Saturday, August 31, 2019

Development Of An Irrigation System In Thailand Environmental Sciences Essay

Subsistence husbandmans in semi waterless parts of Northeastern Thailand face many hazards. Anything from personal unwellness to inclement conditions can direct the husbandmans into debt. This undertaking will measure the H2O demands for farming in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and develop a suited program for an irrigation system to run into those demands, therefore enabling the husbandmans to increase their harvest outputs. An irrigation system could increase harvest outputs, cut down the hazard of harvest failure, and perchance let for the add-on of a 2nd crop each twelvemonth. The excess income generated by irrigation to their harvests would assist the husbandmans rise above subsistence agriculture by supplying economic stableness. Our squad will analyse the conditions in the small towns, including field conditions and harvests to measure the state of affairs and find which irrigation system best suits the demands of the villagers. We will besides supply recommendations for a pr ogram for reasonably administering H2O from the system, every bit good as keeping it, both to be overseen by an organisation hand in glove run by the husbandmans. Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai are located in Ubon Ratchathani state, within the sub-district of Nam Khun in Northeastern Thailand. They are 98 kilometres from Ubon City and 600 km nor'-east of Bangkok. Slightly more than half their populations are Catholic, while the remainder are Buddhists. Since Catholics are seen as foreigners in Thailand, a Catholic bulk is highly uncommon in Thailand. There is presently a church in the small towns, which sponsors the Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai Rural Development Program, which attempts to help the villagers in assorted ways. Ubon Ratchathani is both Thailand ‘s easternmost state and the Northeast ‘s most populated state, with a population transcending 1.5 million ( Cummings 554 ) . It covers 15 thousand square kilometres and has a great trade of cultivable land. Though Ubon is located on the Khorat Plateau, which is prone to utmost rhythms of waterlessness and implosion therapy, doing conditions similar to the â€Å" African Savannah † ( Fukui 19 ) , it is still an of import beginning of nutrient for the people of the Northeast. The part ‘s importance as a major provider of nutrient does non insulate them for the tendencies of the national economic system. The recent downswing of the Thai economic system has affected the husbandmans even though they are located in a distant portion of the state. The devaluation of the Baht has made it progressively hard for husbandmans to turn a net income. This is merely one of the many jobs the husbandmans of Nong Dim Dam and Charoen Chai face everyday. The husbandmans are covering with a broad assortment of other jobs including: inconsistent rainfall during the turning season, hapless dirt that lacks H2O and alimentary keeping capablenesss due to its flaxen composing, low H2O tabular array, and diminishing income due to utmost beads in the monetary value of rice ( Lutzky 21 ) . As there is deficient rain during the dry season, from November to April, they are presently limited to turning during the rainy season that extends from May to October. They grow gluey rice for personal ingestion, and sell manioc, maize and jute to gain money for necessities they can non bring forth themselves. This pattern earns the villagers an mean 10,000 Baht per twelvemonth, or $ 253 a twelvemonth. There are a figure of different irrigation systems. The determination of which system to utilize will depend on a figure of factors including: the demands of the husbandmans, harvests grown, field size, capacity, H2O demands for specific harvests, the handiness of H2O, the terrain environing Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and the budget and organisation of the villagers. The paper will measure these factors and the effects they will hold on both the feasibleness and creative activity of the chosen irrigation system. To carry through our undertaking, our group will foremost place a beginning of H2O for the irrigation system. No irrigation system can be effectual with out an equal beginning of H2O. We are non likely to happen accessible land H2O, such as lakes streams or pools, due to the geographic location of the small town. Likewise, the small towns ‘ locations atop a tableland well decrease the chance of big organic structures of H2O of course happening within a sensible propinquity of the small towns. Alternate methods to roll up H2O may necessitate to be devised to supply H2O to the irrigation system. Our group will besides measure the H2O demands for each type of harvest to find H2O demands for each field. With GIS function, we will build a elaborate map of field locations, lift and H2O demand. Possibly utilizing H2O shortage planning, our group will reexamine the critical volume of H2O required to do the system cost effectual, and find the feasibleness of an irrigation system. If we determine an irrigation system is executable for the small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, our group will do recommendations for an irrigation system and develop a system for care and H2O distribution. It is our hope that, one time this irrigation system is implemented, it will be a major measure for the villagers in their pursuit to travel beyond subsistence agriculture. Table of Contentss Executive Summary I 1 Introduction 1 2 Background 3 2.1 The Ubon Villages 4 2.1.1 Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai 4 2.1.2 Subsistence Farming 5 2.1.3 Catholicity in Thailand 5 2.2 Ubon Ratchathani 6 2.3 Agricultural Economy of Thailand 8 2.4 Agribusiness in Ubon Ratchathani 9 2.5 Irrigation 11 2.5.1 Types of Irrigation Systems 11 2.5.1.1 Sprinkler Irrigation 11 2.5.1.2 Drip Irrigation 12 2.5.1.3 Gravity Irrigation 13 2.5.2 Water Deficit Irrigation 14 2.5.3 Water Sources 14 2.5.4 Cost 15 2.5.5 Factors Affecting the Choice of an Irrigation System 15 2.5.6 Planing for Farmer Control and Maintenance 17 2.6 Concerted Principles 19 3 Methodology 21 3.1 Identify Water Requirements 22 3.2 Identify Water Sources 23 3.3 Develop a Plan for an Irrigation System 23 3.3.1 Assess Terrain Impact 24 3.4 Develop a Cooperative Water Management Plan 24 4 Bibliography 26 Appendix A. Annotated Bibliography 29 Appendix B. Traditional Northeastern Thai Villages 34 Appendix C. Cooperative Agencies in Thailand 35 Cooperatives Promotion Department 35 Cooperative Audit Department 35 Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives 36 Cooperative League of Thailand 37 Appendix D. Cooperatives in Thailand 38 Appendix E. Economic Issues of Cooperatives 39 List of Figures Figure 1. Map of Thailand ( Central Intelligence Agency ) 7 Figure 2. Map of Ubon Ratchathani Province ( MSN Learning & A ; Research ) 8 Figure 3. Sprinkler Irrigation System ( CA Dept. of Water Resources ) 12 Figure 4. Drip Irrigation System ( USDA ) 13 Figure 5. Gravity Irrigation ( San Joaquin Geological Society ) 14IntroductionDespite the recent displacement in the universe ‘s economic system towards industrialisation, agribusiness remains an economic basic in many states. Farmers constitute a important per centum of the population of many developing states, and of these, many are subsistence husbandmans, turning merely plenty to feed themselves and their households, with small or no excess. The dangers of farming at this degree are instantly evident. Give a hapless growth season, husbandmans may happen themselves unable feed their households without buying nutrient they can non afford, therefore traveling into debt. They operate at the subsistence degree because of scarceness of cultivable land, hapless dirt quality, or deficient entree to H2O and fertilisers. Among the states in Southeast Asia, Thailand has really experienced an encouraging growing rate in agricultural end product, increasing about 2 % per twelvemonth during the 1950s, 5.4 % per twelvemonth from 1958 to 1973, and 3.9 % per twelvemonth from 1973 to 1984 ( Heenan 199 ) . This growing was mostly due to the addition in the sum of cultivable land, which increased from 10 million estates in 1850 to about 150 million estates in the 1980s ( Phongpaichit 3 ) . Despite this growing in national farm end product and agricultural land, most farms in the nor'-east received few benefits, due largely to hapless dirt quality and fickle rainfall. The small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, located in Ubon Ratchathani state, approximately 98 kilometres from Ubon City in Northeast Thailand, rely on subsistence agriculture. The mean income in the small towns is a paltry 10,000 tical ( about U.S. $ 253 ) per twelvemonth. The â€Å" Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai Rural Development Program, † established by the Mother of Peace Parish, has attempted to augment the villagers ‘ income by learning the adult females baking, run uping, handcraft, needlework, and through a â€Å" savings mobilisation undertaking, † leting villagers to gain involvement on their nest eggs, by assisting the villagers to raise cattles. Though these attempts are well-meaning, they do non turn to the major jobs of hapless dirt quality and unpredictable rainfall, which are maintaining the harvest outputs at a subsistence degree. Without a dependable beginning of H2O, there is no manner that the husbandmans can progress to profitable agriculture position. The deficiency of cooperation and trust nowadays in the small towns, every bit good as their limited economic resources, has antecedently prevented an irrigation system from being developed. This undertaking will measure the H2O demands for farming in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and develop a suited program for an irrigation system to run into those demands, therefore enabling the husbandmans to increase their harvest outputs. We will besides supply recommendations for a program for reasonably administering H2O from the system, every bit good as keeping it, both to be overseen by an organisation hand in glove run by the husbandmans. This irrigation system will supply the husbandmans with a dependable beginning of H2O, enabling them to increase their harvest outputs through a 2nd growth season, and therefore leting them to lift above the degree of subsistence agriculture.BackgroundAgribusiness has long been a basic of Thailand ‘s economic system. Specifically, much of the state must trust on subsistence agriculture, or turning merely plenty to feed one ‘s household. A deficiency of a dependable H2O beginning is forestalling the villagers in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai from traveling beyond the subsistence degree. This subdivision will first present information sing the two small towns, including plans that our patron has started. Since the big Catholic population of these two small towns may besides hold a significant impact on our undertaking, we present information on Catholicity in Thailand and, more specifically, how Catholics are perceived by other Thais. Since we do hold such limited information on the two small towns, we must utilize information on the general country, Ubon Ratchathani, to extrapolate to Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. After appraising the state of affairs Ubon Ratchathani, we so travel on to the national agricultural economic system of Thailand, which has a important impact on the villagers ‘ lives. After diging into the broader national issue, we so concentrate on the agribusiness in Ubon Ratchathani, including turning season, common harvests, and jobs confronting the husbandmans. Our undertaking addresses possibly the most critical job of a deficiency of a dependable H2O beginning through the execution of an irrigation system in the small towns. Since urging a system requires a thorough apprehension of assorted aspects of irrigation, we so present background on different types of irrigation systems, factors associating to the pick of such a system, and issues of farmer direction of the system. Finally, since the building and care of an irrigation system is such a big undertaking, an irrigation co-op may be appropriate and, to this terminal, we present some basic concerted rules. This information should supply a solid footing for doing a recommendation to the villagers of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai.The Ubon VillagesThe civilization and demographic make-up of the small towns we will be working with are really of import factors in determining this undertaking. The undermentioned subdivision will show background on Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, every bit good as information on how spiritual differences may impact our undertaking.Nong Din Dam and Charoen ChaiThe small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai are located in the state of Ubon Ratchathani ( in the subdistrict of Nam Khun ) , about 98 kilometres from Ubon City. The bulk of villagers are subsistence husbandmans, concentrating largely on gluey rice, while turning a little sum of jute and manioc. Steeped in poorness, the mean per capita income in the two small towns is a paltry 10,000 tical ( $ 253 U.S. ) . The small towns make up the Mother of Peace Parish, and somewhat more than half the dwellers are Catholic. The church has formed the â€Å" Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai Rural Development Program, † which has implemented several plans to supplement the villagers ‘ agrarian income. In a savings mobilisation plan started by one of the sisters in the parish, husbandmans pool their income and let others to take loans from the pool, to be paid back with involvement. In add-on, the church has begun to learn the adult females of the small towns run uping, handcraft, and needlework, which produces goods to be sold at market for extra income. With the aid of the plan, many of the villagers are now besides raising cattles. Since these plans are run by the Catholic Church, it is ill-defined to what degree, if any, the Buddhists in the small town are involved.Subsistence FarmingThe husbandmans in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai can be described as subsistence husbandmans, intending they turn merely plenty nutrient to feed themselves and their households. In old ages where there is a excess it is normally traded or sold for a net income. There are restricting factors that keep them at the subsistence degree including deficiency of engineering such as irrigation and tractors, and the hapless quality of the dirt which limits the types and outputs of their harvests ( Wikipedia ) . We must earnestly see that we are covering with subsistence husbandmans when measuring any recommendation for alteration of traditional methods. There is a significant hazard associated with a bad twelvemonth. In the instance of a calamity such as a harvest failure or a natural catastrophe the husbandman will non be able to feed his or her household, and may hold to sell assets including land to make so ( Scott 2 ) . An irrigation system in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai would be an indispensable constituent to extenuation of these hazards and the first measure in a move off from subsistence agriculture.Catholicity in ThailandThe ample Catholic population in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai is untypical of most Thai small towns. It is necessary to analyze the function of Catholic Church in Thailand, every bit good as the general attitude of Thais toward the Catholic religion to find the consequence this spiritual difference will hold on our undertaking. Thailand ‘s population is preponderantly Buddhist, about 95 per centum. Of the staying five per centum, Muslims make up the largest minority ( Niphon ) . There are merely an estimated 250,000 Catholics in the state ( about 0.4 % of the entire population ) , which is little even compared to the other minorities. In Ubon Ratchathani state, there are 24,967 Catholics, doing up merely 0.32 % of the population, despite the presence of a Catholic Diocese ( Cheney ) . Although the people of Thailand are by and large accepting, the Catholics in Thailand are still seen as aliens for several grounds. One of these is due to their obvious minority. Most of the Catholic parishioners in Thailand are non by and large native Thais. The bulk come to Thailand from neighbouring states, preponderantly Laos, which is a close neighbour to the Ubon part. Thai people besides see Catholicism as foreign because many Catholics came to Thailand from antecedently colonized states, adding to the stigma of Catholicism ( Niphon ) . Although these are general tendencies of the relationship between Catholics and Thais, the nature of the relationship between the Catholics and the Buddhists in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai is still ill-defined to us.Ubon RatchathaniThe small towns of concern in this undertaking are located in the state of Ubon Ratchathani. Situated along the boundary lines of Laos and Cambodia, and with a population transcending 1.5 million, Ubon Ratchathani is both Thailand ‘s easternmost state and the Northeast ‘s most populated state ( Cummings 554 ) . Covering 15 thousand square kilometres, much of which is cultivable land, the country of Ubon is an of import provider of nutrient for the Northeast ‘s big population ( Lutzky 15 ) . Associating Ubon Ratchathani to Bangkok, the Mittaphap Highway, or Friendship Highway, runs 629 kilometer. Any goods that flow out of Ubon travel along this main road or through Thailand ‘s complex rail system to Bangkok. Figure 1. Map of Thailand ( Central Intelligence Agency ) Unlike most other parts of Thailand, the Khorat Plateau, upon which Ubon is located, rhythms through extremes of waterlessness and implosion therapy, bring forthing waterless conditions similar to the â€Å" African Savannah † ( Fukui 19 ) . This has badly hindered the agricultural development in the part. Figure 2. Map of Ubon Ratchathani Province ( MSN Learning & A ; Research )Agricultural Economy of ThailandIt is of import to understand that, while the husbandmans in Ubon Ratchathani are mostly isolated from the remainder of the state, they are still affected by the larger national economic system. Bordered by Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia, the Kingdom of Thailand covers 514,000 square kilometres and consists of four distinguishable parts: the North, the Northeast, the Central, and the South, each with distinguishable demographics, clime, and geology. As of July 2003, Thailand had a population of 64 million ( est. ) , doing it one of the universe ‘s 20 most thickly settled states, despite its modest size ( Cardinal Intelligence Agency ) . In the decennary before 1995, Thailand enjoyed its greatest productiveness and growing. In the undermentioned old ages at that place was a terrible economic downswing taking to the devaluation of the Baht and a national recession. The downswing resulted from substructure jobs, banking jobs, deficiency of skilled labour, and mounting jobs with economic inequality. In response, the Thai authorities enacted strong steps to assist reconstruct the economic system to its old province ( Fryer 1 ) . Despite industrialisation in recent old ages, Thailand remains a to a great extent agricultural state. However, while agribusiness histories for 40 % of Thailand ‘s work force ( Fryer 1 ) , it makes up merely 8 % of all exports ( US 2003 Economic Summary ) . Because of this disparity, nutrient excesss, which are by and large a rareness in developing states, are a common happening in Thailand. Thailand ‘s high proportion of land proprietors to non-land proprietors is besides uncommon in the underdeveloped universe. This low rate of occupancy, combined with Thailand ‘s by and large big farms ( by Asian criterions ) has led to a higher criterion of life in Thailand than in other developing states. For case, the authorities privatized many concerns that were once government-owned. In add-on, the banking and fiscal systems were restructured ( Fryer 1 ) . The Thai small town economic system has existed for 100s of old ages and, like the national economic system, relies to a great extent on agribusiness, and is frequently referred to as an â€Å" arm ‘s length economic system, † which reflects the little graduated table of farming in Northeast Thailand. Most husbandmans in the part sell their goods to middle work forces, who are in bend sell to jobbers or other types of markets. This system implies an unfastened market where purchasers and Sellerss can exchange to whoever gives them the best monetary value, frequently in an informal auction format ( Warr 81 ) .Agribusiness in Ubon RatchathaniUnderstanding some rudimentss behind the agribusiness in northeast Thailand and some of the jobs blighting the husbandmans will be critical to the success of our undertaking. There are two distinguishable seasons, a rainy season that extends from May to October and a dry season from November to April, with a average one-year rainfall i n the part of 1600 millimeter ( Lutzky 17 ) . Crops are planted around the 3rd hebdomad of July, and are harvested in November. The chief harvests in the small towns include rice, maize, jute, and manioc. The small towns grow two types of rice: gluey ( gluey ) and non-glutinous ( non-sticky ) rice. The gluey assortment is grown for personal ingestion, while non-sticky rice is chiefly produced for sale ( Lutzky 18 ) . Chemical fertiliser is applied to over 90 % of the rice grown in the country, while manure is applied to approximately 85 % . Some husbandmans do utilize irrigation ; nevertheless, this is limited due to technological and fiscal limitations ( Lutzky 19 ) . Most northeasterly Thai husbandmans lack machinery, and by and large engage others with machinery to assist them with convulsing and milling, though they usually harvest by manus ( Lutzky 20 ) . The husbandmans in the country environing Ubon are covering with a broad assortment of jobs: hapless dirt that lacks H2O and alimentary keeping capablenesss due to its overly flaxen composing low H2O tabular array environmental harm due to improper fertiliser usage, and insects and disease inconsistent rainfall during the turning season ( Lutzky 21 )IrrigationAn irrigation system has been identified as a agency for the husbandmans of Nom Ding Dam and Chaoren Chai to extenuate many of the hazards associated with subsistence agriculture, and possibly to travel beyond subsistence farming wholly. To successfully do recommendations for an irrigation system, nevertheless, the group must foremost derive a through apprehension of many different aspects of irrigation. The undermentioned subdivisions detail the different types of irrigation systems, factors that go into taking them, information sing H2O beginnings and cost, the construct of H2O shortage irrigation, and constructs for farmer-managed irrigation systems.Types of Irrigation SystemsThere are several available systems of irrigation to be considered for usage in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. We must analyze these different types to organize a footing for our recommendation. The undermentioned subdivision examines three major types of irrigation systems: sprinkler i rrigation, drip irrigation and gravitation irrigation.Sprinkler IrrigationThis system, an illustration of which can be seen below, has gained popularity over the old ages due to it ease in operation and its usage of visible radiation and cheap aluminium piping. The chief elements of a sprinkler system are the beginning of H2O, the chief grapevine, the bomber chief grapevines, the sprinkler laterals, and the sprinklers. Gravity fed lines or a pumping system force H2O through the system and onto the Fieldss. The chief grapevine of this system brings H2O from the beginning to the Fieldss ; these pipes are by and large made of either PVC or aluminium. The bomber chief pipes branch off the chief pipe and present the H2O to the single Fieldss, frequently running along the boundaries of the Fieldss providing the H2O to the sprinkler laterals. The sprinkler laterals supply the H2O from the pipes to the existent sprinklers, which spray the irrigated H2O over the coveted country. As pumps are frequently expensive, there is important cost associated with the equipment used in this type of operation. Construction of this system is reasonably simple, nevertheless ( Finkel 193 ) . Figure 3. Sprinkler Irrigation System ( CA Dept. of Water Resources )Drip IrrigationDrip irrigation is similar to sprinkler irrigation in that pumps or gravitation deliver H2O to the Fieldss in the same manner. When the H2O reaches the Fieldss, nevertheless, it is non sprinkled over the harvests, but a system of porous pipes is used. The pipes rest on the land, as seen below, and supply H2O to the dirt at a slower rate than that of sprinklers. The porous pipes deliver H2O straight to the base of the workss, cut downing the losingss to evaporation, and therefore doing this system more efficient. The pumping equipment that may be necessary to travel the H2O in this system is besides expensive but, once more, building is non hard ( Finkel 247 ) . Figure 4. Drip Irrigation System ( USDA )Gravity IrrigationGravity irrigation is another major type of H2O bringing. This system besides uses a chief H2O beginning but uses gravitation instead so a pump to travel the H2O. Furrows or canals, similar to the 1 seen below, are frequently used as a manner of presenting H2O to the Fieldss, but husbandmans can utilize different types of piping as an option. This system is labour intensive because the furrows and canals need to be built and maintained, but is cheap due to the deficiency of pumping equipment. An added consideration with gravitation irrigation, nevertheless, is the topography of the land due, to its trust on gravitation. This system works best on degree or moderate inclines ( Finkel 349 ) . Figure 5. Gravity Irrigation ( San Joaquin Geological Society )Water Deficit IrrigationMost irrigation systems assume a close infinite H2O beginning. When watering in semi-arid parts, this is non a feasible premise. A H2O shortage theoretical account recognizes a limited H2O supply and adjusts to run into those considerations. Water shortage irrigation, merely set, is under-watering a works to maximise H2O dispersion among a larger figure of workss ( Gorantiwar ) . Gorantiwar and Smout define the intent of under-irrigation as â€Å" to distribute available H2O over a big country, thereby increasing the entire usage of H2O or energy per unit irrigated. † Both energy and H2O usage will necessitate to be minimized for an irrigation system in Charoen Chai and Nong Din Dam, due to a deficiency of financess and the scarceness of H2O. Under-irrigating harvests will non give crops of a superior quality ; in fact, the harvested fruits will be little and developing. By tight direction o f H2O, nevertheless, the procedure can increase the volume/mass of a crop by up to 40 % ( Gorantiwar ) .Water BeginningsFarmers can utilize a figure of H2O beginnings to obtain H2O for irrigation. These beginnings include the ocean, rivers, watercourses, springs, lakes, purchased H2O, Wellss, and rainfall ( Hackelman 1-7 ) . Unfortunately, due to the limited budgets of the husbandmans and the geographic location and terrain, the bulk of these beginnings will non be executable. We are non likely to happen accessible land H2O, such as lakes, watercourses or pools, due to the geographic location of the small town. Farmers could buy H2O, but its cost is prohibitory. There is a important sum of precipitation. Eighty-eight per centum of the mean rainfall, nevertheless, occurs between May and October ( Lutzky 17 ) . To use this beginning of H2O we would hold to invent a system to roll up and hive away excess rain during the rainy season for usage during the remainder of the twelvemonth.Cos tTo measure and compare the costs associated with each irrigation system we must take both the initial investing and the long term costs into consideration. The initial investing is comparatively easy to measure. All outgo associated with the purchase of constituents, stuffs, and the building of the system make up the initial investing. Long-run costs can be broken up in to two groupings, â€Å" fixed † and â€Å" variable † costs ( Roth 103 ) . Fixed costs accumulate irrespective of whether or non the system is in usage. Depreciation, revenue enhancements and insurance are illustrations of these. They are besides known as â€Å" the cost of having a system † ( Roth 104 ) . â€Å" Variable or operating † costs are disbursals that occur due to the usage of the system, and include repairs/maintenance, fuel, oil, and labour ( Roth 105 ) .Factors Affecting the Choice of an Irrigation SystemWhen be aftering the execution of an irrigation system it is necessary to see many factors. Several of these include the H2O beginning, topography, clime, dirt types and harvests. Several factors affect the effectivity of a H2O beginning, including: lift size acceptable flow rate distance from Fieldss ( affects the demand for a pump ) , and H2O quality ( presence of chemical deposits ) . The topography of the part ( the incline of the terrain ) can be a confining factor in taking an irrigation system. Farmers can utilize all systems on minimum to chair inclines, but can merely utilize drip irrigation on steep inclines. The uniformity of the incline can impact the flow of H2O in all types of systems but is by and large non a job for the three prevailing irrigation systems discussed before ( Finkel 37 ) . We must besides see the clime of the irrigated part when measuring the pick of an irrigation system. Sprinkler systems are non suited for blowy conditions, as air current can greatly interrupt the uniformity of the system and increase vaporization well. The temperature and humidness greatly affect the efficiency of a sprinkler system by helping vaporization. In the instance of high temperatures and low humidness, it is best to utilize trickle or gravitation irrigation ( Finkel 39 ) . Dirt in the irrigated part is besides an of import consideration, as it can impact the lacrimation method. Soils with high wet capacity require H2O less frequently but necessitate more H2O each person lacrimation. Dirts with low wet capacity need H2O more often and do increased losingss due to runoff ( Finkel 39 ) . The type of harvest being grown besides has important importance when sing an irrigation system. All types of irrigation are suited for row harvests. Gravity irrigation is best for closely separated harvests and groves ( Finkel 42 ) .Planing for Farmer Control and MaintenanceHarmonizing to Yoder and Thurston, when planing an irrigation system to be run and maintained by husbandmans, there are five chief elements of a successful design procedure. The design procedure should: â€Å" 1 ) : be policy-driven, 2 ) be field-based, 3 ) have farmer engagement, 4 ) include processs for larning from experience, and 5 ) integrate local logic, cognition, and experience † ( Yoder 10 ) . Any successful irrigation design undertaking must province clear policies that should back up husbandman direction and engagement. Though these policies must be clear, they must besides be flexible and able to accommodate to the husbandmans ‘ demands. This frequently causes jobs when authorities organisations are involved, as their budgeting regulations are frequently really rigorous, and can do important holds. Government policy should besides back up farmer ownership of H2O supplies and the irrigation substructure ( Yoder 10 ) . To decently ease the design of a system, applied scientists of the system must pass important clip in the field. This is indispensable to guarantee the proper sum of husbandman engagement in the design. Engineers in the field can really see the physical location where their system will be implemented, every bit good as interact with the husbandmans to integrate suggestions. Though elaborate designs are frequently hard to do in the field, many irrigation undertakings do non necessitate such item. These frequently must be adjusted during the concluding building stage anyways, and really are non required for all but the most complex systems ( Yoder 10-11 ) . If the system is to be owned and operated by husbandmans, their engagement in the full design procedure is important to the success of the undertaking. Engineers must show a positive attitude toward and keep healthy relationships with the husbandmans. In add-on, it is critical that they meet with husbandmans frequently to maintain them informed of the advancement of the undertaking and any holds or alterations. They must stay informed of the costs of the undertaking and understand what they will be responsible for. In big undertakings such as irrigation building, it is common for husbandmans to organize husbandman groups, either officially or informally, to promote engagement in the design procedure ( Yoder 11 ) . While it is evident that the applied scientists planing a system must supply preparation to the husbandmans responsible for pull offing it, husbandmans besides play a cardinal function in supplying information to the applied scientists. The husbandmans have the advantage of holding observed the Fieldss for many old old ages, while the applied scientists can merely detect them for a short clip. To derive as thorough an apprehension as possible of the Fieldss, applied scientists must see the field on multiple occasions, and pass on openly with the husbandmans to place issues they may meet ( Yoder 12 ) . An facet of the design procedure that applied scientists frequently overlook is to place the aims of the husbandmans. The applied scientists ‘ standards for a good design may non ever fit up with the husbandmans ‘ , and this must be determined at an early phase. In add-on, applied scientists should set up a simple and effectual forum to pass on design thoughts to the husbandmans. Yoder and Thurston suggest conveying husbandmans onsite and taging off countries with bets and strings, alternatively of discoursing abstract design thoughts in a big meeting. Another effectual agencies of pass oning design programs is for applied scientists to construct 3-dimensional theoretical accounts of the proposed constructions. If executable, it is besides recommended to take the husbandmans off-site to locations where similar systems have been implemented. This accomplishes two of import undertakings. It allows the husbandmans to really see a system in operation. More significantly, thou gh, they can discourse the direction issues of the system with other husbandmans ( Yoder 12 ) .Concerted PrinciplesDue to the significant cost of set abouting an irrigation undertaking, it will be necessary for the small towns to move hand in glove by pooling resources and sharing the duties for care of the system. Harmonizing to the International Co-operative Alliance ( ICA ) , a co-op is â€Å" an independent association of individuals united voluntarily to run into their common economic, societal and cultural demands and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled endeavor † ( p. 2 ) . The organisation besides identified seven rules which embody the spirit of co-ops. Any organisation, whether formal or informal, that is formed in relation to this irrigation undertaking, should adhere to these rules: Membership in a co-op should be voluntary and unfastened to anybody willing to utilize its services. Cooperatives must be democratically controlled by their members, and those functioning every bit elected representatives of the co-op are accountable to its members. Members must make concern with the co-op in order for it to be successful, and may be rewarded in assorted signifiers for the sum of such concern. Cooperatives must stay independent, and any understandings they enter into must retain that liberty. Cooperatives should supply instruction and preparation to members, representatives, and employees. Cooperation among co-ops is encouraged to function the concerted motion. The concluding rule reads: â€Å" Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members † ( International Co-operative Alliance 2-3 ) . By adhering to these rules in the formation of a co-op for direction of the irrigation system, we will guarantee equity and equity to all who choose to take part.MethodologyThis undertaking will measure the H2O demands for farming in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai, and develop a suited program for an irrigation system to run into those demands, therefore enabling the husbandmans to increase their harvest outputs. The undertaking will take topographic point between January 9, 2004, and March 5, 2004, though we expect that the concluding building of our recommended irrigation system will take well longer. It is of import to concentrate the undertaking to a specific location and therefore, we will include merely the Fieldss in the small towns of Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. The squad plans to carry through the end of the undertaking by transporting out the undermentioned stairss: place the H2O demands of the villagers identify beginnings of H2O for the irrigation system design a program for a suited irrigation system assess the impact of the terrain on the irrigation system develop a concerted H2O direction program.Identify Water RequirementsTo find the feasibleness and complexness of the proposed irrigation system, we will foremost necessitate to place the H2O demands of the villagers. This will affect taking elaborate measurings of the Fieldss of the husbandmans who wish to take part in the undertaking. We will necessitate to find the entire land country we will necessitate to water. In add-on to this, we will map out the harvests that are grown on each field, and the typical H2O demands for each harvest. The H2O demands for each harvest will be determined through mention beginnings and interviews with the villagers. With this combined information, we can find the entire sum of H2O required for harvests for the small town. We will so find the minimal rainfall the husbandmans can anticipate in a given twelvemonth, by looking at rainfall informations for the country, and besides from the husbandman ‘s cognition of annually rainfall. Subtracting th is figure from the entire H2O demands of the villagers will give the sum of H2O the irrigation system must supply in a twelvemonth. At this phase, if maps of the small towns are unavailable ( which we expect they wo n't be ) , we plan to map the Fieldss ourselves utilizing a GPS system along with field observations and measurings. While the GPS engineering is inexact, it is cheap and we expect that the mistake will non throw off our informations significantly. To bring forth these maps, we will utilize GIS mapping engineering with MapInfo package. This phase of our undertaking will probably affect interviews with the husbandmans, which brings the communicating issue into drama. We are unsure how we will pass on with the villagers. At this point, we plan on the handiness of one of our patrons, either Sr. Lita or Ms. Cipriano, to construe for us. As these informations are important for our undertaking to continue, it should be gathered every bit shortly as possible. We plan to hold it completed within the first two hebdomads of the undertaking period.Identify Water BeginningsAnother measure in finding the feasibleness of the undertaking overall is placing beginnings of H2O for the irrigation system. We will turn up beginnings of H2O through interviews with the villagers and through analysis of maps of the country, if available. Along with consideration of inactive H2O beginnings such as pools and reservoirs, we must besides see the sum of rainfall the country receives. It may be possible to integrate a rain aggregation system into the irrigation system, to salvage rain for later usage. Indeed, if there are no surface organic structures of H2O in the country, the system may necessitate to trust wholly on this rainfall aggregation system. These informations are besides important to our undertaking, and should be collected at the same time with the informations from Objective # 1. This should besides be completed within the first two hebdomads of the undertaking period.Develop a Plan for an Irrigation SystemAfter roll uping the antecedently mentioned informations, we will be in a place to analyse this information and utilize it to urge a suited irrigation method to run into the demands of the husbandmans. In add-on to confer withing our ain information, it will be of import to garner sentiments and position from the villagers at this phase. Since they will be responsible for keeping the system, it is of import that we take their input into consideration when doing our proposal.Assess Terrain ImpactAs par of developing a program for an irrigation system, we will measure the impact of the terrain on a possible irrigation system. This is necessary to find which types of irrigation systems, if any, would be appropriate, as comparative lift can hold a important impact on the public presentation of the system. To carry through this, we will seek for lift maps of the country. If we are unable to turn up these, we will map the country ourselves, utilizing either a GPS system, an altimeter, or an oculus degree. This will be the concluding stage of information-gathering before the existent design procedure begins because it plays such an of import function in the design of the system. This information should be collected by the terminal of the 3rd hebdomad of the undertaking period.Develop a Concerted Water Management PlanFinally, after carefully analysing our informations and urging an irrigation system, we will urge a system for administering the H2O and keeping the system, utilizing recognized concerted rules. We will roll up informations from other small towns with community-managed irrigation systems to find common and acceptable methods for such direction. In add-on, we will interview husbandmans in the small towns to garner their positions and suggestions on this direction system. Again, this presents us with a communicating issue. It will be imperative that we are able to pass on with husbandmans in other irrigation co-ops every bit good as those in Nong Din Dam and Charoen Chai. While we hope to trust on Sr. Lita and Ms. Cipriano to construe in the two small towns, we may necessitate to engage a third-party translator for communicating when we visit other irrigation co-ops. We plan for this work to be ongoing throught the term. We will interview the villagers within the first few hebdomads but the visits to other farms and adept interviews could take topographic point at anytime during the undertaking period.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Linguistic Changes of an Individual in Migration Essay

As the world becomes increasingly globalised, we observe a rising trend where individuals migrate for educational and economic opportunities. The prestige of being educated in a highly ranked university and the prospects of higher paying jobs are definitely important pull factors for both internal and international migration (Welch, 1970). When people move, they also transfer the use of their existing linguistic repertoire to their host country. However, what might have been effective at home might be interpreted differently when placed in different socioeconomic contexts. Hence, the relative value of linguistic repertoire one possesses and how mobile are one’s language skills in the world determines how a migrant interacts with a new community. Consequently, this paper seeks to provide insight on how the relative value of linguistic resources affects one’s mobility and decisions in community interactions. Drawing on Blommaert’s study on the sociolinguistics of globalisation, this discussion will focus on how an individual’s linguistic repertoire is being used to one’s advantage within the community. It also highlights the changes which occur when one attempts to transfer the same linguistic repertoire as the shift to a place of varying cultural and linguistic ability. As Blommaert suggests, â€Å"placed resources are resources that are functional in one particular place but can become dysfunctional as soon as they are moved to other places† (Blommaert, 2003). Essentially, this essay seeks to expound on the changes of one’s linguistic repertoire and how it affects one’s interactions with new communities resulting from migration. Linguistic repertoire refers to linguistic varieties acquired by an individual to different degrees of proficiency and for different uses (Crystal, 1990). The acquisition of linguistic repertoire thus extends not only to the procurement of different types of language codes like English and Hindi, but also the speech styles and genres within each language. In light of this definition, this paper chooses to trace how one’s use of language repertoire might change in the context of internal migration and international migration. With this in mind, a migrant from India who experienced both types of migration was chosen. India boasts twenty-two official languages as per the Constitution of India, where English is determined as the secondary official language and is used as lingua franca throughout India. Within the context of this paper, the experiences of the migrant serve to provide personal insight on language mobility within the transmigrational arena. Research methodology and background of interviewee With this in mind, a fifty minute interview was carried out on 16th October 2012 to gather substantial data in order to provide a comparison between internal and international migration. The sole participant is Joshua Cherian, aged 24 who is currently pursuing a postgraduate education in Singapore. He was born and raised in Kerala, Southern India, after which he moved to Jamshedpur, Northern India to pursue a tertiary education before working in New Delhi. He was taught English at a young age and learnt Hindi during university, while his mother tongue is Malayalam. During the interview, questions were asked ranging from the interviewee’s experiences of language acquisition and his experiences in India and Singapore to language policies in India. Utilising his personal insights on adapting to different communities and observing it through the concepts provided in Blommaert’s study, the relative value of linguistic repertoire consequently becomes more obvious not only from country to country but also within different areas of the community. Language repertoire in internal migration Within India, it is said to have a de-facto three plus minus one language policy. Those who neither speak the language of the state nor the two official languages, English and Hindi, now have to grapple with learning four languages in order to pass the school systems and secure jobs within the modern sector (Laitin. D, 1989). Consequently, many people who migrate in the pursuit of education or jobs find it necessary to expand their language repertoire in order to compete for the chance of upward socioeconomic mobility within India. Joshua notes that: â€Å"There is a divide between the corporate world and industrial world, where managers and people in multinational companies speak in english, but those in manufacturing speak Hindi in work. In the north of India everyone speaks Hindi, so I had to learn Hindi. When I worked in Delhi, I spoke mostly Hindi in my workplace, because I am a manager of labourers and those who just passed tenth standard, they just need to make something so they don’t need English. People who do software need to interact with clients overseas, so it is important for them to speak English.† Due the demands of his job, Joshua was required to expand his language repertoire to include fluent Hindi in order to communicate with his subordinates effectively. Although English could have sufficed in interacting with white-collar professionals, learning Hindi would have enabled Joshua to ensure a smooth running of operations that he was in charge with. As such, it is observed that migrants tend to expand their language repertoire within internal migration according to which languages are most functional within their community. Furthermore, an expansion of linguistic repertoire also affects one’s interaction the community. As immigrants acquire proficiency in more languages, there is a tendency to broaden their participation in various communities within the area that they have settled in. This is especially evident in Joshua’s recount: â€Å"In India you would have to know many languages in order to fit into different communities. University students will use English because it is prestigious. It shows you are well educated. Outside of the education system, everyone speaks their own dialect or their own state language. I used to hang out with many friends when I was studying in Jamshedpur who came from all over India. I also managed to become my student governing body’s president, so speaking the many languages helped me reach out to a lot of people.† Even though migrants who migrate within their home country experience a new environment, there are common cultural familiarities that they can relate to by being in the same country. Naturally, this allows them to assimilate into the communities easily since they already share similar cultural and national identities. Rather, this pre-existing factor enables immigrants like Joshua to interact with different groups of people. Such a preference is also extremely beneficial to an individual within a new community as they are able to called upon a large network of acquaintances should they need help in the future. Hence, the broadening of one’s interaction with many communities would be positively correlated to the acquisition of language repertoire because both serve the same purpose of helping the migrant assimilate well into the new environment they are in. Language Repertoire in International Migration In contrast to internal migration, one’s use of language repertoire might decrease across different geographical spaces. It is noted that international migration denotes a shift to a foreign culture in which the values placed upon certain languages is different from one’s original country. As such, many migrants would utilise a language within their repertoire that is widely used in the world. Joshua relates his experience moving from India to Singapore: â€Å"When I first arrived in Singapore, everything was easy for me to get used to because I was already proficient in English. Even if I needed help, I could just approach anyone and they would reply me in English. I don’t even Hindi anymore because the friends and people I meet with speak only in English. Perhaps it is because there are so many races here so communication needs to be in a common language. Although I have friends from India here, they never speak in their mother tongue! Everyone would rather speak in English than Hindi! Despite Joshua’s extensive language repertoire, he only speaks in English in Singapore, thereby showing a decrease in language repertoire employed in daily life. In most cases of international migration, migrants often move from the ‘periphery’ to the ‘core’ of the world system. As one attempts to transfer one’s language repertoire from one country to another, the languages employed more frequently within the core global system would be more mobile compared to other languages. In particular, because Singapore is a multi-racial community, it requires English as a lingua franca in order to achieve cohesiveness and efficiency. Consequently, rather than expanding one’s linguistic repertoire to gain access to every community, a migrant in Singapore need only focus on speaking proficient English, which subsequently narrows his language repertoire within the host country. Parallel to one’s decrease in language repertoire, it is observed that migrants narrow their participation to a few communities that they are comfortable with. While migrants who migrate internally tend to broaden their participation in a wide array of communities, people who migrate internationally prefer to focus their efforts in interacting with a particular community where they feel most comfortable with. Joshua, expresses that: â€Å" I like to be in a place where I can interact with people well. When I came to Singapore, everybody spoke â€Å"Singlish†. It was especially hard for me to understand the jokes of my Singaporean friends. Thats why I wanted to be in a Christian group, so I went around to look for churches and even joined the varsity christian fellowship. Then I found a church cell group to be in and we could talk about common things, at least everyone there understands what I am going through when I talk about my struggles and life. I don’t meet with the Indian community much because everyone here speaks English anyway and I am more comfortable speaking in English, so when I talk about God and faith, I don’t get any puzzled looks when I am with church people† For most immigrants, being in a foreign community could be unsettling because there exists stark differences in culture that they might not understand. In Joshua’s case, not being able to understand Singlish hindered his active participation in various communities, especially in understanding humour within the sociocultural context of Singaporean society. As such, by participating in communities with specific shared beliefs that the migrant can identify with, it could be easier for him to assimilate into a new environment. Communities with shared beliefs also tend to share a similar use of register in their daily speech. Drawing on Joshua’s case of finding a christian community, a christian setting could be more comfortable for him because he understands the semantics of words such as â€Å"communion† and â€Å"faith† used frequently in that community. Additionally, by narrowing one’s participation to few communities, individuals would have more time to spend more effort on forging closer relationships within a particular communities. This in turn could be more beneficial to the migrant as this niche area of society provides a source of emotional support for the migrant in order to cope with the anxiety of being away from home. Conclusion What Joshua has experienced demonstrates the constant change of the value of language resources as he shifts between places in migration. This relative value of one’s linguistic resources is largely due to cultural and socioeconomic factors that have shaped the community to place emphasis on certain languages and speech styles. As such, an immigrant’s increase or decrease language repertoire is largely affected by the placed importance of certain languages within their host communities. In conclusion, this paper has asserts that language mobility is profoundly affected by the changing values of linguistic resources which vary from place to place, especially when there is a shift of resources from the periphery to the core of the world system. Whether one participates in a wide number of communities or chooses to focus their efforts in a single community depends on a change in one’s use of his language repertoire. References 0. Blommaert, J. (2003). Commentary: A Sociolinguistics of Globalization. Journal of Sociolinguistics 7/4, 2003: 607-623 0. Crystal, D. (1990). A Liturgical Language in a Sociolinguistic Perspective. In D. & R.C.D. Jasper (eds),Language and the worship of the church (Basingstoke: Macmillan), 120-46 0. Laitin D. D. (1989). Language Policy and Political Strategy in India. Policy Sciences, Vol. 22, No. 3/4, Policymaking in Developing Countries (1989), pp. 415-436 0. Welch F. (1970). ‘’Education in Production’, Journal of Political Economy, 78 (1), January/February, 35-59

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Storm Drainage Design Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Storm Drainage Design Project - Essay Example The hydrograph is shown next page as Figure 2. To facilitate plotting, instead of using the river discharge figures in the vertical axis, the height of the river in meters from the given data was used. For a well-defined hydrograph of the river discharge, river height data were multiplied by 5 during plotting, although actual river height values were used in the computations. In the same vertical axis, the rainfall data in mm. were also plotted. Values were plotted for the hourly data for a four-day period. The time scale is plotted on the horizontal axis. Microsoft Excel (2003) was used to generate a computerised rendition of the hydrograph. The bar graph of the rainfall data showed twin-peaks of 1.2 mm occurring 10 hours apart. The rising limb of the river flood started to accumulate 11:00:00 of October 13 as the first peak of rainfall registered. After 22 hours, the peak of the river flow was reached at 9:00:00 of October 14 when the river height is 0.658 m. It will be observed that the rising limb of the hydrograph is quite steep. Meanwhile, it took 46 hours for the river flood at its peak to return back to base flow. This is defined in the hydrograph by the recession limb. However, the four-day data for the River Cynon did not necessarily return back to base flow. River height before the rising limb was 0.253 m, while the least reading given during the recession limb was 0.306 m. Figure 3 shows the rising limb, peak flow, recession limb and other elements of a typical hydrograph. A significant portion of the Cynon River catchment area is of moderate permeability (65%), which indicates slow infiltration rate and the steep rising limb (British Geological Society, 2005; Gordon, Finlayson, McMahon and Gippel, 2004). The average discharge for the rising limb (Qa) of the river flood is computed as the product of the given river velocity (v), the average river height from the first rainfall peak at 1.2 mm

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Scientific Management and Bureaucracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Scientific Management and Bureaucracy - Essay Example Same can be observed for scientific management based organization structure. Both bureaucracy and scientific management structures are very interesting, evolved and comprehensive. Despite their respective merits and demerits they are still widely chosen forms of organizational structures the globe over. In the following paragraphs we examine each of these structures in some details focusing on their main features, merits and demerits and the specific type of settings where these can be preferred structures. The rationalization process is the practical application of knowledge to achieve a desired end. It leads to efficiency, coordination, and control over both the physical and the social environment. Weberian general theory of rationalization forms the basis for evolution of bureaucratic form of economic organization. Marxists sociologist had detected rationalization in factory settings and the several labor related concerns associated with it. Weber observed and extended rationalization to almost all social spheres - politics, religion, economic organization etc. Rationalization refers to increasing human mastery over the natural and social environment. ... Weberian sociology is conceptualized on the metaphysics of rationalization which eventually converts capitalist society into a system of interconnected bureaucracies. According to Weberian definition of rationalization in economic organization it was simply manifest in the organization of the factory in the bureaucratic form with the calculation of profit by systematic accounting procedures. In ethical connotations it essentially meant an increased reliance on discipline and training in society as a whole, the spread of bureaucracy, state control and administration. Thus bureaucracy held centre stage in Weberian sociology. Weber defines bureaucracy as "a hierarchal organization designed rationally to coordinate the work of many individuals in the pursuit of large scale administrative goals" (Haralambous, 1985).Its main features are a hierarchal structure based on commonality of codified purpose, specialization in the form of well defined division of labor which runs under a power system termed 'rational - legal authority'( based on the concept of domination prevailing in democratic societies and belief in the legality of certain rules. Those who issue the rules are seen as entitled to do so. It is possible to know which rules are formally correct, imposed by accepted procedures. This power authority system creates an impersonal order). That is each stratum expects the authority of higher strata and, in turn, exercises the same downstream for common purposes. Each bureaucracy position is gained by ability and competence. The 'consistent system of codified and abstract rules' and norms are adhered to an d administered with an intent of 'moralistic impersonality'. At its best bureaucracy has an almost a machine like character - each parts

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Aesthetic Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aesthetic Perspectives - Essay Example It is an artwork using the media chalk, conte crayon and ink on paper, and is an example of a Realist painting (Horsley, 2003). In fact, Bravo was touted as the greatest Latin American realist (Horsley, 2003). The painting depicts a paper package of considerable size wound around by wire, seemingly in order to keep it secure and the contents of the package from being exposed. In terms of the FORMALIST (Art and Aesthetics, n.d.) theory of aesthetic perspectives, the painting can be analyzed in the context of space, form, texture, color, and lines. The painting of the package occupies most of the space of the canvas, so that all the observer sees is a paper package wrapped in wire. The form of the painting is very true to life, and immaculately arranged. The corners are crumpled just a little to give the painting a feeling of realism. It is very easy to infer the texture of the package; it is made of paper. The colors of the paintings are bland, and very real; the package is pastely cr eam in color, with the wire silver. As far as the formalist perspective is concerned, the artist has succeeded to portray arrangement and realism in the painting. This leads us to the other perspective, that of IMITATIONIST (Art and Aesthetics, n.d.) theory. As discussed earlier, this is a work on realism, a branch of Imitationism (Art and Aesthetics, n.d.). There is nothing more to the painting than a package wrapped in wire.... When an observer looks at the painting, he gets the feeling of enclosure and secrecy. Since the package occupies most of the space of the canvas, the observer cannot look at the surroundings of the package, and feels as if he is also wrapped around in it and closed tight. The wire around the package seems to protect the package from opening and the contents from being exposed. This gives a sense of secrecy to the painting. Nevertheless, the package is made of paper, and so it is fragile, and can tear open any time. This invokes a sense of suspense to the exposure of the hidden contents of the package, and the observer feels a thrill, as if by waiting and looking at the painting for a longer period of time, he might be able to break open the package and look inside. The real inspiration for the painting, as explained by the artist, was quite mundane: his sister arrived with some packages, and Bravo was fascinated by their form and texture (Horsley, 2003). His depiction of the painting , however, infuses more meaning to the package than just the artist’s fascination. The other artwork of the pair is â€Å"Rabbit† by Jeff Koons. Made in 1955, it is a sculpture crafted out of stainless steel (Holland, 2010). It is huge in size; to get an estimate, it comes to the waist of an average adult male, and since it is put up on a pedestal, it faces the observer with an eye contact (Holland, 2010). This artwork, too, can be studied in the three perspectives as discussed for the previous artwork. The discussion is as follows: In the perspective of the FORMALIST (Art and Aesthetics, n.d.) theory of aesthetics, the first point to be noted is the medium of the sculpture, that is, stainless steel. It should be noted that it is very difficult to carve

Monday, August 26, 2019

Distribution System of Sport apparel in the United Arab Emirates Research Paper

Distribution System of Sport apparel in the United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example As the paper highlights the role of chain stores is to link to the consumers. They connect producers with consumers. Online retail stores are available to the United Arab Emirate clients. It offers the opportunity to serve a wider market that was not previously accessible. Distribution concentrations in the United Arab Emirates are intensive distribution density and selective distribution density depending on the product and target market. The target market is the market is people aged 16 – 30 years old. These are active customers of sport apparel, this segment often shop and especially in Mall areas. They are the trend setting group. The target market will debut on product lines. This study declares that   the United Arab Emirates legal system recognizes the registered and unregistered commercial/business oriented agents. In the United Arab Emirate, there is no difference between a distributor and an agent. They are all known as commercial agents. The law favors registered agent, and choice of the right agent is crucial because a contract entered into by a producer and registered agent cannot be ruminated except when determined by a government committee. The terms of contract differ. They depend on the sales volume and the agent. The responsibilities and performance measures are usually clearly defined. The commonly used way of distributing sport gears and sports apparel in the United Arab Emirates is through a commercial agent. The other methods used are direct sales to the end users, sales through informal channels, re-seller agreement, joint venture firms and through licensing agreements.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Englishness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Englishness - Essay Example Lamming continues that Englishness is often defined in its colonizing and expanding terms, as an instrument to demonstrate superiority and class division. Laclau (1985) sees the social differentiation also as geographical one - England and the colonized territories -West Indies, Africa, Australia. The geographical places also create ambiguity in the religious sphere, because if you are different on the bases on religious beliefs, historical background, social class, than one can not be included in the "Englishness" shared by the natives. . Lamming (1984) remarks that there is a linguistic barrier too - well-spoken English versus the broken English. Englishness appeared as an ideology as early as 18th, transforming itself into a modern phenomenon separating colonized people from the industrialized society and well-taught Christians from elite class. The distinguished English attitude establishes boundaries between the white race and the others described as savages and primitive (James 1984). Consequently, the very skin color empowers the people to incorporate certain English attitudes towards the different ones, adding more features into the differentiation. In this way the white people disempower the colonized subject, disparaging both his culture and his human status. Lamming (1984) gives an example of the English writer embodying the Englishness and the West Indian writer which can not be grasped as intelligent and thoughtful as the English one. In this sense otherness is seen "part of his historic contract, the English critic accepts-for what else can he do-the privilege so natural and so free of being the child and product and voice of a colonizing civilization (Lamming 30)." The Englishness doctrine leads to hegemony and postcolonial supremacy (James 1984). Englishness lay paternity claims over the different cultures and renders invisibility so as to minimize their influential contribution to the variety of cultures that Englishness must include. Eagleton (1976) in his chapter 'Ideology and literary form" includes a definition of "ideology" and how the literary form of it has brought it to disarray. "In English literary culture of the past century, the ideological basis of organic form is peculiarly visible, as a progressively impoverished bourgeois liberalism attempts to integrate more ambitious and affective ideological modes (Eagleton 161)."Macherey (2006) in his most pivotal literary theory focuses his attention both on the reader and on the writer. Macherey's (2006) statement is that the very act of reading produces numerous interpretations and meanings in the different readers, which are beyond the control of the writer. Generating a new branch of post-structuralist theory Macherey (2006) argues that contemporary literature announces the death of the author, because it evokes all kinds of interpretations into its reader. Macherey (2006) compares the critical viewpoint of the reader with psychological analyses which aim to discover the hidden meaning behind the text. The text plays on the unconscious of the readers. In his short story "A Sahib's War" Kipling uses the device of the "imperfectly-informed narrator". The story is set during the Second Boer War and is told through Sikh soldier's point of view. Although he reports everything that is happening around

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Animal Ethics and Environmental Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Animal Ethics and Environmental Ethics - Essay Example There are two model approaches, through which the environmental ethics conception of wild animals is viewed. Both approaches place attention on the problems facing the endangered species, though they advocate for different rationales, in the area of giving animals preference, as opposed to the protection of the ecosystem at their detriment. First: is the anthropocentric view to wild animals, which seeks to guard endangered species from the destructive activities of humans. The second approach is the eco-centric model, which places attention upon the existence and the effects of wild animals, within the intrinsically valuable ecosystem (Des Jardins, 1993, p. 4-6). Discussion The key problem with adopting a perspective, which is informed, primarily, by intrinsic environmental ethics is that, such an approach, fails to fully consider the sentience of the wild animals benefitting from the ecosystem. The concept of consciousness or sentience is based on the fact that their interests shoul d be felt and perceived. Through failing to adequately recognize the sentience of these creatures, for instance, the kangaroos, the policy and laws in operation pay insufficient regard to the ethical needs of kangaroos as conscious beings. However, the notion that there is a conflict between animal rights and environmental ethics chiefly relies on a number of misconceptions about these animals and their effects on the ecosystem. For instance, in the case of the kangaroos, the misconceptions are evident, in the conception of their impacts in the areas of total grazing demands, populations, and sheep replacement. As evidence, Fisher Et al (2003, p. 1801-1808) argues that the effect of Kangaroos is immense on rangelands environs, where pressure on grazing land is evident. This is a misconception, mainly because the pressure on grazing land is not caused by kangaroos alone, but other animals like sheep as well (Des Jardins, 1993, p. 19-21). The moral status of animals is one major quest ion in this debate, mainly because; the question of the distinctiveness of humans, which earns them moral status is raised – and not that of the non-human entities in question. Answering this question is of great importance, among philosophers and the defenders of the rights of animals. In part, answering this question will aid humans to better understand the nature of human beings and the rightful scope of the moral obligations of humans. Some proponents of the debate argue that answering this question will help distinguish the value of humans as opposed to that of other parties of the natural world. However, this approach is considerably aimed at propagating the rightfulness of certain human activities towards the non-human creatures – especially, those that cause discomfort, suffering, pain and death to these entities. The other group – on the other hand – is of the opinion that answering the question will help humans justify granting moral considerati on to these nonhuman entities, namely animals and plant life. This is based on the philosophical consideration that despite the differences between humans and nonhuman animals; these differences do not justify denying these nonhuman entities moral consideration. However, the basis of moral considerati

Friday, August 23, 2019

SHAREHOLDER STRUCTURE AND RISK PROFILE OF BRITISH PETROLEUM PLC Essay

SHAREHOLDER STRUCTURE AND RISK PROFILE OF BRITISH PETROLEUM PLC - Essay Example One of the most important objectives of corporate finance function is to maximise the shareholders’ value. There are many avenues by which the shareholders’ value can be increased. A company can invest in those projects which would fetch them a return, greater than the minimum hurdle rate. In compliance with that the company is committed to maximise the value for their shareholders. Their strategy is to create value by investing in exploration and production business because they offer sustainable growth with high returns through out the operational activities. To sustain the momentum which increases the firm’s value, the company intends to reinvest in exploration and production while carrying out their target acquisition for expansion of their business activities. They are expected to make investments in their assets through out the business cycle to increase the operational productivity of the company. All these attempts have been put forward so that a sustaina ble growth can be attained in future. This would even help the shareholders to attain an enhanced continual growth in their earnings from this company. BP’s aim is to strike a balance for their shareholders between the earnings involving the dividend, persistent investment in long term growth opportunities and maintain a careful risk return level. The company has a proper dividend reinvestment for the shareholders who are willing to have their dividend in the form of stocks rather than in cash. The company also have dividend reinvestment plan for their US and Canadian shareholders. All these approaches have been taken in accordance with the shareholders’ interests. They have committed to a remuneration policy which is in accordance with the interests of the shareholders. In the current volatile scenario it is quite important to have talented as well as committed

China and Inexperienced Industrial Revolution Essay - 1

China and Inexperienced Industrial Revolution - Essay Example Coal was at the time a better form of heat production. It gave constant, reliable amount of heat without giving out a lot of by-products as a waste (McCloskey 2010). The changeover was due to great innovation from individuals and group of people who skilfully devised ways to make work easier and create a better life for everyone (Chai 2011). Most of the innovations were involuntary and automatic, but additionally, there were others that founded through a series of experiments and exploit of science (Duiker and   Spielvogel 2011). This revolution, that is an industry based, commenced in Britain and a few years later it stretched to the United States of America, as well as Western Europe (Chai 2011). It grades one of the most significant turning points in the account of the history of the whole world. Nearly all aspects of the everyday life of the inhabitants of the planet were greatly influenced in one way or another (Nolan 2008). The thing that was mostly experienced was the sharp growth of the human population. The society at this period was exceedingly rural in nature. The revolution changed this to a much modern and urban society for most of the nations at that time (Beele 2002). Many countries experienced this mode of change that spread from the center of origin in Britain. China has had a dynamic economy in terms of its economy in the recent years (Nolan 2008). But why did it delay in achieving better industrialization that other states in Europe and other countries in the regions of the world were developing in the period? This paper is going to assess the reasons why China did not experience ‘industrial revolution’ between c. 1700 and 1949. According to Bayo r (2011), there was a delay in the industrialization in China until later in the century. In order to curb these problems, the country decided to raise its investment significantly together with the signing of a huge number of deals that included overseas companies that offered their services in the construction of some of the chief amenities for compound fertilizer manufacture, steel production and oil mining and processing in the refinery plant.These factors - availability of raw materials in Europe, a lot of richness acquired from the colonies, the widespread trade around the world, the presence of a unwavering form of government that offered support to the effectiveness of real establishments and was optimistic in scientific progress - made the European countries gain an upper advantage in revolutionising earlier in the century. China was not able to compete with these countries owing to the conditions which it was in that period.  

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Of mice and men Essay Example for Free

Of mice and men Essay Is it the piano which is half caste? Or it is life that is half caste as he utters on the fourth stanza I close half a eye consequently where I dream, I dream half dream. Through these lines I discover that in his point of view even his dreams are half! However he demands an answer as he repeated the very word Explain yuself. He wants us to him an answer for What is half caste and if it is asked to me I really dont have an answer to it. The structure of Agards poem is fairly casual and is written in his style and ascent which magnetizes the readers towards his poem, there is also a lack of punctuations which tells me that the poet want the readers to read his poem relatively fast, like a rap or song, like people speak in a debate, in a aggressive tone because the poem is protesting against the word Half caste that is why I think there are lack of punctuations because it suits the theme of the poem. The similarities which I found between the two poems are that both of the poets wrote about their cultural identity. Both Sujata and Agard used rhetorical questions and enjambments on the poem. Equally the poets are looking for an answer, Bhatt is looking for why she cant speak Gujarati? Why cant she use both of her tongues? And Agards just looking for the meaning of Half caste. The differences I found between them are that Bhatt used stacks of rhetorical questions which helped us understand her point of view over having two tongues and lose the mother tongue on the other hand Agards using repetition as his poetic device to explore his arguments and anger over the word Half caste. To me Half caste is more appealing than Search for my tongue because John Agards using plenty of rhetorical questions and repetitions than Bhatt; his poems structure is vastly eye catching in addition. After reading these poems, the facts I learnt about their cultural identity are that both of them loves their culture, they loves where they are from, loves their background and wants to spread their culture all over the world which were the main agendas behind writing these poems. After reading these poems I learnt where I belong to, how can I represent my culture all over the world finally these two poems taught me to be proud and respective towards my and everybodys culture. As Im asked which poet would I empathise with? I will go along with John Agard rather than Sujata Bhatt because he is fighting for just one answer which is What do you mean by the word Half Caste he quoted most of the time on the poem Explain yuself, he is protesting against the word Half caste he is objecting adjacent to racism which is really effective to me, this poem taught me how to protest against those unpleasant words and that is why I have chosen John Agard as my role model. Mohammed Sayed 10F Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Agard: Half-Caste section.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Communication Changes in the UAE

Communication Changes in the UAE â€Å"Report on the UAE Oral History Assignment† Introduction The report discuses the major shift in UAE Communication and media based on the interview and research. The interview helped to get a real insight in the life style and communication methods in the earlier days. The report discusses the recent trends in UAE media and communication history with emphasis on digitalization and telecommunication history. The technology change in communication is discussed with the rapid development of ICT in UAE after the declaration of Dubai as media free zone. The Social media revolution in UAE is the current trend in communication. Social media impact on UAE government and citizens are discussed. The transformation of communication in UAE as a result of social media has been discussed with the benefits, pitfalls and statistics in this report. The main findings from interview and research are discussed below. Shift in UAE Communication The growth of media began with radio in 1950’s. The history of Radio in UAE dates back 60 years. BFBC (British Forces Broadcasting Services) had the first FM studio running news and entertainment programs in UAE. Channel 4 was started in 1970’s which was the first UAE radio. Arab media group and Emirates radio quickly followed. Currently there are 7 radio stations with 72 channels in UAE. Televisions became popular in 1990’s and almost every household has a television in UAE. Internet growth began in 2000 and research reveals that nearly 75% of the UAE population has access to internet (Khalled, 2012). The media censorship is regulated by TRA in UAE. UAE has experienced major shifts in telecommunication and media in the past four decades. The growth of the nation was fuelled by the rich oil reserves. UAE has grown rapidly and has achieved remarkable progress in the telecommunication arena. Dubai serves as the major hub of UAE media and communication. Recent trends in UAE media and communication history Nissar Hoath, 2013 discusses the importance of digitalizing historical records from print, radio and TV etc. The Abu Dhabi media has started securing the UAE historical data on media and communication from 1950 in a digital form. At the end of the first phase of this project, more than 5000 hours of UAE history recordings are made digitally. This is a nine year program to be completed by 2020. This indicates the importance of UAE media and communication history. According to James Chung, Susie Wilkening, Sally Johnstone, 2012, digitalization is the recent trend in UAE communication and media. Other channels that dominate the field include Cable TV, wireless networks, TV channels etc. TRA (Telecommunications Regulatory Authority) controls the entire telecommunication in UAE. Etisalat and Du now known as (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company) EITC are the two major mobile service providers in UAE. All television and radio channels are owned by the UAE government except in the Dubai media free zone. Technology Change Dubai became a media free zone from 2000. The technology change in communication began here. The Emirate of Dubai passed the technology and free media law in January 2000 aiming at bringing rapid changes in technology in UAE. Dubai Internet City was launched in October 2000 (Jumana Khamis. 2014) as a means of development in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sector. Dubai internet city became a huge success in 2003 with industries emerging in the ICT sector. TECOM investments manage the free zone including 10 major business parks. Dubai has now become a major hub of ICT technologies in UAE. This directly benefits the media, communication, education, information technology and other related fields. These sectors saw tremendous growth due to the change of ICT technologies in Dubai. Dubai is renowned world wide as a leader in ICT technologies. Social media revolution in UAE Benefits Jumana Khamis, (2014) discusses the shift of communication power from UAE government to the people of UAE. Social media has brought this shift. Social media has changed the communication media totally in UAE with the interaction between government and citizens happening in a transparent manner. Earlier, the communication between UAE government and people was very rare but with the growth of the social media the communication has enhanced. UAE government uses social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to get the needs of the people. People freely post their opinion on these social media. Jumana Khamis, (2014) comments that communication in UAE has transformed rapidly. Earlier the communication between people and Government was vertical and hierarchical with government stating rules and regulations to the people over media. Now, Social media has changed this communication pattern to a network base. Pitfalls There are critics about social media arguing the involvement of people in government decision making. They even argue that social media can bring in a culture change in UAE with everyone expressing their opinions. Certain industrialists argue that social media can hamper creativity. Most of the intellectuals distance themselves from social media due to the following of the pop culture. Most of the people feel that social media is a waste of time and it kills useful leisure time or traveling etc. Statistics Jumana Khamis, (2014) gives statistics on social media. 70 percent of the users of social media are below the age of 30 and currently there are more than 65 million active Arab users in social media. According to the author, social media has opened a new way of expressing the concerns, needs and demands of the society. UAE government takes social media as a form of communication and now it has become a necessity. Conclusion The report has discussed the major shift in UAE Communication and media. The report gives details on the recent trends in UAE media, technology change, ICT and Social media. The communication of UAE has transformed to a great deal from Radio to social media. This transformation is clearly explained in this report. Communication forms the backbone in the growth of UAE. Communication can be attributed as one of the reasons of rapid growth of UAE. The communication change is discussed in the report in a critical manner focusing on social media. Finally as a result of critical analysis, it can be concluded that social media has transformed the communication to a great extent in UAE but ethics have to be followed in expressing the opinions in the social media. The report will serve as a guide for readers to study the change in UAE media and communication. References James Chung, Susie Wilkening, Sally Johnstone. 2012. Trends in Telecommunications in the United Arab Emirates. Reach Advisors publication Jumana Khamis. 2014. Social media shifts power of communication to people. Arab media. February 23, 2014 Khaleed. 2012. United Arab Emirates History Background Uae, Traditional, Country, and British – StateUniversity available at http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1605/United-Arab-Emirates-HISTORY-BACKGROUND.html#ixzz3E8tI0Oaa Nissar Hoath. 2013. Abu Dhabi Media digitalizes 3m rare historical records. Abu Dhabi Media. 15 April 2013 Appendix How people communicated before the establishment of the UAE in 1971? Which media were available and how they were used? How communication and media have changed since the early 20th century and compare past and present? What is the positive side of media and communication development in the UAE? What is the negative side for media and communication development in the UAE? How the media affect the education from the past compared to present? How the UAE was communication with the outside world? Could you imagine the UAE without the media and communication? It will develop or not? And how?

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Self Management Bringing Out The Best In Me Philosophy Essay

Self Management Bringing Out The Best In Me Philosophy Essay I shall be willing to give my complete self for the choices I consciously make in order to optimize the value of my continuously evolving self-awareness and self-discovery. Management has become an illusion to many people for many years. We thought that given a position, we will be able to drive people to achieve results. We were made to believe that as you pay people, we may be able to squeeze their juices to contribute to our results. But come to think of it: even a child who came from a parent and who was nurtured by the parent through the formative years wont do everything the parent wants him to do. They will still go out of their way and do things the way they want their own way. How much less can we expect an employee to subscribe to our management only because he is paid to do so? Knowing self is the prerequisite to self management. It is about self knowledge which leads to self mastery. The Book of Tao Te Ching is sure in saying that He who knows others is CLEVER; He who knows himself HAS DISCERNMENT; He who overcomes others HAS FORCE; He who overcomes himself is STRONG. Knowing self requires discernment leading to being strong. Knowledge and mastery of the self sounds more challenging than knowledge and mastery of others. You dont have to be different. You just have to be yourself. But by being yourself, you express your uniqueness. You can only be the best of what you are. You can never be the best of what you are not. The power lies within. If you wish to conquer the world, you have to first conquer yourself. But what do we need to know about ourselves? We have a false belief that we know ourselves enough because it is the person we have known since our conception. But wait! Psychologically, there are many things we do not know about the person we see in the mirror. Here is how. Our ego is that part of our personality that is in contact with reality. Ego is the neutralizer of the moralistic superego and the pleasure-driven id. The superego and the id are both blind and not based on reality. There are times however that our ego is threatened. That is when defense mechanisms are accessed to protect the ego and to attempt a state of balance. Defense mechanisms operate in the unconscious. For example, an alcoholic will use denial and say I am just an occasional drinker, and he is convinced about it. He will use rationalization and say drinking is my only stress buster because I dont have friends, and he is convinced about it. He will use dissociation and say, my quarrel and separation with my wife has nothing to do with my drinking but with her nagging personality, and he is convinced about it. The alcoholics use of the three defense mechanisms is something that he is not aware of. He gets used to it to protect his ego from the very real possibility that he is actually suffering from alcoholism. The unconscious use of the defense mechanism is anchored on the fact that it is the ego (a connection to reality) that it is trying to protect. (ego-id-superego model) This is one psychological basis for our tendency to suppress from our consciousness many aspects of lives and characteristics about ourselves which in a way is a form of self-delusion. Even the JOHARI Window, formulated by John Luft and Harry Ingham (?), proposed that there is the blind quadrant, which is known to others but is not known to self. There is also the unknown (unconscious) quadrant, which is neither known to others nor to self. That is how much unknown remains for us to explore. These quadrants offer the potentials in the human person. (illustration of johari) The Gift of Self On the more practical level, it is most worthwhile to discover what we do best that we enjoy most. XXX calls it flow. I simply call it gift. Do we do it best because we enjoy it most? Or do we enjoy it most because we do it best? A chicken and egg situation. It doesnt matter which one leads to another. But certainly, we wont do best what we dont enjoy doing, neither would we enjoy doing something we dont do best. There must be a special reason why the Supreme Being gives a special gift to each of us. It is for us to discover it, nurture it to perfection, and find its value to how you can serve others. But how many people end life journey without such discovery? What a waste! Even what is initially perceived as weakness can actually be discovered as a gift. XXX is a person born with a condition called xxx. He has no arms and feet. But he found the gift. He would inspire people by how he was able to do what people with complete extremities can do like surfing, playing golf, and play musical instrument. He would have not done it any better if he was born with limbs. And there are many other stories available in the worldwide web for us to prove that what could be initially perceived as weakness can lead to the realization of strength. What you love and your talents provide for clues to your gift. As Wolfgang puts it: the person born with a talent they are meant to use will find the greatest happiness in using it. You want to know your gift? Look at the mirror and ask yourself. What makes you different? What makes you special? What makes you loved and loveable? What makes you a child of God? I am sure, you will find an attribute, a power, a great being within you. It awaits to be unleashed, NOW. What is the best business for me? Whenever I get consulted by people who are in search of a business venture, I ask them the question, what is it that you do best that you enjoy most? The rationale is simple: what you do best is worthwhile investing in, especially when it fills a particular need in the market. What you do best will bring a product or a service that is probably best or good enough as a starting point to generate profit. What you do best is much easier to nurture and craft to perfection. It is important that I ask the question about what they enjoy most. The rationale is also simple: work stops being work when you are enjoying it. It makes you focus on what matters most because what you do brings about some degree of self fulfillment just by simply doing it. When what you do is something you enjoy most, you become more resilient, especially in the field of entrepreneurship where only the toughest survive. My life is an example. I was given the gift of tongue. God must have a reason. And everything followed after. Now, what is your gift? What have you done to nurture that gift? Step 2: CHOOSE Self After you know or discover the gift, you have to choose to use it well. You may choose to nurture it. Choice is derived from the freewill which is innate to our human nature. Some people will respond to situation based on the force of circumstances and will claim that there is no other choice. In my trainings, I usually set a bet for the audience to give me an example of a life situation where the person has no choice. On doctor challenged me and cited that he never chose to be born. Good thing he is a doctor that I was able to ask him how many spermatozoa does a man release in a sexual act. He said tens of millions. It was my chance to remind him: Doc, when your father made love with your mother, there were tens of millions of sperm released by your father! Why did you rush to win the race? It made the hall full of doctors quiet. And I closed the debate by saying: Doc, while you were a sperm, you made a choice to be the fastest and the mightiest sperm of them all. Thats because you chose to fertilize the egg. I have yet to hear a situation in life where one has no choice! The challenge of throwing bread on those who throw stones is Jesus Christs lesson of CHOICE. Reactive people respond as if there is nothing between stimulus and response. Proactive people respond aware that there is something between the stimulus and response- that is CHOICE. Stephen Covey calls being proactive as being response-able. They have the response-ability, which is the ability to choose the response. A person who believes in choices and who empowers the self using that freedom to choose will not blame others for anything. They only have themselves to blame. In so doing, that person learns, grow, become a better person. Now that I have impressed upon you that choice is inherent to our human nature, the biggest choice you have to make is to CHOOSE your SELF. You may choose to be the best person you can be based on your personal knowledge of yourself. Having been blessed with the gift of teaching, you may choose to be a great teacher. A nurse may just provide relief of pain, but may choose to care by provide a holistic nurturing to her clients. Anyone can be great. It is just a matter of choice. Famous and notorious people alike are products of the choices they make. Step 3: GIVE Self What did you have when you were born? And what dies with you? Only your SELF. What you gained in your life journey like wealth, properties, power and prestige are temporal rewards for the actions you took and the choice you made. But what could be the greatest gift to humanity but self? I used to wonder why most heroes had to die before they get acknowledged, like saints who had to die before they get beatified. Because death is the ultimate offering of the self. Even Jesus had to die to achieve our salvation. But this book is not about being hero or saint. It is about being you and giving yourself. What you are is Gods gift to you. What others have become because of you is your gift to God. It is in giving yourself that you find greater meaning in the life you are blessed to live. What do we get in knowing-choosing-giving ourselves? The more we become knowledgeable about ourselves, the more we will be able to define our vision and purpose. And from such vision and life purpose, we will be able to better choose the person we want to be. In so doing, we are able to fulfil a mission and project our authentic presence in the environment we live in. Our existence is felt, our significance is appreciated and our worth enriched. We are then able to give ourselves more genuinely. It is in sharing ourselves that we become more. It is in giving ourselves that we are given more. It creates a self-actualizing existence that puts more value to our lives and our being. Self actualization is the highest level of need. It is what not everyone will be able to reach in a lifetime. It is anchored on a hierarchy that builds upon basic to more complex needs. It is the level that makes one conclude that life is indeed worth leaving. Interview 1: Cory Quirino It took years for Cory Quirino to spread the gospel of wellness among her fellow Filipinos. Now, thanks to her relentless advocacy, wellness is one of the most happening words in town as more and more manufacturers have been jumping onto the bandwagon, developing consumer products that promote a healthy and happy lifestyle. Alternative and preventive medicine and naturopathy have likewise been booming. One of Quirinos secrets to her accomplishments is the great sense of discipline that drives her dreams. Without it, passion has no direction, she says. Wellness itself has a lot to do with balancing ones life. A lot of self-discipline goes to the day-to-day management of physical, emotional and spiritual activities that maintain ones health and beauty. The same principles can be applied in managing ones enterprises, as she has successfully demonstrated. It takes both intelligence and keeping ones cool to win the game. EQ is on equal footing with IQ, she says, if not a step higher. She adds, I believe in it as something innately God-given, something that enables an individual to tap the inner intelligence, centered on his or her ability to sense, to reflect, and to act. Quirino can attest to the fulfilment of being an entrepreneur. Only now, I am beginning to know what this feels like, she says. Sure, its risky, but the rewards are great. Your sense of freedom is underscored and heightened, and this motivates you to go further, beyond your own self-imposed limitations. Many people consider Quirino a guru or icon. This is music to my ears, she smiles, because it simply means, you have arrived, Cory!' Interview 2: Richie Cuna Richie Cuna always makes sure that his business is a step ahead of everyone elses. Being a business developer, he has been strict at beating his deadlines. I always tell my staff that we need to hit deadlines yesterday. No exemptions! , he exclaims. It has taken discipline and planning to turn Cunas visions to reality. People who are always stuck on the planning phase turn him off. I would plan things in my head days, weeks, months, or maybe even years ahead, and then I share what I want to happen, he says. In his office, he is well known for making his word happen. When he established the brand Fiorgelato, one of his several successful franchises, he planned to establish 50 branches within ten years. And so he has. Cuna has been a leader and pioneer in entrepreneurship and franchising in the Philippines. He founded and led the Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc (AFFI). He keenly supports new businesses, brands and concepts in schools, exhibits and other activities and has helped make Filipino brands internationally competitive. He wants others to share in the satisfaction of being entrepreneurs. He relates, Ive been an employee for about 25 years, and sometimes they say when an employee leaves the office, thats the end of the storyAs an entrepreneur, the task is a 24/7 thing; your mind keeps on running because you need to finish a task or make a deadlineBut the fulfilment is different. I quit my job in banking and pursued entrepreneurship because it is more enjoyable! Nuggets of Wisdom Here are some simplified techniques on how you can make the full use of your self: Search for what you do best and enjoy most. Examine the realization of dreams and aspirations. Live in harmony with the universe. Fulfil the promise of the future through the lessons of the past and blessings of the present. Search for what you do best and enjoy most. This is the essence of your freewill. You may choose what to do and might as well do what you are best at and what gives you the greatest rewards of enjoyment. In the process, everything becomes easy in your full utilization of your greatest asset yourself. Examine the realization of dreams and aspirations. Success comes in small frequent feedings. There are small achievements that are indicators that you are getting there in time. Do an inventory of the small successes that is heading to the realization of your dreams. These are the building blocks of your immortal legacy. Live in harmony with the universe. You are part of a bigger whole. Live with it in harmony. Be nurtured by it as you contribute to its entirety. Harmonize with nature and be one of its treasures. Fulfil the promise of the future through the lessons of the past and blessings of the present. You are never a perfect being but you are learning. The past provides you lessons. The past cannot teach you, but you can learn from it. The present is a presentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a gift. It is the most important day in your history. Count your blessings on a daily basis. Conquer the future. It promises you great things.