) used Islam not only as a means to suspend democratic elections and constitutional liberties but also to legitimize his own power. Zia instituted a progressive program of Islamization that transferred the laws of the land from a more secular tradition to an Islamic one. This diminished the quality of Pakistani institutions, notably the system of justice. In his attempts to forge an alliance with Muslim clerics, Zia offered them positions as magistrates. This placed people with no prior legal or judicial qualifications in the seats of judges. The move damaged the integrity of the Pakistani judiciary and also tied its power directly to the state and Zia. (Mustafa 2004 168-84)Feudalism and violent customsPakistan continues to be a predominantly agrarian, rural, and feudal society. The transregional alliance forged by feudals, generals, and bureaucrats has prevented the expansion of civil  society. In addition, cultural/religious developments, such as orthodox Islamic influences and the strict enforcement of Shari’a law, have adversely affected the country’s human rights situation. The prospects for the improvement of human rights in Pakistan are bleak, although the country is ranked, according to the comparative survey of freedom worldwide, as partly free. (Malik 2007 117-28) Death from torture in police custody is epidemic. Indefinite detention without any charges, sometimes up to one year under Article 10 of the constitution, is commonplace. Self-censorship is widely practiced, especially on matters relating to the armed forces and religion. Traditional cultural and religious forces block political and legal equality for women. These forces also discriminate against women in socioeconomic domains. On 2 January 1997, an all-Pakistan Working Women Convention in Karachi expressed concerns over social attitudes towards women. The convention called for an end to abuse of property rights, inheritance, and social traditions. (Khan 2007 181-95)Many human fights observers in Pakistan have objected to the action of a grand jirga of the Affidi sub-clans of the Khyber Agency that has decided to exclude women from voting. The tribal elders’ opposition to rural women’s voting rights in the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan reflects their deep ly entrenched tribal hierarchy. Death for adultery in rural areas is commonplace. The 1991 bill to expand Shari’a law preserves the subjugation of wives in marriage and divorce proceedings. Forced or child labor is widespread in rural areas, and the central government appears unable to prevent it. After the threat of sanction by sporting goods manufacturers and labor organizations, Pakistani authorities have begun a crackdown on child labor in the soccer ball industry. They conducted more than 7,000 raids on various businesses between January 1995 and March 1996. Ethnic and religious discrimination are rampant. Baluchis, Pathans, Ahmediyans (a religious sect), Christians, Shi’ite Muslims, and Hindus are frequent targets. The Federal Shari’a Court has prescribed the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammad. The most active and vocal human rights monitoring groups, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF), have been instrumental in promoting legislation which bans the bonded labor system . (S.V.R 2005 135-36)Human right abuses Women’s rights, however, are restricted in varying degrees in Pakistan The poor women’s rights condition  can often be attributed to de facto underdevelopment, low female literacy rates, and brutal local traditions and customs in the case of Pakistan, and to patriarchy, strict social codes, and male-centered structures in the cases of Pakistan. (Nizamani 1998 317-37) While Pakistan has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Pakistan have thus far refused to ratify those agreements (Malik 2007 117-28) More than half of Middle Eastern and North African countries have ratified the same covenants. Pakistan has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. With the exception of Saudi Arabia, which is not a party to any human rights instruments, all Muslim countries are a party to one or more of those instruments. Although the ratification of these human rights instruments is no evidence of palpable improvement of fundamental rights, becoming party to such treaties has at least made their governments vulnerable to international criticism in cases of grotesque violations of global standards. It should be noted, however, that effective enforcement of human rights instruments remains almost entirely within these countries’ purview. (Whaites 2005 229-54)Role of AmericaHuman Rights Watch has also documented Pakistan’s role in the Kashmir conflict. Despite official denials by government officials in Pakistan, there is little doubt that much of the weaponry used by the militants reaches Kashmir from Pakistan. As anyone who has traveled in northwest Pakistan knows, weaponry siphoned off from supplies provided by the United States during the Afghan war is readily available in the arms bazaars of the Northwest Frontier Province. Pressure from the United States and other donor countries persuaded India to take a few steps toward accountability for its security forces. (Daechsel 2007 141-60) India established a Human Rights Commission and publicized one or two arrests of soldiers who had committed abuses. In March 1994, as noted above, it permitted the ICRC to conduct a survey of humanitarian needs in Kashmir. To ensure that human rights reform in India amounts to more than cosmetic gestures, the international community, through bilateral and multilateral initiatives, should press India to allow outside international investigations of human rights violations in Kashmir, permit international humanitarian agencies direct access to prisoners, and prosecute and punish army and paramilitary forces responsible for murder and  torture. Following the Marshal Law and emergency rule the commonwealth suspended the membership of Pakistan on the violation of basic human rights. (Ghafoor 2007 101-18)Constitution and human rightsThe founding members of the HRCP were mindful of the need for political action to bring about meaningful change. But in an atmosphere in which â€Å"the pol itical parties had been bludgeoned into oblivion† and, in the opinion of the HRCP founders, â€Å"had also lost their way† in the cause of fighting for human rights, the need for a nonpartisan, but not apolitical, watchdog organization to speak up for the rights of the victims of state oppression was urgent. The three resolutions adopted at the first meeting of the HRCP in 1986 were the holding of free and fair democratic elections, abolition of the separate electorate for the religious minorities in Pakistan and bringing them into the mainstream, and abolition of the death penalty. The last was particularly ambitious, given that the popularity of the death penalty in Pakistani state and society is perhaps matched only by Saudi Arabia and Texas! (Nasr, 2004 95-99)The HRCP was an avowed secular organization in a time when secularism was equated with atheism and antireligion in Pakistani society. In the words of one of its founding members, the HRCP was and continues to be an organization representing a â€Å"liberal democratic movement† in the society. Religious revivalist organizations were particularly hostile to the HRCP’S secularist message and have been a source of harassment to the HRCP membership from its inception. Although the HRCP is not a direct competitor in the electoral arena with Islamist movements, its activism against instances of religiotribalist injustice toward women has particularly rankled many Islamists, who tend to equate many tribal cultural traditions with Islam. Unlike many of its Western counterpart organizations, the HRCP has not limited itself to a legalistic interpretation of human rights, although that is an important element of its advocacy agenda. The annual human rights reports published by the HRCP are notable for their uniquely political view of what constitutes the arena of human rights. (Daechsel 2007 141-60) The HRCP has cultivated close partnerships with trade and worker unions in Pakistan and has highlighted such diverse issues as unemployment, foreign policy, militarization of civilian organizations, media, health, education, and youth affairs in its widely disseminated annual reports and council-meeting statements (HRCP 2003, 2004a, 2004b). The  activist background of some of the HRCP’S founding members and the organization’s declared allegiance to secular democracy and improving human welfare through justice have induced it to take a very broad and admittedly politicized view of human rights in Pakistan, despite contrary advice from some of its Western donors. (Cohen, 2006 18-26)Future of PakistanThere are irreducible differences and rivalries between secularists and Islamists. Precisely how these differences will be settled is difficult to foretell. If both sides refute the cardinal principle of conflict resolution-that is, the truth lies in the middle–the rivalries are bound to be more violent than ever before. If, on the other hand, they seek a political pact, the amelioration, if not the termination, of the conflicts would be likely (Malik 2007 117-28) a policy that respects pre- and post-elections pacts could minimize the eruption of such conflicts. Thus far, however, the failure to achieve such a middle ground has resulted in political disasters that have not only jeopardized the reign of self-indulgent and corrupt leaders, but also the civil, political, and economic fights of the vast majority of the people. (Daechsel 2007 141-60) References S.V.R. Nasr. (2005) â€Å"Islamic Opposition in the Political Process: Lessons from Pakistan,† in Esposito, ed., Political Islam: Revolution, Radicalism, or Reform? 135-36. Abbas, H. 2005. Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America’s War on Terror. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 74-79. Cohen, S. P. (2006) The Pakistan Army: With a New Foreword and Epilogue. Karachi: Oxford University, 18-26. Daechsel, M. (2007) Military Islamization in Pakistan and the Specter of Colonial Perceptions. Contemporary South Asia 6 (2): 141-160. Ghafoor, A. (2007) A Social Engineering Experiment in Pakistan: A Study of Orangi. Regional Development Dialogue 8 (2): 101-118. GOP [Government of Pakistan]. 1993. National Environmental Action Plan: The Pakistan National Conservation Strategy. Karachi: Government of Pakistan, Environment and Urban Affairs Division. HRCP [Human Rights Commission of Pakistan]. 2003. Council Statement 2003. Lahore: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Inayatullah, S. (2007) Imagining an Alternative Politics of Knowledge: Subverting the Hegemony of International Relations Theory in Pakistan. Contemporary South Asia 7 (1): 27-42. Kennedy, C. H. (2007) Bureaucracy in Pakistan: Karachi: Oxford University Press, 14-33. Khan, T.A. 2007. Economy, Society and the State in Pakistan: Contemporary South Asia 9 (2): 181-195. Malik, I. H. (2007) State and Civil Society in Pakistan: Politics of Authority, Ideology, and Ethnicity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 117-28. Mustafa, D. 2004. Pakistan and the September 11th Terrorist Attacks: Back from the Brink? In The Unfolding Legacy of 9/11, edited by J. Haft and M. O. Lombardi, 168-184. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. Nasr, S. V. R. (2004) The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama’at-i-Islami of Pakistan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 95-99. Nizamani, H. K. 1998. Limits of Dissent: A Comparative Study of Dissident Voices in the Nuclear Discourse of Pakistan and India. Contemporary South Asia 7 (3): 317-337. Rana, M.A. 2004. A to Z of Jehadi Organizations in Pakistan. Translated by S. Ansari. Lahore: Mashal Books, 48-52. Whaites, A. (2005) The State and Civil Society in Pakistan. Contemporary South Asia 4 (4): 229-254. Zaman, M. Q. (2004) Sectarianism in Pakistan: The Radicalization of Shi’i and Sunni Identities. Modern Asian Studies 32 (3): 689-716.

BICS and CALP Essay

BICS and CALP are unique in its particular style of learning, each one adaptable according to the availability of resources with a particular student. A view can be held that BICS are easily learnt via interaction with people in society, at home, and through media. The accuracy of learning is not accounted of unless an individual is passed through the channel of CALP. CALP brings out the best caliber among students and prepares efficient individuals as it is a whole package of hard work with strong components. Differences between BICS and CALP sno Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Skills (CALP) 1 Offers the skills of communication, interaction that can be used in society and at home environment. Teaching of English language at school level offers fundamentals, basic grammar, speaking, reading, writing, with its strong components and an eligibility for master over language for further certification at graduate, post-graduate and doctorate level. 2 Very helpful in communicating with one another in day to day activities. Physical gestures [shake hand, smile, nod of head, wave of hand] also indicate and send a warm message to the receiver which is more effective and communicative tool. Involves excessive mental work in preparation of words including and applying knowledge at every step. Although it appears as a complex activity, there can be no other best or an alternative expertise way to prepare students for linguistic mastery at school and graduate level. 3 Home environment is sufficient as parents also contribute to the development of perfect etiquette in communications. However, it depends on home atmosphere where it said home is the preliminary school where the interaction begins with parents which works as a tool and motivates the child to take decisions about acceptance and refusal of a particular situation according to the development of mental perception of a student School atmosphere, influence of Teachers on students is predominantly heavy at teaching level. Students listen, understand, write, follow and practice that is being taught by the teachers. The entire responsibility is laid on Teachers. Therefore, on an average most of the teachers expect a meritorious grade from all the students as a record of good teaching level, irrespective of students private status. When this is not possible, teachers take every care about students understanding of English i. e. basics, grammar, phonetics, both writing and reading of English is at prospective and intelligible stage which is earmarked in evaluation of examination papers. 4 This appears very easy students who are perfect at CALP. It can also be easily taught through the medium of television, play school and etc. , which is also effective tool for BICS as television programmes such as cartoon network, pogo, Disney network also telecast programmes in favour of students to provide more effective understanding, accurate pronunciation of words which is entertaining and learning based. Learning of CALP requires, effort, hard work, constant persuasion, and periodical assignment evaluation through strict procedures of correction method to prepare students to be experts in CALP. Conclusion Teaching in classroom holds very good for CALP as each student is enabled with strong foundation of fundamental and basic strong communication skills to become a successful communicator as well to make a prospective career in a particular subject. An anecdote of a secretary and boss goes in the following manner: Boss dictated his secretary to send a telegram â€Å"May his soul rest in peace†. Duty bound secretary typed and sent the message in the following line: â€Å"May his soul rest in piece†. Here an identification is made about incoherence, lack of thinking or imperfect in English language which is unacceptable at every level. Therefore, it is important for a student to gain mastery over BICS as well CALP at school itself with the support of Teachers. http://72. 14. 253. 104/search? q=cache:gh4cm4R7Nt0J:www. ollusa. edu/FileUploads/PsyDHandbook. pdf+differences+between+BICS+abd+CALP&hl=en&gl=in&ct=clnk&cd=4&ie=UTF-8

What is 'sexting', and what does it mean to the current enforcement of Essay

What is 'sexting', and what does it mean to the current enforcement of child Pornography laws Are minors putting themselves at risk for a lifetime of hell - Essay Example engaging in harmful activities via these modes of communication (Mitchell, & Finkelhor, 2011; Mitchell, Finkelhor, Jones, & Wolak, 2012; Wolak & Finkelhor, 2011). These harmful behaviors are cyberbullying, public posting of sexual images, and soliciting for sex online. Even though the legal definition of the term "sexting" vary across jurisdictions, most state laws focus on images relayed through mobile telephony. However, images are also transmitted through computers, web cameras, and digital cameras among other gadgets (Sacco et al., 2010). Current studies apply broader definitions of sexting, which defines it as the sending and/or receiving of sexually suggestive images or messages by mobile phones, in measuring the prevalence of sexting behaviors among the youth (Mitchell et al., 2012). The youth have extensive access to modern communication technologies, with a reported 25% of them owning mobile phones (Lenhart, 2009). This ease of access enables them to stay in regular contact with parents and friends. Consequent to this ease of access and use, sending and receiving text messages via mobile telephony has become easy and popular, especially among adolescents. A recent study estimates that the youth send and receive approximately 3,000 text messages monthly. In addition, many mobile phones also allow users to send pictures and video. Although there are many positive attributes of mobile telephony such as the ability to instantly connect, communicate, and share, it also has several potential problems, including â€Å"sexting.† The different definitions of sexting have resulted in conflicting findings by researchers on the actual prevalence of sexting among the youth. For example, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com conducted a study to examine the prevalence of teen and young adult sexting behaviors in 2008. In this study (Sex and Tech) sexting was defined as the relaying of nude or semi-nude photos or videos. The

E-commerce security and fraud protection Term Paper

E-commerce security and fraud protection - Term Paper Example E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services by via electronic platforms such as the Internet and other computer-based networks (Schneider, 2011). It has grown to be a necessary tool for efficiency in business. However, this platform has been faced with a myriad of challenges with Moftah, Abdullah and Hawedi (2012) indicating that the problems relate to consumers’ protection in their transactions which call for trust and privacy across the different geographical locations. Mohapatra (2013) argues that e-commerce transactions have been constrained by security, with consumers wary of the privacy of their personal information and the use of credit cards to make online purchases. The increased use of mobile devices has even further complicated security provision in e-commerce. Thus, a secured system would be needed to enhance e-commerce growth. E-commerce is online, thus accessible to the general public. The increase in cyber crime has also seen an increase in security threats in e-commerce. According to Mohapatra (2013), amounts reported globally, largely from frauds and hacking in e-commerce, stand at over $ 388 billion per year. As such, e-commerce has suffered the resultant liabilities, loss of trust and additional cost for clean-up. This calls for an effective security systems that would protect consumers and merchants from such losses. According to Schneider (2011), such a system would be pegged on a complex interaction of several database management systems, applications development platforms, network infrastructure and systems software. This encompasses preservation of integrity, confidentiality and availability of computer and data resources, referred to as the security triad. Further to this, there would be need for non-repudiation, access control and privacy. Access Control Approaches The first way in which e-com merce has been secured and protected against fraud is through access control. Physically, access control would involve the restriction of an unauthorized person into a building, property or room. In a similar manner, e-commerce has applied several technologies that control access to Internet resources, including authorization, authentication and audit (Farshchi, Gharib and Ziyaee, 2011). The model in this case entails the subjects, these being entities that could perform an action on the system, and objects, these being entities to which access needs to be controlled. Both of these should be taken as software entities as opposed to human users since a human user would only have an impact on the system through software entities on which they have control. First, user IDs, passwords, biometrics and tokens have been used to authenticate an individual. As observed by Mohapatra (2013), authentication involves what the user knows such as a password, what a user possesses such as a token o r what the user is, such as biometric characteristic. The user ID/password approach verifies a user against a set of ID and password. This has however been noted to be the least secure technique in e-commerce because of the threat of guessing, eavesdropping, external disclosure, host compromise and replay attacks (Schneider, 2011). Thus, user IDs and passwords could be combined with physical tokens, creating a multiple factor authentication so as to

FDI (Foreign Direct Investments) determinants in Greece and the impact Dissertation

FDI (Foreign Direct Investments) determinants in Greece and the impact of thr single European currency on the attraction of FDI - Dissertation Example The typical factors that bring FDIs in Greece mostly influence the capital productivity, decisions of foreign investors, and the labour costs on the sectoral level. In the conclusion, the paper provides significant policy implications. Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1. Introduction 3 2. Literature Review 6 3. Locational Determinants of FDI INWARDS in Greece 10 4. Description of variables and hypotheses 15 6. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 26 References 29 1. Introduction FDI is considered as the most important economic force in the world. The proportion of FDI in services sector is rapidly attaining great importance (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2004). Special attributes making the treatment of FDI unique in the service sector include the coherence between the products’ production and consumption, the urgent requirement for local adaptation and the significant impact of quality (Boddewyn et al., 1986; Dunning, 1989). The services play a cruci al role in the entire process of production. For instance, the presence of the framework (Ramamurti and Doh, 2004) or financial services are regarded as the economy’s backbone. However, the small share of the services in the world’s exports, which is only 20 percent (IMF, 2003) highlights their non-tradable nature. Due to this specific attribute and in order to remove the trading restrictions, several businesses decide to support the domestic market with the FDIs. In services, the FDI inward stock of the world has increased from USD 950 billion to more than USD 4 trillion whilst the previous decade. At present, the FDI inward stocks in services account to over 60 percent of the total inward FDI stocks around the globe. Thus, in order to support their group internationally, numerous Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) opt to invest in trading, marketing and financial intermediation associates. This shift of FDI flows to services is explained through the case of Greece in this study since Greece has been conventionally receiving FDI from the early 1950s. Most of the FDI flows were directed towards the sectors of basic metals, chemicals and transportation during the decade of 1963 to 1973 which extensively supported the revival and enhancement of the industrial base of the country. However, after the induction of Greece to European Union (EU), a smooth change occurred in the structure of FDI in the early 1980s. On the other hand, during the 1980s and 1990s, the FDI flows were targeted towards the industries of food, textiles, beverages and consumer electronics. The governments of Greece during that period took significant measures to lead the Greece towards rapid and sustainable development through enhancing the competitive advantages of its economy as it converged with the core countries of EU. These measures were further reinforced through targeted EU policies that specifically included Community Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds. The major part o f this support was inclined towards the development of infrastructure where as just a small portion of it was dedicated to education, training and capital (Paliginis, 2001). Presently, the objective of the policies at Greece is to encourage and attract FDI. Most of the industries in Greece are open to international investors, with the telecommunications sector being de-regularized as well as the energy industry being

Critical analysis in the develpment of a project or programme plan Essay

Critical analysis in the develpment of a project or programme plan within a relevant area of community or youth work provision - Essay Example Hence, this project will certainly provide teenage population with an opportunity to freely discuss about sexual issues. The project has the scope to increase the knowledge of the participants about sexual health relationship and other topics of life skills (Banks, Butcher, Orton and Robertson, 2013; Hafford-Letchfield, 2009). Furthermore, the project also proposes to shed light on the significance of being aware about availing services pertaining to sexual health. The principal purpose is to target young people from the South Asian communities with complex and complicated needs presently (Hafford-Letchfield, Leonard, Begum and Chick, 2008). These complexities such as, stigma, religion, culture, appearance, behaviour and other factors, are acting as a hindrance in the acceptance of a relation. It is obvious that the project has the ability to meet the requirements of young people and not simply reflect upon the set standard of the society. A total of 15 participants will be targeted and the whole project will run for ten weeks. The program will run for two hours, each week, on specific days. Midlands community Training and employment Midlands Community Training and Employment is a charitable organization founded in the year 2008. The organisation specializes in providing community and personal development skills and means. The principal services of the organisation include skill development of the individuals, personality development, personal development, providing education facilities, confidence building classes, hosting seminars and workshops (Midlandscdc, 2013). The organization principally aims at empowering each and every individual with a particular skill set that might be beneficial and helpful for the individuals sustaining within the society. Hence, the organisation wants to ensure betterment of the society by enabling the individuals to enhance their basic skills. Furthermore, the organization also aims at bringing positive changes within the societ y for upgrading the standard of living of the individuals. The organization has entered into treaty with several other volunteer organizations so as to offer quality services to the target audiences. The intentions of the organisation are also reflected through their mission statement which states that â€Å"we want to make every individual a successful person† and â€Å"We are working in cooperation to bring change and development in our community† (Midlandscdc, 2013). The organisation mainly caters to the segments such as, poverty reduction, uplift education standards, offering assistance to deprived and isolated individuals of the society and health care and information sector. Training and development is another key area where the organization puts in strong efforts. In order to pursue their objectives, the organisation initiates and organizes several programs in a year and remains active in the field of Personal & Educational Development, Economic Development, Emp loyment, Health Care and Housing. SWOT Analysis On the basis of the secondary research carried out in the study, an excerpt of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organization is presented below: - Strengths One of the key strengths of the

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Report choosing one of public limited company, which i chose Crawford & Co., and do research. You will then need to obtain a cop - Essay Example The evaluation has been done by comparing the performance of the stock of the company with other competitors. The analysis reveals that the share of Crawford and Company is not performing well and is price of the shares are much below that the other players in the insurance industry. Moreover, the earning for the investors is also low. The risk reward rating dismisses the expectation of the market for the future cash flow with the current cash flow. Finally the after conducting the technical analysis and looking at the P/E ratio, it has been suggested to the investors they might go with a purchasing decision. Furthermore, the company has been recommended to incorporate steps in order to make the shares more attractive. Introduction Crawford and Company is a multinational organization, headquartered in United States and provides claim management solutions to insurance and risk management industry on global scale. ... It also provides services to self-insured entities in more than 70 countries. The company aims at offering claim services, consulting services and business process outsourcing for a range of product lines. These include casualty claim and property management techniques, compensation claims for the workers, medical claim management and administration of legal settlement. The company has employed around 8478 hard working employees who contribute to the development company. The company belongs to the financial sector and insurance brokers industry (Crawford and Company, 2013b). The company has earned revenue of $1,266.1 million as of 2012, experiencing a rise in revenue by 4.5%. The operating profit of the company has however increased by 42.8% in 2012 from 2011. The net profit is measured as $48.9 million in 2012, which has also increased by 7.7% from 2011 (Crawford and Company, 2013a). Strategic capabilities In order to attain the strategic objectives Crawford and Company focuses on t heir strategic capabilities by highlighting on their mission and vision statement. The company wants to establish itself as the premium company that provides administrative solutions and custom claims in each and every market they operate. For this they aim to act with integrity, honesty and responsibility, provide value added services to their customers, encouraging positive communication with the customers and the employees and recognising the value of the contribution made by the employees. They consider the employees as an integral part in achieving their strategic objectives. In this respect, they aim to provide safe and healthy working environment for them and

Bioterrorism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bioterrorism - Assignment Example Bioterrorism is a deliberate attempt to discharge biological agents to spread illness and eventually death of the inhabitants of particular geographical area. These biological agents may be bacteria, viruses or their toxins, either in their natural form or in their modified forms, or with enhanced virulence developed by humans to bring disaster. These agents can spread into the environment through air, water or food. It is enormously complicated to differentiate and detect the presence or these agents as they do not display any immediate complaints and also may not show symptoms for days. Thus, they serve as weapons which are cost-effective, trouble-free to disseminate and are capable of creating an extensive fear (Web- Bioterrorism Overview). One of the most discussed action was noticed in September-October 2001 in USA where numerous cases of anthrax bust out. These cases were due to the deliberate attempt and extended through letters carrying the potential anthrax agent, letters were delivered to the offices of news media along with the office of U. S Congress. Receivers of the letters were victimized with anthrax. Later on when tests were performed the strains were labelled as from a domesticate source. This incidence has paved the way for bio-terrorism and has wagered the meaning of biodefence and biosecurity, as it is highly focused exploitation of biological techniques (Web- Bioterrorism Overview). Bioterrorism agents can be categorized on the basis of the intensity of ailments or fatal consequences they create. Three categories are enumerated on the basis of the risk they dispose. Category A encompasses agents with highest risk while Category C encompasses agents with up-and-coming terrorization for disease. Agents belonging to Category A include: Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis); Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin); The Plague (Yersinia pestis); Smallpox (Variola major); Tularemia (Francisella tularensis); Hemorrahagic fever (Web-

Research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research proposal - Essay Example The objective of this study is to determine the set of risk factors existent between depression and falls and the relationship between anti-depressant drug use and falls among the elderly with depression. The second aim of this study is to determine a set of risk factors (cognitive function, walking speed, limited ADL function, psychological status and living conditions) that predict depression and fall among the elderly in society. Depression and falls are two common conditions that result in the elderly being taken to the hospital. These conditions impair the health of older people (Biderman, Cwikel, Friend, & Galinsky, 2002, p. 631). The specific aim of this study is to determine a set of risk factors (cognitive function, walking speed, impaired activities of daily living function, psychological status and fear of falling) that predict depression and falls among the elderly in society. A further aim of this research is to determine the associations between antidepressant medicines and falls. Many older adults are threatened by frequent falls and, as a result, their injuries reduce their independence and freedom. This student believes that the more knowledge we have about risk factors for falls among the elderly, the better we can care for them, resulting in fewer falls and injuries in the future. Since the elderly often refuse to accept the fact that they are depressed, this condition often goes untreated or undertreated. â€Å"Both conditions are relatively undiagnosed and undertreated in the primary care† (Biderman, Cwikel, Friend, & Galinsky, 2002, p. 632). Studies have shown that both depression and falls are conditions that impair the health of the elderly. In addition, symptoms of depression are found to be common in older people and are associated with an increased risk of falls (Kwan, Lin, Close, & Lord, 2011, p. 612). Falls are

Organic vs. industrial food Essay Example for Free

Organic vs. industrial food Essay Organic foods, although stereotypically known for having a bland taste or having no taste have been shown to improve ones quality of life be decreasing some health risk such as cancer or heart disease. If you haven’t realized it, organic fruits and vegetables taste better, and the flavor is crispier. The health consequences of genetically modified food, when examined closely, will convince you to change your eating habits. The shelf life of food depends on four main factors: formulation, processing, packaging and storage. Change any one of these conditions and you can change the shelf life for better or worse. Shelf life has many attributes: bacterial control, color stability, yeast and mold inhibition, flavor stability, textural stability and aroma stability. The appearance of shelf-life problems can be wide, as well, including oxidative browning, oxidation of flavor compounds, or liquescence. To increase the shelf life of more unstable foods, such as low-sugar jam, low-salt condiments, low-oil salad dressings, prepared fresh produce and deli meats, food companies may take steps to reduce bacterial load from ingredients before they process the final food. To grow, thrive and survive, microbes need a friendly environment; this usually includes moisture. Lowering moisture creates a hostile environment for bacteria by decreasing the available medium for them to grow in. There are a number of new ingredients to help regulate water activity in foods with a reduced fat phase. â€Å" Generally, the water activity of a minimally processed food needs to be about 0. 07 or lower, water has an a W rating of 1. 00, and most products preserved with sugar, measure about 0. 07, with the excess water bound so that bacteria are under osmotic pressure too great to survive(Katz, February 4, 2006). † Whenever you buy food, you have decision to make: Healthy or cheap, organic or industrial. If organic food was not so expensive, that decision would be easy, everybody would buy organic food, for a healthier body. Unfortunately not everybody can afford it, making it look like healthy food is becoming a luxury good. In the rush to produce more and more food for the people on this planet, chemicals came into play. Farmers begin by trying to sell the highest percentage of their crop and therefore often use pesticides, gen-manipulated corn, chemicals etc. The farmers investment in pesticides, hormones, and chemicals tends to pays off, earning more, their fruits look better and costumers are happy with huge pest fee fruits and vegetables. When a farmer says no to chemicals, he runs the risk of losing a harvest because of pests. The only way to compensate the cost is a higher price for organic food. You cant ask everybody to pay higher prices, and a lot of people would starve to death without the use of chemicals which protect harvests against pests. Every time you eat something, you consume pesticides, these substances are added in order to produce and sell more efficient. Fortunately there are strict rules for the use of chemicals. Organic foods are produced following practices described in the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), a marketing program with a certification process throughout the production and manufacturing chain. The NOP describes the practices that are required for labeling a product â€Å"organic,† but it does not address nutritional benefits or food safety issues. Even when you buy organic food, you are consuming these substances, but the bar is set at a different height and you are consuming less harmful substances that could be particularly hazards for high-risk groups such as pregnant women, infants, young children and farm worker households. Since organic food is not prepared using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it does not contain any traces of these strong chemicals and might not affect the human body. People strongly believe that organic food tastes better than non-organic food. The prominent reason for this belief is that it is produced using organic means of production. Further organic food is often sold locally resulting in availability of fresh produce in the market. So how bad is industrial food? Let’s take a look; there are maximum residue limits on all pesticides and chemicals. The department of health determines how much of each substance is ok. Eating organic food lowers the risk of getting hit by a similar scenario, but its not a 100% guarantee (Are Organic Foods Better for You. 2010). However, getting seriously sick from cheap food is not that high of a risk as long as you read food labels you can eat cheap and healthy at the same time? If you are eating organic food only, you are still eating unhealthy foods. Almost everyone is aware that foods grown according to organic principles are free from over exposure to harmful pesticides, but that is only one small aspect. A larger part of organic agriculture is the health of the soil and the ecosystem in which crops are raised. Organic farmers know that healthy, live soils significantly benefit crops. Synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and/or fast acting inorganic fertilizers applied to or around crops interrupt or destroy the micro biotic activity in the soil. Organic farming reduces groundwater pollutants, decreases pesticides that can end up in your drinking glass; in some cities, pesticides in tap water have been measured at unsafe levels. The Farmer’s Market is a growers’ market, meaning everything in the market is homegrown, but Richard Bowie, an experienced organic grower is not convinced that all the food being sold is homegrown. â€Å"The market’s slogan ‘100% Homegrown makes us different’ is used as a gimmick, said Bowie† (Shreve, October 3, 2011). Vendors have been seen carrying produce and selling it to other vendors at the market bringing the term organically grown in to question and without certification, and but by law they cannot say they are a certified organically grown vendor. Most vendors cannot afford the certification process and want consumers to look past the term organic there for focus on the soil used or nutrients used. Almost everyone is aware that foods grown according to organic principles are free from over exposure to harmful pesticides, but that is only one small aspect. A larger part of organic agriculture is the health of the soil and the ecosystem in which crops are raised. Organic farmers know that healthy, live soils significantly benefit crops. Synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and/or fast acting inorganic fertilizers applied to or around crops interrupt or destroy the micro biotic activity in the soil. Organic farming reduces groundwater pollutants, decreases pesticides that can end up in your drinking glass; in some cities, pesticides in tap water have been measured at unsafe levels. We should choose farming methods that truly address our real concerns safety and sustainability, not simply methods that satisfy an arbitrary marketing label. To whatever extent these practices include methods that are permitted under organic rules. But theres never a case when a safe, more efficient, and sustainable modern technology that feeds more people worldwide should be disallowed for no logical reason. Eating â€Å"organic† alone doesn’t guarantee 100 percent healthy . The truth is that most Americans eat so badly that we get most of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is â€Å"sweets†; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat. To eat well, says means avoiding â€Å"edible food-like substances† and sticking to real ingredients, increasingly from the plant kingdom. There’s plenty of evidence that both a person’s health as well as the environment’s will improve with a simple shift in eating habits away from animal products and highly processed foods to plant products and what might be called â€Å"real food. † From these changes, Americans would reduce the amount of land, water and chemicals used to produce the food we eat, as well as the incidence of lifestyle diseases linked to unhealthy diets and greenhouse gases from industrial meat production. And the food would not necessarily have to be organic, all it takes is paying attention to what you eat and read your labels more closely. Participation on our part to be more aware of what we buy and to raise our voices, if need be. We can let our opinions be known even in the simplest ways. A good example is when we shop, if there is no substitute for the product we need, let the store owners know, they will surely change their products. Organic food is better as it uses natural farming techniques. It is similar to preferring natural remedies when suffering from a disease as compared to eating chemical antibiotics. So, the question of organic foods vs non organic foods; which is better, is clearly answered. Organic food surpasses the conventionally produced foods. References Katz, F. (Febuary 4, 2006). Formulating for increased shelf life. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://www. foodprocessing. com/articles/2006/039. html Are Organic Foods Better For You?. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from http://preventdisease. com/home/tips61. shtml Shreve, S. (October 3, 2011). Does organically grown produce really matter?. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from.

Role of Zinc in Physical Growth and Cognitive Development

Role of Zinc in Physical Growth and Cognitive Development Summary The study covered 2 to 3 year old children in Laguna, Philippines. The study was conducted for the following purposes: to determine the zinc status and its relationship to physical growth and cognitive development; to describe the socio-economic and demographic characteristics, water and sanitation practices, health services, and child care and feeding practices of mothers; to evaluate the food intake and nutrient adequacy; to assess the nutritional status, zinc status and iron status; to determine the level of cognitive development; and to examine the association of zinc status with water and sanitation practices, health services, child care and feeding practices, nutritional status, iron status, and cognitive development. Socio-economic and demographic characteristics revealed that more than half of the households were located in lowland areas. Majority were living in single houses. Some owned the house and inherited the lot from parent. In terms of house materials, most roofs and external walls were made from galvanized iron and concrete/brick/stone. More than one-third of the households have floorings cemented with tiles/linoleum. The main source of electricity was MERALCO in which more than half have their own electric meter. LPG was their major source of fuel for cooking. Further, few households have small holding with agricultural animals like cattle, chicken, ducks, horses and milk cows. Of the households, 69% have 3 to 5 members in the family and 38.5% have children 12 years old and below. In terms of household income, the monthly income ranges from Php1, 000.00 to Php67, 200.00 with a mean monthly income of Php7, 762.00. In general, 57.7% of households were below poverty threshold. The age of mothers ranged from 19 to 58 years old. With a mean age of 29.9 years, more than one-third of the mother-respondents were between 25 to 29 years old. Nearly 3% and 25% were below 20 years and beyond 35 years of age, respectively. In terms of education attainment, majority of mother-respondents either reached high school or graduated from high school. Probably because of lack of education, majority of them have no occupation. Majority of the mothers were married. With regards to religion, most mothers were Roman Catholic. There were more children in district 2 who participated in the study probably because of higher number of children in the area. More than half were 31 to 35 months of age and were female. Some of them belong as the second child in the family. Moreover, 30.2% of the mothers remembered the birth weight of their children based from recall and as recorded in the child’s birth certificate. Only 4% of children were born with low weight. More than one-third of the households have main source of and access to drinking water from the community water system. More than half of the mothers stockpiled water in plastic containers with cover for less than 5 days which can reduce the risk of water storage from being contaminated. Perhaps having an access to sufficient quality and quantity of safe water for consumption, nearly one-third of the mothers do not to store water for drinking. Majority of the mothers spent amount of time obtaining water from water sites that could have been dedicated to other activities like child care. In terms of toilet facilities, almost all households have their own water-sealed latrines however 30.9% of them shared their toilets with other households. In relation to garbage disposal and segregation, most of the households have their garbage collected and carried out proper waste segregation possibly because of the garbage collection system being implemented in the province. In terms of health conditions, almost 70% of the children have been sick for the last 30 days. The most common type of illness experienced was Upper Respiratory Tract Infection such as cough, cold and pneumonia. Parasitism was one of the existing health illnesses among children but majority of them were not yet dewormed. Among children who had suffered from illnesses, 85.9% of the mothers sought for medical help probably because of better access to health centers. In terms of infection, only 12.1% of children were tested positive with infection. Male children were more at risk to infection than female counterparts. With regards to health services, 48.3% of children were not fully immunized, 20.1% received iron syrups and 79.2% received Vitamin A supplementation. More than half of the mothers brought their children to health centers when suffering from diarrhea and nearly 30% of children were provided with Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS). In terms of participation in nutrition educati on classes, only 32.2% of the mothers were attending. In addition, 65.1% of the households were involved in different government nutrition programs food fortification, food assistance, community food production and livelihood programs. Relative to child care and feeding practices, most of the mothers were the main source of physical and emotional care of the children. In her absence, 31.6% of grandmothers took responsibility by feeding the child, bathing the child and baby-sitting. All mothers claimed that they frequently talk, praise, kiss/hug/show affection, play, and tell stories with their children. During meals, majority of the mothers help, encourage and motivate the children to eat as well as they maintain eye to eye contact and minimize distractions if children lose interest easily. Similarly, most of the mothers put their children to sleep and take care of them when they wake up at night. In terms of the children’s personal hygiene, more than half of them have their own utensils. Majority of children’s hands and face were being washed before eating and after toileting. Of the mothers, almost all wash their hands after toileting the child. In relation to the cleanliness of environment, most of the mothers made sure that their children do not eat food picked up from the ground, do not eat food touched by animals and keep their children away from animal excrement. Moreover, most of the mothers exclusively breastfed their children; initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of life; and gave colostrum during infancy. Nearly half of the children were introduced with solid foods at six months. Most of the children were continued being breastfed by mothers even when they have been given solid food. As children grow old, almost all mothers said they increase their children’s quantity of food, frequency of feeding, consistency of food, and number of food given to them. Moreover, nearly all mothers experiment food combinations, tastes and textures for their children. Similarly, majority of the mothers feed their children during illnesses and recovery. In reference from the scoring system developed for the study, results show that child care and feeding practices of the mothers were excellent which may be attributed to participation in health and nutrition education activities conducted in every barangay. Feeding problems were being encountered among children. Majority of the children accept very limited number of food and reject other food thus they eat food of the same nutrients. Most of them tend to linger with their food during mealtime. More than half eat more than what they need. Conversely, a few of them felt like vomiting especially when fed with coarse foods and some asserted independence in choosing the taste of food. The mean 2-day total food intake of children weighed 1126.2 grams. The two food items considered as the most important in children’s diet were rice and rice products, and whole milk. Overall, majority of the children had energy intake of 100% or more and protein intake of 80% or more. More than 80% of children were able to meet the EAR for Fe and 79.2% for Zn. Thus, no elevated risk of zinc deficiency was found among children based on zinc intake. In terms of supplementation, results show that 47% of children were given with vitamin supplements. Based from the three anthropometric indices, weight-for-age showed that 81.2% of the children had normal weight-for-age while 18.8% suffered from acute malnutrition. Disaggregating by gender, females were more at-risk to acute malnutrition than males. Height-for-age revealed that 33.5% of children were stunted while 66.4% of children had normal height-for-age. The distribution of height-for-age by gender revealed that males had higher prevalence at 19.5% than females. Weight-for-height presented that 3.4% of children had low weight-for-height. Majority had normal weight-for-height while 1.3% was overweight-for-height. Considering the weight-for-height distribution by gender, the current nutritional status of children revealed that 45.6% and 49.7% males and females, respectively, had normal weight-for-height. In terms of biochemical indices, the overall zinc deficiency prevalence was 2%, which considered as low public health significance. The mean serum zinc level in children was 123. 13Â µg/dL. Both gender had the same mean serum zinc, but female children were found at risk to zinc deficiency. The overall anemia prevalence rate was 12.1% and considered as moderate public health significance. The mean hemoglobin level of children was 11.95 g/dL. Mean hemoglobin level and prevalence was higher among female children than male. Only 12.1% of children were tested positive with infection. Male children were at risk to infection than female counterparts. Assessment of cognitive development showed that the average cognitive scaled score was 9.72 points. Disaggregated by age in months, 31 to 35 month old children had the highest average cognitive scaled scores. In general, 27.5% of children were delayed in overall development, from which 12.1% had significant delay while 26.2% were advanced in their overall development from which 1.3% was significantly advanced. Correlation analysis revealed that significant associations were found in water and sanitation practices, health services, infection, food intake, nutritional status and cognitive development. No association was found between child care practices and nutritional status. Using the regression model, the study showed contributory factors that zinc status were energy intake, iron intake, zinc intake, height-for-age, cognitive development and infection. Conclusions The study imparted some knowledge and understanding on the association of zinc status, physical growth, other biochemical indices and cognitive development. It provided evidences on the association of zinc status with water and sanitation practices, infection and health services, child care and feeding practices, food intake, physical growth, iron status and cognitive development. The study found factors that were associated with nutritional status of children. Water and sanitation practices of the households and the mothers like sources of water, storage of water, garbage disposal and waste segregation as well as health services extended to children were associated with nutritional status. In the same manner, infection, food intake and cognitive development were associated with nutritional status. Similarly, weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height were associated with zinc status, iron status and cognitive development. Associations were found in zinc status, iron status and cognitive development and between iron status and cognitive development, as well. Regression model showed the contributory factors that may affect zinc deficiency. Children with adequate intake of energy, zinc and iron were less likely to become zinc deficient. Similarly, zinc deficiency was less likely to occur among children with normal height for their age and who have an average cognitive development. Conversely, zinc deficiency was higher in children with infection. Recommendations With the assessment of zinc status and its relationship with physical growth and cognitive development, it is recommended that in the achievement of optimum nutritional status of 2 to 3 year old children, food intake should be improved early in life. Nutrition counselling among mothers on Infant and Young Child Feeding should be implemented to promote breastfeeding; the importance of early initiation of breastfeeding and timely introduction of complementary feeding; and its effect on infant growth and survival. Considering the new child growth standards, promotion of breastfeeding and improvement of appropriate complementary feeding are important due to its effects on morbidity, feeding patterns and growth outcomes beyond infancy. Similarly, exclusively breastfed infants of mothers with adequate zinc nutriture can provide their zinc requirements up to 5 to 6 months in life. However, after 6 months of age, breastmilk alone cannot supply sufficient zinc to meet infant’s needs. S o, delayed introduction of complementary foods until after 6 months of age, or inadequate amounts of absorbable zinc in complementary foods increased the risk of zinc deficiency. Therefore, ensure messages on zinc that presented to have associations with stunting and cognitive development. These nutritional outcomes are important in the overall growth and development of children. Because stunting is irreversible after 36 months of age, interventions on pregnant women and young children, particularly those under 24 months of age, should be given attention. Supplementary feeding interventions beyond 36 months of age would not reduce stunting, as rapid weight gain in later childhood is associated with adverse long-term outcomes. A preventive strategy of behavioural change communication for mothers and food supplementation for all 6 to 23 month old children should be targeted in conjunction with the content and timing of present nutrition interventions. In the Philippines, zinc supplementation is provided for the treatment of diarrhea. The study had recognized that zinc delivery intervention such as supplementation improves zinc status, physical growth and cognitive development, as well as documented in the Lancet Series 2013. Health service providers should examine the existing policies on micronutrient supplementation and consider if zinc supplementation could be integrated in the program. Mothers’ participation in health and nutrition services and programs improved the nutritional status of children. Thus, the local health units and health service providers should encourage the participation of the mothers in all health services such as immunization, deworming and micronutrient supplementation. The implementation of micronutrient supplementation should be properly strategized and improved. Health service providers should be more competent and more responsive. Supplies should be continuously available. Health information system should be more efficient and client care should be organized. Government programs should be intensified as these contribute to the improvement of nutritional status. Proper targeting of households and individuals should be designed especially when resources are inadequate. Moreover, nutrition programs should be periodically monitored to review the information, implementation and coverage and use for comparison with the implementation plans. Similarly, programs should be systematically and objectively evaluated to measure the relevance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness; to determine if needs and results have been or are being achieved, and to analyze the details for any discrepancy.

A Victim of Despair :: Frankenstein Mary Shelley Creative Essays

A Victim of Despair How many of you have read or heard the story of Frankenstein? I'm sure some of you may remember reading Mary Shelly's novel or watching one of the many versions of the movie.Have you ever noticed that most of the stories about Frankenstein are shown only through Victor Frankenstein's experiences? What about the monster he created? Have you ever wondered what the monster's side of the story was? Well, you're in for a big surprise because tonight on Novel News, the monster that Victor Frankenstein created will be here to share his side of the story. Let's welcome our guest, Mr. Monster. How does your story go? It was not long ago on a cold November night, that I became the product of Victor Frankenstein's discovery of "bestowing animation upon lifeless matter". Electricity engulfed my body, acrid odors surrounded my senses, and the loud shrieking of," It's Alive! It's Alive!" filled my ears. I had no recollection of who or where I was. The unfamiliar chamber from where I awoke was musty and damp. Numerous bottles and wires filled the dimly lit room. I began to walk around the room attempting to find something that looked familiar. I didn't recognize anything and as I walked I had trouble maintaining my balance, I kept slipping on a liquid substance that had spilled all over the floor. Once I regained my balance an overwhelming sense of strength rendered my body; it was a feeling that I never experienced, my arms and legs felt energized like there was an endless energy flowing through them. I looked at myself in a nearby mirror and noticed the apparent scars that covered my body and face. My arms, legs, hands, feet and face were numb and seemed like they didn't belong to me; it was almost as if someone stitched me together using numerous body parts. I asked myself as looked in the mirror," Who was this ghastly monster I was looking at in the mirror? Could it be me?" I took my hand and rubbed the scars on my face and on my arms. I was the monster in the mirror. I don't know what to say but at first I thought I was having a bad everything day - you know bad hair and skin. The yellowish tone in my skin made me look somewhat dead. I was so embarrassed by my presence, I was afraid to scare off whoever came near.

Communicating Conflict in Ernest Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants

  Ã‚   Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" touches on an issue as ageless as time: communication problems in a relationship. He tells his story through conversations between the two main characters, the American and the girl. Conflict is created through dialogue as these characters face what most readers believe to be the obstacle of an unexpected pregnancy. Their plight is further complicated by their inability to convey their differing opinions to each other. Symbolism and the title's meaning are other effective means of communicating conflict. To begin, consider the main character's point of view. Single and in his prime, he makes the most of his lifestyle by traveling and seeing new sights. The story is set on one such excursion, at a train station in Spain. Of the complications that might arise from starting a family, one is certain to him: traveling, sight-seeing, and his current lifestyle would be things of the past. These are some of his motivating thoughts as he pleads his case for terminating the pregnancy. He chooses his words advantageously, almost deceitfully, when trying to convince the girl that an abortion is easy surgery: "It's not really an operation at all" (275). Those familiar with the abortion procedure can affirm that it is an operation, and rarely a simple one. This remark reveals how desperate he is to make the decision for the girl. The man further complicates the discussion by contradicting himself. For each time he reassures the girl he wants what she wants, he spends at least one line identifying exactly what he wants. This is clearly seen in the following conversation: "You?ve got to realize . . . that I don?t want you to do it if you don?t want to. I?m perfectly willing ... ...ing, symbolism, and the ageless dilemma of communication problems provides an excellent dialogue, giving the story an interesting twist indicative of his style Works Cited Baker, Sheridan. "Hemingway?s Two-Hearted River." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: Critical Essays. Ed. Jackson, J. Benson. Durham: Duke UP, 1975. 158. Hemingway, Ernest. "To Maxwell Perkins." 16 Nov. 1933. Ernest Hemingway/Selected Letters, 1917-1961. Ed. Carlos Baker. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1981. 400. ---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278. Lindsey, Dr. Victor. Personal interview. 25 Sept. 1995. Organ, Dennis, "Hemingway?s ?Hills Like White Elephants?." Explicator. Sum. 1979: 11. "White elephant." Webster?s 21st Century Dictionary of the English Language. 1993 ed.   

Essay --

Gilpin observed that the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on January 1, 1995 as the principal forum for trade liberalization marked the biggest reform of the international trading system since the end of the Second World War. In this paper, I will provide an analysis of the evolution of the international trading system from its inception as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to its incarnation as the World Trade Organization (WTO), taking into account the changing international economic environment and political realities. This paper comprises of three parts. The first part outlines the historical context in the creation of GATT; the second part gives a brief synopsis of its structure and functions, with the third covering the paradigm shift in events that brought into existence the WTO intended to regulate an ever increasingly market-oriented global economy. Established in 1944 and taking its name from the New Hampshire town where the agreements were drawn up, the Bretton Woods conference was a gathering of finance ministers from Allied countries following the end of the Second World War. Under American leadership, the group met to discuss the failings of World War I’s Treaty of Versailles and the creation of a new international monetary system which could fund post war reconstruction, economic stability and facilitate international trade. This conference led to the establishment of two of the most important post war economic institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, now known as the World Bank (An introduction to the WTO and GATT, pp. 42, 2003). Originally, the architects of the international trade system in the post war ... ...requests from other members and notify the WTO of changes to its trading policies. This clause is provided to help improve predictability and stability to the international trading system and discourage the use of quotas and other measures used to limit the quantity of imports. Today, the WTO membership numbers 146 which comprises of approximately 97 per cent of the worlds’ trade (www.WTO.org). The evolution of GATT to the WTO was a significant step towards liberalising markets and ushered in a new era of free trade. Although the WTO is still a relatively young international institution, its origins are rooted in the Bretton Woods conference following the end of World War II. The WTO has evolved to cover areas such as trade in goods and services as well as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and continues to provide the key disciplines affecting international trade.

Presidents of the Vietnam War Essay

President Nixon’s move to end the war in Vietnam and propagate peace there is the most noble move compared to that of the John F. Kennedy’s and Lyndon Johnson, who, at that time have deployed 500,000 soldiers, more than 300 of which are held prisoners. More so, the citizens were divided over the purpose of the war. Nixon plotted a strategy to end America’s involvement in that struggle without sacrificing the dignity that it has upheld in the global scene. With his strong intentions, he was instrumental in the signing of a peace treaty that benefited both countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John F. Kennedy views the war as only a small part of a bigger struggle between freedom and communism, an idea that he widely advertised to the Americans. His stand on America’s defense for freedom in Vietnam is rooted from the legal relationship that it tried hard to uphold. With this, JFK pursued all possibilities of winning the war. His pledge to â€Å"pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty† (John F. Kennedy, 1962) was considered ambitious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lyndon Johnson’s move to give support to Diem in order to make sure that the waging of war against the communist was not effective in the course of the Vietnam War. His obvious support to continue waging war and sending young soldiers made him the antagonist by many Americans who felt that by doing so, it is synonymous to genocide with a different purpose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   President Nixon’s intentions handled the Vietnam War best since he made sure that the war was fought in a manner he knows will be a win-win situation to both countries. Works Cited Herring, George C. America’s Longest War The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. America in crisis. New York: Wiley, 1979. Small, Melvin. Antiwarriors The Vietnam War and the Battle for America’s Hearts and   Minds. Vietnam–America in the war years, v. 1. Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 2002.

Communication and Information p3 Essay

There are many different methods of communication. These can be divided into two different categories: Electronic (non-written), and Non-Electronic (written). Methods of communication that would come under Written Communication would be things like:   Letter   Memos   Reports   Fax   Invoices   Flow charts Publicity materials SMS (Text Message) Methods of communications that would come under Electronic Communication would be things along the lines of: Telephone   Video conferencing. Meetings Both Written Communication and Electronic Communication have their advantages. These advantages differ depending on the audience which is being addressed. The recipient is very important when it comes to the type of communication that is being used. Within The Organisation Within the organisation the methods of communication that I would use would be things like:   Memos – To help the staff members who are higher up on the food chain remember certain tasks that have set upon them. Reports – To view any progress or falls being happening within the organisation. Reports are a good way to do this as they are detailed.   Meetings – In an organisation, it is inevitable that there will be meetings held. These are usually used to discuss improvement, the current status of the organisation, and to get staff to contribute their ideas. Customers These are the methods of communication that I would use to communicate with the customers:   Publicity Materials – To tell the truth, this is an obvious one really. The way to get customers is through publicity. If your organisation is a well known one, it is more likely to prosper.   Advertisements – In my opinion, advertisements should be used by all major and even small organisations. These should outline things like services provided and special offers to attract more customers. Suppliers Here are some of the methods of communications I would use to communicate with suppliers of goods etc. :   Letters – These are a great way of communicating and people have been using them for centuries. I would use letters to communicate with suppliers because it is not a long time consuming method of communicating. You just write what you need to say, put it in an envelope, post it, and the recipient gets it the next day.   Telephone – This is one of the simplest, most direct ways of communicating with people today. Talking with suppliers on the telephone would mean that all of the business involving matters like deliveries, times, amounts, and other things can all be sorted out in a matter of minutes.

Need for collaborative projects in business courses Essay

Group projects are integral to the business curriculum and can be useful in developing students’ skills and abilities as managers. However, faculty encounter several problems with group projects, including assessing students’ efforts, aiding good communication and coordination among members, and making sure the project is a truly collaborative effort. Technology may aid in addressing these problems; electronic discussion boards and chat rooms, for example, can help faculty and students enhance collaboration and increase the accountability of group members. Keywords: Discussion boards, chat rooms, collaborative learning, student projects INCREASED GLOBAL COMPETITION and other changes in the business environment over the last several years have led organizations to restructure themselves. One aspect of that restructuring is a shifting of responsibility and decision making downward and a movement toward self-directed work teams (Cohen, 1993). To prepare students to thrive in this environment, we obviously need to teach them effective teamwork and communication skills. This article describes two tools that can help accomplish this task, the electronic discussion board and the chat room. These can foster interdependence in group projects and deeper, active learning. First, we discuss the need for and benefits of collaborative projects, the problems of group work, and the role of technology in such projects. We then provide recommendations for incorporating these electronic tools in business communication classes. Need for Collaborative Projects in Business Courses. As many researchers have noted, the structural shift towards teams occurring in many organizations should be reflected in the classroom (Bobbitt, Inks, Kemp, & Mayo, 2000). Using groups in class thus prepares students to work collaboratively in the business environment while promoting collaborative learning in the classroom itself. The first benefit of group work in the classroom is that it teaches students how to work collaboratively in the business environment. Business organizations repeatedly indicate that the increased use of teams in the real world has increased students’ need for exposure and experience with teams (Buckenmyer, 2000). Companies that use teams creatively spend many hours and dollars training individuals to work in teams and training managers to manage teams. Through working in groups, students can enhance their abilities in setting goals, delegating work, and dealing with conflict (Colbeck, Campbell, & Bjorklund, 2000). They can also improve their communication, leadership, problem solving, and technical skills. All of these skills are highly rated by recruiters and employers and will help graduates meet the demands and rigors of the workplace (McNally, 1994). The second benefit of group work is that these projects promote collaborative learning. University educators have embraced cooperative learning methods as ways to engage students and to foster cooperation (Ravenscroft, 1997). Researchers have found that the values of Generation X are highly individualistic, visually-oriented, and aligned with information technology, not with the sharing of information (Buckenmyer, 2000). Thus, group course projects, with proper guidance, can help these students learn to deal effectively with others. Group work learning can be an excellent way of encouraging the development of higher cognitive skills in students (Thorley & Gregory, 1994) and can be effective even for relatively quiet group members. When groups work well, students consistently fare better in class, on tests, and in attitudes towards the instructor and each other (Jones & Brickner, 1996). The quality of learning is improved by peer support, with students gaining experience in communication, negotiation, organization, and task management. Cooperative methods have been recognized as effective ways to motivate students to become actively involved in learning. The collaborative group project creates a forum that allows students to take an active approach towards their own education. The security of working within a group provides an excellent entree into the progression to independent and autonomous learning (Maguire & Edmondson, 2001). Problems with Group Projects The many benefits of collaborative projects, however, are often offset by problems. First, a common problem is the failure of the group to work together effectively. Students may exert an individual effort but are unable to coordinate their efforts effectively with their group members to achieve any kind of synergistic benefits (Tullar, Kaiser, & Balthazard, 1998). Group members need to be contributing their ideas, questioning and learning from each other, and building on the efforts of the other members. For collaborative learning to occur, students must coordinate the diverse skills and abilities of their group members to address a complex task (Tullar et al. , 1998). A second problem is that often group members simply divide a project so that each individual writes a portion. Then, just before the project is due, the students bring in their disks and combine files without coordinating their efforts or talents effectively. Third, group work often leads to unequal contributions of members, resulting in â€Å"hitchhikers† and â€Å"workhorses† (Cottell & Millis, 1993). These â€Å"hitchhikers,† also called â€Å"free riders† and â€Å"social loafers,† can cause problems in the workflow of the group, as they do not do their fair share. Members of the group have difficulty addressing the free-rider problem and documenting the problem and their efforts to solve it (Gremler, Hoffman, Keaveney, & Wright, 2000). The issue becomes one student’s word against another’s as the teacher tries to determine fair individual grades. Finally, group projects are often assigned without the allocation of class time for groups to develop cooperative skills or to become cohesive (Michaelsen, 1992). There is limited time in class to discuss both the needed topics and the mechanics of group management. In many cases, groups meet on evenings and weekends when faculty members are not available for assistance. Additionally, many group members are geographically and temporally dispersed, which makes organizing face-to-face group meetings difficult. The Role of Technology in Enhancing Collaborative Learning Active and cooperative learning approaches will be counterproductive unless they are thoughtfully implemented and well supported. Communication tools like discussion boards and chat rooms can be effective in inter-team collaboration as well as in faculty-student communication. These tools can help ease the problems discussed in the previous section. By solving these problems with technology, faculty can address three learning goals: empowering students, improving their communication skills, and developing their ability to work collaboratively. Finally, these technological communication tools offer teaching opportunities by allowing faculty to be more accessible to students and to track students’ efforts better. Addressing Group Project Problems Internet-based tools can be a tremendous help in coordinating team efforts, particularly when the team is geographically (whether by a few miles or a few thousand miles) or temporally dispersed (Kaiser, Tullar, & McKowen, 2000). With technology, groups can meet either synchronously, using chat rooms, or asynchronously, using threaded discussion boards, in which group members contribute to the group discussion at times convenient to their schedules over a defined time period. These tools enable everyone in the group to talk at the same time or at their convenience by typing their comments into the forum that instantly distributes their comments. Additionally, strong personalities have greater difficulty dominating the group as everyone has equal access to the â€Å"floor. † Students may feel more comfortable presenting ideas this way than in a face-to-face meeting, and the quality and professionalism of their ideas may be higher, knowing that their participation is being monitored. The discussion forum also gives all students ample time for reflection so students’ responses are often more thoughtful than those in face-to-face situations. Studies have illustrated this level of increased and more evenly distributed participation from students in computer-supported groups (Tullar et al. , 1998). Addressing Learning Goals Projects provide opportunities for experiential learning, that is, students apply what they have learned to real-world situations and thus develop decision-making skills. But in doing so, projects often produce anxiety as students struggle to determine what answer the instructor wants. However, with these projects, whether it be a case, a report of a business issue, or a business plan, faculty are typically not searching for one right answer, but rather are concerned with the process that students use in solving problems. Teaching students to ask the right questions is thought to be more important than giving students the right answers. In the real world, there is neither one right answer nor is there a â€Å"sage on a stage† that can direct students to the right answer. Students need to learn how to find and to support the answers for themselves. The use of electronic discussion boards and chat rooms can aid student learning in the struggle through the project process. Thus, three learning goals can be addressed through the use of electronic discussion boards and chat rooms with experiential group projects: (1) empowering students to become active participants in their learning, (2) increasing students’ communication skills in describing and solving problems, and (3) enhancing students’ abilities to collaborate and work with others in developing their own resources in solving problems. To achieve these goals, education must involve interactivity among instructors, students, and the materials, and electronic discussion boards and chat rooms can enrich that interactivity. Providing Additional Teaching Opportunities Another advantage of these tools is the opportunity for faculty to participate in the discussions and e-mails. Faculty can use these tools to demonstrate concern for students and to provide additional accessibility and feedback. In fact, the transactional distance encourages faculty to maintain a facilitative role rather than an authoritative role (Moore, 1993). Finally, these tools make it easier for faculty and students to keep track of what everyone has said as there is a written record (Kaiser et al. , 2000). Students have the opportunity to reorganize and reshape their understanding of course content. The Web-based tools allow thoughts to be captured for future examination, elaboration, and extension. The end result is usually more robust and thoughtful discussions. In fact, threaded discussions can extend the time that both instructors and students invest in the course (Bruce & Hwang, 2001). Recommendations for Using These Tools Many universities are starting to use various computer course tools or platforms to promote online learning. These platforms, such as BlackBoard or WebCT, can be used to design either Web-based or Web-assisted courses. For several years, we have used discussion groups and chat rooms in Web-based classes but have also found that communication can be enhanced in traditional classes through use of these tools. Since more business organizations are using electronic tools, such as Lotus Notes, to facilitate group meetings, using them in the classroom helps students further prepare for their careers. However, the wise faculty member will be advised that these tools should be used judiciously. Therefore, based on our experience, the following suggestions are made to faculty who are considering the use of Web-based tools. Discussion Boards Instructors and students can compose and post messages electronically on electronic discussion boards. Both public and private discussion forums can be implemented. With many computing platforms, such as WebCT, faculty can set up public forums to start threaded discussions for the class to which the students can respond electronically. Students can use these public forums to post questions to which the entire class can respond, such as for help in finding information for the project. A project normally seems easier when the instructor is discussing it in class and few questions arise. However, students’ questions occasionally occur after class or on weekends. The discussion board allows the opportunity for students to post problems asynchronously and to receive input from the class. The burden is no longer on the instructor to solve every problem as it occurs but is on the students to work with each other as well as with the instructor in solving problems. This is a tremendous lesson for students to learn to deal with problem solving in the real world. When an employer gives an employee a project or task to do, he/she expects the employee to do it on his/her own and not ask for assistance from the employer every step of the way. Students have to learn to be problem solvers on their own, and the use of electronic discussion boards helps develop that skill. The professor’s role is to help get the conversation started. For example, the instructor can post a question on the public project discussion board asking at which sites people are having success finding information for the project. The students can then respond. Those students who respond in a useful manner will be rewarded, such as with a participation grade. Those students or groups who do not respond can be asked on the discussion board for their input. When students see the progress other students are making, they may be spurred to work harder. Additionally, the faculty need to check the discussion board frequently to see if any misinformation is being spread, to ensure â€Å"netiquette† is being practiced, and to restart the conversation as needed. Finally, faculty can take questions that the students ask individually and request that the students post them on the discussion board. In that way the instructor only has to respond once, and similar inquiries can then be referred to that response. This will eve ntually build a culture in the class where the instructor is not seen as the sole source for information, and the students learn to work with each other in solving problems. Additionally, instructors can create private forums to be used to divide students into groups for class exercises or for the use of asynchronous coordination of group projects in which group members cannot all meet at the same time. The instructor can visit these public and private forums to track group progress, to encourage students to help each other to solve problems, and to provide assistance as needed after the students have tried first on their own. In the private group forums, the students are encouraged to use the board to organize group meetings, to post their research findings, and to post drafts of their work for their group members to see and make comments. The professor can encourage individual group members to post their contributions to the paper to the private forum for the other members to see and post suggestions. This would increase group collaboration in a manner that can be documented. After the group has collaborated on a draft of the project, the instructor can offer suggestions. Finally, instructors should consider requiring the groups to post progress reports on their efforts periodically during the term. These progress reports describe what the group has accomplished, what the group’s plans are, if there are any problems, and if there are, how they are being addressed. The instructor should provide guidelines as to what the groups should have accomplished by the progress report dates so the students can determine if they are on track. While these reports could be submitted on paper, doing it through the discussion board makes it easier for group members to be aware of what has been submitted. Chat Rooms. With chat rooms, students can meet electronically at the same time no matter where they are, as long as they have Internet access. Each group can have its own chat room, with the instructor joining in from home or office in one of several ways. The group can meet first and then have a designated time when the instructor logs in to answer questions. The instructor can leave when the questions are answered or give the group time to discuss among themselves and then check back later. For project work, it is important that instructors periodically meet with student groups to answer questions, address problems, and provide guidance. The chat room may be a useful tool in meeting with students out of class. The students can meet with the instructor for a practice â€Å"chat† to get the students comfortable with the technology. The instructor can request that the groups meet with him/her several times during the term to discuss their progress. These meetings can be either in the office during office hours or during designated chat office hours, such as on Sunday nights when the instructor is at home. With traditional classes, groups should have the option to meet in person with the professor, particularly early on in the project. For those students who cannot come during office hours, the chat room provides an excellent way to interact, although instructors may want to set clear boundaries or specific hours for when they are willing to meet in the chat room. When the instructor is meeting with groups via chat, patience is needed. It can be confusing when everyone is typing in questions. While the instructor prepares an answer to one question, several more students’ questions can appear. The instructor needs to make it clear that he/she will discuss questions in the order in which they appear. On the other hand, there may be times when the chat room is silent while the students are preparing their questions. The instructor may want to prompt to see if there are any other questions but should give the students some time if needed. Finally, no one should log off until everyone has finished. Someone may be in the middle of preparing something to post and the silence is seen as the end of the session, or someone may have left the room for a minute and has come back to find an empty chat room. Therefore, a practice chat session may be helpful with these issues. Grading Student Use of Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms Grading student responses in both the discussion forum and chat room can present challenges. Many times there may be a group grade for a project that is then adjusted for the individual student’s grade base on his/her contribution to the group’s project. Additionally, students may be individually graded for their participation in the course. Some students will initially shy away from using the discussion board, as they would prefer to do things the way they always have and do not want to learn a new technology. Other students, particularly those who are too shy to speak up in class, may welcome this new opportunity. It is up to the instructor to provide the incentive to become involved. While a positive attitude may help the instructor in encouraging students, making posts part of their grade, such as a portion of their participation grade, probably ensures the best results. Instructor can grade the posting on several issues: clarity of thought/grammer, quality of comments/critical thinking, and usefulness/participation in responding to other posts. In evaluating the group projects to determine individual grades, instructors often have students submit group evaluations. The information on these evaluations can be substantiated or compared to what has occurred on the group’s private discussion forum and what has been documented in the progress posts. If a group member is not contribution, it is the responsibility of the group to communicate this the instructor and to attempt to deal with the problem before the final project is submitted. The use of the discussion board and chat room can be a tremendous help in tracking a group’s activities. This puts more responsibility on the students to document and address the issues before it is too late. It also aids instructors in making fairer assessments of individual efforts. To better manage the communication tools, instructors should set up clear guidelines for grading, such as describing how many new posts and response posts are required per week, as well as how often the students are expected to check the discussion board. For example, the professor may want each group to submit a bi-weekly progress report on its project. The instructor may also want to review â€Å"netiquette† as well as set limits as to how many posts students can make on public forums to avoid overwhelming the discussion board. The instructor needs to stress that it is the quality of the posts and not the quantity that counts and provide students with feedback to encourage its proper use. Finally, the instructor can also utilize student management tools that are included in the computing platforms like WebCT to determine when and how many posts the students are making. Additionally, search commands can be used to find all the posts one student has made in order to track an individual student’s progress. Conclusion Teamwork and group meetings are entrenched elements of an increasingly global environment. As a result, business faculty must prepare their students, as future managers, to collaborate with groups effectively. Electronic meeting tools, such as discussion boards and chat rooms, can play a key role in that training. These tools can enhance and empower student learning and collaboration as well as increase communication and problem solving skills. By collaborating more effectively in school, students will be better prepared to collaborate effectively in the workplace (Kaiser et al. , 2000). These tools also offer additional teaching benefits. They are very useful in documenting student effort and accountability for fair contribution. They also provide a means for faculty to be conveniently accessible and to provide feedback outside of class time. Additionally, electronic tools help students learn to develop their own resources. These tools then can be a tremendous aid for faculty to address group project problems, to help their students achieve learning goals, and to provide additional teaching opportunities to interact with their students. Thus, by using electronic discussion boards and chat rooms, such as with group projects, faculty can effectively enhance their students’ collaborative learning. References Bobbitt, L. M. , Inks, S. A. , Kemp, K. J. , & Mayo, D. T. (2000). Integrating marketing courses to enhance team-based experiential learning. Journal of Marketing Education, 22(1), 15-24. Bruce, S. M. , & Hwang, T. T. (2001). Web-based teacher preparation in visual impairment: Course development, teaching, learning and quality assurance. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 95(10), 609-622. 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Technology in teacher education: From electronic tutor to cognitive tool. Action in Teacher Education, 27(4), 74-78. Thorley, L. , & Gregory, R. (Eds. ) (1994). Using Group-based Learning in Higher Education. London: Kogan Page. Tullar, W. L. , Kaiser, P. R. , & Balthazard, P. A. (1998). Group work and electronic meeting systems: From boardroom to classroom. Business Communication Quarterly, 61(4), 53-65. Address correspondence to Jacqueline K. Eastman, Department of Marketing/Economics, College of Business Administration, Valdosta State University, Valdosta GA 31698 (e-mail: jeastman@valdosta. edu).