Travelling Agency Project

In recent era, many people are doing their jobs far away from their homes so, they will prefer a medium which help them to reach out there rather driving their own vehicles because it might be costly for some people whose income is not that much high. Looking to all the criteria regarding the need of people, we have decided the product which will meet customers’ need. Here, we are much clear about the objectives of providing efficient services to the customers who prefer to travel with our medium of travel.We will develop the different kinds of strategy which can be fruitful to us to analyze the need of the different customers in the market because in market there are many identical agencies who are also offering the services to the existing customers. So we will consider all due factors which can help to find appropriate segment for our product. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENT SCANNING Before entering into any service sector, we have to take care of certain things int o the mind like competitive environment, market area of the service and profitability of it and so on. Competitive environment:First of all, we need to identity our competitors in the market and after that what are their position in the market and how much market share they have. Our major competitors are 1. Mahasagar 2. Eagle 3. Shreenath 4. Ashvamegh 5. Patel Except above mentioned travel agencies, there are many localize firms out there into the market who are catering similar kinds of services. Environmental scanning: Environment scanning will help to identify the target market for which agency is made. By scanning various factors, Agency will successfully capitalized on the new marketing environment.We will scan few factors while entering into market as given below. * Economy condition of travelers based on that service would be provided * Needs and trends of the market for agency * By offering low price, corporation will draw new customers and market share as well. * Accessibi lity of customers is required to consider. VALUE PROPOSITION The value proposition consist of the whole cluster of benefit the company promises to deliver, it is more than the core proposing of the offering. No corporation will sustain without considering benefits of the customers in competitive market.Our core proposing is providing transport facility with safety. Our travelling agency will provide certain benefits to grasp the market, which are as under: 1. Pick up facilities at near the houses 2. Push back facilities for customer’s comfort 3. Mineral water 4. Breakfast facilities during regular interval 5. Entertainment facility (Movies) The value proposition is statement about the experience customer will gain from the company’s market offering and from their relationship with supplier. Deliver Satisfaction & Maintain customer loyalty:Value delivery system includes all the experiences the customer will have on the way to obtaining and using the offering. In sim ple word way of deliver satisfaction is a set of core business proposition that help to deliver distinctive customer value. The way to satisfied customer is to providing more benefit than any other competitors provide. We are giving or delivering all benefit to customers and giving best experience to using product. Our provided facility meets easily customer expectation. It is said that if you want to satisfied customer then know his expectation.Loyalty of customer is refers to stick on to particular brand. Loyalty of customers to particular brand depends on brands offering & benefits. Our provided facilities satisfied customer but new facilities which we promise to provide customers is help to maintain customer loyalty. One of reason is that we tried to providing best services to each customer. Consumer Market By analyzing consumer market we can easily come to know about behavior of customer. Behavior of customer depends on several factor like cultural, social, personal & P sychological factors.In our business of traveling agency choice of customer to travel in bus largely affected by social class of people. Mostly middle class people are traveling through buses. We are also providing best facility or lavishness for upper class group. In short run group of higher class choose to travel through his personal vehicles but in long run they want comfort and choice to travel through bus which providing luxurious facility & also match with its personality & lifestyle. Branding Branding is like name is enough to sell your product.It may be logo punch line, symbols & slogan. Your brand should be known in the market is called brand equity. Branding strategy: Our brand is very well known to our target market. We are also give timely advertisement through different media newspaper, Electronic media to maintain share of heart of customer. Our slogan is for branding is â€Å"TRAVELING IS FUN† which is already crafted on our bus, so it is always me morable to our customer & give cognizance to our brand. Dealing with competition Our primary competitor is as we discussed patel, mahasagar, eagel, etc.As eagle having major market share and being market leader in travelling service, the niche market strategy adopted by eagle is by launching ‘mercedize-benz† for targeting upper class segment of the market by providing luxurious services and facilities to satisfy the customers. SETTING PRODUCT STRATEGY Our provided services is unique in terms of characteristics & better then competitor. Most advantage provided by us is main component of service that is price. Our price for trip from one place to another place is competitive. We are also providing holiday packages. Services levelsEach levels adds more customer value and the five constitute a Customer Value higherchy. Designing and managing service Pricing Strategy So far we are discussing we are providing competitive price for trip. Now we will discuss what are the main strategy for setting price. Pricing Strategy Pricing objective should be Market skimming, Maximum market share, Become a best service provider, Survival, Maximise profit etc. Our objective is create and increase market share with delivering value to customer which help to become a best service provider. In our business of traveling prices for trip may be fluctuate time to time on the basis of demand.In summer vacation holidays trip becomes costlier. During off season prices for trip is lower by offering discounting schemes. Cost is also more affective factors for determining price of trip. Because this factor can’t be ignored by owner. Cost may be maintaining cost of buses, fuel etc. Competitor prices also consider while fixing the price of product. Because if price of competitor is lower than us then passenger will move or switch over to competitor. There are various pricing methods to decide price of products. We are using markup pricing methods.In which cost of servi ce is determined and then expected profit percentage will be added to the cost of services. We are also considering price of competitor which is running in the market. After applying the markup method of pricing we will charge or ticket price is decide for various trip. Marketing Channels There are 3 types of marketing channels. We are using newspaper & television advertisement as communication channel. Sometime we are distributing pamphlet with newspaper in the time of vacation. For delivering and promoting our service of traveling we have agents who are facilitating services.

Failure Analysis Essay

Team D will analyze the organizations Samsung Electronics Company (SEC) and Research In Motion – Blackberry (RIM). The study will analyze in depth the success of Samsung and the failure of Blackberry. The paper analyzes how Samsung evolved into one of the largest conglomerates in the world during the past decade the demise of Blackberry and how the company failed. Vision and Mission Statement Samsung Vision Statement, The vision of SAMSUNG Electronics is â€Å"Leading the Digital Convergence Revolution† (Samsung, 2013, p. 1). Mission Statement â€Å"To experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public† (Samsung, 2013, p. 1.). Established in 1938, Samsung has gone thru many changes. During its various changes, Samsung continues to modify its mission statement according to its own change and to new developments globally. â€Å"Economic contribution to the nation† â€Å", Priority to human resources† â€Å" Pursuit of rationalism† are slogans that represent important moments in Samsung’s history. The organization has grown from a national leader to a worldwide consumer leader. The constant fluctuation in the global economy, competition, and operations, Samsung transformed its mission statement in 1990. According to Samsung’s philosophy, â€Å"We will devote our human resources and technology to create superior products and services, thereby contributing to a better global society† (Samsung, 2013, p. 2.). The organizations attitude is a representation of its determination to contribute to the success of people globally. Key factors for Samsung is the dedication, creativity, and talent of its employees. The strong leadership and team support has made endless opportunities for new technology and achieving higher standard of living globally. Leadership at Samsung believe its success is due to its contribution to people worldwide and to the shared prosperity between national boundaries worldwide. This determines how they manage their  company. The objective for Samsung Electronics is to generate the future with its consumers. SEC can be considered as one of very few companies that â€Å"manage to go beyond mere imitation of global competitors, leverage resources, accelerate the pace of organizational learning and manage to attain seemingly impossible goals† ( Hamel and Prahalad, 1989). Vision and Mission Statement Blackberry vision statement, â€Å"Blackberry aims to be the premier center for management development excelling in developing managers of tomorrow; strengthening management capabilities and facilitating policy options to meet emerging challenges†. (Blackberry, 2013, p.1.). Mission statement, â€Å"To develop socially and professionally responsible and proactive managers and leaders with holistic perspectives and competencies.† (Blackberry, 2013, p.1.) In realizing the above vision and mission, RIM focuses on the following strategic areas: In 1994, Blackberry (RIM) was created. The organization is located in Waterloo, Ontario Canada. Other locations include Europe, United States, Mexico, and Asia Pacific. Blackberry lead the design, fabrication, distributor of its wireless solutions for the global cellular communications market. The creation of combined software, services, and support, Blackberry provided solutions for email, cell phone, SMS, MMS, Intranet, and Internet applications â€Å"The beauty of this device was that users could do all of these functions even as they were striding down the sidewalk, far from any desktop computer† (Kim, 2008). . The organization provided services for Civil Service, local governance, and the private sector. This enabled Blackberry to strengthen and develop into a strong financial, self-supported Institute. The downfall of Blackberry began on January 9, 2007, with the introduction of the iPhone. Apple sold a million iPhones the first week of its release, signaling the era of the smartphone. In a conference call on March 29, 2012 CEO Thorsten Heins stated, â€Å"It is now very clear to me that substantial change is what RIM needs,† (All Thing D, 2012, p. 1.). The CEO is creating something Blackberry has not had for a long time, a vision. . â€Å"We believe that BlackBerry cannot succeed if we try to be everybody’s darling and all things to all people†, (All Things D, 2012, p. 1.). It might be too late but  the organization will undertake a complete review analysis of the way the company operates. Leadership style, management, organizational structure, and culture Samsung Electronics is a worldwide organization with nearly 160,000 employees and operates in countries worldwide. Samsung is devoted to having a healthy organizational culture. It believes that ethical management is not only a tool for responding to the rapid changes in the global business environment, but also a vehicle for building trust with its various stakeholders, shareholders, customers, partners, employees, and local communities around the world. Samsung’s aim is to become one of the most ethical companies in the world that is respected by its stakeholders, Samsung Electronics continues to train its employees and operate monitoring systems, while practicing fair and transparent corporate management. Samsung has established a good and safe working environment for its personnel, this improves employee morale and productivity and commitment to the organization. Employees respect all workers despite the positions they have. Workers and leaders have a good relationship that allows both side to work together on workers grievances relating to their work environment. The relationships between the workers and leaders are interactive and workers grievances relating to their working environment and other labor related issues work well. Workers at Samsung will respect all workers despite the roles they play. CEO Kwon Oh Hyun is a commanding leader, almost militarist in leading. In South Korea, this style of leadership is very effective; unlike in the United States a commanding leader for a non-military organization would be ineffective. Kwon Oh Hyun is direct, takes tight control, very demanding, disciplined, and demands immediate compliance within the company, from top to bottom. It is difficult to recognize what leadership style is within Blackberry. What has brought Blackberry to its demise is not having a clear vision from its upper executives. Their leaders had no sense of direction to innovate the organization. Blackberry ten years ago was a leader in the cellular business. Customers who owned a blackberry phone felt important, celebrities, Wall Street investment bankers. Today Blackberry is at jeopardy on becoming obsolete. Blackberry made some critical mistakes, which put the organization in jeopardy. The organization  disregarded the iPhone until it was too late. Prior CEO Lazaridis â€Å"told his employees that no one would buy the iPhone because customers did not want a personal computer on their cell phones.† (Forbes, 2011, p. 2.) Blackberry promoted a culture of unwillingness and closed communication. Upper executives did not want to listen to ideas from below. Additionally, a critical mistake was waiting too long to innovate new products into their product line. Their current product line is a big dinosaur and still look much like their first phones. To further trouble Blackberry, two major outages occurred on April 2007 and again in February 2008, each outage lasted for a few days. Leading Organizational Change Team D would use the Kotter’s Eight Steps Detailed guidance for managing change. First major change is to establish a sense of urgency, in order to create a compelling reason for change. The compelling reason for change is to seek new ways of innovation. Keeping up with the global rapid change in the telecommunications, industry is vital. [Change process theories describe a typical pattern of events that occur from the beginning of a change to the end, and in some cases they describe how earlier changes affect subsequent changes. The theories may identify distinct phases in the process, stages in the reaction of individuals, or effects of repeated changes on people.] (Gary Yukl, 2013, p. 1.) In order to keep Blackberry competitive with the market, the organization must find new products to introduce into the market. Introducing a new lineup of products such as new cell phone models is vital for the company to compete with its competitors. The sense of urgency is creating and updating our products in time to keep up with the competition. The team would create a coalition between upper management to establish the new change for blackberry. The coalition between top executives would facilitate the introduction of the new strategy into our new business plan. A major priority for blackberry and its top executives is to create a clear vision for the upcoming change of the organization. The next hurdle is to widely open up communication barriers and simplify the communication between upper management on down. Blackberry will promote a culture of open communication and willingness for all its employees. The open communication will enable the organization to communicate the vision throughout the company. Good communication will help the organization with employees who resist change. Communication between upper management and employees will help give a clear vision of the change. Inadequate communication will give employees a sense of false information for example believe that change is not feasible, fear of personal failure, loss of status, and economic threat. The CEO will empower other managers to act on the vision by encouraging risk-taking and removing barriers to help solve problems. The new plan will take two years to implement. The action plan will include short-term goals that move blackberry toward the new vision. The change will allow upper management on down to consolidate improvement. All management reassess all changes to include analytical information, the consolidation improvements will allow the organization to make any necessary adjustments in the new programs. All management will have to lead by example and demonstrate the success of the cultural change. The new plan will reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between the new behaviors. The leadership styles will be between transformational and visionary leadership. These leadership styles will inspire the conviction of the new vision and will give blackberry a clear direction to succeed in the new change. Transformational leadership will inspire and develop empowering focus on the new plan. Conclusion During significant change to a company’s structure and strategies, personnel can experience high levels of stress on the job. Prior to executing the strategies, organizations must empower employees to adopt the role of change and encourage them to take action to solve the problems that stresses them. A large piece of the puzzle is communication between upper management on down. Personnel need to feel that they are empowered during the phase of the change. Although few organizations fully acknowledge their role in helping employees, cope with change. Individual reactions to change your complex and most experts agree that people tend to be uncomfortable with change; employees do not want to depart from their comfort zone.

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz could not rest safely even in the country's silence in Poland. Only this name is recognized immediately - this is an abbreviation of criminal atrocities in the 20th century. If there are out-of-place and unnecessary myths, the facts can be simple, that is, the Auschwitz concentration camp. This has not been the case for 50 years. The list of myths and misunderstandings about Nazi's largest concentration camp is long. The Soviet investigators announced that 4 million people died in the Auschwitz concentration camp in May 1945 and Polish Communist authorities claimed this exaggerated number before losing power in 1989. The Auschwitz concentration camp was a network of concentration camps and extinction camps founded and operated by Nazi Germany in Poland occupied during the Second World War. This includes Auschwitz I (the original concentration camp), Auschwitz II - Birkenau (central colony / extinction camp), Auschwitz III - Monowitz (labor camp using IG Farben's factory), and 45 Of satellite camps. Auschwitz I originally came for Polish prisoners in Poland and arrived in May 1940. The extinction of the first prisoners in September 1941. Auschwitz II - Birkenau continued the Nazi as the main place to eventually solve the Jewish problem. Problems during the massacre. From the beginning of 1942 until the end of 1944, transportation trains carried the Jews from various parts of Europe to the gas chambers of the camp, where they were killed together with the cyanide-based poison Zyklon B developed as an insecticide. The Auschwitz concentration camp (Auschwitz concentration camp) started activities in the outskirts of Auschwitz in Poland. As most European Jews live in Poland and Eastern Europe, there will be six concentration camps known as camps of death: Auschwitz - Birkenau, Chelmuno, Belzec, Treblinka, Sobibor and Maedanek. Sir Harold McMichele, UK High Commissioner for Palestine, was frustrated by the entry of illegal immig rants into Palestine, leaving Hungary and returning two Jews who settled in Palestine with a tourist visa in 1934 We insisted on accepting. The Hungarian government said that its Jews are too numerous and the goal of the government is encourage immigration as far as possible. The Auschwitz concentration camp, also known as Auschwitz-Birkenau, opened in 1940 and is the largest among Nazi concentration camps and des camps. Auschwitz is located in the southern part of Poland and was originally a police prison camp. But it evolved into a camp network where the Jews and other perceived Nazi enemies are usually cleaned out in the gas chambers or used as slave labor. Several prisoners led by Josef Mengele (1911-79) also accepted barbaric medical experiments. Over the course of the Second World War (1939 - 1945), more than 1 million people died in the Auschwitz concentration camp. In January 1945, when the Soviet Army approached, Nazi officials ordered the camp to abandon and sent about 60, 000 prisoners of war to other places. When the Soviets entered Auschwitz, they found thousands of detainees and the mountains of the bodies left behind.

Case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Case study analysis - Essay Example But if one can get an established unit in its chosen field the combined entity can take off within a couple of years after due integration. Adding a new dimension to the issue Paul Tiffany, adjunct professor of management at Wharton and senior lecturer at the University of California's Haas School of Business in Berkeley, says that the global steel consolidation has an unfamiliar ring, he notes "It's interesting that the consolidation in the steel industry is driven not by market opportunity but by the threat of the The most dramatic change in Indian business in the past decade has been the surge in ambition. Take Ratan Tata, the Mumbai-based tycoon who won the race to buy Britain's Corus Group, beating his Brazilian rival Benjamin Steinbruch in a fiercely contested auction. British Steel and the Dutch group Hoogovens merged in 1999 to become the largest steel makers in Europe because they felt the necessity to out-grow their national geography. With the passage of time the same company felt that they need a global presence. As stated by Corus chief executive Jim Leng that Corus now felt it was "no longer sufficient to be European. This is a global industry," he said. "We have got to respond with passion, but with commercial passion. It's not about big companies and small companies, it's a matter of being globally commercial." (Knowledge@Wharton). "We want to expand into geographies where, as a group, we can have a meaningful presence. First, we have chosen countries where we felt we could make an impact and, secondly, where we are able to participate, as we have in India, in the development of that country. When you visit a country or examine Gopi 3 a particular company, I think you intuitively know if there's an opportunity, and then you flesh out that opportunity in one form or other. If we get to the stage of justifying assembly or manufacturing operations, we will seek either to contract them or to invest in facilities in that country." (Interview with Ratan Tata in India Today Magazine issue dated November 6, 2006). In takeover parlance big sharks swallow up the small sharks. But in this case a small shark has swallowed a shark almost five times its size. It is the biggest international acquisition so far by an Indian company, and it coincided with Tata Steel's 100th anniversary. It will also be the Tata Group's 22nd foreign acquisition in two years. The Corus takeover catapults Tata Steel from its 65th place among global steel producers to the No 5 spot in the hierarchy of steel makers with a combined capacity of 23.5 million tons. Others ahead of it are Arcelor-Mittal (110 million tons), Japan's Nippon Steel (32 million tons), South Korea's Posco (30.5 million tons) and JFE of Japan (29.9 million tons). Excluding Corus, Tata Steel has plans to raise its Indian capacity to 30 million tons by 2015 through Greenfield projects. Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman said in a statement after the January 31 deal

Prosecutorial Misconduct Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Prosecutorial Misconduct - Research Paper Example Then, in the proceedings of the case, a prosecutor presents legal facts to the judge aimed at convincing him or her to prove the guilty of the suspect (Lawless, 2008). In a court case, therefore, the prosecutor ought to apply some professional moral codes in his/her course of prosecutions. Sometimes, the prosecutors can fail to reveal evidence that proves the suspects’ innocence since their motives are always to convict the suspects. Prosecutorial misconduct has been witnessed in many cases where the suspects who are innocent serve sentences in prison whereas the guilty ones are left free. Prosecutors should be charged in law courts in case they act inappropriately like when they are discovered harassing the defendant. In case the defendant is mistreated by the prosecutor in or outside the courtroom, he or she can seek disciplinary action or file a civil suit against the prosecutor. In a court case, the trials against the suspect can be politically motivated and this means that, consideration of such misconducts is important in order to find justice in that case (Siegel, 2010). Prosecutorial conducts can arise from misconducts in the courtroom, failure to reveal the evidence that favors the defendant and harassment of the defendant. These behaviors ought to be stopped since many innocent persons have served imprisonments supposed to be served by others. The criminal justice system ought to put in place some measures to curb such misconducts because they not only oppress the victims but also contributes to the loss of public confidence in the judiciary system (Lawless, 2008). Imagine a businessman convicted of murdering his wife and the judge passes 20 years sentence in jail. After 15 years, police investigation reports are revealed showing that the DNA tests of bloody clothing found on the crime scene matches with another man serving life imprisonment for other murder cases. In such a case, it seems that, either the prosecutor failed

Lake Wabarmun, Alberta Oil Spill 2005 Research Paper

Lake Wabarmun, Alberta Oil Spill 2005 - Research Paper Example The plant in some sources is said to be responsible for the existence of health standards made possible by the use of pesticides. Another source stated that 10% of India’s crop were saved by the use of the pesticides made in Bhopal. MIC is very toxic and only noticed when signs of toxicity appear such as watering of the eyes and nasal passages. It is the most toxic chemical belonging to the isocyanate family and at room temperature it is a colorless liquid (Varma, Roli, and Daya Varma, 2005). On December 2 a very small amount of water went through the pipes into MIC tank 610. The reaction generated heat which transformed the MIC liquid into a gas. Pressure in the tank increased; this ruptured the disc and the MIC vent began to discharge into the atmosphere. In Bhopal at the time MIC was stored in three tanks and tank 610 was 87% full, above the 60% recommendation for the Bhopal plant and 50% which was recommended for the Connecticut plant. Safety devices which were in place fo r such an emergency failed or were inadequate. There was no public warning system in place though a warning signal was activated at 2:30 am,2 hours after the leak was detected. It is estimated the MIC leak lasted from 45-60 minutes in duration. When the siren actually went into effect people had already began noticing the effects of the leak. Most of this was at first ignored as minor leaks were common. Police were unaware of what had actually happened and advised citizens to run which in turn exposed them to higher levels of inhaled MCI. On the morning of December 3 and subsequent days citizens were running to the hospital and deaths were attributed the first four days especially to pulmonary edema. Only house flies were unaffected by the MCI; presumably because they lie still at low levels. The effect of the MCI was a chemically induced SAR’s with little if any treatment options. It is estimated that 30,000 people were killed by the MCI and 500,000 more injured. The gas lea k has had far reaching consequences 25 years later and environmentalist have stated that the site still contains large amounts of chemicals which are toxic which they collected from soil samples at the site (Iyengar, Radhika, And Monisha Bajaj, 2011). Identified as one of the worst chemical disasters in history yet new attention was spurred by the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Toxic Substances to the dangers of chemicals which are stored as opposed to those on the environment. Water quality was questionable before the incident and during the period of time immediately following large tanks were filled from other parts of the city to supply residents with drinking water. There were over 500,000 registered victims of the Bhopal incident in 1984. Survivors continue to experience long term effects of the exposure; studies show cases of pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, COPD, emphysema, chest infections and other related conditions as lingering effects of the disaster (Kewal K. Mau dar, et al, 2009). Studies were carried out on 80,000 individuals. Rapid industrial growth in India today contributes to the economy but it comes with a price of environmental degradation and increased health risks to the public. Water quality is Bhopal today is under threat of pollution and in May of 2012 the factory was ordered to clean up

Consumer Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation Series and Nintendo’s GameCube games all have been around for a number of years though still these big market players have failed to identify sizeable niche market segments game consoles that exist to date in the industry. Nokia has both the resource capability and technology to enter this market segment with ease in design and planning (Gale Reference Team, 2008). For instance all three game console manufacturers mentioned above along with a sundry of other small and medium companies have been able to increase their market shares despite an ongoing global economic recession. Nokia’s existing resource and technology capabilities would need proper directional guidance from trained hands, especially the technical and managerial staff. Already the above three market leaders’ status has been challenged by many small and medium scale manufacturers whose ability to identify niche market segments in keeping with consumer demographics is said to be one of the reasons for their success (Development and Learning in Organizations, journal, 2003). For instance Nokia’s success in mobile telephone device manufacturing can be utilized to produce a game console that successfully incorporates some of its already tried and abandoned mobile game features (Gale Reference Team, 2007). So far game consoles haven’t been integrated with mobile telephony technology except at random inclusions carried out by Sony in its PlayStation Series. Most of the current literature and discourse on game consoles are characterized by four basic classes of issues – technological issues, pricing issues, quality issues and safety issues. It’s thus an industry that is ever increasingly being marked by competition and reorientation. Against this backdrop of stiffer competition it’s essential to identify the various issue related outcomes in the industry thus focusing attention on the strategically

Pandemic Flu Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pandemic Flu - Assignment Example Accidents resulted from unregulated workplaces. According to Wever and Bergen (2014), pandemic influenza killed many Americans soldiers far more than the ones who died during the war in Europe. There several factors that contributed immensely to the spread of the influenza. Pandemic Influenza is a communicable disease that can spread easily from one individual to another. One factor that contributed to spread of influenza in camps was crowding. Spaces in camps were limited and as a result soldiers had to stay together in small spaces. Morens et al. (2010) point out that the cause of 1918 pandemic flu was the influenza A virus of subtype H1N. The source of the virus is related to birds, mainly waterfowl such as ducks and geese. The birds mentioned above act as reservoirs for the virus. However, it is still not clear how bird related influenza viruses adapt to the mammalian host, infect different cells and spread to humans. On the other hand, the current pandemic flu especially the 2009 H1N1influenza s said to have resulted from the recombination of genes. The genes that brought the current H1N1 are virus that caused 1918 pandemic flu and the swine virus adapted to birds. There are, however, factors in the current society that can trigger the spread of the virus to the population. In ancient times, the virus could spread easily throughout the world. The current society can contain the virus by keeping infected people in one place. Nonetheless, the problem is the availability of medical staff to deal and contain the spread of pandemic

Evaluating a Parenting Skills Program Case Study

Evaluating a Parenting Skills Program - Case Study Example Parenting skills can be determined by the use of the program’s P-value. Difference between the results recorded before and after using the program shows that the P-value is less than 0.05, communication reported 0.485>0.005, supervision reported 0.609>0.005, and organization stood at 0.286>0.005. Failures in null hypothesis indicate that after using the program, change is seen in all the groups. The program is very successful considering that 61.2% of the users were satisfied with it outcomes. The family structure does not play a significant role in developing better parenting skills. The use of the program can help parents experiencing different parenting issues. More male participants should be involved in the use of the program. Recommendations from the participants prove that the program has a high opportunity for adoption in the future (Gibson et al., 2000). Sanders, M. R. (1999). Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: Towards an empirically validated multilevel parenting and family support strategy for the prevention of behavior and emotional problems in children. Clinical child and family psychology review, 2(2),

The Recycling Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Recycling Industry - Essay Example As the report stresses cities and towns in the United States of America. have been facing the dilemma of rising municipal solid waste (MSW) generation and declining capacity of aging landfills. In response, public officials have begun to implement new policies aimed at encouraging source reduction and waste diversion through increased recycling activity. Because the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act gives states the responsibility for nonhazardous waste management, these efforts have not been symmetric across the nation. Nonetheless, certain trends have become apparent, including the increased use of curbside services and the adoption of unit pricing schemes such as payment for recyclable waste, in order to meet local objectives. According to the paper findings Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal and recycling demand is based on a systems approach. The parameter estimates and associated demand elasticities have a practical application for state and local public officials who are undertaking the design and implementation of MSW management programs and policies. The benefits of MSW policy reforms as well as the expected benefits of policy to various constituencies are clear. Unit pricing or variable rate pricing due to its market orientation is now an important focus of economic research. The system of unit pricing is simple: each unit of waste disposal has an explicit price, so that the total fee paid for MSW services increases with the quantity of waste discards. "Hence, the unit price acts as a disincentive to dispose excess waste and, in theory can be adjusted to achieve state or local disposal targets" (Callan & Thomas, 2006: 221). This is supported by Ackerman (1996) who adds that once unit pricing is es tablished, the price elasticity of waste generation may be as little as - 0.12. This means that an 8% price increase caused only 1% drop in garbage disposal. When such a pricing scheme is lacking, the municipalities normally charge a flat fee for disposal services which is unrelated to the amount of waste generated. This eventually means that the household has no economic incentive to lower generation of waste or to divert it through recycling. This problem is increased if the flat fee is collected through property taxes, thus hidden from residents. Since this flat fee approach ignores the true marginal costs of providing MSW services, it results in an inefficient solution with too many resources allocated to municipality solid waste disposal, with greater stress on landfill capacity as the outcome.

Recreation and Sports Essay Example for Free

Recreation and Sports Essay While it may be true that the Mason City government ought to devote more money to riverside recreational facilities, this authors argument does not make a cogent case for increased resources based on river use. It is easy to understand why city residents would want a cleaner river, but this argument is rife with holes and assumptions, and thus, not strong enough to lead to increased funding. Citing surveys of city residents, the author reports city residents love of water sports. It is not clear, however, the scope and validity of that survey. For example, the survey could have asked residents if they prefer using the river for water sports or would like to see a hydroelectric dam built, which may have swayed residents toward river sports. The sample may not have been representative of city residents, asking only those residents who live upon the river. The survey may have been 10 pages long, with 2 questions dedicated to river sports. We just do not know. Unless the survey is fully representative, valid, and reliable, it can not be used to effectively back the authors argument. Additionally, the author implies that residents do not use the river for swimming, boating, and fishing, despite their professed interest, because the water is polluted and smelly. While a polluted, smelly river would likely cut down on river sports, a concrete connection between the residents lack of river use and the rivers current state is not effectively made. Though there have been complaints, we do not know if there have been numerous complaints from a wide range of people, or perhaps from one or two individuals who made numerous complaints. To strengthen his/her argument, the author would benefit from implementing a normed survey asking a wide range of residents why they do not currently use the river. Building upon the implication that residents do not use the river due to the quality of the rivers water and the smell, the author suggests that a river clean up will result in increased river usage. If the rivers water quality and smell result from problems which can be cleaned, this may be true. For example, if the decreased water quality and aroma is caused by pollution by factories along the river, this conceivably could be remedied. But if the quality and aroma results from the natural mineral deposits in the water or surrounding rock, this may not be true. There are some bodies of water which emit a strong smell of sulphur due to the geography of the area. This is not something likely to be afffected by a clean-up. Consequently, a river clean up may have no impact upon river usage. Regardless of whether the rivers quality is able to be improved or not, the author does not effectively show a connection between water quality and river usage. A clean, beautiful, safe river often adds to a citys property values, leads to increased tourism and revenue from those who come to take advantage of the river, and a better overall quality of life for residents. For these reasons, city government may decide to invest in improving riverside recreational facilities. However, this authors argument is not likely significantly persuade the city goverment to allocate increased funding. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 6 This insightful response identifies important assumptions and thoroughly examines their implications. The proposal to spend more on riverside recreational facilities rests on three questionable assumptions, namely: †¢THAT THE SURVEY PROVIDES A RELIABLE BASIS FOR BUDGET PLANNING †¢THAT THE RIVER’S POLLUTION AND ODOR ARE THE ONLY REASONS FOR ITS LIMITED RECREATIONAL USE. †¢THAT EFFORTS TO CLEAN THE WATER AND REMOVE THE ODOR WILL BE SUCCESSFUL By showing that each assumption is highly suspect, this essay demonstrates the weakness of the entire argument. For example, paragraph 2 points out that the survey might not have used a representative sample, might have offered limited choices, and might have contained very few questions on water sports. Paragraph 3 examines the tenuous connection between complaints and limited use of the river for recreation. Complaints about water quality and odor may be coming from only a few people and, even if such complaints are numerous, other completely different factors may be much more significant in reducing river usage. Finally, paragraph 4 explains that certain geologic features may prevent effective river clean-up. Details such as these provide compelling support. In addition, careful organization ensures that each new point builds upon the previous ones. For example, note the clear transitions at the beginning of paragraphs 3 and 4, as well as the logical sequence of sentences within paragraphs (specifically paragraph 4). Although this essay does contain minor errors, it still conveys ideas fluently. Note the effective word choices (e. g. , rife with . . . assumptions and may have swayed residents). In addition, sentences are not merely varied; they also display skillful embedding of subordinate elements. For example, note the sustained parallelism in the first sentence of the concluding paragraph. Since this response offers cogent examination of the argument and conveys meaning skillfully, it earns a score of 6. Essay Response — Score 5 The author of this proposal to increase the budget for Mason City riverside recreational facilities offers aninteresting argument but to move forward on the proposal would definitely   require more information and thought. While the correlations stated are logical and probable, there may be hidden factors that prevent the City from diverting resources to this project. For example, consider the survey rankings among Mason City residents. The thought is that such high regard for water sports will translate into usage. But, survey responses can hardly be used as indicators of actual behavior. Many surveys conducted after the winter holidays reveal people who list exercise and weight loss as a top priority. Yet every profession does not equal a new gym membership. Even the wording of the survey results remain ambiguous and vague. While water sports may be among the residents favorite activities, this allows for many other favorites. What remains unknown is the priorities of the general public. Do they favor these water sports above a softball field or soccer field? Are they willing to sacrifice the municipal golf course for better riverside facilities? Indeed the survey hardly provides enough information to discern future use of improved facilities. Closely linked to the surveys is the bold assumption that a cleaner river will result in increased usage. While it is not illogical to expect some increase, at what level will people begin to use the river? The answer to this question requires a survey to find out the reasons our residents use or do not use the river. Is river water quality the primary limiting factor to usage or the lack of docks and piers? Are people more interested in water sports than the recreational activities that they are already engaged in? These questions will help the city government forecast how much river usage will increase and to assign a proportional increase to the budget. Likewise, the author is optimistic regarding the state promise to clean the river. We need to hear the source of the voices and consider any ulterior motives. Is this a campaign year and the plans a campaign promise from the state representative? What is the timeline for the clean-up effort? Will the state fully fund this project? We can imagine the misuse of funds in renovating the riverside facilities only to watch the new buildings fall into dilapidation while the state drags the river clean-up. Last, the author does not consider where these additional funds will be diverted from. The current budget situation must be assessed to determine if this increase can be afforded. In a sense, the City may not be willing to draw money away from other key projects from road improvements to schools and education. The author naively assumes that the money can simply appear without forethought on where it will come from. Examining all the various angles and factors involved with improving riverside recreational facilities, the argument does not justify increasing the budget. While the proposal does highlight a possibility, more information is required to warrant any action. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 5 Each paragraph in the body of this perceptive essay identifies and examines an unstated assumption that is crucial to the argument. The major assumptions discussed are: †¢THAT A SURVEY CAN ACCURATELY PREDICT BEHAVIOR †¢THAT CLEANING THE RIVER WILL, IN ITSELF, INCREASE RECREATIONAL USAGE †¢THAT STATE PLANS TO CLEAN THE RIVER WILL ACTUALLY BE REALIZED †¢THAT MASON CITY CAN AFFORD TO SPEND MORE ON RIVERSIDE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES. Support within each paragraph is both thoughtful and thorough. For example, paragraph 2 points out vagueness in the wording of the survey: Even if water sports rank among the favorite recreational activities of Mason City residents, other sports may still be much more popular. Thus, if the first assumption proves unwarranted, the argument to fund riverside facilities — rather than soccer fields or golf courses — becomes much weaker. Paragraph 4 considers several reasons why river clean-up plans may not be successful (the plans may be nothing more than campaign promises or funding may not be adequate). Thus, the weakness of the third assumption undermines the argument that river recreation will increase and riverside improvements will be needed at all. Instead of dismissing each assumption in isolation, this response places them in a logical order and considers their connections. Note the appropriate transitions between and within paragraphs, clarifying the links among the assumptions (e. g. , Closely linked to the surveys †¦ or The answer to this question requires ). Along with strong development, this response also displays facility with language. Minor errors in punctuation are present, but word choices are apt and sentences suitably varied in pattern and length. The response uses a number of rhetorical questions, but the implied answers are always clear enough to support the points being made. Thus, the response satisfies all requirements for a score of 5, but its development is not thorough or compelling enough for a 6. Essay Response — Score 4 The problem with the arguement is the assumption that if the Mason River were cleaned up, that people would use it for water sports and recreation. This is not necessarily true, as people may rank water sports among their favorite recreational activities, but that does not mean that those same people have the financial ability, time or equipment to pursue those interests. However, even if the writer of the arguement is correct in assuming that the Mason River will be used more by the citys residents, the arguement does not say why the recreational facilities need more money. If recreational facilities already exist along the Mason River, why should the city allot more money to fund them? If the recreational facilities already in existence will be used more in the coming years, then they will be making more money for themselves, eliminating the need for the city government to devote more money to them. According to the arguement, the reason people are not using the Mason River for water sports is because of the smell and the quality of water, not because the recreational facilities are unacceptable. If the city government alloted more money to the recreational facilities, then the budget is being cut from some other important city project. Also, if the assumptions proved unwarranted, and more people did not use the river for recreation, then much money has been wasted, not only the money for the recreational facilities, but also the money that was used to clean up the river to attract more people in the first place. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 4 This competent response identifies two unstated assumptions: †¢THAT CLEANING UP THE MASON RIVER WILL LEAD TO INCREASED RECREATIONAL USE †¢THAT EXISTING FACILITIES ALONG THE RIVER NEED MORE FUNDING Paragraph 1 offers reasons why the first assumption is questionable (e. g. , residents may not have the necessary time or money for water sports). Similarly, paragraphs 2 and 3 explain that riverside recreational facilities may already be adequate and may, in fact, produce additional income if usage increases. Thus, the response is adequately developed and satisfactorily organized to show how the argument depends on questionable assumptions. However, this essay does not rise to a score of 5 because it fails to consider several other unstated assumptions (e. g. , that the survey is reliable or that the efforts to clean the river will be successful). Furthermore, the final paragraph makes some extraneous, unsupported assertions of its own. Mason City may actually have a budget surplus so that cuts to other projects will not be necessary, and cleaning the river may provide other real benefits even if it is not used more for water sports. This response is generally free of errors in grammar and usage and displays sufficient control of language to support a score of 4. Essay Response — Score 3 Surveys are created to speak for the people; however, surveys do not always speak for the whole community. A survey completed by Mason City residents concluded that the residents enjoy water sports as a form of recreation. If that is so evident, why has the river not been used? The blame can not be soley be placed on the city park department. The city park department can only do as much as they observe. The real issue is not the residents use of the river, but their desire for a more pleasant smell and a more pleasant sight. If the city government cleans the river, it might take years for the smell to go away. If the budget is changed to accomodate the clean up of the Mason River, other problems will arise. The residents will then begin to complain about other issues in their city that will be ignored because of the great emphasis being placed on Mason River. If more money is taken out of the budget to clean the river an assumption can be made. This assumption is that the budget for another part of cit maintenance or building will be tapped into to. In addition, to the budget being used to clean up Mason River, it will also be allocated in increasing riverside recreational facilites. The government is trying to appease its residents, and one can warrant that the role of the government is to please the people. There are many assumptions being made; however, the government can not make the assumption that people want the river to be cleaned so that they can use it for recreational water activities. The government has to realize the long term effects that their decision will have on the monetary value of their budget. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 3 Even though much of this essay is tangential, it offers some relevant examination of the argument’s assumptions. The early sentences mention a questionable assumption (that the survey results are reliable) but do not explain how the survey might have been flawed. Then the response drifts to irrelevant matters — a defense of the city park department, a prediction of budget problems and the problem of pleasing city residents. Some statements even introduce unwarranted assumptions that are not part of the original argument (e. g. ,The residents will then begin to complain about other issues and This assumption is that the budget for another part of city maintenance or building will be tapped into). Near the end, the response does correctly note that city government should not assume that residents want to use the river for recreation. Hence, the proposal to increase funding for riverside recreational facilities may not be justified. In summary, the language in this response is reasonably clear, but its examination of unstated assumptions remains limited and therefore earns a score of 3. Essay Response — Score 2. This statement looks like logical, but there are some wrong sentences in it which is not logical. First, this statement mentions raking water sports as their favorite recreational activities at the first sentence. However, it seems to have a ralation between the first sentence and the setence which mentions that increase the quality of the rivers water and the rivers smell. This is a wrong cause and result to solve the problem. Second, as a reponse to the complaints from residents, the state plan to clean up the river. As a result, the state expects that water sports will increase. When you look at two sentences, the result is not appropriate for the cause. Third, the last statement is the conclusion. However, even though residents rank water sports, the city government might devote the budget to another issue. This statement is also a wrong cause and result. In summary, the statement is not logical because there are some errors in it. The supporting setences are not strong enough to support this issue. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 2 Although this essay appears to be carefully organized, it does not follow the directions for the assigned task. In his/her vague references to causal fallacies, the writer attempts logical analysis but never refers to any unstated assumptions. Furthermore, several errors in grammar and sentence structure interfere with meaning (e. g. , This statement looks like logical, but there are some wrong sentences in it which is not logical). Because this response does not follow the directions for the assigned task and contains errors in sentence structure and logical development, it earns a score of 2. Essay Response — Score 1 The statement assumes that everyone in Mason City enjoys some sort of recreational activity, which may not be necessarily true. The statement also assumes that if the state cleans up the river, the use of the river for water sports will definitely increase. Reader Commentary for Essay Response — Score 1 The brevity of this two-sentence response makes it fundamentally deficient. Sentence 1 states an assumption that is actually not present in the argument, and sentence 2 correctly states an assumption but provides no discussion of its implications. Although the response may begin to address the assigned task, it offers no development. As such, it is clearly extremely brief providing little evidence of an organized response and should earn a score of 1.

Crime Data Comparison Paper Essay Example for Free

Crime Data Comparison Paper Essay The two metropolitan areas I have decided to do my research paper on are Cincinnati, Ohio and Dallas, Texas. I choose Cincinnati because it is one of the bigger cities where I live. I choose Dallas because there seems to be a big difference in crime rates compared to Cincinnati. In this paper I will be comparing the burglary rate between these two cities. I will identify the number of burglaries reported to the police in each area and also explain which area had more reported burglaries as well as what were the rates of the crimes in each area. I will also explain whether the rates have changed at all and look into what factors that might be involved that might explain the difference in the burglary rates. Looking at the research, Cincinnati, Ohio had a rate of 6,287 burglaries that were reported to police in 2009 (Crime in the United States, 2009). Dallas, Texas on the other hand had 19,428 burglaries in that same year. The rate of crime given for Cincinnati in 2009 was 375.1 occurrences per 10,000 persons (Crime in the United States, 2009). Dallas by comparison had a crime rate of 1505.7 occurrences per 100,000 people. According to the crime statistics, crime in Dallas, Texas is down 6.4 percent from 2008 and Cincinnati has one of the highest crime rates in the country compared to all communities of all sizes. Ones chance of becoming a victim of property crime is one in twelve. (NeighborhoodScout, 2012). There are many factors that could explain the differences in the crime rates between these two cities. One factor could be the difference in population. The population in Cincinnati is 296,943 within the city limits according to the 2010 census. (Crime in the United States, 2009) whereas in Dallas, Texas the population is 1,197,816 according to 2010 censes. When you look at the numbers the more people living in an area the higher the crime rate will be. There are also other factors that could explain the big differences between these cities. The ethnic and racial makeup of the people living there and their educational levels could be a big difference. To really explain the increase or decline in both these cities is difficult because the two areas that I choose are so very different in population is really the biggest difference. In conclusion, in comparing both these big cities Cincinnati is showing an increase in the number of burglaries and almost every other crime as for Dallas, the crime rate there is down 6.4 percent. With the population in Dallas being 1,197,816 and Cincinnati’s population being 296,943 people would think that Dallas would be a city full of crime but Cincinnati is far worse. According to NeighborhoodScout . com, on a scale of 100 to 1(100 is the safest) Cincinnati rates just a two. This scale shows that Cincinnati is just safer then two percent of the cities in the United States of America. There are many factors that could explain why Cincinnati has one of the fasting growing crime rates in the nation. One could be the economy where there is nine percent unemployment in the city alone. Another factor could be the racial and ethnic makeup of the city. Looking at the Dallas, Texas crime rates, it rates a six in the crime index (NeighborhoodScout.com). This means that Dallas, Texas is safer than six percent of the cities in the United States. In Dallas there were 8,341 violent crimes and 63,022 property crimes compared to Cincinnati’s 3,087 violent crimes and 20,911 property crimes. Looking at how big Dallas is compared to Cincinnati you would think that there would be more crimes per 1,000 residents but it is not even close. In Cincinnati there are 10.42 crimes per 1,000 residents compared to Dallas’s 6.82 annual crimes per 1,000 residents. When you compare Cincinnati with Dallas, the crime index, population, and the crime rates going up or down, Dallas to me would be the safer of the two cities to live in. References Crime in the United States of America. (2009). February, 2012 http://www.2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_06.html Neighborhood Scout. (2012) http:/www.neighborhoodscout.com/Cincinnati/crime http:/www.neighborhoodscout.com/Dallas/crime

Bilateral Investment Treaties: Breach of Treaty or Contract

Bilateral Investment Treaties: Breach of Treaty or Contract The face of international investment has changed radically thanks to the proliferation of BITs in the past decade. This has led to foreign investment disputes increasingly being resolved through dispute resolution procedure. But the increase in arbitration to resolve investment related disputes hasnt been successful in resolving some of the issues arising from BITs. Rather some of the recent decision in international investment has exposed some of the underlying problem between the theoretical aspect of the bit and the practical aspect[1]. One of the major issues creating a lot of controversy is related to interpreting that umbrella clause in different BITs[2] and the conflict between breach of treaty v breach of contract. This clause, found in most of the BITs requires that each contracting party must honour and observe all obligations that have been entered with the investor from the other contracting state. This clause basically helps the investor to raise a contractual claim unde r the domestic law to a treaty claim under the BITs. According to Jarrod Wong the application of such clause results in the international arbitration tribunal constituted under the BIT (the BIT tribunal) to take jurisdiction over breach-of-contract claims since the umbrella clause raises the breach of contract to a treaty level breach which automatically gives jurisdiction to the tribunal[3]. To put it in the simplest way, it means that the investor can now ask the international investment tribunal to redress the breach of the investment contact by elevating it to the status of breach of the investment treat by way of international arbitration. Vivendi[4], SGS v. Pakistan[5], and SGS v. Philippines[6] are the three cases decided by International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal that have fuelled the controversy relating to umbrella clause[7] and additionally have discussed the relationship between a breach of contract and breach of treaty.   The above cases have shown how international arbitrators are inconsistent in their approach towards interpreting the umbrella clause in the governing BITs. This has led to a conflict on how the two-principal aspect of international investment practice work in consonance with each other. The two-principal aspect constitute of investment contract which is validated by the hosts states domestic law and the international investment agreement which are mostly the BITs[8]. If this underlying uncertainty isnt resolved soon, then the growth and favourability of international investment stands threatened.[9] Since overlaps between contract and treaty claims ar e expected to arise with increased frequency in the interim period (as a result of the ever-increasing scope of BIT coverage)[10]. This essay will first analyse the relationship between a contractual claim and treaty claim when both arise from same set of facts (a single action of the host state giving rise to the breach). The analysis will be done by discussing how different tribunal have assisted in developing this jurisprudence as it stands today and if there are any fault and changes required in the jurisprudence. The second part of the essay will deal the umbrella clause jurisprudence by focusing and dissecting the decision and reasoning of the tribunal in the SGS decision that have shaped the concept as it is today. At the end the conclusion will involve the analysis and recommendation relating to the jurisprudence discussed below and will also provide an analysis of the decisions that will be referred to. The parties in an investment transaction receive their substantive and procedural rights from the combination of different norm starting from the investment contract itself that is entered between the foreign investor and the local government which gives rise to private right and obligation. Then there is the domestic law of the host state that govern and protects the substantial rights and obligation of the party. These domestic laws fill in the normative gaps that arise in the contract, those domestic laws are mostly in the form of tax laws, environmental law et al. Domestic laws create substantive and procedural right and obligation in addition to those undertaken through the contract. Finally, Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and Multilateral Investment Treaties (MITs) also govern many international foreign investments that required the host state to adhere to obligation by a fixed set of international law. A combination of the above norms provides for a suitable investment e nvironment for the foreign investor protecting and guaranteeing a return on the investment made.[11] The above set of norm give rise to different rights and there is claim under all the three set of norm and at time those claims can arise from a single set of facts. All the three norms work simultaneously to protect and observe all the right and obligation of the parties. As all the norm work together at times both contractual and treat claims can come from a single set of facts, that fact being the act of the government which can breach the investment contract and the investment treaty at the same time. The question that arises here is that if single set of facts gives rise to both treaty and contractual claims then will the tribunal have jurisdiction or will the court have jurisdiction over the dispute? This jurisprudence stands clarified that the tribunal will have jurisdiction over the treaty claims and the local court or arbitrator will have jurisdiction over contractual claims by international tribunal time and again, the most recent being the famous SGS decisions and it was first dealt with by the Lanco v Argentina[12] Tribunal. This ICSID jurisprudence established in Lanco[13] was based on the forum selection clause contained in the concession agreement which was in favour of domestic courts in Argentina. Argentina argued that because of the clause the tribunal has no jurisdiction over treaty claims as the consent in the contract by way of the forum selection clause over rides the general consent given in the BIT for ICSID arbitration. The tribunal however rejected the argument stating that United States-Argentina BIT allows the investor to submit the dispute to ICSID for treaty based claims and the consent is an expressed consent and cannot in any case be overridden by the consent given in the contract.[14] The Annulment Committee in the Vivendi case affirmed the Vivindi Tribunals decision on the issue relating to forum selection clause which was in line with the Lanco decision. The tribunal basically stated that the ICSID tribunal will never be deprived of jurisdiction over a treaty claim, including the case of treaty claims arising out of the contract even when there is a forum selection clause in the contract.[15] The tribunal in the Vivindi[16] case stated that in no way the forum selection clause would be: deemed to prevent the investor from proceeding under the ICSID Convention against the Argentine Republic on a claim charging the Argentine Republic with a violation of the Argentine-French BIT.[17] The forum selection clause was again a point of contention between the parties in both the SGS dispute and the tribunals decisions was in line with the prior jurisprudence. While discussing the SGS decisions one important point that is mostly not noted is that in both the disputes the tribunal asserted jurisdiction over the treaty claim which arose directly from the investment agreement. This cemented the ICSID jurisprudence that was established in earlier cases, both treaty claims and contractual claims can arise from the same set of facts. It can also be stated that, notwithstanding any forum selection clause, in a matter of treaty violation an international tribunal will always have jurisdiction over the treaty based claim. The tribunal in SGS v Pakistan cited the Vivindi annulment decision where the committee stated: [W] here the fundamental basis of the claim is a treaty laying down an independent standard by which the conduct of the parties is to be judged, the existence of an exclusive jurisdiction clause in a contract between the claimant and the respondent state cannot operate as a bar to the application of the treaty standard. At most, it might be relevant-as municipal law will often be relevant-in assessing whether there has been a breach of the treaty.[18] The tribunal also particularly stated that it will deal with the violation related to the treaty only and there will be no jurisdictional overlap with the PSI arbitrator as the PSI arbitrator will be dealing with contractual violation even though both the dispute arise from the same set of facts.[19] It must also be noted that the tribunal in SGS v Philippines also had to deal with similar type of forum selection clause and its decision was again in line with earlier jurisprudence. The SGS tribunals were consistent in their decision on forum selection clause in an underlying contract and also followed the jurisprudence that was established. The effect is that once treaty based claims are found and framed then the treaty based tribunal have the power to adjudicate them and no other forum selection clause can abridge that right. This authority will in no condition be abdicated on the reason that they claim are linked or arise from claims related to contracts. No forum selection clause in an underlying contract or a parallel proceeding relating to the claims can rob or stop the treaty based tribunal from deciding the treaty based claim as clear differentiation can be established between treaty based claims and contractual claims even if they arise from the same set of facts. We saw that there is a clear differentiation between a tribunal asserting jurisdiction on treaty claims when the dispute arises from the same set of fact related to an underlying investment contract. But the umbrella clause aims to do just the opposite by equating contract breaches with treaty breaches. SGS v Pakistan was the first case to deal with the umbrella clause in its practical aspect back in 2003 and then this question was again dealt with by SGS v Philippines. While trying to deal with the question of umbrella clause the SGS decisions left us with conflicting and confusing interpretation of the umbrella clause. The confusion can be attributed to how the SGS decisions lie on the opposite end of the spectrum, while SGS v. Pakistan determined that the BIT tribunal does not have any jurisdiction over contractual claims on the ground (that umbrella clause is very wide in its scope and there was no intention to cover contractual dispute), conversely SGS v. Philippines held that a BIT tribunal in fact has such jurisdiction (as the umbrella clause is to be applied as it is) but still held that it should not exercise this jurisdiction where the investment agreement contains an exclusive forum selection clause designating a specific but different forum from BIT tribunal for resolving disputes arising under the contract. The United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations has stated that the presence of an umbrella clause in a treaty: makes the respect of such contracts [between the host State and the investor] an obligation under the treaty. Thus, the breach of such a contract by the host State would engage its responsibility under the agreement and-unless direct dispute settlement procedures come into play-entitle the home State to exercise diplomatic protection of the investor.[20] The inclusion of umbrella clause has widened the definition of a arbitrable dispute and over the time tribunal have found and concluded that jurisdiction of a tribunal is no more restricted to claims of violation of substantive provision of BIT.[21] It may be noted that the clauses in BITs are not yet tested as they have been drafted keeping in mind the future requirement for an favourable investment and they are put to test only when any dispute arises and they are placed before an arbitral tribunal. Two of the recent decision relates to the interpretation of the umbrella clause discussed below shows what challenges can the umbrella clause being with them. The SGS Reasonings The SGS decision are the two most recent and important decision on umbrella clause. While SGS v Pakistan took a very restrictive approach in interpreting the clause over contractual claims, SGS v Philippines made a broad interpretation of the umbrella clause by covering both treaty claims and contractual claims. SGS v Pakistan was faced with an umbrella clause, which according to the tribunal was very broad in its scope. The tribunal went on to state that the clause is so broad that it cant be construed to cover contractual claims (compromissory clause article 9 of BIT only intended to cover treaty claims not contractual claims)[22].   The tribunal also found that the umbrella clause in article 11 of the BIT did not transfer SGS contractual claims in to BIT claim. The tribunal stated that a straight forward reading and literal interpretation of the clause encompasses the contractual claims, but the tribunal was concerned that it will convert every contractual claim into a breach of BIT claim and would open a floodgate of cases.[23] The tribunal was very explicit in stating that they dont intent the clause to be so wide in its scope and assumed that the parties also never intended to do so. Giving effect to the clause would be exceeding what the contracting parties intended and the tri bunal is willing to accept.[24] So eventually the tribunal took jurisdiction over treaty claim only and allowed to PSI arbitrator to resolve the contractual disputes. SGS v Philippines was faced with the decision of the earlier SGS v Pakistan tribunal which came before some months only. The tribunal felt that the SGS v Pakistan tribunal didnt give the full and proper effect to the umbrella clause stating that the clause doesnt change the applicable   law on the contract from Philippines law to international.[25] The applicable law remains the domestic law only, the umbrella clause makes sure that the host state honours the obligation it has undertaken under the contract in effect, the clause help to secure the performance of the contract obligation by the host state in relation to international investment protection law.[26] Surprisingly after giving a broad interpretation to the clause the tribunal suspended the proceedings asking the claimant to get the judgement from the domestic court first and then come back to the tribunal if the claimant finds that the judgment is unsatisfactory or the host state doesnt comply with the judgment. The tribunal felt that they have jurisdiction over the dispute, but it is not yet admissible as there is another forum selection clause closer to the contract and if that fail then the tribunal can take jurisdiction.[27] Basically, speaking the tribunal stated that they have jurisdiction over the matter but it will become admission when the forum selection clause doesnt provide justice it will be admissible as it will get elevated to treat violation under the doctrine of denial of justice under international law.[28] Its clear by now that both tribunals decided not to decide on the contractual claim. As Thomas W Walde states, this happened because both the tribunal feared that it will open a floodgate. The SGS v Pakistan was much sincere and clearly vocal about the fear whereas the SGS v Philippines tribunal wrapped it in a more technical consideration.[29] In the end, we can see that both the SGS decision have left the concept of Umbrella clause on a very uneven ground by reaching at two different conclusions. In my opinion an umbrella clause provides much more confidence than a forum selection clause. The reason umbrella clause is preferred because it provides for the disputes to be resolved by a neutral tribunal as both the parties have equal say in the selection and appointment of the tribunals. whereas the forum selection clause requires that the dispute be resolved by a domestic court where the host state has an interest. This doesnt help to instil any confidence of the foreign investor in the domestic forum.[30] The SGS v Pakistan tribunal didnt take into consideration the entire jurisprudence of international law, had it vested far enough it would have realised that the jurisprudence states that contracts of aliens with a government are protected under international law, but only if there are not merely commercial, but have an e lement of governmental powers and prerogative.[31] The intention and aim of investment treaty are not to cover and protect normal commercial functions but rather the action of the government which may seem business like but are sovereign in nature. Had the tribunal delved and concentrated on this core aspect of international investment law it would have realised that the PSI contract involves the power of government (matter related to custom and revenue are the sovereign function of government and PSI agreement was a contract relating to the sovereign action of the Pakistan government) and it would have been able to assert jurisdiction without opening any floodgates. In my opinion when there is an umbrella clause, the parties should go ahead to give effect to the clause, however wide it is. The jurisprudence behind the umbrella clause is to give it a broad interpretation by literally reading it the way it is written. Further, if the argument given in the decision are carried to the extreme, it would invalidate not just the umbrella clause, but all BIT provisions. Conversely the host state should be the one to take the first step to allow the umbrella to take effect and raise the contract claim to treaty claim. Although this step would benefit both the parties, but the host state stands to gain from this action rather than loosing anything. My analogy is based on the assumptions that such an action would be beneficial to the host state, as it will be seen as a positive and pro-investment stance by other investors. The host state stand to benefit by way of a more hospitable, more attractive environment for foreign investment by the adoption of the BIT provisions such as clause like umbrella clause (also forum section clause). Another issue that arises is, reengaging with the clause of the BIT after the investment and that too after a claim has arisen, creates uncertainty in the global marketplace and this may will result in investor losing confidence in the host effecting loss of investment opportunity. In my conclusion, I complete agree with what Jarrod wong states, the language, history and purpose of umbrella clause dictates one reasonable interpretation that it applies to investment contracts without any exception and hence it should be enforced in case of any dispute in accordance with the partys agreement.[32] Moreover, a foreign investor enters an investment agreement with the host by drawing confidence from the BIT and its clauses should be applied as it is until and unless it is blatantly against any concept of international law. Some recent cases have tried to deal with the interpretation of the umbrella clause. while some went for the decision went for Broad, Unconditional Plain Meaning of the clause like SGS v. Paraguay[33] and EDF v. Argentina[34]. Those cases stuck to the concept that there should be a plain meaning buy some of them went for conditional plan meaning but none of the tribunal went ahead to clarify the confusion created by the SGS decision. We are slowly seeing a trend in the practice but far from reaching a conclusive finality. So, the present requirement is for ICSID to clarify on the umbrella issue that has cropped up because of the SGS decisions and the interpretation of the clause should be broad and literal as the jurisprudence related to the umbrella clause suggests. [1] Yuval Shany, Contract Claims Vs. Treaty Claims: Mapping Conflicts Between Icsid Decisions On Multisourced Investment Claims, The American Journal of International Law, American Society of International LawVol. 99, No. 4 (Oct., 2005), pp. 835-851 [2] Jarrod Wong, Umbrella Clauses in Bilateral Investment Treaties: Of Breaches of Contract, Treaty Violations, and the Divide between Developing and Developed Countries in Foreign Investment Disputes, 14 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 135 (2006). [3] ibid [4] Compania de Aquas del Aconquija, S.A. v. Argentina, Decision on Annulment, ICSID No. ARB/97/3, 41 ILM 1135, 1154 (2002). [5] SGS Societe Generale de Surveillance S.A. v. Pakistan, Decision on Jurisdiction, ICSID No. ARB/01/13 (Aug. 6, 2003), 18 ICSID REV. 301 (2003), 42 ILM 1290 (2003) [6] SGS Societe Generale de Surveillance S.A. v. Philippines, Decision on Jurisdiction, ICSID No. ARB/02/6 (Jan. 29, 2004) [7] Shany, (n1) [8] ibid [9] Cf Kalypso Nicolaidis Joyce L. Tong, Diversity or Cacophony? The Continuing Debate over New Sources of International Law, 25 MICH.J. INTL L. 1349, 1351 (2004) [10] Shany, (n1) [11] Ibid., pp. 835-851 [12] Lanco International Inc. v. the Argentine Republic (hereinafter Lanco), ICSID Case No. ARB/97/6, Preliminary Decision: Jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal, 8 December 1998, 40 I.L.M. 457, 2001 [13] Ibid. [14] ibid., at para. 31. [15] Compania de Aguas del Aconquija S.A. and Vivendi Universal v. Argentine Republic (ICSID Case No. ARB/97/3, Decision on Annulment of 3 July 2002, 41 I.L.M. 1135, 2002, at para. 50. [16] ibid [17] ibid., at para. 54 [18] ibid., at para. 140 [19] SGS v Pakistan (n 5) at para 186 187 [20] United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, Bilateral Investment Treaties, UNCTC, 1988, at 39. [21] Christoph Schreuer, Travelling the BIT Route: of waiting periods, umbrella clause and Fork in the road, 5 J.W.I.T 2, 231 (2004) [22] ibid [23] Stanimir a alexandrov, Breaches of Contract and Breaches of Treaty: The Jurisdiction of Treaty-based Arbitration Tribunals to Decide Breach of Contract Claims in SGs v Pakistan and SGs v Philippines [2004] 5 J. World Investment Trade 55 [24] Emmanuel Gaillard, Investment Treaty Arbitration and Jurisdiction Over Contract Claims- the SGS Cases Considered in International Investment Law and Arbitration: Leading cases from the ICSID, NAFTA, Bilateral Treaties and Customary International Law, Tod Weiler Editor (2005).257, 2004, at 271-272 [25] alexandrov, (n 23) [26] SGS v Philippine (n 6) at para 126 [27] Stephen Schwebel, International Protection of Contractual Agreements (1959) A.S.I.L. Proc. 273 [28] ibid [29] Thomas W. Wà ¤lde, The Umbrella (or Sanctity of Contract/Pacta sunt Servanda) Clause in Investment Arbitration: A Comment on Original Intentions and Recent [2004] 1(4) TDM   1 [30] Wong, (n 2) [31] Schwebel, (n 24) [32] Wong, (n 2) [33] Socià ©tà © Gà ©nà ©rale de Surveillance S.A. v. Republic of the Philippines, ICSID Case No. ARB/02/6 [34] EDF International S.A., SAUR International S.A. and Leon Participaciones Argentinas S.A. v. Argentine Republic, ICSID Case No. ARB/03/23 Cocaine Addiction: History, Effects and Symptoms Cocaine Addiction: History, Effects and Symptoms Cocaine Addiction An Overview of Cocaine Addiction What is Cocaine? Cocaine is a stimulant drug that produces a greater effect of ‘high’ than other drugs such as methamphetamine. It comes in a form of white powder or crystal form with a bitter numbing taste. In general, the powder form is mixed with other materials such as talcum powder, icing sugar, cornstarch or other drugs such as amphetamine or procaine. Cocaine is derived from coca leaves, then processed into cocaine hydrochloride to produce the base of the drug which is develop into two forms recognized as crack and freebase. White crack typically comes in the shape of crystals varies in color from creamy or white to a transparent color with a yellow or pink tinge whereas freebase is the white crystalline powder form. Cocaine generally snorted through the nasal tissues hence absorbed into the bloodstream. Some people also rub the drug at their gums and swallowing it. Ways of ingesting it depends on the preference of the users, some want a rapid high sensation would inject it or inh ale it as a vapor or smoke. Cocaine is widely known by many names that includes pepsi, coke, crack, Charlie, base, sugar block and rock. Brief History Cocaine was once misclassified as a narcotic drug that depresses the nervous system. It is a powerful stimulant and indigenous natives chewed the coca leaves for boosts of energy. The natives believed it was given by the God and reserves the coca’s pleasure for royalties and high priests. In overtime, the coca leaves were spread to the common people. In 1860, the secret of the coca leaves caught the attention of a pharmaceutical company located in Germany. In the facility, the ancient coca leaf collided with modern chemistry and the drug’s active ingredients are isolated from coca’s chemical properties by chemist, Albert Niemann. After the chemical isolation, a crystal substance is formed and it was named Cocaine which derives from â€Å"coca† and the alkaloid suffix â€Å"-ine†. Niemann stripped the leaves of its mono rating substances and unknowingly created the world’s most addictive drug. How it is used? There are four common ways of ingesting cocaine which are oral, intravenous, intranasal and inhalation. In other street terms it is called chewing, injecting or mainlining, snorting and smoking. Intravenous use is a method of using a hypodermic needle to inject cocaine directly into the bloodstream causing instant intense effect to the user. Whereas intranasal administration is the process of snorting powdered cocaine through the external opening of the nose. Smoking cocaine requires breathing in the smoke or vapor of a burning cocaine into the lungs where the effects are sucked up into the bloodstream to create instantaneous euphoric high as such injecting cocaine. Users should be aware that there are absolute no safe way of using cocaine as the listed methods of using the drug result in absorption of toxic amounts of cocaine, cerebrovascular emergencies, acute cardiovascular and seizures that can to sudden death. Effects on the brain Cocaine activates norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that stimulates movements, excitement and feelings of pleasure. Normally, when you get excited, startle, and frighten the brain makes you react in order to get out from harm’s way. Cocaine works in the similar way in the brain automatically without you needing it to occur. This addictive drug is a powerful central nervous system stimulant that stimulates the growth of neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain which is responsible to regulate movement and pleasure. Generally, dopamine is freed by neurons in response to potential rewards and reprocess back into the cell that freed it and eventually shutting off signals in linked with neurons. Cocaine stops the dopamine from being reused thus leading to excessive number of dopamine to develop in the synapse. This process causes amplification of the dopamine signals and eventually disrupts standard brain communication. The overflow of dopamine is the main cause of cr eating the cocaine’s euphoric high. Constant heavy usage of the cocaine can cause permanent long-term modification of the brain’s reward system and also other systems of the brain. Effects on the lungs Smoking cocaine is the main contribution to the majority lung and breathing complications. Users smoke crack, freebase or paste by using water pipes, glass pipes or cigarettes, heated using matches or butane lighters. Residue from the cocaine contaminants, matches, tars and additives as such marijuana usually causes chronic coughing, bronchitis, and coughing black phlegm thus leading to multiple chest pain and shortness of breath. The practice of breath holding and deep inhalation technique maximizes the volume of cocaine inhaled and the absorption and can cause collapsing of the lung. At times, users often express sharp pains in the chest area due to deep breathing, neck pain, painful swallowing and buildup of air under the skin located at the neck area called subcutaneous emphysema, which has a feature of crackling touch sensation similar to Rice Krispies cereal. In addition, smoking cocaine can also cause pulmonary edema, a condition of the lung being filled with fluids that can c ause severe shortness in breath, respiratory failure and later death. Effects on the heart Cocaine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system that is mainly responsible for the fight response function which is controlled mostly by epinephrine or adrenaline. Increased of heart rates, high blood pressure and narrowing of blood vessels are the effects of using cocaine. Other type of cardiovascular complications that are caused by cocaine include rapid heart rate and abnormal heart rhythms known as cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is a disease that weakens the walls of the aorta and causes aortic dissection and rupture of the heart muscle. Repeated use of cocaine can also cause narrowing in the arteries of the heart that can lead to the decrease of blood flow in the heart organ thus causing symptoms of angina, where heart muscles are deprived of oxygen-rich blood that usually cause death of heart tissues and heart attack. In addition, cocaine is also responsible for subsequent narrowing and accelerated hardening of the coronary arteries of the heart which results in heart attacks and cardiac deaths among users from the age of 19 to 44 years of age. Signs of Cocaine Abuse Addiction Cocaine is a drug that is highly addictive and interferes how the brain processes chemicals responsible for the feelings of pleasure. Users who are addicted to cocaine will lose control over the usage of the drug. Strong urges of need for the drug emerge from time to time although most users know the consequences after taking it. Here are some signs of cocaine addiction: Mood Swings The drug cocaine causes addicts to â€Å"crash† when they decide to quit. The term crash refers to moments where the addict’s mood swings changes rapidly from high to distress which causes addicts to continue taking it in order to feel normal. Excess of using the drug may lead to addiction. Withdrawal symptoms Addicts who are addicted to cocaine may show withdrawal symptoms of the drug. Withdrawal symptoms may include hunger, depression, suicidal thoughts, intense cravings, extended sleep or restless sleep, irritability and exhaustion. Abusing cocaine will seem the easy way out to not experience any withdrawal symptoms thus bringing the addict back to relapsing the drug. Change in Behavior If an addict abuses cocaine, their behavior will dramatically change after using the drug. The addict may seem happy or excited and acts more confidently to display an enthusiastic sense of well-being. Addicts also may appear talkative than usual, sexually excited, energy levels increased and loss of food appetite. Eye Changes The most obvious signs of abusing cocaine is the addict’s eyes. The pupil of their eyes are dilated and overly sensitive to light. The pupil is the black part in the eye and usually will constrict when there is light shone into it and get bigger when the presence of light is gone. Cocaine causes the addict’s pupils to dilate or get bigger than its usual size. Nasal Effect Other signs of cocaine addiction include nasal effects. Cocaine addicts usually have runny noses and nose bleed after prolonged use of the drug. Cocaine is heavily snorted through the nasal passages resulting narrowing in blood vessels which can cause blood pressure to increase and decrease in blood flow to the nasal cavity tissues. Without the right amount of blood supply to the nasal cavity tissues, the normal function of the nose may undergo massive damages such as loss of sense of smell and overall health may also be affected. Family members and loved ones should also be on the look-out for traces of white colored powder around the addict’s nose as an indication of cocaine abuse. Skin Effect Another sign of cocaine abuse is scratching of the skin. Cocaine users typically experience irritating crawling feelings under the skin. This crawling feeling is known as ‘snow bugs’ or ‘cocaine bugs’. Addicts describe the feeling of cocaine bugs as burning, itching, biting and creeping. Some addicts will tend to always scratch their skin until it bleeds to ease the irritation. Keep an eye for small bleeding wounds and formation of scabs on your loved ones to identify the abuse of cocaine. Over-Heating Regular cocaine addicts will always find themselves sweating excessively due to dramatic increase of the body temperature. Addicts may also hallucinate and feel agitated, confused and paranoid easily. Family members should notice behaviors of their loved ones such as constant pulling off their clothes or tries to cool down the body with cold showers, wandering the streets without reasons and violent behaviors as signs of cocaine addiction. Treating Cocaine Addiction Without proper treatment, cocaine addiction and abuse can lead to destructive injuries and irreversible harm. In due course, similar to other substance addiction it will cause overdose, accidents, chronic health issues and death. At Solace Sabah, we offer the latest drug recovery program that incorporates cutting edge psychotherapies, modern medicines, committed aftercare, family integration and customized treatment plans. Every client will be provided with thorough and effective care for even the worst possible case of drug addiction. If you find your loved one is relying highly on cocaine and powerless to stop using the drug, treatment and immediate intervention are their best option for a chance to live a healthy life again. Contact us today at Solace Sabah to gain an understanding on how our in-depth addiction treatment program can help your loved ones to start the recovery journey.

The Validity of Creationism and Evolution Essay -- Science Creationism

The Validity of Creationism and Evolution Abstract: This paper discusses the validity of both creation and evolution and examines whether they can interact with each other. Besides doing my own research, I have chosen to interview four people extensively involved in either Christianity or biology. I specifically picked interviewees who strongly supported either evolution or creation to get both sides of the issue. Two of the people were from United Christian Fellowship (UCF): Andrew Larratt-Smith, leader of UCF, and Ricardo Dawkins, UCF small group member. I also interviewed two biologists: Paul Matsudaira, MIT Biology professor, and Bettina Bauer, a post-doctoral fellow in the HST department. Paul considers his religious beliefs in between agnosticism and Catholic. He was baptized in the Roman Catholic church but has not thought about God extensively. Bettina is neither religious nor anti-religious. She says that if God really exists, it would not change her life. From these interviews, I hoped to gain a better understandi ng of creation and evolution and examine whether they can co-exist. Creationism is based on the belief that God is the intelligent Designer who created our universe and the natural things in it. It is derived from the two stories of Genesis. The first of the stories (Genesis 1:1-2:3) states that God created the heavens and the earth, light, water, vegetation, animals, and then man in the image of him. In the second account (2:4-2:9), God made the heavens and the earth, water, man from the dust, and then vegeta-tion and animals. Clearly these two accounts differ from each other in terms of order. The response I received from creationists (Andrew) was that the Bible must not always be taken literall... ...onists want to put the hand of God behind various scientific processes, scientists cannot show that they are incorrect. His reasoning is that religion is dogmatic and not scientific in its nature. In conclusion, history has shown that religion and science can interact, and that reli gion has adjusted to the renewing knowledge of science. Therefore, the claim that science and religion are in separate spheres is not solid reasoning to avoid interrelating the two. However, religion as a whole does not need to obey scientific laws, nor can it be proved through repeatable experiments. It may never be disproved by science because its strength is gathered from the faith of its followers. Hence when scientific theories such as evolution extend itself to answer questions of why humans were created and what began life, it will ultimately fail in its attempts.

Educations Importance :: Teaching Education

Educations Importance An Institution of Thinkers Education is one of the most important things in modern America, but the reasons why learning is so important today is un-clear. Every modern country has a state run education system, which carries children in to there mid to late teens. The systems around the world are all quite similar, focusing on writing, math and reading, with other courses often being a second language and art. Though the systems are alike people from country to country and from town to town differ on the reasons why education is needed. Opinions range from a place to baby-sit the kids, to a needed key in the pursuit of a successful life and job. The simple un-clarity of today’s school systems is sad. An institution with so many employees and customers (students) should have a mission statement that screamed it’s meaning and lead students on a path to where they need to go. Gardner says â€Å"†¦students who have been well trained†¦do not display adequate understanding of the materials†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but what is unclear is what they should show knowledge in. Should students be able to recite the periodic table or simply know what it is? Should students know all the presidents or know where to find out about them? These questions need to be detailed before we can ever expect for the students to achieve well. Gardner speaks of seven different intelligences, which leads to a question of how is it possible to have 32 people in front of you, all programmed differently and teach them all the same thing. School can’t be designed to fit everyone in, but the institution we currently have tries to. A simple understanding of Gardners Intelligences by the people who created the current system might have drastically changed it. We need to fit all people into a system of education, but what we are currently doing is fitting all people into a cookie cutter mold, which is metaphorically cutting off there legs and arms just to fit them in it. Children are all in school to learn, but we need to isolate why they are there and work from that. I believe schools are meant as simply places to give people a start in life, have them all reading, knowing simple mathematics, history and science. Schools to the 8th grade should be molds, everyone should be taught the same things, maybe not in the same way, but they should walk out knowing the same basics.