Philippines and Mayor Vice Mayor

Antonio Pigafetta Magellan's Italian expeditionary ethnographer, went ashore in 1521 to parley with the ruler of Limasawa, they sat together in a boat drawn up on shore which Pigafetta called a balangai Barangay/ Balangai Word for boat also being used for the smallest unit of Tagalog society Barrio Colonial term, a political unit loyal toa local boss Heroic Leadership This perks up their readiness to serve the people's needs, whether prioritize as egular or urgent. Ferdinand Magellan A Portuguese born leader of five Spanish ships, stumbled onto islands in 1521 in his search for the lucrative spices of the Indies Enrique Slave of Magellan who returned to Spain to complete the first circumnavigation of the globe Reduccion Barangays were coaxed or coerced into towns (cabeceras) organized around a newly built church with a resident friar Visitas Small outlaying settlements equipped with a chapel to receive a visiting friar Reduccion Cabeceras District capitals Poblaciones Towns Barrios/B arangays Villages SitiosHamlets Bajo de la campana Under the church bells To bring all indios into Christian communities balo de la campana and to accurately count the population in order to collect the tribute, the combined goals of church and state carried under friar supervision. Muros wall Intramuros (Inside the wall) Were hordes of Spaniards, leading indios, and important institutions of church and Lived non-Christians, dispossessed datus at odds with the new order, and Chinese as well as foreign communities. Encomiendas Granted by King Philip II Wich is the administrative right to collect tribute and draft abor from among the inhabitants of a defined geographical area, along with the responsibility to protect them and provide religious instruction. Polo y servicios Mobilized by the cabeza de barangay.The compulsory 40-day labor per year rendered by tribute payers to the state Servicio Was performed by men and women and consisted largely of domestic service in churches and conv ents Polo Was hard labor performed by men: constructing government buildings and churches

Children and Adolescents with New-Onset Epilepsy

Children and adolescents with new-onset epilepsy Journal Article Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders in childhood, with a widespread rate of approximately 3-4 per 1,000. In the paper they explore parent’s perceptions of their child’s quality of life and the impact of the diagnosis on their family. It’s talking about how the parent’s and children’s lives get accustomed to everyday normal functioning activities. Whenever there is any emotional well-being, self-esteem, and physical changes with their condition due to the epilepsy. Data was collected as part of the Stand and New Antiepileptic drugs (SANAD) trial.SANAD compared clinical trial and cost-effectiveness of standard and new AEDs. SANAD recruited 2,437 patients (1,983 age older than 16 years; 454 children age between 5 and 16 years), with history of two or more definite unprovoked seizures in the previous year. Talks about the primary outcomes were time to treatment failure, and time to 12-month remission. Children from 8-15 years were asked to answer self-complete questionnaires annually and thereafter for 4 years for SANAD. The parents gave written consent to long-term follow-up. Parents were asked to complete questionnaires to assess their child’s quality of life.It talks about parents being affected by their child’s seizures at home or at family outings. How it can take a toll on everyday things they do. I agree that children with epilepsy (CWE) are more likely to have learning disabilities and to experience academic underachievement. Well I agree because it’s already hard for children to fit in at school and to try to focus is even harder. I agree with the finding that adolescence is a critical period for identity formation and peer group identification. Being an outcast from their peers is an important concern for adolescents.I agree because the adolescents can experience self-conscious, ashamed of their epilepsy, and secreti ve behavior. I agree with the finding that single parents have less support from other networks, may cause them to be more concerned about their child’s well-being. I agree because their only support is usually themselves, thereafter, it’s not easy raising and caring for a sick child. I agree with the argument that it is a seizure event, not a diagnosis of epilepsy that impacts on daily functioning. Because an epileptic attack is more traumatizing and over whelming for a child, then being told you have epilepsy.Which some adolescents don’t know what this means for them. Those who scored >13 are considered to be psychiatric morbidity. Children with new-onset epilepsy had significantly poorer for physical, emotional and friend’s domains. A recent study found children in the United Kingdom reported low levels of child well-being, despite relatively high levels of wealth, compared to children from other European countries. What I found interesting was that CW E should be assessed for psychosocial problems in the beginning so intervention can be done in time for no further damage with the child.Interventions aim to increase self-esteem. I believe these studies are great resources for the families of the epileptic children. It gives them more insight in their everyday functions in life. Without these kind of studies parents might be clueless to what could be happening to their child in school or even at home. It hard for the families of these adolescents to undergo these kinds of trials, but with all the information and support groups out there it can be very helpful for everyone. In conclusion I believe with more moral support and patience, much can be done for children with these special conditions.

Machine Essay

Society is in all shapes and forms a lie. Consumerism drives our economy, our government, and our lives. As a people we are amazed and enthralled by the new technology that has become available to us in recent years. From smart phones to 3-d televisions we have it all, technology may as well be an extention of our bodies at this rate, it is creeping in. The speed at which technology has developped is impressive to say the least, we are able to make the blind see, the def hear, or the mute able speak. Computers have connected the world, opening a wealth of information to anyone witch access. With the annoucement of a new wearable computer called â€Å"Google Glass† we have taken a step forward into the cyborg age, not only that but we have taken a step into the what will be known as Surveillance States. We have given the oppurtunity to the government to control us even further. There are many positive and negative developments that come with the age of information, like the ease of accesing information from anywhere, to constantly being watched by our government or even to the militirization of these technologies. How could this affect our lives today, and more importantly tomorrow? Mann is an innovator, a man who excels in the field of technology. He had created a portable CD player before they were officially marketed, in time he began working on a portable computer that would allow him to access any of the information he needed. He even created a program that would replace ads on bilboards with things he felt were more important, and that he wanted to see. Some may wonder when this technology may be available but the fact of the matter is, it is available. It is all around us, Mann began experimenting with portability and computer in 1987. It is now the year 2013, and the technology has developped at an exponential rate, with the release of Google Glass we will be able to live the way Mann lived, replacing ads we dont want to see with other things that interest us. Another thing this technology will allow us to accomplish is having a better understanding of dissabilities, and how we can â€Å"correct† them; that is to say giving a blind individual the ability of sight. We’ve had the technologies to accomplish these feats for some time, but is only until now that we have seen them begin to surface. Not everything about these technological advancements are good, although they may seem that way we must always think about the way this tech can change our lives, potentially for the worst. With the route government is taking these technologies might end up being used against us, inventions like Google Glass will permit the government to have 24/7 surveillance of everything we do. Countries have slowly been turning into Surveillance states, all illusions of privacy are slowly being taken away and we are doing nothing to change this. The population has been made docile, we sit at home on computers and walk around with phone in hand while the world around us closes in; slowly suffocating us until we can no longer catch our breath. Soon enough all of this technology will be implemented into our bodies, turning us into, basically, cyborgs. Can we expect to live life like Mr. Roboto, becoming the â€Å"modern man†. Imagine seeing Robocop prowling the streets for miscreants while we all access our own personal â€Å"HUD† the song that is playing. These are the things we can come to expect, along with a number of severe problems; cyber terrorism, iruss, trojan horses, â€Å"key stroke† programs (that is to say, in this context, a program able to acces your mind and watch everything you do). How will these issues be resolved is a mystery as it is nearly impossible to eradicate and keep up with the number of programs that are being made even today. Will the human race become â€Å"more machine than man†? Can we still consider ourselves human if we are made up of more computer and metal then we are of flesh? How will we experience life differenty? Do we really want to take this direction with technologie, considering the repercussions of such an act and the sacrifice involved? It may be safe to say that we may be going too far. Although the technological advancements we are creating are phenomenal we cannot expect them to be used to only improve our lives; it is a well known fact that the human race is a self-destructive creature, and seems to be addicted to finding new and more efficient ways to kill eachother. That being said the technological era we are moving into brings a great many benefits to society, and to the army. The militirization of these innovations will be inevitable. This can be both seen as good and bad, depending on your point of view. War often incites change and pumps up the economy, although with these technologies we will be experiencing a different kind of war, one that could quite possibly affect us all. What will happen to these technologies in the coming years is somewhat of a mystery, perhaps â€Å"Johny Mnemonic† will be the world of tomorrow, those who chose to augment themselves versus those who did not. This technology brings a number of opportunities to better our lives, we will be able to improve our life span and cure more illness and disease, amputees will be able to live normally and those with ental dissabilities may be â€Å"cured† with the use of microchips. With the direction we are taking concerning technology we will have to come to expect that the government will take advantage of these technologies, with profit in mind, and it is very likelly that the uneven distribution of wealth and power will be easily distinguishable in the world of tomorrow. It is impossible to know exactly what the future holds and so we must simply do what we can today, to ensure that tomorrow is the way we want it too be. With that said, how far away are we from being able to see into the future?

The War on drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

The War on drugs - Essay Example The article uses seven explanatory variables which include the Drug Enforcement Agency and suggests that the incarceration of drug offenders merely causes a crowding-out effect in prisons, releasing the non-drug offenders and thus, potentially increasing, rather than decreasing, crime. The author talks about many views representing the history and the principles of facts on this issue. He represents the view that he believes is unknown to many and should be presented to everyone. As this is one of the major misperceptions according to him as mentioned in the article. It is also discussed in the article that suggestions and recommendations should be made to stop the use of drugs and the spread of drug offenders in a wise and logical way. This article is for those who believe that incarcerating the drug offenders will reduce the crime. Thus the evidence is also being shown through statistics. Critique: The authors have supported the government view in this article as they talk about the economics and politics of the drug offenders. The authors cover some major issues regarding the war on drugs and the crime rates which were profoundly unknown. They have provided an unbiased research in which they analyze all the aspects related to the topic. They cover the previous research done on the topic regarding the battle of US government with the drug offenders since years, and how they focused on the criminalization of drugs rather just proposing anti-drug policies. The authors clearly gave examples regarding the definitions of imprisonment and incarcerating with the help of many examples, and related it to the negativity caused by the act. The authors have used reliable sources to support their arguments with information from all the sides and then supporting their view. With the use of previous research on imprisonment, incarcerating and the drug offenders, to the presentation of the models and the variables, the authors had made it very clear for the reader to understand their view. They have also presented authentic calculations and contrasted them to make their view authentic, and prove how crime rate has increased due to the incarcerating of drug offenders. There is enough evidence shown by the authors to describe and prove their viewpoint. The evidence is taken from reliable sources as they have proper calculations taken from the statistics published by the government and law department. Although the article has provided economical and political views as per the nature of the journal, I think it has still provided enough information to understand the desired objects. 2. Unmapping the Golden Triangle or the World on Drugs ? Title Unmapping the Golden Triangle or the World on Drugs Author Neilson Brett Date 2000 Source Passages: Interdisciplinary Journal of Global Studies Stakeholder Business Summary: This article focuses on the operation of the global drug economy and how fast it has been increasing. It also shows the mode of production of drugs in the Golden Triangle, the Southeast Asia. Furthermore, the article talks about the contradictory relations between the capitalist globalization and the underground drug economy. Also talks about the inconsistency on the spatial relations constituting the Golden Triangle, and the severe impact of globalization on the business of heroine trafficking. These aspects are covered in the article in the literary point

The Creative Innovation and Vast Influence of Merce Cunningham Essay

The Creative Innovation and Vast Influence of Merce Cunningham - Essay Example If I was one who did not know his background, I would just see him as an old, shriveled, slow-speaking senior citizen dispensing wisdom on dance and life from his wheelchair and regaling his glory days when he had his share of the limelight as the star of the show. Yet, upon listening to his words, one can be enamored by his passion for the arts, notwithstanding his age and disability. In his advanced age, when most of his contemporaries are long dead or shoved in nursing homes rendering them useless to society, Cunningham remained vigilant in his post as guard of the dance, issuing instructions for his company of dancers as he envisions the dance in his still brilliant mind. He may sit immobile in his wheelchair, but his spirit and ideas joined the nubile movements of his dancers on the floor. That vision alone encapsulates how innovative and influential he was in the world of dance. This paper will explore how he came to be such. Travelling back in time to his origins as a young da ncer, Merce Cunningham started training in all-round theatrical dance at the tender age of twelve under the supervision of Mrs. J.W. Barrett. He went on to further his studies at the Cornish School in Seattle, Washington and became a mentee of the eminent dance diva, Martha Graham. This grand dame had a great influence on the young Cunningham, as she prodded him to pursue professional dancing and choreography as a career. In 1944, he first collaborated with long-time art and life partner, John Cage in a dance concert where he choreographed his dances as the dance soloist to the original music composed and performed by John Cage. The resulting performance was something new for everyone to see and it elicited a gamut of reactions from all sectors. The resounding critique was made by Edwin Denby who noted that he had ‘never seen a first recital that combined such taste, such technical finish, such originality of dance material, and so sure a manner of presentation’ (Gresko vic, 1999, p. 72). Indeed, Cunningham has lived up to that compliment all throughout his dance career. In 1953, Cunningham had his own company of 5 dancers, including himself. He preferred to maintain a small group that even in 1994, there were only 17 including the choreographer. His fortunate dancer-trainees eventually went on to develop their own careers as dancer-choreographers and made names for themselves. Some of these were Paul Taylor, Remy Charlip, Viola Farber, Margaret Jenkins, Douglas Dunn, Gus Solomons, Jr., Karole Armitage and Ulysses Dove (Greskovic, 1999). The prominence these mentees of Cunningham gained was a reflection of his great influence in their dance philosophies. Cunningham’s dance innovations never ceased to amaze the audience. Asked if he was out to shock people with his dances, he claimed he was not, but was out to bring poetry in their lives. He brought a twist to ballet, which was so much part of the modern dance innovations but somehow put an e dge to the classic dance. He combined what he learned from ballet such as the pronounced use of the legs, with the strong emphasis on the upper body in modern dance methods. Greskovic (1999) identifies one of Cunningham’s technical advancement in relation to ballet’s five positions of the feet that he referred to as the Five Positions of the Back – upright, curve, arch, twist and tilt. A meticulous artist, Cunningham did not stop at designing details of his choreography but also dabbled with the music that accompanied the dance. The unconventional sound elements used may be disturbing to the audience simply because it is unfamiliar and therefore, uncomfortable.

Motivation in a Multigenerational Radiologic Science Workplace Research Paper - 1

Motivation in a Multigenerational Radiologic Science Workplace - Research Paper Example This paper illustrates that organizational behavior has changed tremendously since the industrial revolution, and so have the ways for employee motivation.   Since the inception of management-related studies, the area of employee motivation has been emphasized in various ways. This discourse presents a brief review of motivation factors for radiological sciences workforce based on a specific study conducted by Kalar. Earlier, classical management theories proposed employee motivation practices such as incentives and bonuses.   The pioneer of scientific management, Fredrick Taylor asserted that the main aim of management should be to secure maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for the employee. Taylor believed that extra income will motivate employees to work extra and with greater efficiency, and hence incentives would be an effective way to motivate the employees. Later, the human relations movement led by Hawthorne experiments of Elton Mayo p roved that employee motivation can be enhanced through employee participation and involvement with the leadership teams. From a motivation perspective, numerous theories can be found, in the literature that describes various motivating factors and ways to motivate. A few of these theories include the Maslow’s needs theory, Alderfer’s ERG Theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory or the motivation-hygiene theory, McClelland’s 3-needs Theory, Vroom’s expectancy theory etc.  

A Report on the Investigation on the Allegations against a Plant Essay

A Report on the Investigation on the Allegations against a Plant Employee of an Acquired Corporation, Lakes Inc - Essay Example The investigation landed on a big clue, which made it clear that the offence was done in the preparation of invoice for purchase of items. From this case it was found that actually, the invoice was supposed to be prepared for purchasing high definition flat screen television but the prepared invoice was in the name of a computer server. The investigation is carried out from August to November 2009. In the mean time, it was also found that the employee has submitted the invoice through the purchase department for a refund amount of $8,795.60. Due to this issue, the director of purchasing department, Mr Bob Smith, and the administrative assistant, Ms Mary Bad, had to be terminated from the company. The company maintains a database for all the items they purchase and a particular code is fixed for the items, which relates to the work done by the administrative assistant. As part of the investigation, a visit was made to all the stores from where the goods were purchased. The manager of one store said that in the past six months, Bob Smith had done two more purchases and these items were delivered either to him or his assistant. He showed the invoices of these items that had been purchased. When comparing these with the plant invoices, the file had only copies. Everything in the invoice except the name of the items was similar. The director of the purchasing department and the administrative assistant are the culprit in this case. They cheated the company and this had been continuing for several years. The invoices, the proof and the statement of the store manager have been apt evidences for this particular investigation. Bob Smith and Mary Bad were cheating the company by making false invoices and purchasing costly items with the company’s earnings. They might even resell these items at a higher price and make more profits out of it. The case is found to be misappropriation on purchasing the asset. There are various schemes for asset misappropriation such a s â€Å"skimming, cash larceny, fraudulent disbursements, and non-cash larceny and misuse† (Albrecht n.d pg 2). Misappropriation of the Asset Fraudulent Disbursement Scheme From these schemes, the one, which is similar to the case under study here, is the fraudulent disbursements scheme. Asset misappropriation schemes consist of â€Å"those frauds in which a perpetrator employs trickery or deceit to steal or misuse an organization’s resources† (Albrecht n.d pg 1). In this case, both the director and his assistant have taken assets of the organization to benefit themselves. Here, misappropriation of assets occurred during the purchase of goods and services. The organization pays extra for purchased goods and services, as all of them were not used in the plant. It includes a billing scheme, which involves employers making payments based on false invoices for personal purchases as done by Mr Bob Smith and Ms Mary. Such type of asset misappropriation frauds are seri ous enough, which result in material misstatement of the financial statements of the organization, without the knowledge of the management. Finally, the company incurs a huge loss and a lot of damages. Final Results of the Investigation Asset misappropri

Brand analysis report BONDS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Brand analysis report BONDS - Essay Example However, the brand’s decision to sack Australian workers and move operations overseas has negatively affected its brand equity. In order to further enhance its brand equity, BONDS is also required to innovate further the way its competitor aussieBum is. Finally, it needs to further develop and strengthen its brand positioning rather than relying on its heritage. Customers must also be assured that the brand is â€Å"Australian† as the Country-of-Origin and â€Å"Made In† effect can have a huge impact on the brand equity of BONDS. Table of Contents 1.Introduction 3 2.Brand positioning and values 5 3.Brand characteristics 7 4.Customer Benefits 8 5.Brand Communities 9 6.Brand equity 10 8.Reflection 14 1. Introduction BONDS is an underwear brand based in Australia that has become a national icon and has existed for over 98 years. Initially targeted at men’s underwear, the company aims at providing â€Å"shorts, trunks and low rise† underwear (Dugg.com.a u, 2003-2011). Therefore, the main product initially was underwear in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Both conventional and contemporary styles are offered by the company to ensure high level of comfort to its customers. The company’s iconic product was The Chesty Bond. Over the years, the company has expanded its product range to including clothing including sportswear and maternity clothing. As of today, BONDS offers not just underwear but clothing for kids, women and babies. As far as the customers of BONDS are concerned, the company focuses on individuals who have a highly active life or work in occupations resulting in high levels of sweating (Dugg.com.au, 2003-2011). Keeping this in mind, the fabric used in the underwear has high absorption capacity that keeps the underwear area dry for long periods of time. (Dugg.com.au, 2003-2011) The elastic bands used on the underwear specifically cater to customers’ need for comfortable fitting and expandability. One of the major competitors of BONDS is aussieBum which produces is underwear in Australia. In 2009, aussieBum’s sales increased by an astounding 40% in the midst of the sacking of Australian workers by BONDS (Stephenson, 2009). The company’s decision to move its operations to China have strengthened the sales of its competitor-aussieBum (Stephenson, 2009). This is because aussieBum’s marketing strategy focuses on highlighting the fact that its products are â€Å"Made in Australia†. Therefore, aussieBum’s recent advertisements that bear the slogan â€Å"Australian made by choice† have capitalized on the loss of customer faith in BONDS after it decided to sack Australian workers (Stephenson, 2009). Another major competitor in Australia is Aldi which is a discount supermarket chain in Australia offering the convenience of online shopping. Aldi’s fairly high geographical distribution in Australia along with a diverse product range makes it a strong competitor for BONDS (Euromonitor International, 2012). Furthermore, local department stores such as Kmart, Target and Myer continue to serve as competitors for BONDS given their own-label brands, low prices and ability to cater to a wide variety of customer segments including women and children. Furthermore, these departmental stores benefit from the high customer traffic from customers who come to shop for everyday use items such as grocery. Therefore, chances are high that customers would prefer to buy underwear and other clothing from these department stores due to the convenience they offer.

Political Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Act - Essay Example He resigned the Yugoslav presidency amid demonstrations, following the disputed presidential election of September 24, 2000. (wikipedia.com). He surrendered to the JSO (an elite group of police in Serbia), to avoid forced arrest in April 1, 2001. This put in compliance with an American deadline. The warrant had previously been made on suspicion of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement. The charges were domestic. The legitimacy of the arrest was not proven since Milosevic surrender; however putting Milosevic in jail is not legal. The investigation does not have a hard evidence to convict the former president. The Serbian Prime Minister Milosevic act during the war convicted him for committing war crimes. During the Yugoslav war in 1990 and Kosovo war in 1999 he conducted his own defense at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where he stood accused of crimes against humanity, violating the laws or customs of war, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and genocide. The decision of the court of not giving him the proper medical treatment is legitimate in the sense that he is convicted of a crime, but the said action is illegal since every person is entitled to have a proper treatment. His trial ended without verdict because he died during the proceedings. He suffered from heart ailments and high blood pressure. In the case of President Milosevic he had made a legitimate act during the war since he is the president; however he violated the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions. The political acts performed by Milosevic are a good example of legitimate act but legal. There are also cases wherein political act is legitimate but it does not necessarily need to be legal. In the case of the American and the British decision to attacked Iraq and engaged into war is legitimate. In the inquiry of people in the website of Noam Chompsky one question goes like this: "Do you think that, after the unjustified and unjustifiable war against Iraq, the world will lose the meaning of its existence, like in the field of language, when we lose the grammatical rules Will we automatically lose the reference of the meaning of sentences, and consequently the meaning of the world around us" Noam answer this question by citing one statement done by a follower of the Iraq war, Michael Glennon, who argues that we should recognize that international law and international institutions are what he calls hot air. They have proven their inapplicability by the fact that the United States disregards them, and he says it is right to disregard them, and the United States must maintain the right to use force as it chooses, independent of these institutions, which we simply have to dismiss and disregard. The act of Americans and British against Iraq has gain criticism throughout the world. But the said act is legitimate. The legality of attacking someone is not being followed especially during the time of war or the need to have a war. In the case of the American President he needs to make decisions depending on the

Market Research †Case Study Spaghetti Fettuccini Essay Example for Free

Market Research – Case Study Spaghetti Fettuccini Essay 1. Establish the goals of research that should be developed. There are several goals of research that should be developed for Fettuccini S.A.. First of all, they need to properly analyze their current situation and know especially the Spanish consumer’s behaviour and expectations in order to adapt their product to the market’s demands. Also, they need to consider their potential new costumers. They also need to analyze their competition, get to know what products and at what price they are selling and what are the competitor’s weaknesses so that they can get strategic advantage out of their position. The company has some experiences with selling whole grain pasta, but they need to test their new products, especially the new pasta product line since it is a fresh product. Fettuccini S.A. also needs to find out if they should open their own points of sales or if they should rather focus on distribution to existing shops. Finally, they need to establish a marketing strategy in order to know what kind of advertisement is the most suitable and effective for their business, and the way in which they want to transmit their messages. As the company had problems with punctual delivery and their service in general before, it would definitely be necessary to investigate also about these two points. They are not acceptable and must be improved once the reasons for both of these weaknesses are figured out. Another problem which should be resolved by investigating within the company is the company’s structure itself; it is not efficient since the different departments are located in different areas of Spain. Such a decentralized management is not agile enough for a company of Fettuccini’s size and produces too high costs. 2. Through the Internet, conduct a research to determine the secondary market for fresh pasta and define the main competitors of our company. The Fettuccini Company has already investigated on the secondary distribution of some new products such as freshly prepared pasta in order to diversify their offer, which was marketed in the fast-food restaurants of an accredited company in Madrid. Since the primary market for Fettuccini S.A. is the public administration, I would consider the following possible secondary private markets. An estimation of the world pasta production gives us an idea of the positioning of the Spanish pasta market. The estimated world pasta production in 2012 has been around 13.5 million tonnes, distributed as follows[1]: Spain has produced 252,208 tons and is ranked on the 13th position of the global pasta producers while number one, Italy, has produced 3,316,728 tons. As far as the pasta consumption is concerned, Italy dominates with 26.0 kg/ capita, while Spain only consumes 5.0 kg/ capita[2]. Although the pasta market in Spain is not as huge as in Italy, there is still enough potential for successful production and distribution of pasta products. The main competitors of Fettuccini S.A. come mainly from Italy and are companies like Buitoni with 22% of the market share, El Pavo, Rana or Gallo with a 10% of the total market share[3]. Other smaller competitors could possibly be Gusti d’Italia S.R.L., EGO Internationl S.R.L. or Tomasicchio Giuseppe[4]. The secondary market for fresh pasta products in Spain is â€Å"on counter†, which would be through chains serving fresh products such as Nostrum, Fresco etc., and also the traditional restaurants serving fresh pasta. Another big secondary market for fresh pasta are supermarkets[5]. Furthermore, specialized small shops selling food to take away for example should also be taken into account as potential customers. Delicatessen shops and restaurants can also be interesting partners for Fettuccini S.A. since both are offering high quality and exclusive fresh products. Another big secondary market are companies who offer catering or lunch service for their employees, and who might be interested in receiving daily fresh pasta dishes. The big opportunity for Fettuccini S.A. in this secondary market is that they produce in Spain, which means they should be able to deliver a lot faster and at a more competitive price. 3. Define the qualitative technique that you will use and introduce a dash of qualitative questions. In order to obtain data and useful information about what Fettuccini S.A. can expect from their potential market, get to know the preferences of their costumers and establish themselves in the market, they could use several qualitative techniques such as focus groups, triads, dyads, in-depth interviews, uninterrupted observation, bulletin boards, and ethnographic participation/observation. But due to the problem that many of these techniques are not only expensive, but especially time-consuming and the responses might be difficult to interpret, Fettuccini S.A. should in my opinion work with focus groups and combine the results with the results obtained from observation in points of sales, for example. Both for the focus groups and for the observations in points of sales, this could be combined with letting people taste the fresh pasta products and afterwards asking them specific questions.

Rain Water Harvesting As Water Scarcity Solution Environmental Sciences Essay

Rain Water Harvesting As Water Scarcity Solution Environmental Sciences Essay Availability of water is critical for ecosystem health and productivity, ensuring supply of a range of products and services, to benefit human well-being (e.g., GEO4, 2007; MA, 2005). Future pressures from climate change, growing population, rapid land use changes and already degraded water resource quality, may intensify water shortages in specific communities and exacerbate existing environmental and economic concerns (5). Population around the world today depends on the renewable resources of water for their water needs in industrial, agricultural and domestic sectors. But when these are withdrawals are greater than 20% of total renewable resources, water stress often is a limiting factor on development; withdrawals of 40% or more represents high stress. Similarly, water stress may be a problem if a country or region has less than 1,700 m3 yr-1 of water per capita (4). In 1990, approximately one-third of the worlds population lived in countries using more than 20% of their water r esources, and by 2025 about 60% of a larger total would be living in such stressed countries, in the absence of climate change largely because of population growth (6).IPCC in its Third Assessment Report predicts that increase of temperature between 1-2 °C would lead to decrease in water supply in regions already suffering from water scarcity such as the Mediterranean, southern Africa, and arid parts of central and south Asia affecting half a billion people. These areas will be further affected if the temperature increases 2-3  °C (1). With growing number of population belonging to the water stress areas of the world, it has become crucial for humans to find out alternative sources of water, proper management of the given resources and bring in technological changes to improve water use. Though centralized water management systems has a huge impact on our lives today, societies, government and citizens around the world are looking out of alternative resources to augment the available water resources. Rainwater harvesting, as one of such methods, is the accumulating and storing, of rainwater. Depending on local environmental conditions, water harvesting may provide a supplementary supply, an alternative supply or the only feasible improved supply. The current centralized water supply paradigm which is followed in all the cities of the world seems unsustainable and extremely high on energy consumption. In United States, about 4% of the U.S power generation is used for water supply to the population and electricity re presents approximately 75 percent of the cost of municipal water processing and distribution (19) (20). As an alternative paradigm for more sustainable water availability, harvesting rainwater, storing it in tanks, and recharging groundwater may be used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers. In rural areas, rainwater can be used to even supplement agricultural income through small horticultural projects and maintaining improved amount of livestock apart from developing the quality of life of rural women in many parts of the world who spends a considerable portion of their day- to- day life in collecting water for drinking and house hold purposes. In just one day, more than 200 million hours of womens time is consumed for the most basic of human needs collecting water for domestic use (21)( I still remember, the distance I used to travel to collect water from nearby reservoirs as kid visiting my village during holidays back in Ind ia). As the civil society is becoming more aware and sensitized regarding its potential, rainwater harvesting can also be scaled up to neighborhood and micro-watershed levels. More than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people (Estimation for 2002, by the WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2004). Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses, tents and local institutions, or from specially prepared areas of ground, can make an important contribution to drinking water. Rainwater systems are simple to construct from inexpensive local materials, and are potentially successful in most habitable locations. Roof rainwater can be of good quality and may not require treatment before consumption. Although some rooftop materials may produce rainwater that is harmful to human health, it can be useful in flushing toilets, washing clothes, watering the garden and washing cars; these uses amount to a significant amount of water used by a typical home. In many parts of the world, households and communities have augmented or substituted their household supplies with ra inwater for reasons of scarcity, salinity, quality of service and for risk substitution. While rainwater may not always provide a full-year round of supply, it enhances water security in the house and generally provides a good quality water. Historical development of rainwater harvesting Water has been important for the development of cultural complexity in human society during the Holocene and earlier (16). Human ancestors have always used aquatic resources to their benefit (18), as we see the earliest association of hominid ancestors with lakes and pools dating back to 6 and 7 m.y. ago (Upper Miocene) from northern Chad, Central Africa(19).Rainwater collection is one of the oldest means of collecting water for domestic purposes. Archaeological excavations document ancient rainwater harvesting in Mesoamerica, the Mediterranean, and the Orient (10). Historically, in Baluchistan (erstwhile India and now in Pakistan), evidence of simple stone-rubble structures for impounding rainwater dates back to the third millennium BC (8). Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, rainwater collection were already a common technique throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East, used by Egyptians, Palestinians, Iranians, Iraqis, Yemenis, Greeks and Romans(9). In the Negev desert in Israel, tanks for storing runoff from hillsides for both domestic and agricultural purposes have allowed habitation and cultivation in areas with as little as 100mm of rain per year.. Water was collected from roofs and other hard surfaces and stored in underground tanks, or excavated reservoirs (cisterns) with masonry domes (9). In some parts of the Middle East, rainwater was collected from hard surface areas and channeled through vertical shafts to horizontal tunnels (qanars) that in turn led the water to underground reservoirs (22). In addition to the traditional rainwater harvesting techniques found in India, North Africa and the western Mediterranean, there are also examples from Thailand, China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the small islands in the Pacific. In sub-Saharan Africa, the collection of rainwater was (and is) practiced using small containers, in among others, most of Southern Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. The earliest known evidence of the use of the technology in Africa comes from northern Egypt, where tanks ranging from 200-2000m3 have been used for at least 2000 years many are still operational today (7). Even in Western Europe, historical records show that in many places rainwater was the primary drinking water source for drinking water, the same applies to the Americas and Australia. In all three continents rainwater continues to be an important source for isolated homesteads and farms (11). Rainwater harvesting for domestic water use in modern day Though there is significant evidence of rainwater harvesting in the world historically, it was lost to peoples memory for sometime due to extensive water supply systems which came in place with the urbanization of the world. Potential for rainwater use is wide and there are many ways of capturing the rainwater runoff. In this paper, I would however like to focus more on the domestic usage of rainwater. Alternative sources of domestic water are becoming particularly important in urban areas of the world as urban population is rapidly increasing. Since 1950, the number of people living in urban areas has jumped from 750 million to more than 2.5 billion people. Currently, some 61 million people are added to cities each year through rural to urban migration, natural increase within cities, and the transformation of villages into urban areas(7). Due to the severe challenges of water stress and scarcity issues in the world today, these small stand alone techniques of water supply is becomi ng popular. Urbanization of the world has also changed the way houses are built worldwide and concrete roofing is providing good catchment areas closer to the domestic water users. Plastic and Ferro-cement tanks has also become a good alternative to earthen tanks as reliable, economic and durable means of water cisterns. Rapid urbanization of the cities around the world has also brought forward the faults of the water distribution systems in many parts of the world, especially in the developing countries where people have felt the need to become self sufficient in water supply within their means. As the quality and quantity of ground water is decreasing, rainwater is becoming an alternative source. Urbanization also is bringing together large number of people within smaller areas to live such has flats, apartments, residential complexes etc where rainwater harvesting is becoming a community based approach where the cost of implementation and the benefits are getting shared within th e members of the communities. Rainwater harvesting can be categorized in a number of different ways according to the type of catchment surface used and by implication the scale of activity. Essentially these are either rooftop, ground, or rock with rooftop being most suited to individual household or community water supply, while ground and rock being more geared towards agricultural irrigation. Conceptually, rainwater harvesting catchments can vary in size from the individual house to a river basin Figure Source -http://buildandrebuild.com/rainwater-harvesting-and-you/ Rooftop rainwater harvesting however is a very small percentage of the total rainwater run-off. But as a small scale and domestic activity, this is significant as the production; control and use of these sources are maintained and controlled by domestic users. For arid and semi arid countries, rain-water is often the most readily accessible water source at the community and household level, although distribution of rainfall during the year, and storage necessary for the dry months can provide a problem. Rainwater collected using existing structures has few negative environmental impacts compared to other technologies for water resources development. Rainwater is relatively clean and the quality is usually acceptable for many purposes with little or even no treatment. The physical and chemical properties of rainwater are usually superior to sources of groundwater that may have been subjected to contamination. Rainwater harvesting can co-exist with and provide a good supplement to othe r water sources and utility systems, thus relieving pressure on other water sources. Rainwater harvesting provides a water supply buffer for use in times of emergency or breakdown of the public water supply systems, particularly during natural disasters. Rainwater harvesting can reduce storm drainage load and flooding in city streets. Users of rainwater are usually the owners who operate and manage the catchment system, hence, they are more likely to exercise water conservation because they know how much water is in storage and they will try to prevent the storage tank from drying up.Rainwater harvesting technologies are flexible and can be built to meet almost any requirements. Construction, operation, and maintenance are not labour intensive (7).Rainwater harvesting system also produce beneficial externalities in reducing peak storm water runoff and associated processing cost. Rainwater harvesting as a sustainable water strategy Access of water according to the UN is officially defined as 20 lpd within a 1 km distance from ones dwelling. The UN considers this a minimal standard to which all countries, even low income ones, can aspire. This definition has been critiqued on two counts: (1) 1 km is a considerable distance, especially when carrying water, which is heavy. For many women and girls, who make up the great proportion of water carriers, fetching the family minimum could require several 1 km trips each way a significant barrier to actual access. (2) Climatic variations are not accounted for in the universal definition of access (15). Rainwater harvesting can significantly address this issue and become a sustainable water source across the climatic condition if the management systems are robust and the water collected can be channelized to recharge groundwater. For example, Jordan faces a huge water crisis. Results of a study show that a maximum of 15.5 Mm3/y of rainwater can be collected from roofs of residential buildings provided that all surfaces are used and all rain falling on the surfaces is collected. This is equivalent to 5.6% of the total domestic water supply of the year 2005. The potential for water harvesting varies among the governorates, ranging from 0.023ÃÆ'-106 m3 for the Aqaba governorate to 6.45ÃÆ'-106 m3 for the Amman governorate. The potential for potable water savings was estimated for the 12 governorates, and it ranged from 0.27% to 19.7% (13). Rainwater harvesting can also reduce the dependence on the centralized water supply systems. Mega-Cites worldwide are facing similar challenges of water scarcity and water stress like polluted freshwater resources, overexploited groundwater resources, insufficient or poorly maintained water supply infrastructure systems and insufficient technical and water management capacities (14).Small pockets of water resources within a city are more resilient and can draw on rainwater and groundwater, providing the city with greater flexibility in the face of water shortages, operational failures and natural disasters. History tells us that cultures do not give up until they have exhausted options for survival over the area they occupied for longer period. The Mayan civilization is a case in point, which developed around 3000 years ago in Mesoamerica, and faced recurrent droughts due to solar forcing before it collapsed due to climate deterioration towards the end of the Classic Period. Ancient reservoir technology developed by the Mayan people in the seasonally dry tropics of southern Maya lowlands reveals that rainwater storage was a major source of water supply during the dry season. Reservoirs were constructed, for example, in Tikal to cope with seasonal scarcity of water (16). Rainwater harvesting can also improve the situations of urban flooding. More land area around the world today is getting covered by asphalt and concrete as new roads are laid down to support increasing amount of transport use of urban population. This has lead to the lower seepage of surface water to replenish ground water resources. In the United States alone, pavements and other impervious surfaces cover more than 43,000 square miles-an area nearly the size of Ohio-according to research published in the 15 June 2004 issue of Eos, the newsletter of the American Geophysical Union. Collection of rainwater significantly reduces this stormwater to flow down the sewerage systems of a city. At times, this is effective in controlling urban flooding which happens when too much of water due to precipitation flows down the sewerage system which are not capable of handling the amount does not function properly. Evidences and policies of successful rainwater harvesting around the world- As the world tries out new methods to address the newer problems it face in solving natural resources scarcity issues and which in fact has been a significant factor for human civilization from time immemorial, rainwater harvesting experiments as a source of water is also happening worldwide. Currently there is no US agency that has focus on Rainwater Harvesting and states are rapidly doing their own thing. The H.R. 3598: Energy and Water Research Integration Act which has been passed by the House of Representative in December 2009 which is formulated to to ensure consideration of water intensity in the Department of Energys energy research, development, and demonstration programs to help guarantee efficient, reliable, and sustainable delivery of energy and water resources(32) may promote federal support in rainwater harvesting. Some states of Usa have significantly worked in promoting rainwater harvesting. In October of 2008, the city of Tucson, Arizona became the first municipality in the country to require developers of commercial properties to harvest rainwater for landscaping.   The new measure approved by a unanimous vote by the City Council requires that new developments meet 50% of their landscaping water requirements by capturing rainwater. The new rule went into effect on June 1, 2010. Arizona taxpayers who install a water conservation system after January 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2012, may take a one-time tax credit of 25% of the cost of the system (up to a maximum of $1,000). This can be claimed over multiple tax years, but no taxpayer can receive more than a total of $1000 in credits through this program. Builders are eligible for an income tax credit of up to $200 per residence unit constructed with a water conservation system installed (17). Some government grants in Arizona also have given the scope of funding rainwater harvesting projects within an amount of $5000 (25). The Cincinnati EPA office has instituted a program to give incent ives to homeowners for rain gardens or rain barrels to improve quality/timing of stormwater runoff, rather than promoting a central engineering solution. The City of Austin Water Conservation Program distributes over 250 rain barrels per month to homeowners at a subsidized cost, and provides rebates for the installation of approved cistern systems. Commercial/industrial properties can receive rebates up to $40,000 for the installation of rainwater harvesting and greywater systems. New commercial facilities must install a separate irrigation meter costing between $5,000 and $25,000 unless they can provide 100% of all outdoor water needs from alternate water sources such as rain, grey-water, and air conditioning condensate (26). With Clean River Rewards which is the storm-water utilitys discount program of Portland, helps ratepayers save money and work for clean rivers and healthy watersheds at the same time through storm-water management in individual properties. There is an 100perce nt discount on the onsite storm-water management charges because these actions helps protect the rivers, streams and the groundwater(27).Rainwater harvesting methods are used as sources of water supply in other parts in USA and more and more state governments are coming out to give this method a try. In California, the California Rainwater Capture Act of 2010, would authorize a landowner to install, maintain, and operate, on the landowners property, a rainwater capture system meeting specified requirements. The bill is also known as AB 1834 (35).In California however there is no tax credit given to the people in order to install rainwater harvesting equipments. In New Mexico however there is no mandatory law to install rainwater harvesting in individual houses, but there is a tax credit for NEW Green Buildings, which could include rainwater harvesting. For Build Green New Mexico Gold level, the maximum possible credit is $11,000.00 per house. The North Carolina Department of Environ ment and Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water has implement Community Conservation Assistance Program has created a voluntary incentive based program for promoting rainwater harvesting and awareness generation educational programmes are in place, yet there is no tax incentives in place. Under this program the landowner may be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the pre-established average cost of the BMP (best management practices). Included in this program are Rainwater Harvesting Systems (36) (37) (38). Around the world, rain water harvesting has many success stories. In Singapore, rainwater harvesting is growing as rapid urbanization is inducing rapid water demand. In Changi Airport, rainwater is collected from the runways which are used primarily for non-potable functions such fire-fighting drills and toilet flushing. Such collected and treated water accounts for 28 to 33% of the total water used, resulting in savings of approximately S$ 390,000 per annum. In India, direct recharge of rainwater into the ground (40) resulted in groundwater level increases of up to 5 to 10 metres in just two years. Water scarcity problems in Indonesia, has made government introduce a regulation requiring that all buildings have an infiltration well. The regulation applies to two-thirds of the territory, including the Special Province of Yogyakarta, the Capital Special Province of Jakarta, West Java and Central Java Province. It was estimated that if each house in Java and Madura had its own infiltra tion well, the water deficit of 53% by the year of 2000 would be reduced to 37%, which translates into a net savings of 16% through conservation. UNICEF is working with communities in Alor in Indonesia and the communities has a very positive response towards this effort (39).In Tokyo, Japan rainwater and reclaimed waste water is used to address water demand in emergency cases. There are 850 facilities for rainwater use in Tokyo. Since reclaimed wastewater use has several benefits, a huge water volume has been utilized for various purposes such as washing; water-cooling, toilet flushing, waterway restoration and creation of recreational waterfront (30).There are many case studies and success stories, feasibility studies on rainwater harvesting methods and uses in the world today. An exhaustive list of all of them is beyond the scope of this paper. International organization for promoting sustainable environmental strategies like UNEP are growingly focusing on this method as to cater water needs of communities to attain the objectives of Millennium Development Goals. Poorer countries in Africa and Asia are experimenting on harvesting rainwater for various human uses for a long time now in order to answer some of the persistent water problems plaguing human lives in these continents. Evaluation of rainwater harvesting as a water resource- As rainwater harvesting is emerging in many regions of the world as a sustainable means of addressing short term and long term water scarcity, it is critical to understand the robustness of the system. Purity of rain water is in question when there are instances of acid rain all around the world. Growing air pollution in urban areas also pollute the rain before it falls and therefore rainwater harvesting requires treatment mechanism to make the water fit for human consumption. Rainfall intensity and the number of dry days preceding a rainfall event significantly affects the quality of run-off water from the catchment systems. Presence of fecal coli form and other microbiological contaminants, zinc concentration due to the material used in roofing are some of the shortfalls of rainwater harvesting (41). Household water management practices where rainwater is used as non-potable household use and the limited water supplied by the central water service system as potable water source can be a good alternative. Newer technological developments can easily solve these problems of contaminants in rainwater though it may significantly increase the cost of the water. Household level water catchment areas are often small and it is increasingly smaller when we think of urban areas. Moreover, as people around the world prefer to stay apartments, access to individual roofs for each water consumer is impossible. But this also gives the scope of community involvement and shares the cost. Small involvements like managing a rainwater catchment in a building can bring in greater differences in how people think about the water availability. It becomes educational and it brings in awareness which translates in how we look towards the way we use water in our daily lives. People understands solutions of the problems they face better than analysis of their problem, when solutions are within their reach, they implement them. In the evolution of human civilization, it can be studied tha t humans have addressed their needs in small measures which together as brought in changes in they we live out life today. Popularizing rainwater harvesting requires significant push by the governmental institution. Water till date is used as a free good in many parts of the world and people generally do not have the mental set up to invest for water services and thinks that it is the responsibility of the government. Interestingly in some states of USA like Utah, Colorado and Washington, catching rain water was against the law as it reduces the water catchment area for downstream users if water is taken in up stream. Rainwater harvesting was possible in these states if the individual user goes through the process of gaining a state water right. With the growing problems of water scarcity in these regions, governments are slowly taken small yet bold steps in legalizing rain water harvesting by domestic users. Colorado is taking baby steps towards legalizing rainwater collection. Senate Bill 80 was signed by the Governor on 4/22/09 and becomes law on July 1, 2009. It allows rural catchment (Senate Bill 80 ), but still has some hurdles for those that want to move forward (42). The Department of Ecology of the State of Washington, on October 12, 2009 issued an Interpretive Policy Statement clarifying that a water right is not required for rooftop rainwater harvesting (43).  In Utah, the state passed Senate Bill 32 in 2010 which permits rainwater catchment for maximum capacity of no more than 2,500 gallons. There are several other restrictions, but the state engineer must grant the permit if all the conditions are met. In countries, around the world especially India and China which are experiencing rapid industrial developments, rainwater harvesting is also becoming a feasible policy advice. In the 11 Five Year Plan of the Government of India, rainwater harvesting is taken into consideration where sources of groundwater are limited. The plan stress that restoration and building of tanks and other water bodies along with rainwater harvesting structures for recharge and for direct colle ction at community and household levels constitute an attractive option. The Central Government should support the states for tapping the maximum external assistance for this purpose, a part of the assistance could be shared by the Centre as decided in the case of the external assisted Water Bodies Restoration Programme wherein 25% grant of the project cost is passed on to the states (45). The Water law of the Peoples Republic of China was promulgated on Oct.1 2002, This is the law concerning the water resources in a national scope, which pointed out definitely: the national government encourages citizens to use rainwater and tiny salt water for the purposes of harvesting, exploitation and utilization in regions short of water resources.(46) For promoting the development of rainwater utilization, the National Construction Department announced the Chinese ecosystem residence technique valuation manual in 2001 and updated it three times in the following three years, each edition formu lating content about rain water utilization (47).