Employee Rights and Discipline Essay

In the society, the concept of individual rights and personal freedom is viewed to be an important element and part of social structure and perspective. Social institution, organization and the legal opinion give high regard and importance towards this concept as inclined with the desire of promoting democratic opinion towards freedom and equality. Human civilization is founded with the values of independence wherein people enjoy personal freedom free from oppression and commanding power. Thus, the personal right for freedom is viewed to be an important element in the life of each individual as he or she exists in the society. However, the concept of individual right is often in contrast with the society’s pursuit for organized system within its structure. People desire to have a certain degree of control and power over its organization for the purpose of management for the attainment of their desired accomplishment and success. For the attainment of social discipline in the social organization, certain individual rights need to be limited for the purpose of management and control for the effective and efficient process of each social institution. For example, in the working environment, personal right for speech and opinion must be limited and restricted for the purpose of management of the said organization. This concept is indeed logical and permissible on this view however, the practice and application of the argument can likely cause critical and complicated questions. The troubling concern in this argument is the use of the power of restricting the right for free speech in the work environment. If implemented for the ideal reasoning and pursuit of social organization and discipline, limited the free speech is indeed permissible however, abusing this power through utilizing it as a mean of suppressing individual rights for personal benefit is already negative and detrimental. In addition, in the said scenario, limiting the free speech is permissible on some grounds however, there is still the need to develop a system where employees can still express their opinion, complain, and suggestion to the management on a way that will not negate or contradict their social discipline. The restriction on the individual right is only needed to achieve the ideal obedience and discipline in the work organization and environment necessary for the effective accomplishment of their tasks and processes for their success.

Participation Early Education Essay

Participation in simple terms means to take part in something (Hornby 1995: 844). When referring to children’s rights, the concept is far broader. It is much more than simply asking children for their ideas or opinions. It is about listening to, respecting and understanding children, working in partnership with them, giving children the opportunity to actively make decisions that will result in their ideas becoming reality and their contributions bringing about positive change (Ministry of Social Development 2003). Children’s participation is a right not an optional extra (Participation Works 2012). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) promotes a rights-based approach to children and states that these rights begin at birth (Alderson 2008: 83). Many of the 54 articles encompass child participation. Articles 6, 7 and 8 refer to a child’s right to life, to a name and to an identity (Unicef n.d). The right to a life, to be a part of society, to participate as a part of the human race make all other rights achievable (Alderson 2008). Article 7 states that every child should have a name and their name should be respected. Giving a child a name and an identity is recognising the child as a unique individual rather than the property of a parent or carer (Alderson 2008: 79). One of the key articles that promote child participation is Article 12: ‘state parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with age and maturity of the child’ (Alderson 2008: 87). Article 12 is about giving children the right to express their views and having them heard. This means actively listening to children by allowing them to communicate their thoughts, feelings or ideas and know that they will be taken on board and respected (Scott et al 2008: 51). There are many whom are critical of this article and are concerned that it may be interpreted in such a way as to manipulate certain situations (Scott et al 2008: 51). The article states that the views of the child will be given due weight in accordance with age and maturity (Alderson 2008: 87). Some feel this may mean that children under a certain age may not be taken seriously nor have their views heard (Scott et al 2008). Alderson believes that babies and very young children are able to express themselves in various ways and get great joy from making choices (2008: 88). The UNCRC outlines child’s rights which protect children and promote welfare (Alderson 2008: 78). These rights illustrate how children and young people can actively participate and contribute to society (Alderson 2008: 78). Adult Roles Childhood has changed significantly and this is primarily due to an alteration in society’s view of children rather than the children themselves (Miller 2003: 14). Children have become the main focus in many households with parents and carers feeling the need to provide for their children in such a way that results in children feeling powerless (Miller 2003: 14). Adults may have a childhood ideal and attempt to enforce this onto their children. This may be an act of love but can do more harm than good (Miller 2003: 14). Adults may make decisions on a child’s behalf to spare them responsibility or by thinking the child is not capable of making those decisions. However this may result in a child feeling as if they have no control over their own life and may remain dependent rather than becoming confident and independent (Miller 2003:14). Decisions that may appear to be insignificant to adults such as what a child wears or what food they can eat, where they go to school or who they are allowed to play with are all extremely important and impact massively on the child’s life (Miller 2003: 15). It is presumed that children are inferior and that adults know better (Miller 2003: 15). Adults may possess more life experience than children but that does not mean that they always know what is right for a child. How a child feels and what they feel is important to them at that moment coupled with adult support is key to establishing a positive outcome that will benefit the child (Miller 2003: 15). Failing to allow child participation can be viewed as control or power. Many adults will use and abuse this power to gain something for themselves (Miller 2003: 15). Some adults may discipline or punish their children in a way that hurts or humiliates the child and will justify their actions as being essential in helping their child develop into a responsible citizen (Miller 2003: 15). In other cases children may be asked for their opinions or views only to have them ridiculed or dismissed. Barriers to Participation Involving children in decision making can be threatening or difficult for adults to achieve. This may be the case with parents/significant others, teachers or with anyone involved in working with children (Miller 2003: 17). Many worry that giving a child a voice and empowering them will lead to family difficulties and disordered classrooms (Alderson 2008: 92). Others find it hard to promote participation amongst younger children without being tokenistic (Scott et al 2008: 47). Some adults are of the opinion that child participation is dangerous and may put children at unnecessary risk (Miller 2003: 17). However if all risks are considered and it is accepted that the child can cope with the risks then the experience would prove beneficial to the child (Miller 2003: 21). If a child is not allowed to take risks within a safe and supported environment they may never experience risk at all (Miller 2003: 21). Allowing children to assess and take risks empowers them and enables them to gain first hand life experience (Scott et al 2008: 49). Handing over complete responsibility and power to a child would not be viable as they would not have the necessary life skills to deal with such an ask (Miller 2003: 21). It is essential to provide support and guidance as well as set boundaries for children in order to protect and nurture whilst empowering (Scott et al 2008: 51). It appears there is an unwillingness to allow children the opportunity to actively participate and this is portrayed well in Professor Roger Hart’s Ladder of Participation. Hart’s ladder was devised as a tool for understanding and portraying different levels of participation. There are eight levels in total on the ladder with each step describing the level of child participation and the adult intervention (Scott et al 2008: 49). The first three steps are manipulation, decoration and tokenism (Scott et al 2008: 49). These refer mostly to adult led activities where children are used or are given a voice but are given very little choice or opportunity for input (Scott et al 2008: 49). As the steps progress the level of adult intervention diminishes and child participation increases. Level 6 is adult initiated and refers to a working partnership between children and adults (Scott et al 2008: 49). Although the activity was initiated by the adult, the children play a part in decision making. The final step is level 8 which is child initiated (Scott et al 2008: 50). This is the step that allows children complete and total participation. They have initiated the project and have actively taken part in the decision making. They have chosen a project or activity that is relevant for them and one in which they feel they will bring about change (Miller 2003: 16 ). The adults take a back seat but are there to fully support and guide the children when necessary (Scott et al 2008: 50). Promoting Participation Child participation should be voluntary; the child should have the right to decide whether or not they want to take part (Miller 2003: 18). In order for children to make that decision they have to be informed about the decision making process and how it works (Miller 2003: 18). This will ensure they understand their own role as well as the roles of others (Miller 2003: 18). It is important for adults to recognise opportunities for child participation and to find ways of encouraging active involvement (Miller 2003: 21). Adults must consider a child’s experience, skills and needs as well as the impact these may have on others. It is important to actively listen to children and to create a safe environment where children are able to express their views and feelings (Scott et al 2008: 51). To promote inclusion it is vital to reach those children and young people who do not readily participate in decision making such as children with disabilities or children with socioeconomic issues (Miller 2003: 19). Adults must identify barriers and try to break these down. Providing an easily accessible environment that is adapted to suit the needs of the children may be one way or providing information and resources in a format that suits the child, i.e. Braille or using sign language (Miller 2003: 19). Information should also be displayed and communicated in a child friendly manner, free from jargon or hidden agenda (Unicef n.d). It is important to support and motivate children during active participation by keeping children informed and up to date (Unicef n.d). Letting children know how their efforts are impacting on a situation will keep them motivated and reassured that their voices are being heard and are making a difference (Unicef n.d). There are many benefits to child participation such as giving children a sense of citizenship; they are using their voices to bring about change (Scott et al 2008: 49). Some other benefits include increased self-esteem and confidence, a sense of being valued and respected, greater responsibility, gaining practical, language and presentation skills and inspiration and motivation (Scott et al 2008: 49). This will in turn impact on the wider society by encouraging citizenship; promote democracy and influence policy (Miller 2003: 17). I feel child participation is vital in ensuring all children are listened to, valued and respected as individuals and as citizens of society. I aim to encourage participation in my workplace setting by actively listening to the children and ensuring I am always available to the children. I will respect the children’s feelings and views and actively acknowledge their feelings in a positive manner. I feel it is important to involve children in decision making and planning. When planning activities I will ensure they are child led and that the children have expressed their interest in the area or topic or have suggested an activity or topic. I will do this by having discussions with the children and asking open questions to ensure children have the opportunity to express their own opinions and thoughts. I believe the area in which children learn should be adapted to suit their needs and should allow for inclusion for all. This may mean ensuring all equipment and resources are easily accessible and are clearly labelled. Children should play an active part in deciding on their snack and I will always encourage children to express their likes and dislikes. Discussing food and children’s opinions on food can empower children to make healthy food choices for themselves. I will endeavour to act in a way which promotes the rights of every child to full participation whilst ensuring their protection and Conclusion It is clear that children’s voices are being heard and that there are opportunities for children to participate in bringing about positive change for the future. However there are still many barriers and hurdles that prevent children from feeling as though they have a choice or that having a choice will actually make a difference. The main barrier may indeed be attitude and the consensus that children simply can’t do what adults can do for them. I feel that children are in fact the teachers and adults can learn a great deal from them if they were only willing to listen. References Alderson P. (2008) Young Children’s Rights; Exploring Beliefs, Principles and Practice. (2nd edition) London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Hornby A .S. (1995). Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press Miller J. (2003). Never Too Young; How Young Children can Take Responsibility and Make Decisions. London: Save the Children. Ministry of Social Development. (2003). Involving Children. New Zealand: Ministry of Social Development. Participation Works Partnership. (2012). What is Participation? [Online]. Available from: http://www.participationworks.org.uk/topics/rights/participation-rights [Accessed 27 November 2012]. Scott F et al. (2008). HNC Early Education & Childcare. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd. Unicef. (n.d). Fact Sheet: A summary of the rights under the convention on the rights of the child. [Online]. Available from: http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf [Accessed 27 November 2012].

An Analysis of the Different Economic Bodies and Their Impact in Different Countries in the Book, Why Nations Fail, Written By Doran Acemoglu and James Robinson

An Analysis of the Different Economic Bodies and Their Impact in Different Countries in the Book, Why Nations Fail, Written By Doran Acemoglu and James Robinson Why Nations Fail Why some nations fail while others succeed have become a mysterious question to many. However, in their book named Why Nations Fail, authors Acemoglu and Robinson have finally revealed to their readers what truly causes nations to fail, which are extractive economic institutions that certain governments have. This paper will be exploring the current type of economic institutions in three different nations by using knowledge from the book Why Nations Fail, as well as historical facts to support the given statements. The countries’ economic institutions that will be explored are Venezuela, Mexico, and Haiti. These countries will also be put into comparison with the United States, a country that has inclusive economic institutions. Venezuela has been experiencing an economic decline for a long time. According to the article, â€Å"Venezuela is in its third year of recession and according to the International Monetary Fund, its economy is expected to contract 10% this year† (Gillespie, 2016). The main cause of this recession can be tracked down to the leader of the government in Venezuela, Chavez, who focuses government spending excessively on extractive economic institutions. In the book Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson, it’s stated that it’s the economic institutions that are the foundation of economic development which is evident through the fact that economic institutions allow people to trade and build their own businesses comfortably. The topic of economic institutions being the heart of economic growth takes us to the topic of trade. Venezuela, as aforementioned, was a thriving country only a decade ago. This was mainly due to Venezuela being an oil-rich country. The point of trade is for the countries to specialize in whatever they’re doing best and export that while importing what they lack in. The problem with Venezuela was although they were successfully specializing in producing oil, they weren’t really producing anything else or importing any goods from other countries. Additionally, Venezuela wasn’t exporting any of the tremendous amount of oil it’s producing. Through the article, one can discover that Venezuela’s main oil company, which is run by the government, is the main reason why any of these exports or imports aren’t taking place. This again is evidence how extractive economic institutions can ruin a nation. Because of the economic recession and the lack of trade in Venezuela, inflation has become a tangible problem. Prices are soaring high, and Venezuela has a staggering increase in inflation in 2016 with a 475% (Gillespie, 2016). Not only are prices high, but producers aren’t able to produce because of the lack of trade. This ultimately results in food shortages and suffering citizens. While the citizens of United States can freely go into any Publix or Winn Dixie and shop at their leisure, the citizens of Venezuela wait in long lines outside of super markets only to find out that the last bottle of milk had already been bought 2 hours ago. The food shortages are causing the mortality rates of Venezuela to go up, with more and more children and elderly being malnourished. Mexico is the second country that is under the exploration of economic institutions. As explained in Why Nations Fail, the reason that Mexico currently has extractive economic institutions is because it’s a country founded up on extractive economic institutions. Historical facts and how a country began its government have a lot to do with its current economic institutions. For example, the reason Mexico is the way it is has to do with how Spanish conquistadors invaded that region and discovered large amounts of gold. Realizing the gold’s worth and seeing how it can be useful to them, they used the region’s natives, forcefully, to mine more gold and silver for them so they can be better off. There an extractive economic institution was created; the Spanish conquistadors were extracting the native’s wealth from them by using the native’ labor to make themselves better off. Even right now Mexico has many extractive institutions. For example, in the 2013 article, Why Nations Fail What Can be Done by David Sasaki, it speaks of how the infamous telecommunications monopolist of Mexico, Carlos Slim, have cost Mexico $129 billion (Sasaki, 2013). Although Mexico has one of the slowest and most costly internet speeds, they â€Å"lose $130 billion and Carlos Slim personally gains $80 billion† (Sasaki, 2013). Carlos Slim’s actions are the epitome of extractive economic institutions, and it because of people like Chavez and Slim and the Spanish conquistadors that are the ones who make sure that extractive economic institutions will continue on. As can be seen, the root of why nations fail lies within their economic institutions. Nations that are successful have mainly inclusive economic institutions. China, a country with extractive economic institutions had a horrible economy only until recently ago. The only reason their economy improved is because they decided to accept technology and trade with foreign countries, instead of pushing them away and secluding themselves. However, China still does have extractive economic institutions, and if other countries don’t wish to trade with them anymore, their economy will return to where it started. As can be seen with Venezuela, Haiti, and Mexico, extractive economic institutions take away from the general public to help the elite. These type of institutions aren’t only bad for the nation, but are immoral and unethical as it leaves people in a chaotic turmoil.

Evaluate the implications for financial reporting of the change in the Essay - 1

Evaluate the implications for financial reporting of the change in the treatment of goodwill from IAS22 to IFRS3 - Essay Example This has impacted the financial statements of entities. In this essay the implications of these changes of financial accounting and reporting of goodwill are evaluated and discussed in detail. Goodwill computations will be highly affected with effective changes brought in by IFRS 3. Business combinations will now be accounted for only under purchase method, and merger accounting is banned. Intangible assets will be identified in larger way impacting goodwill as the IFRS 3 contains a list of suggestive intangibles. Contingent liabilities will play effective role in goodwill valuation as they will be recognized at fair value. Henceforth goodwill will not be amortized but will face impairment test will all other intangibles. Non- controlling interests will play effective role in determining cost of acquisition and thus in goodwill valuation for acquirer. Cost of restructuring the acquisition will be written off to profit and loss. This will play a part in enhancing goodwill valuation under purchase method. Excess of cost of acquisition over fair value of net assets acquired shall be treated as gain or negative goodwill and will be credited to profit and loss. The major impact is that Goodwill now be considered a permanent asset. IFRS 3 has restricted business combination accounting only under ‘purchase’ method where â€Å"the acquiring company records net assets received at fair value at the date of combination. Any excess of cost over the fair value of net assets is allocated to goodwill.† (Venkatesan Sundarrajan, 1995)1. Fair value of net assets is calculated by deducting the fair market value of liabilities (including contingent liabilities) undertaken from the fair value of identified tangible and intangible assets acquired, and goodwill is the difference between cost of acquisition and the fair value of net assets acquired on acquisition date. Though goodwill was also earlier being recorded as residual value under

Summary of an article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Summary of an article - Essay Example It is remarkable that all 3 games reviewed by the authors are strictly place-specific (namely, they are about the city of Madison and its surroundings) and with the domination of reality over fantasy. The ludological analysis and the positive feedback from the pupils, the users and even the designers of the games, testify that such augmented reality simulations actively engage learners in their present-day environment and develop awareness of surrounding space by locating the cognition in social and spatial contexts (Squire et. al., 2007, p. 269). Several key challenges and principles of interactive games of this kind are defined: firstly, the notion of space as contested (when the interaction with space is undermined by certain conflict that has to be resolved, be this the conflict of past and present, as in The Greenbush Game, or the one that is based on â€Å"the political control over space†) (Squire et. al., 2007, p. 287); secondly, role-playing narration, or interactive storytelling (p. 288); thirdly, the usage of memorable moments and experiences (when knowledge is gained through the active absorption of the strategies that have worked in certain contexts, which, by the way, makes game-based learning radically different from more traditional ways of transmitting knowledge) (p. 289); and last, the â€Å"potential of linking games-for-learning into other inquiry activities† (p. 270), like in the case when the students have collected the information and brain-stormed for the design of The Greenbush Game. Overall, the article is full of pedagogical insights, as it offers an optimistic outlook on the game-based learning with the emphasis on interactivity and the role of place. However, game theory covers much more aspects that need to be addressed in the context of learning. One of them is the limits of the ideological construction of games (Squire et. al., 2007, p. 267), as all games have conventions

Doryphoros and Augustus of Prima Porta Assignment

Doryphoros and Augustus of Prima Porta - Assignment Example The second style is a portrayal of actual Roman attributes with full body adornment and symbolizing authority. 2. Line- is used in Doryphoros and Augustus of Prima Porta to define the male body in its most proportional form; this is because this element is used to determine its size and shape (Janson & Janson, 2003). It is used to outline full body shape and curvatures while also defining the postures of the objects under study. Shape- In both the sculptures, the shapes come out because the sculptors divided the human body into different parts. They then designed all these and made sure they are proportionate when assembled into a whole. Texture and Balance- The images have a fine balance between relaxation and tension because of their postures; that creates harmony. The shades fade off very gently from one color code to the next making the balance and texture very clear; however, they have a simulated texture which makes the objects poses real textures. This is seen for instance in Augustine’s clothing and adornments. 3. The objects have a subject the sculptors wanted to pass across; The Doryphoros is a symbolism of male beauty with balanced body parts. Augustus of Prima Porta is a sculpture made by Tiberius in recognition of his father’s role in protecting their empire. 5. The artist message when making Doryphoros is a portrayal of a perfect male; this is coupled with nakedness which symbolizes civility thus bringing out a contrast with Greek’s backward neighbors. Augustus is personified as being a perfect ruler of the Roman Empire (Janson & Janson, 2003). He does this by giving him features of both strength and agility. He is compared to the powerful Greek gods as he wields authority which was essential in ruling the expansive empire and protecting it from foreign occupation.

Morality of a Foreign Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Morality of a Foreign Policy - Essay Example securing the good of the community and not benefitting the individual member of the society. Morality is derived from a Latin word "mores", that means custom, habit or a way of life. For an act to be moral, there are three fundamental characteristics - foremost, universal allegiance, secondly, impartiality in all the acts and lastly, the act in itself should be self-enforcing. The implication of these elements is that moral values bind everyone to these norms, and irrespective of any one, it is applied to all perspectives and interests. Lastly, it should be through voluntary actions of the persons and not forced upon by any other. Ethics is doing what is right and refrain from doing what is wrong. And the good is determined by the norms that are applicable to that particular situation. The political issues involve complex public affairs, and competing moral values and dilemmas and not simple moral verdicts. Ethical reasoning and judgments in foreign policy making involves use of relevant morals and illuminations in managing foreign relations with other states. The issues such as fairness of the international economic order, justice of the global institutions, and international regimes etc. should be guided by rules, and institutions in light of moral norms (Amstutz, 2005). The politics among nations is governed by political Realism, the phenomenon that says that the society is governed by objective laws have its roots from the human nature. Since the political systems comprises of people, therefore, the societal laws of human beings are to always prevail in these systems. Any statesman should apply rational alternatives in meeting problems under all circumstances. Morality has multiple facets to a foreign policy. Foremost, morality helps in defining goals and purposes of states and other players. No specific policy directives are given, but direction and general vision to highlight the nation's vital interests is given by the moral rules governing the foreign policy. It establishes the limits for any policy measure to be taken and acted upon. Moreover, any policy is also judged on the basis of these pre specified norms for judging the acts of the nations. A moral foreign policy should address three instruments - the conscience of decision makers, the influence of domestic opinion, and the influence of international reputation. The domestic opinion is formed by the freedom of expression of the people - as judged by the media, interest groups, and nongovernmental and professional associations; whereas, global opinion influences the international reputation of the country by labeling it as a reliable and moral actor or not. Kantian Ethics is the deontological approach talks about seeking happiness and that everyone will try to achieve pleasure and gratification to lead to the happiness, but, achieving happiness does not always fall in the purview of our powers, and it is a matter of luck. Thus, under this philosophy, evaluation of international politics actions taken might deem to be right or wrong, and not depending on the consequences. Thus, rationality is based on how a certain action is performed and not what does it result. Therefore, under this theory acts of terrorism can be favored by saying that these are the law enforcement acts, irrespective of the

A Case Study on a South African Investment Essay

A Case Study on a South African Investment - Essay Example Such a process creates a situation for the decision-maker that he or she has never done before (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2008). On the other hand, business ethics is defined as applied ethics, and is the application of the knowledge of understanding what is good and right in the context of business, transactions and other related situations (Velasquez, 2012). The beliefs, values and goals of a company reflect what the management understands about handling the business through moral perspectives. However, many companies and other businesses have been labeled negatively due to the rise of scandals involving unethical and illegal operations, which challenges the trust ratings of the public (Ferrell et al., 2008). Another is that not only do companies suffer but entities they are associated with also get negative publicity just by being tied to them. Thus is the strong need for the implementation of strong business ethics in large groups and companies. A case study involving a moral and social dilemma that needs well-thought actions but is at the mercy of the government is presented (Velasquez, 2012). In the 1970’s to the 1980’s turmoil has been brewing in South Africa regarding the apartheid system being practiced, as well as the oppression of the majority of the population (blacks) by the minority (whites). US oil companies Texaco, Inc. and Standard Oil Company of California (SoCal), joint owners of Caltex Petroleum Co. were pushed by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, coordinated and lead by project director Tim Smith to pull out and terminate their operations in South Africa due to extreme and unfortunately legal racial discrimination among the black Africans by the whites. Such includes the complete segregation of blacks from whites, the deprivation of basic human rights such as voting rights, the right to claim a parcel of land, being underpaid, among others (ibid). Owners of Caltex insist that they were indeed committed to the improvement of their employees by increasing their wages and narrowing the gap between white and black Africans’ incomes (Nickel, 1968). If they withdraw from operating and expanding in South Africa, the results would greatly affect all employees of Caltex, both black and white South Africans. However there were still constraints that were beyond their control, and were implemented by the South African government. Among these are: the segregation of where the blacks live from the whites, the provision of strategic products to the government as per the law, and other forms of support of the apartheid law (Smith, 1971). The eventual imposition of martial law in South Africa in 1985 caused a severe recession of the economy, civil unrest, and an increase of unemployment by up to 35% (Velasquez, 2012). Western nations sanctioned the government by not allowing the renewal of loans of private companies, but this was met with retaliation by not repaying any of their foreign debt starting September of 1985 (ibid.). The possible utilitarian benefits of the Caltex 1977 expansion is not as important as the possible violations of moral rights and justice that could be involved with it. Yes, the expansion would have been beneficial to the employed citizens, and that it would put food on their tables, but it still does not give them any proper rights at all, and that no matter how much they get promoted, they were still lower-class citizens (Smith, 1971). Also, there would be the eventual unrest due to the people realizing that they are the true owners of their land, and that they have been treated unjustly for so long. There is also almost no

Interpersonal Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Interpersonal Communication - Assignment Example For example in the case study Prisca refers to her client, Mrs. Roberts as auntie, as a form of respect. The three methods of interpersonal interaction include non-verbal communication, written communication and oral communication. Non-verbal communication involves facial expressions, gestures demonstrate by the body language, physical distance between the parties involved in the communication process, tonal variation and the pitch of the voice. Non-verbal offers clues as well as additional information and meaning over and beyond the spoken words or communication (Downs and Adrian, 2004, 02-04). Non-verbal communication may be deliberate or unintentional. It serves to reinforce the words that are being spoken, convey information on the emotional state of an individual and regulating the flow of information. In the case study, non-verbal communication is made evident when Mrs. Roberts walks down the path in her bed clothes and slippers while carrying her shopping bag. Through that gesture, she wanted to demonstrate her deep anger and frustration as a result of the delay by Prisca. Written communication is another form of interpersonal communication in which the parties involved interacted through writing. This form of interaction is mainly used in formal circumstances or when communicating to a deaf and dumb person who is able to read and write. It is less interactive as reading and writing may consume a lot of time. This form of communication is likely to be applied in the case of Mrs. Roberts who has challenges with hearing. Verbal communication occurs when there is sharing of information between individuals through speech. This can be monitored through ensuring that the enunciation, tone and stress in which the words have been expressed is applied in the right context. The communication cycle demonstrates that effective verbal communication is a two-way process which are speaking and

Evaluation of personl learning Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of personl learning Essay An evaluation of my personal learning plan along with comments on how I plan to update my subject specialist knowledge, generic knowledge of teaching and learning, using examples from my practice and discussing the part my mentor played in my development. Introduction The aim of this assignment is to show how my key learning points from my personal learning plan have been put into practice and to evaluate these, examples from my practice will also be used. I will explain how I plan to update not only my subject specialist knowledge but also my generic knowledge of teaching and learning. I plan to also explain and discuss the part my mentor has played in my development over the two years of cert Ed qualification. Having a personal learning plan is a great way of setting out your future objective, aims and goals. Having goals to head for gives you motivation and direction and also builds on confidence and self esteem. However it is a good idea to plan your own personal learning plan, when you plan your own programme, it is more likely to be relevant to your needs and be able to be applied, and be related to, your teaching. This, then, is more likely to give you motivation for your learning (Reece Walker 2003 pg 400). I plan to review and update my own personal learning plan every six months. However my personal learning is also discussed in my supervisions at work which I have every three months, this enables me to discuss any knowledge I myself wish to update and also any training my manager feels I would benefit from. I feel this is good support to involve my personal learning plan within my supervision, it also shows management that I am committed and taking control of my own learning. My personal learning plan consists of three main areas these are. Subject specialist development This is the subject that I teach this includes my practical and theory work. Generic teaching development This is schemes of work and lesson plans how I use differentiation and assessment, along with assignments and research etc. Skills development This is my literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. My subject specialist area has a variety of subject sessions these are induction, food hygiene awareness, health and safety, individual service planning (ISP), swallowing disorders, manual handling, infection control and first aid I do continuous refreshers on all sessions within the organisation how ever I do also carry out independent reading and research of individual subjects to keep my self updated. Especially on change that relate to any regulations that have an impact on my training sessions. There have been two key personal learning development areas in my subject specialist area the first being ISP training. This training session has had a complete overhaul to how it is to be delivered which has involved a lot of changes to the ISP itself, example how these are set up and completed. For me to deliver this training to my learners I needed to attend a two day training session myself. The sessions involved theory and practical learning giving me the knowledge and the skills to enable me to deliver a practical session to my learners. Example when doing this session my learners will not be just listening and getting involved in group discussions they will be involved in an ongoing practical, At their best, practical’s are an enjoyable and active hands on experience. At their worst they are frustrating episodes where not even the teacher knows what is supposed to be happening (Petty 2004 pg 204). So any practical should be well planned. My learners will be put into pairs one will be the service user and the other the key worker. They will then be given a number of activities to follow. Using this method they will build and complete an ISP, learners are able to swap roles through out so each learner gets to play each role. I have delivered this training session this way on many occasions now and it is working well, learners are enjoying and putting into practice what they have learnt well, this is evident when looking at ISP, s that they have completed. My second key learning point in my subject specialist area is first aid training. I was unable to deliver this session as I did not have the knowledge and qualification to do this. I  attended a two day emergency first aid course down Lincoln through NUCO training, having attended this training I now have the confidence and subject knowledge to be able to deliver this to my learners. The training consisted of two presentations showing the teacher my understanding of the subject and showing I was able to present, I was also assessed on practical exercises through out the two days, example resuscitation procedure, choking procedure, and the procedure in the event of an emergency situation example car accident. This training was very challenging and intense however it has given me the skills to develop an effective training session for my learners. I have two sessions planned to deliver in July. Having being successful in this training I am also able to go and assess other first aid trainers. I plan to update my subject specialist knowledge continuously I will do this by attending refresher training sessions. I am also a member of the Institute for learning where you have to prove you have so many hours of continuous professional development. I also plan to use E-learning within the organisation for any relevant training sessions, along with my independent learning through reading and research on the internet. My generic knowledge of teaching and learning has developed well through out my two years on cert Ed, my skills in lesson planning have developed immensely and I put these into practice on a regular basis. My delivery methods have progressed and become a lot more interactive for my learners, by bringing in differentiation and inclusive learning example hand washing exercise I use a power point slide to show a picture of hands with bacteria on, we have a discussion on hands, show learners how to wash hands correctly, we then do a hands washing exercise covering visual, audio and kinaesthetic learning styles. My assignments now have structure and flow throughout, my spelling and punctuation has also improved, this has been managed through hard work and practice of proof reading which is a skill in its self, a skill that can always be developed further through practice and gathering information from books and the internet. I plan to update my generic knowledge of teaching and learning through independent learning by using the internet and reading books, also the E-learning that the organisation encourage us to use have some useful courses on punctuation, organisation skills, planning skills, assessing and evaluation etc which I  plan to look at using in the future. I am also attending mentoring training at the end of May which I feel will be beneficial to myself and my learners. My skills development have improved over my two years in cert end, in the first year of cert ed my personal learning plan identified my need to achieve level two in both English and maths. I have now achieved both qualifications and in particular benefited greatly from the English this has helped me with my assignments, writing letters, creating handouts for my training sessions and knowing and understanding where a sentence begins and ends along with why we have and need to use punctuation. I did have the basic knowledge of English language but did require further development and knowledge. By attending key skills level two has developed this knowledge which has enabled me to progress in this area of my personal learning. However I do believe I will benefit from further development in this area and plan to progress onto key skills level three English once I have completed my cert ed year two. My ict skills have improved this is through daily use of a laptop and also attending a two day training course through the organisation. The course consisted of two modules first module was an introduction to IT file management, this module developed my personal learning in areas such as using windows XP, explain the use of options within my computer, being aware of the principals of using my documents, be able to create, change, delete and move files and folders and identify how and when to back data up. Module two outlook internet/intranet this module has developed my personal learning in areas such as accessing E-learning and being aware of its potential, organising and accessing personal files and to become more familiar with the intranet within the organisation and how to use it effectively. I have also had a small session on the use of power point which has been beneficial to me as within my job role, as at times I am required to put a power point presentation together. I plan to update my ict skills by attending a further two modules which will be organised through the organisation hopefully in the coming year. I also believe everyday use will enhance my skills. I also plan to do a more intense session on power point in the near future. Through my two years of cert Ed I have had a mentor. Mentoring is a  relationship between mentor and mentee that encourages growth and development in a respectful and collegial environment (Morton-Cooper Palmer, 2000). The mentoring relationship may be an informal arrangement that happens naturally, or a formal relationship that is organised within the work organisation (Rose, 2005). My job role as training and development officer was a new post for me in 2007 and it was my manager who suggested that I enrol onto the cert Ed course rather than training and development NVQ4. She felt that I would gain more from this course and it would equip me with the knowledge and confidence to carry my duties out competently. As my manager is an experienced trainer herself it made sense for her to also be my mentor as she had faith in me from the very beginning of my training. A mentoring relationship tends to be long term that can be entered into at any stage of one’s career (Northcott, 2000). This statement has been true in my case. The relationship I have with my mentor is a good one she has been supportive through out especially when it has come to bringing in new ideas for training sessions in fact she has used some of the ideas herself. The process has always been a two way process. My mentor has not been their to tell me what to do, she has guided, encouraged, supported, provided information and most of all always listened, especially in moments when I have thought this whole thing is too much for me. Through out my observations my mentor has been encouraging and made feel at ease as she knew how nervous I was on these occasions, feed back from observations were always positive and any development points were always taken on board. My mentor has recognised some skills in me that I never realised I had along with helping me developing these skills. Example a year ago my mentor asked me if I would like to do a course that would enable me to deliver first aid training to my learners, so I would not need to sen d them out externally for this training. I explained to my mentor that I was not keen on doing this and felt that this was a course that qualified nurses should do. My mentor did not try to push or persuade me into doing this even though it would save the organisation money. I have just done this course last month and it was me who approached my manager/mentor, I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to delivering it to my learners. It is amazing what a year can do to some ones confidence and self esteem. If my manager/mentor had made me do this when she wanted me to do it I would not have developed in that area or  enjoyed it. My mentor has always allowed me to do things at my own pace and has a great understanding of how we as individuals learn at different levels and pace. I feel this is a good quality to have when being a mentor. Looking back it was a excellent suggestion from my manager/mentor for me to enrol onto the cert ed, over the two years I feel I have grown not only in confidence but in both the theory and the practical side of my teaching and learning. It has been a privilege to have had a mentor who has guided, supported, encouraged and listened through out the two year process. How ever it does not end there as she is also my manager she will be there for the future too. Conclusion For us to further ourselves I feel it is essential to have objectives, aims and goals. I feel if we do not things do not get done so our goals do not get met. We may have goals in our heads but if they are not planned they tend not to be achieved. For me a personal learning plan is the way forward we can then tick of the goals we have achieved and plan for new goals in the future. Looking back two years ago I would never have dreamt that I would have achieved what I have achieved today, I believe this has been achieved through good planning, good support and hard work by myself. Learning is an ongoing process and I look forward to many more years of teaching and learning. http://sarah-stewart.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-mentoring.html retrieved 09/05/2009 Petty,G 2004, A practical guide teaching today, 3rd edn, Nelson Thornes, United Kingdom. Reece, I Walker, S 2003, Teaching, Training and learning a practical guide, 5th edn, Business Education Publishers Limited, Great Briton. http://sarah-stewart.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-mentoring.html retrieved 09/05/2009 Petty,G 2004, A practical guide teaching today, 3rd edn, Nelson Thornes, United Kingdom. Reece, I Walker, S 2003, Teaching, Training and learning a practical guide, 5th edn, Business Education Publishers Limited, Great Briton.

The Blue Ocean Strategy

The Blue Ocean Strategy Indian bus service industry was extremely unorganized till recently before redBus emerged and took the industry by its neck and brought a sort of revolution never imagined for such an unorganized industry. This was primarily because the information flow and availability in this industry was very difficult and there was a lot of mismatch. The bus ticket industry was highly fragmented with small players active regionally. All these were small small agents competing against each other. Due to lack of any major player there was not much competition for redBus and hence it was able to create a marketspace for itself through entering the bus ticket industry online. By the time redBus entered the horizon there were settled names both in airline and railway ticket booking industry who were operating online. But even for them it was a huge task to enter bus ticketing industry due to the sheer complexity present in the industry and emulating the online model for bus ticketing industry was perc eived to be almost impossible even by these major players in e-commerce. This study deals with how a disruptive model can change the scenario of the complete industry. redBus which at the time of its inception was confined in a small flat of 2 rooms is now a 400 million company with over 400 employees and offices across India. Currently it is the only major player concentrating completely on bus ticketing industry with a market share of over 70%. In this research, I have tried to analyze the bus ticketing industry and how redBus identified the opportunities present in this segment and created a value chain which not only gave them a distinct product but also at competitive cost. It is a perfect example of Blue Ocean strategy where entry of redBus changed the entire landscape of the industry. It revolutionized the way the people buy bus tickets in India. One of the unique bus ticketing system of its kind in the entire world, competitors have leaped in this market but none has receive d success like redBus. This study further covers how redBus has sustained its competitive advantages and what are the challenges and growth opportunities going forward. CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION: Blue Ocean Strategy As the authors of the book Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Kim Chan and Renee Mauborgne say: Although the term blue ocean is new, their existence is not. They have been a part of business transformation in past as well as in present. If we look back in the past say a century ago, How many of todays industries were then known? The answer will be majority of todays industries were unknown in their current form. Many industries such as automobiles, aviation, health care, and management consulting were unknown or were just beginning to emerge. Now lets look at the industries 3 decades back. Again, multibillion-dollar industries like mutual funds, computers, mobile phones, smart phones, gas based power plants, discount retail, biotechnology, nanotechnology, express parcel delivery, coffee bars, video games, home videos, and CD player and many other such industries were all non-existent in a practical or popular way. Similarly, lets turn the clock forward a bit and try to look into the future. Lets say after 30 years or say 50 years how many of the now unknown industries will emerge and will exist. If history is any indicator of things to come in future, the answer is there will be many such industries that we cant even think of right now which will emerge. This is the reality; industries are dynamic. They never remain the same over a long period of time. They change continuously and evolve. The participants, the process, the market and the operations everything changes. Operations improve, markets evolve and grow, and non-customers become customers. History tells us that we have huge potential to change the existing industries and recreate them and not only that it teaches us that we underestimate our capability to create new ones. To have an idea of how dynamic things can get, the 50-year old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, which was published by the U.S. Census, was substituted by the North America Industry Classification Standard (NAICS) system in 1997. The reason being the number of industry sectors that SIC covered were half the number of sectors that actually existed in 1997. The old SIC system covered only 10 industry sectors. The new NAICS system doubled it to twenty sectors to reflect the emergence of new-age industries. For example earlier the service sector included all that is now fragmented into different specialized industries like IT, healthcare, social assistance, etc. Given that these systems are made to ensure stability, continuity and for keeping standards, such a substitution shows the significance of growth of Blue Ocean industries. Yet the dominant emphasis of strategists has been on competitive strategies also known as red ocean strategies. Part of the explanation for this is that its roots in military strategy heavily influence corporate strategy. Strategy is about fighting different competitors over the same area of land that is constant and not unlimited. Unlike battles though, the history of industry tells us that the universe of market is unlimited and there is a place for everyone; rather, blue oceans have been always in existence. They have continuously been created. To believe and restrict oneself to red ocean is therefore to accept the constraints that are associated with war-limited piece of land and the need to fight and defeat an opponent to succeed-and to reject the unique strength of the business world: the capacity to create new market universe that is uncontested. Blue Ocean v/s Competitive Strategy (Red Ocean) Blue Ocean emphasises the importance of value innovation that can completely negate the competition replacing competitive advantage with value innovation as the firms primary goal thus highlighting the importance of creating demand and exploiting untapped maket rather than risking competition. There is a debate in the academia and research groups as to which strategy is better suited but all evidences are as case studies on different companies which is not enough to define any one of the two strategies as a clear winner. Rather the two strategies co-exist and should co-exist because a firm on the foundation of Blue Ocean strategy may ultimately have to face competition depending on the imitability of the business model and then before they have more value innovation to differentiate themselves and still remain cost competitive, they must also have a competitive strategy to ensure they do not fall behind of competition. Research results of researchers like Andrew Burke Andres van Stel and Roy Thurik suggest that the notion that blue ocean makes competition irrelevant may not be true. When combined, the two provide a more holistic and realistic depiction of economic performance. Thus, in real life the any strategy must be adopted after evaluating the business and market circumstances appropriately as these define the degree of scope for effectiveness of either Blue Ocean or competitive strategy. Furthermore, what emphasis and mix should be given to either form of strategy across short and long-term time horizons is apparent in most innovative companies competing in short term red oceans while significant time and resources are devoted to the long-term goal of developing innovation that creates consumer demand and new markets. Figure 1: Red Ocean v/s Blue Ocean Strategy Source: www.blueoceanstrategy.corporatestrategy.com Blue Ocean and White Space The term white space has been used in business parlance to mean uncharted territory or an underserved market. But as Mark W. Johnson perfectly writes in Seizing the White Space the term is the range of potential activities not defined or addressed by the companys current business model, that is, the opportunities outside its core and beyond its adjacencies that require a different business model to exploit. White space is a subjective valuation: one companys white space may be another companys core. What matters is that it describes activities that lie far outside a firms usual way of working and presents a series of unique and perplexing challenges to that organization. Its an area where, relatively speaking, assumptions are high and knowledge is low, the opposite of conditions in the companys core space. The chance to seize a piece of white space presents a tantalizing opportunity. Success here can bring the transformational growth that so many business leaders seek. Yet understandably, a play for the white space feels risky, and often the numbers dont appear to add up. The market seems too foreign, or core capabilities wont apply. Some executives, having made one unsuccessful foray, just wont risk failing again. Figure 2: White Space Source: Seizing the White Space, Mark W. Johnson Blue Ocean Strategy and Applied Concepts The Strategy Canvas The strategy canvas is the central diagnostic and action framework for building a compelling blue ocean strategy. The horizontal axis captures the range of factors that the industry competes on and invests in, while the vertical axis captures the offering level that buyers receive across these entire key competing factors. There are two purposes that are served here: It captures the current state of play in known market space, which allows users to clearly see the factors that the industry competes on and where the competition currently invests. Then, it propels users to action by reorienting focus from competitors to alternatives and from customers to non-customers of the industry. The value curve is the basic component of the strategy canvas. It is a graphic depiction of a companys relative performance across its industrys factors of competition. A strong value curve has focus, divergence as well as a compelling tagline. Figure 3: The Strategy Canvas Four Action Framework This framework can also be referred to as the Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid. To reconstruct buyer value elements in crafting a new value curve, we use the Four Actions Framework. As shown in the diagram, to break the trade-off between differentiation and low cost and to create a new value curve, the framework poses four key questions to challenge an industrys strategic logic and business model. Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated? Which factors should be reduced well below the industrys standard? Which factors should be raised well above the industrys standard? Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered? Figure 4: Four Actions Framework By pursuing the first two questions managers gain insight into how to drop their cost structure vis-à  -vis competitors. Rarely do they systematically set out to eliminate and reduce their investments in factors that an industry competes on. The result is mounting cost structures and complex business models. The other questions provide insights into how to lift buyer value and create new demand. Collectively, they allow exploring how to reconstruct buyer value elements across alternative industries to offer buyers an entirely new experience, while simultaneously keeping your cost structure low. Eliminating and creating are vital as they push companies to go beyond value maximization exercises with existing factors of competition. They prompt companies to change the factors themselves, hence making the existing rules of competition irrelevant. Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) The PDCA Cycle is a checklist of the four stages, which one must go through to get from `problem-faced to `problem solved. This concept was developed by Walter Shewhart, the pioneering statistician who developed statistical process control in the Bell Laboratories in the US during the 1930s. It was taken up and promoted very effectively from the 1950s on by the famous Quality Management authority, W. Edwards Deming. Consequently, PDCA cycle is also commonly known as `the Shewhart Cycle and the Deming wheel. This cycle diagram can be applied in team meetings to take stock of what stage improvement initiatives are at, and to choose the appropriate tools to see each stage through to successful completion. Here is what we do in each stage: Plan to improve operations first by finding out what things are going wrong (that is identify the problems faced), and come up with ideas for solving these problems. Do changes designed to solve the problems on a small scale first. This minimizes disruption to routine activity while testing whether the changes will work or not. Check whether the small scale changes are achieving the desired result or not. Also, continuously Check nominated key activities (regardless of any experimentation going on) to know what the quality of the output is at all times to identify any new problems. Act to implement changes on a larger scale if its successful on small scale. Also Act to involve other persons (other departments, suppliers, or customers) affected by the changes and whose cooperation is needed to implement them on a larger scale. If the experiment was not successful, skip the Act stage and go back to the Plan stage to come up with some new ideas for solving the problem and go through the cycle again. Plan-Do-Check-Act describes the overall stages of improvement activity, but how is each stage carried out? This is where other specific quality management, or continuous improvement, tools and techniques come into play. The diagram below lists the tools and techniques that can be used to complete each stage of the PDCA Cycle. Figure 5: PDCA Cycle VRIO Framework VRIO is an acronym for Value, Rarity, Imitability and Organization. This is also a 4 questions framework where one asks about a resource or capability to ascertain its competitive potential: the question of Value, the question of Rarity, the question of Imitability (Ease/Difficulty to Imitate), and the question of Organization (ability to exploit the resource or capability). The Question of Value: Is the firm able to exploit an opportunity or neutralize an external threat with the resource/capability? The Question of Rarity: Is control of the resource/capability in the hands of a relative few? The Question of Imitability: Is it difficult to imitate, and will there be significant cost disadvantage to a firm trying to obtain, develop, or duplicate the resource/capability? The Question of Organization: Is the firm organized, ready, and able to exploit the resource/capability? The VRIO framework, in a wider scope, is part of a much larger strategic scheme of a firm. The basic strategic process that any firm goes through begins with a vision statement, and continues on through objectives, internal external analysis, strategic choices (both business-level and corporate-level), and strategic implementation. The firm will hope that this process results in a competitive advantage in the marketplace they operate in. VRIO falls into the internal analysis step of these procedures, but is used as a framework in evaluating just about all resources and capabilities of a firm, regardless of what phase of the strategic model it falls under. CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW Paper 1: Blue Ocean Strategy versus Competitive Strategy: Theory and Evidence. Burke, Andrew, Andrà © van Stel, and Roy Thurik. ERIM Report Series Research in Management (May 2009) Theme: Empirical analysis of blue ocean strategy versus competitive strategies based on data assembled from 655 retail shops through 41 shop types in the retail industry in Holland. Summary: This paper addresses the debate surrounding Red Ocean (competitive strategy) v/s Blue Ocean (New Market) strategy. The authors note that Blue Ocean seeks to emphasise the importance of value innovation that can completely negate the competition replacing competitive advantage with value innovation as the firms primary goal thus highlighting the importance of creating demand and exploiting untapped maket rather than risking competition. This results in increased profitability in the industry. There is a debate in the academia and research groups as to which strategy is better suited but all evidences are as case studies on different companies which is not enough to define any one of the two strategies as a clear winner. Rather the two strategies co-exist and should co-exist because a firm on the foundation of Blue Ocean strategy may ultimately have to face competition depending on the imitability of the business model and then before they have more value innovation to differentiate themselves and still remain cost competitive, they must also have a competitive strategy to ensure they do not fall behind of competition. Research results in this paper suggest that the notion that blue ocean makes competition irrelevant may not be true. To test the superiority of either tools the authors looks at the two strategies from both long term and short term perspectives and outline a theoretical model which suggests that every market will experience new vendors arriving to share the profits that are there on the offering in the industry. Thus the composition of the pie chart of market share will continuously exhibit different set of players with some fading off while others entering the market but only until the saturation point is reached where everyone will break even. Looking at the industry an its players over a period of time in this manner will give us an understanding about whether the new market strategy or the competitive strategy is more viable for the industry. If companies succeed over a long period of time by creating value innovation (new market strategy) as the new companies entered, both the i ndustry profits as well as the firms profit will grow steadily and so will the number of vendors in the strategy. On the other hand, if the profitability of the blue ocean firm went down with increasing number of vendors in the industry, it would be an indication of the dominance of the firms that followed competitive strategy over the firms that followed new market (blue ocean) strategy. After studying the complete data from 1982-2000 of 655 retail shops over 41 shop types in the Dutch retail industry and after testing and analyzing the premise the authors concluded for half the shop types, the firm profits were directly proportional to the number of firms while the blue ocean strategy was dominant over a long term with number of vendors and firm profitability rising/falling together over all shop types in the whole period under consideration. The authors also concluded that in short term Red Ocean strategies were at work. The study highlights that the two strategies co-exist and cross each other throughout the industry life and there is no particular choice that any manager prefers. Paper 2: Synthesizing a Blue Ocean. Master Thesis. Vester, Daniel. Aalto University, 2012. Theme: Applicability of New Market strategy frameworks and techniques in the electronic musical instruments industry for innovating new products. Summary: In this paper, the author targets to show how value innovation could be used in case of an electronic musical instrument company to add value to their product and create new market space. To explain this, he choses to compare the traditional strategies like competitive strategy, Porters 5 forces strategy to the blue ocean strategy. Blue ocean strategy is eventually selected for the process of product development of ArturiaMiniBrute, an analogue synthesizer reason being 1) Its attention on constructing new uncontested market space and at the same time targeting lower cost and product differentiation as well; and 2) The ease with which the analytical tools and frameworks in a Blue Ocean strategy could be blended into the product development process and usability of the instrument thus developed. Blue ocean strategy tools such as the Strategy Canvas, Four Action Framework, Buyer Utility Map and Three Tiers of Noncustomers are applied after quantitative analysis of sales figures in the electronic musical instrument industry for identifying Arturias closest competitors in various synthesizer markets and to design the strategy for ArturiaMiniBrute. The authors observations and interpretations show that the Blue Ocean Strategy techniques and frameworks can aid electronic musical instrument firms add value to their instruments/products/offerings and create new market space. Subsequently, the author advocates that companies should shift focus from technical features of the musical instrument to the emotional appeal of the musical instrument, and urges that companies should get out of the traditional mindset, challenge established rules of the industry by eliminating factors that have been ignored and not given due importance but which may be of great value to the customer. Paper 3: The Impact of Blue Ocean Strategy in Low-cost Transport. Ã…Â  tverkovà ¡, Hana, Michal ÄŒervinka, and Vlasta Humlovà ¡. In 2012 International Conference on Traffic and Transportation Engineering. Belgrade, November 29-30, 2012. Theme: Applicability of blue ocean strategy theory to Ryanair (air transport industry) Summary: This paper illustrates how blue ocean strategy can be vital and have an important influence in the low cost aviation sector. The authors chose to analyze the low-cost air transport industry in the European Union. They report that the market is highly competitive and the regional players fight amongst themselves on the base of cost competitiveness. The authors show that a cordial relationship between regional airports and any carrier firm can enable budget airlines to provide distinguished value for airline passengers at a low cost to the companies. The authors also suggests using the case of Ryanair that infrastructure improvement for non-core activities at the smaller airports might be essential to facilitate such relationships between budget airlines and small regional airports. CHAPTER-3 EXAMPLES OF BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY Air Asia One of the major developments that the airline has experienced has been the evolution of the budget airlines. For instance, emergence of Air Asia in Malaysia is a classic example. Air Asia have avoided the competitive strategy or the red Ocean (competition against Malaysia Airline and other airlines like Tiger Air, Jet Air and other regional airlines) by considering factors that are important to customers but easily taken for granted by most of the other airlines. With the Four Actions Framework proposed by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Air Asia have ensured they make Malaysia Airline, Tiger Air, Jet air and regional players irrelevant by implementing many important strategic moves explained below. STRATEGY Eliminate: 1) OTC booking 2) Seating Class booking arrangement 3) Free breakfast/lunch/dinner on the plane Reduce: 1) Number of attendants serving on the plane 2) Luxury facilities delivered 3) Quality of the seats Raise: 1) Increased flight hours for their aircrafts: frequency of flight 2) Selected key endpoints/destinations catered frequently Create: 1) Booking system became online 2) Travel system: point-to-point Through these strategic moves, Air Asia has been able to concentrate on factors that really matter for the customers like better booking channel, point-to-point travel system, etc. that makes customers lives simpler and adds value to them. This is a perfect example of Value Innovation, as not only does this help Air Asia increase the value to the customers but at the same time reduces cost for Air Asia significantly Value Innovation. This also allows Air Asia towards customers who were not traditionally target thus creating a new market space and targeting non-customers in the traditional airline industry. Current Airline Customers: 1) Corporates and business fraternity in Malaysia or ASEAN region. 2) Those individuals who can afford to buy expensive airline tickets from airlines like Malaysia Airline and other regional players. Non-Customers: 1) Officers from the government and other government staff 2) Those individuals who cannot afford to buy expensive tickets such as students or recent graduates or lower middle class and rural people. With effective execution of Blue Ocean strategy, Air Asia has furthered expanded their gamut and has ventured into other businesses like they started Tune Hotel and Tune Money. The model is again towards creating Blue Ocean market space. Crocs Inc. Company Snapshot Crocs Inc. is one of the major players in shoe industry who have been very successful. It designs, fabricates and markets bright-colored, comfy-branded footwear and accessories for all segments men, women and children. Blue Ocean Strategic Move Crocs Inc. with its distinctive lightweight clogs created a blue ocean market space in the shoe industry. These types of shoes gave customers a perfect combination of comfort and fashion at an affordable price point. Crocs shoes have mass appeal because not only are they branded but also in a way they are refreshing, they are different from traditional sandals and casual shoes and add a fun element as well as they come in a wide array of bright colors which provide a funky look. Combined with their new crocodile logo on their shoes it also gives them a bold look. Crocs have been a run-away success also because they provide customer what they never even thought of, they satisfy their customers by adding value to their customers usage by giving features like lightweight, waterproof, ergonomic comfort and anti-microbial and anti-skid. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Success Founded in 2002 as a new type of boat shoemaker initially, the company has grown into a global sensation in casual footwear industry with sales across the globe in over 90 countries and reaching 1 billion US dollars in 2011. Figure 6: Crocs Four Actions to create Value Innovation Source: Frontier Strategy, LLC Nintendos Wii The video game business has a huge market and is a multi-billion dollar industry. Video consoles, which form a big portion of this market, were very recently in the past controlled by two major players: PlayStations (PS12 and soon PS3) from Sony and Xbox (Xbox and Xbox360) from Microsoft. Nintendo, however, a distant third player created ripples in the market space with its launch of the Wii. This is an especially interesting case study from a strategy perspective since its a brilliant example of the so-called blue ocean strategy. The graphic below demonstrates Nintendos Wii strategy with the help of the strategy canvas and is quite clear. Figure 7: The Strategy Canvas of Nintendo Wii On giving a closer glance to the above graphic, one will notice that Nintendo is competing on a completely different strategic landscape as the attributes are completely differently focused for Nintendo in comparison with Sony and Microsoft. The Wii is not only affordable for general public, it has no Hard Disk, no DVD, no Dolby 5.1, weak connectivity and comparatively low processor speed, but enthralls the user by its innovative motion control stick. The stick is designed such that it integrates the movements of a player directly into the console of the video game, The user gets an interface where he gets a live feel of himself playing in the screen. With this feature Nintendo not only won the existing customers in the video game world but also brought in a completely new set of customers to the business. We can again think of the Four Actions Framework in all of the above descriptions of features. I will explain here with a couple of those features: Reduction in cost through elimination of some features like Hard Drive, DVD, Dolby 5.1 and low processor speed A raise in demand by creation of motion stick: strong value innovation for new gamers/customers. These 2 features disregard the traditional belief in competitive strategy of either going for cost leadership or product differentiation and not simultaneously for both. In other words, through this example we see that while Sony and Microsoft are fighting in the same old bloody Red Ocean of existent market, Nintendo created a new market space for itself in the form of Wii and is now sailing calmly in this Blue Ocean that it created for itself. CHAPTER-4 BOS: A Case Study on redBus Story of redBus One fine evening an electrical engineer in Bangalore planned to travel to Hyderabad to celebrate Diwali with his family but the answer he got from the agents when he reached at bus stands was that all tickets were sold out and he could inquire about the availability from some other agents. Although the person got frustrated but an appalling question was making rounds in his minds; why werent there other methods to get bus tickets booked rather than moving from one agent to another? He questioned why cant bus tickets be booked online like airlines and railway tickets? The person was Phanindra Sama and his frustration lead way to a revolution in Indian bus industry and redBus was born. Phani discussed the idea with his friends (Sudhakar Pasupunuri and Charan Padmaraju) and they started working on the idea. Initially they decided to develop an IT based inventory system for bus operators but the idea was dismissed by the operators and agents as the task seemed huge to them. Meanwhile they came in contact with the Bangalore chapter of TIE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) which accepted their venture and mentored the team and guided them with various assignments pertaining to market surveys and market research. The TIE mentorship enabled redBus to get venture capitalist interested in them and a VC named Seedfund funded them with $500000. This is how redBus was born on 18th August 2006, Indias first online bus ticketing website, a concept which was in use for airline and railway booking but no one had realized that it could be feasible enough for the bus travel also. Exhibit 1 gives company details. Exhibit 1 The Team Major Milestones Exhibit 2 Company Details Bus Ticket Industry- Overview in India The Indian bus travel industry was highly fragmented with a large number of small operators and agents having very little orientation towards technology. Most of the operators were regional players having small fleets of ten buses where few were long route players having 100 or more fleets of buses. Exhibit 2 gives the details of the industry structure. Long route buses were known as contract carriages and their tickets were to be bought in advance whereas short haul buses known as stage carriers and their tickets were sold in the coach itself. The booking system was agent driven in which each agent had contract with three of four operators and tickets were allocated to them on the basis of quota system by the operators. Each agent used to sell its quota of tickets and all the unsold tickets were informed to the operator before some fixed time of bus departure. No centralized inventory was maintained by either the agents or by operators

literature :: essays research papers

Literature Based Instruction This article is part of a series drawn from work in the Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III (Kamil, Mosenthal, Pearson, & Barr, 2000). My reasoning for choosing this article is simple; I like to read to children and to tell them stories. I think we can make reading much more interesting if we get away from the Basal Readers and introduce children to all forms of literary works. *Literature-Based Instruction: A Rationale Definitions of literature-based instruction emphasize the use of high-quality literary works as the core instructional materials used to support literacy development A guiding principle of the literature-based perspective is that literacy acquisition occurs in a book-rich context where there is an abundance of purposeful communication and meaning is socially constructed. Literary works in such contexts include a wide range of materials: picture books, big books, predictable books, folk tales, fables, myths, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction informational books, and biographies. *Reading to young children has always been the most common practice for implementing literature-based instruction in preschool and primary classrooms. Anecdotes and observations drawn from case studies of children who have been read to frequently have described behaviors associated with early literacy development These cases demonstrate that young children who have been read to frequently know how to handle books and can identify the front of a book, the print to be read, and the appropriate direction for reading the print. How many times do we see older students with books that have not been taken care? How many times do we see young people sitting in a quiet spot just reading a book for enjoyment? If you could go back and check, you would probably find out that they were not read to as young children. Reading stories is not a magical activity for literacy development; it is the quality of the interaction that occurs during reading that results in positive effects, rather than just the storybook reading itself. The article states â€Å"that storybook reading sessions in classrooms are often not of sufficient quality to engage students fully and to maximize literacy growth. Reading stories as an act in itself does not necessarily promote literacy; attitudes and interaction enhance the potential of the read-aloud event for promoting literacy development.

Acid Rain: Its Effects on Aquatic Environments :: Geology

Acid Rain: Its Effects on Aquatic Environments What is Acid Rain?: Acid rain is rain, snow or fog that is polluted by acid in the atmosphere and damages the environment. Two common air pollutants acidify rain: sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). When these substances are released into the atmosphere they are transformed into sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3) and can be carried over long distances by prevailing winds and return to earth as acidic rain, snow, fog or dust. When the environment cannot neutralize the acid being deposited, damage occurs. Causes of SO2 and NOx: * Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is generally a byproduct of industrial processes and burning of fossil fuels. Ore smelting, coal-fired power generators, and natural gas processing are the main contributors. * The main source of NOx emissions is the combustion of fuels in motor vehicles, residential and commercial furnaces, industrial and electrical-utility boilers and engines, and other equipment . Acidification of Freshwater: General Info: Freshwater acidification is not an entirely new problem. First linked to the decline of salmon and other fish stocks in Norwegian rivers some sixty years ago, freshwater acidification was later identified as a problem in Scandinavia during the 1970’s. Since then, thousands of rivers and lakes have been proven acidified. Areas most susceptible to acidification are those with an unreactive catchment such as granite and a base, nutrient-deficient soil. Areas of high acidification incidence include the United States, Canada, Scotland, Central Europe, and Scandinavia. Any lake below pH7.0 is, by strict definition, an acid lake, but it is generally argued that acid waters are those below pH5.0 where sulfate concentrations exceed those of carbonate or the sum of calcium and magnesium content. Process: Acid rain enters water by two routes: directly and through the catchment. The vast majority enters through the catchment while a relatively small percentage enters directly. Acid water passes easily to the lake through catchment consisting of shallow soil cover and alkaline-deficient bedrock such as granite, which does not contain the carbonates necessary to neutralize the acid. In areas where a continual supply of base cations is not assured then the gradual depleting of the bicarbonate in the lake means that the once stable pH will drop rapidly resulting in an acidified lake. Acidification can also occur in surges after snowmelt or drought; the first 30% of snowmelt can contain 50 - 80% of the total acids in the snow. Acid Rain: Its Effects on Aquatic Environments :: Geology Acid Rain: Its Effects on Aquatic Environments What is Acid Rain?: Acid rain is rain, snow or fog that is polluted by acid in the atmosphere and damages the environment. Two common air pollutants acidify rain: sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). When these substances are released into the atmosphere they are transformed into sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3) and can be carried over long distances by prevailing winds and return to earth as acidic rain, snow, fog or dust. When the environment cannot neutralize the acid being deposited, damage occurs. Causes of SO2 and NOx: * Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is generally a byproduct of industrial processes and burning of fossil fuels. Ore smelting, coal-fired power generators, and natural gas processing are the main contributors. * The main source of NOx emissions is the combustion of fuels in motor vehicles, residential and commercial furnaces, industrial and electrical-utility boilers and engines, and other equipment . Acidification of Freshwater: General Info: Freshwater acidification is not an entirely new problem. First linked to the decline of salmon and other fish stocks in Norwegian rivers some sixty years ago, freshwater acidification was later identified as a problem in Scandinavia during the 1970’s. Since then, thousands of rivers and lakes have been proven acidified. Areas most susceptible to acidification are those with an unreactive catchment such as granite and a base, nutrient-deficient soil. Areas of high acidification incidence include the United States, Canada, Scotland, Central Europe, and Scandinavia. Any lake below pH7.0 is, by strict definition, an acid lake, but it is generally argued that acid waters are those below pH5.0 where sulfate concentrations exceed those of carbonate or the sum of calcium and magnesium content. Process: Acid rain enters water by two routes: directly and through the catchment. The vast majority enters through the catchment while a relatively small percentage enters directly. Acid water passes easily to the lake through catchment consisting of shallow soil cover and alkaline-deficient bedrock such as granite, which does not contain the carbonates necessary to neutralize the acid. In areas where a continual supply of base cations is not assured then the gradual depleting of the bicarbonate in the lake means that the once stable pH will drop rapidly resulting in an acidified lake. Acidification can also occur in surges after snowmelt or drought; the first 30% of snowmelt can contain 50 - 80% of the total acids in the snow.

A Study Of Depression And Relationships Essay -- essays research paper

A Study of Depression and Relationships A primary concern for Psychology research is depression. Depression affects a great deal of our population and many aspects of an individual's mental health and well-being. In my research of books, articles, and Internet pages on depression, I chose to base my paper mainly on a 1994 article of a study of depression, entitled Depression, Working Models of Others, and Relationship Functioning, by Katherine B. Carnelley, Paula R. Pietromonaco, and Kenneth Jaffe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study focuses on the idea that the type of care received in childhood, positive or negative, has a great effect on relationship functioning later in adulthood. But there are two links between child-rearing and relationship functioning: attachment style and depression. Both derive from the type of care received in childhood and affect relationship functioning, and both exert a reciprocal influence on each other in adulthood. The researchers of this study wanted to examine all the correlation's between type of care, attachment style, depression, and relationship functioning. They proposed a three part hypothesis: 1. A less positive childhood would result in an insecure attachment style and depression, 2. Depressives would exhibit a preoccupied or fearful style of attachment, and 3. attachment style would affect relationship functioning more than depression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The research was conducted in two independent studies. The first study sampled 204 college women. Women were studied based on the very plausible assumptions that women are more susceptible to depression than men and relationships carry more significance with women than men. The women were screened using the Beck Depression Inventory, a popular method of testing consisting of 21 multiple choice questions to be administered by a clinician. The questions range in scope from feelings of sadness to loss of libido. From these results, a sample of 163 was taken: 73 whose scores indicated mild depression. From this point the researchers administered various inventories to assess the type of childhood care given, romantic attachment styles, and relationship functioning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Depression appears to be the independent variable, because the sample was selected based on desired levels of depression. Once the distinction in levels of de... ...s is through hereditary. Almost 40-50 percent of the siblings of manic depressive's children also have a depression disorder. It is sometimes however hard to decipher between a normal teenager's mood swings, or a depression. People need to realize not to discriminate, and know that it is a treatable chemistry imbalance. If one's teenager is acting in a depressive state have them talk to a psychologist, and assure them nothing is wrong with them, and that it can only help.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I chose to do my research on this given that I am manic depressive. I had recently broken up in a relationship, and this research helped to satisfy some curiosities. With this research I realize how much I have been helped, and it helped to explain some of my personality traits. Someone who has manic depression should definitely go in for help, and should realize the risk of not. The research shows that the interaction between relationship functioning, depression, and attachment style are attributable to early childhood. In other words, an individual's experiences in his or her formative years can have lasting psychological effects, up to the most basic social functions in adulthood.

Key Factors Contributing to the Israeli

MASENO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC STUDIES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY UNIT; THE MIDDLE EAST IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DIR; 307 SECTION A Research on Israel’s A. ) Geographical Location B. ) Population C. ) Ethnic Composition D. ) Historical Background E. ) Level of Economic development F. ) Nature of Government SECTION B Discuss the key factors contributing to the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict.ISRAELS FLAG ISRAELS EMBLEM SECTION A. INTRODUCTION The name Israel has historically been used in common and religious usage to refer to the biblical kingdom of Israel or the entire Jewish nation. According to the Hebrew Bible the name Israel was given to the Palestinian Jacob after he successfully wrestled with the angle of the Lord, Jacobs twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites also known as the twelve tribes, well, that is from a biblical view.Israel, officially the state of Israel is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East along the East ern shore of the Mediterranean sea, it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area, some if not all will be discussed in the essay below, in this Essay I will concentrate on discussing the general information of Israel and that includes its Geographical location, Population, Ethnic Composition, Historical background, Level of economic development and the Nature of government. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONThe geography of Israel is very diverse with desert conditions in the south and snow-capped mountains in the north. Israel is located at 31degrees north of the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in western Asia. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the East by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt with this border also being the border between Asia and Africa. To the west of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea which makes up the majority of Israel’s 273km coastline and the Gaza strip, Israel has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the south.Israel is approximately 20,700km square which includes 445km square of inland waters, Israel stretches 424km from north to south and its width ranges from 114km, at its narrowest point 15km. the Israeli occupied territories include the West Bank 5,879km, East Jerusalem 70km square and the Golan heights 1,150km square. The south of Israel is dominated by the Negev deserts covering some 16000km square more than half of the country’s total land area, the north of Negev contains the Judean desert which at its border contains the Dead Sea which at 417m is the lowest point on earth.The inland area of the Central Israel is dominated by the Judean hills of the West Bank, whilst the central and northern coastline consists of the flat and fertile Israeli Coastal Plain, the northern region contains the Mount Carmel Mountain range which is followed inland by the fertile Jazreel valley, and the hilly Galilee region. The Sea of Galilee is located beyond this an d is bordered to the east by the Golan Heights which contain the highest point under Israeli control, a peak in the Mount Harmon Massif at 2,224meters, the highest point in Israel’s internationally recognised territory is Mount Meron at 1. 08meters that is 3963ft. Israel is divided into four physiographic regions, they are as follows; The Mediterranean Coastal Plain It stretches from the Lebanese border in the north to Gaza in the south interrupted only by Cape Carmel at Haifa Bay, it is about 40km wide at Gaza and narrows towards the north to about 5km at the Lebanese border; on the right is a side view of the Coastal Plain from Rosh Hanikra Mount. The Central HillsInland (east) of the coastal plain lies the Central highland region, in the north of the region lie the mountain and hills of upper Galilee which are generally 500m to 700m in heights although reach a maximum height of 1,208m at Mount Meron. On the right is the Rainbow cave which is a natural arch on the northern ridge of Nahal Betzet. The Jordan Rift Valley East of the Central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley which is a small part of the 6500m long Syrian-East African Rift, in Israel the rift valley is dominated by the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.On the right is a picture of the Jordan Rift Valley. The Negev Desert It comprises approximately 12000km square more than half of Israel’s total land area, it is geographically an extension of the Sinai Desert, forming a rough triangle with its base in the north near Beersheba, the Dead Sea and the Southern Judean Mountains and it has its apex in the southern tip of the country at Eilat. Historical backgroundFollowing World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territori es Israel occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the â€Å"Oslo Accords†) guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia – the â€Å"Quartet† – took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005.In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006 and presided over a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009.OLMERT, who in June 2007 resumed talks with PA President Mahmoud ABBAS, resigned in September 2008. Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU formed a coalition in March 2009 following a February 2009 general election. Direct talks launched in September 2010 collapsed following the expiration of Israel's 10-month partial settlement construction moratorium in the West Bank. The area of modern Israel was the birth place of Monotheism, first of Judaism and later of Christianity and contains of sites sacred to several Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Druze and Baha’i.Although coming under their sway of various empires and home to a variety of ethnicities, it was predominantly Jewish until the Jewish-Roman wars after which Jews became a minority in most regions except Galilee. The region became increasingly Christian after the 3rd century and then largely Muslim after the 7th century Arab conquest. The Arab became a focal point of conflict between Christianity and Islam between 1096-1291 and from the end of the crusades until the British conquest in 1917was part of the Syrian Province of first the Mamlut Sultanat e of Egypt and then from 1517, the Ottoman Empire.In the mid 19th century, persecution in Europe led to the formation of the Zionist movement, which was able to win international support for a Jewish Masonry state on the side of the ancient kingdoms, following the British conquest of Syria in the first World War and the formation of the mandatory state of Palestine, Jewish-Arab tension Gradually evolved into the Arab-Israeli conflict, a collision of the Jewish nationalist movement. Israel’s independence in 1948 was marked by massive migration of Jews from both Europe and the Islamic world to Israel, and of the Arabs from Israel leading to extensive conflict with the Arab League.After independence in 1948, the first president of Israel came into power on 17th Feb 1949, he was in office for two terms until 9th Nov 1952, The second president was Yitzhak Ben-Zvi who came into power on 16th Dec 1952, he stayed in office for three terms until 23rd April 1963, the third president wa s Zalman Shazar who came into power on 21st May 1963 to 24th May 1973, the forth President was Ibrahim Katzir who came to power on 24th May 1973 to 29th May 1978, the fifth president was Yitzhak Navon who became president of Israel on 29th May 1978 to 5th May 1983, the sixth president of Israel was Chaim Herzog who came to power on 5th May 1983 he ruled for two terms until 13th May 1993, the seventh president was Ezer Weizman who ruled Israel from 3rd May 1993 to 13th July 2000 he stayed in office for two terms, the eighth president of Israel was Moshe Katsau who came to power from 1st August 2000 to 1st July 2007, the ninth and current president of Israel is Mr Shimon Perez who has stayed in office since 13th July 2007.Most Israeli presidents were involved in national politics of Zionist activities before taking office, some were also distinguished in other fields for example Chaim Weizmann was aleading research chemist who founded the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rohovot; Zalm an Shazar was an Author, poet and Jonourlist, while Chaim Herzog was a military leader , attorney and diplomat. The first Israeli presidents were born in the former Russian Empire which was true of much of the leadership in the early day of the state the first with a Sephardic background was Chaim Herzog, who originally came from Belfast, Nothern Ireland. The first president from a Middle Eastern county outside of Israel was Moshe Katsar, who was born in Persia. POPULATIONIn 2012, Israel’s population was an estimated 7,933,200 people of whom 5,978,600 are Jews, Arab citizens of Israel comprise 1,636,600 of the country’s total population, those identified as others make up the remainder of the population, when the state was established, there were only 806,000 residents and the total population reached its first and second million in 1949 and 1958 respectively. The overall population grew by 96,300 people since the end of 2011 a growth rate similar to that of the last e ight years. The Jewish population grew 1. 8% (similar to past years) while the Arab population grew 2. 4% (a rapid decline from the 3. 4% annual growth rate in the 1990's). The Christian population grew 1. 3% and the Druze population grew 1. 7%. Israel's population is considered young relative to the populations of other Western countries. 28% of the population was aged 0-14 while only 10. 3% were older than 65 years of age. OECD average is 18. % (0-14) and 15% (65+). Israel's average age, however, is getting older. In 2011, the average age was 29. 5 years as opposed to 27. 6 in the year 2000. Average age for males is 28. 4 and for women is 30. 6 years old. Life expectancy in 2011 was 80 years for men and 83. 6 years for women. This life expectancy continues an upward trend of the last decade. Jewish males had a life expectancy 4. 2 years higher than their Arab counterparts; while Jewish women had expectancy 3. 0 years higher. The Israeli life expectancy is higher than the OECD aver age. About 40% of Israel's total population lives in the centre of the country (24% in Central region and 16. % in Tel Aviv area). Approximately 17% of the population lives in the north and another 14% are based in the south. 12% live in both Jerusalem and Haifa regions and another 4% in the West Bank. Just under half of the Jewish population lives in the canter of the country, either Jerusalem or Tel Aviv metropolitan areas. 60% of the Arab population lives in the north. Jerusalem and the Central region recorded an above average growth rate of 2. 5% while Tel Aviv saw one of its lowest, at 0. 8%. Israel's population density increased in 2011 to 347 people per every square kilometre (not including the West Bank) as opposed to only 288 people per km2  in 2000.By comparison, Slovenia (whose territory is roughly the same size as Israel's) has a population density of 102 people per km2; Belgium (slightly larger than Israel) has a density of 364 people per km2. Tel Aviv is Israel's den sest region with 7,522 people per km2; Jerusalem has a density of 1,484 people per km2 and Bnei Brak is Israel's densest city with 22,145 people per km2. 47,885 couples were wed in Israel over the past year, of which 75% were Jewish and 21% Muslim. 13,042 couples were divorced during the year, 80% Jews. 166,296 babies were born in Israel during 2011, almost exactly equal to the 2010 birth number of 166,255. The number of children per woman in Israel stands at 3, slightly lower than the 3. 03 of 2010. Jewish women have an average 2. 98 children (a rise of . 1 from 2010), which is the highest recorded number since 1977. The number of children for every Muslim woman stands at 3. 51; however this is a dramatic decrease from 3. 75 in 2010, the literacy level in Israel’s total population 97. 1%. ETHNIC COMPOSITION Languages Israel is a country of immigrants and its population is comprised of a mosaic people with varied ethnic backgrounds, lifestyles, religions, cultures and traditi ons. The Jewish people account for 80. 5% of the total population of Israel. Israel has two official languages, Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population, and Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority.Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programs are broadcast in this language and English is taught from the early grades in elementary school. As a country of immigrants, many languages can be heard on the streets. Due to mass immigration from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia (some 120,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel), Russian and Amharic are widely spoken. Between 1990 and 1994, the Russian immigration increased Israel's population by twelve percent. More than one million Russian-speaking immigrants arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union states between 1990 and 2004. French is spoken by around 700,000 Israelis, mostly originating from France and North Africa.Religion Isra el and the Palestinian territories comprise the major part of the Holy Land, a region of significant importance’s to all Abrahamic religions – Jews, Christians, Muslims and Baha'is. The religious affiliation of Israeli Jews varies widely: a social survey for those over the age of 20 indicates that 55% say they are â€Å"traditional†, while 20% consider themselves â€Å"secular Jews†, 17% define themselves as â€Å"Religious Zionists†; 8% define themselves as â€Å"Haredi Jews†. While the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim, represented only 5% of Israel's population in 1990, they are expected to represent more than one-fifth of Israel's Jewish population by 2028.Making up 16% of the population, Muslims constitute Israel's largest religious minority. About 2% of the populations are Christian and 1. 5% are Druze. The Christian population primarily comprises Arab Christians, but also includes post-Soviet immigrants and the Foreign Laborers of multinatio nal origins and followers of Messianic Judaism, considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity. Members of many other religious groups, including Buddhists and Hindus, maintain a presence in Israel, albeit in small numbers. Out of more than one million immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel, about 300,000 are considered not Jewish by the Orthodox rabbinate.The city of Jerusalem is of special importance to Jews, Muslims and Christians as it is the home of sites that are pivotal to their religious beliefs, such as the Israeli-controlled Old City that incorporates the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Other locations of religious importance in Israel are Nazareth (holy in Christianity as the site of the Annunciation of Mary), Tiberias and Safed (two of the Four Holy Cities in Judaism), the White Mosque in Ramla (holy in Islam as the shrine of the prophet Saleh), and the Church of Saint George in L od (holy in Christianity and Islam as the tomb of Saint George or Al Khidr). A number of other religious landmarks are located in the West Bank, among them Joseph's tomb in Shechem, the birthplace of Jesus and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.The administrative center of the Baha'i Faith and the Shrine of the Bab are located at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa and the leader of the faith is buried in Acre. Apart from maintenance staff, there is no Baha'i community in Israel, although it is a destination for pilgrimages. Baha'i staff in Israel do not teach their faith to Israelis following strict policy. Education Israel has a school life expectancy of 15 years and a literacy rate of 97. 1% according to the United Nations. The State Education Law, passed in 1953, established five types of schools: state secular, state religious, ultra orthodox, communal settlement schools, and Arab schools.The public secular is the largest school group, and is atte nded by the majority of Jewish and non-Arab pupils in Israel. Most Arabs send their children to schools where Arabic is the language of instruction. Education is compulsory in Israel for children between the ages of three and eighteen. Schooling is divided into three tiers  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ primary school (grades 1–6), middle school (grades 7–9), and high school (grades 10–12)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ culminating with Bagrut matriculation exams. Proficiency in core subjects such as mathematics, the Hebrew language, Hebrew and general literature, the English language, history, Biblical scripture and civics is necessary to receive a Bagrut certificate. 304] In Arab, Christian and Druze schools, the exam on Biblical studies is replaced by an exam on Muslim, Christian or Druze heritage. In 2003, over half of all Israeli twelfth graders earned a matriculation certificate. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University are ranked among the world's top 100 universities by Tim es Higher Education magazine. Israel ranks third in the world in the number of academic degrees per capita (20 percent of the population). Culture Israel's diverse culture stems from the diversity of the population: Jews from around the world have brought their cultural and religious traditions with them, creating a melting pot of Jewish customs and beliefs.Israel is the only country in the world where life revolves around the Hebrew calendar. Work and school holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays, and the official day of rest is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. Israel's substantial Arab minority has also left its imprint on Israeli culture in such spheres as architecture, music and cuisine. LEVEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Israel is considered one of the most advanced countries in Southwest Asia in economic and industrial development. In 2010, it joined the OECD. The country is ranked 3rd in the region on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index as well as in the World Econo mic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.It has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world (after the United States) and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America. In 2010, Israel ranked 17th among of the world's most economically developed nations, according to IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook. The Israeli economy was ranked first as the world's most durable economy in the face of crises, and was also ranked first in the rate of research and development center investments. The Bank of Israel was ranked first among central banks for its efficient functioning, up from the 8th place in 2009. Israel was also ranked as the worldwide leader in its supply of skilled manpower.The Bank of Israel holds $78 billion of foreign-exchange reserves. Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Israel largely self-sufficient in food production, apart from grains and beef. Other major imports to Israel, totaling $47. 8  billion in 2006, include fossil fuels, raw materials, and military equipment. Leading exports include electronics, software, computerized systems, communications technology, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, fruits, chemicals, military technology, and cut diamonds, in 2006, Israeli exports reached $42. 86  billion, and by 2010 they had reached $80. 5 billion a year.Israel is a leading country in the development of solar energy. Israel is a global leader in water conservation and geothermal energy, and its development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley. According to the OECD, Israel is also ranked 1st in the world in expenditure on Research and Development (R&D) as a percentage of GDP. Intel and Microsoft built their first overseas research and development centers in Israel, and other high-tech multi-national corporations, such as IBM, Ci sco Systems, and Motorola, have opened facilities in the country. In July 2007, U. S. illionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought an Israeli company Iscar, its first non-U. S. acquisition, for $4  billion. Since the 1970s, Israel has received military aid from the United States, as well as economic assistance in the form of loan guarantees, which now account for roughly half of Israel's external debt. Israel has one of the lowest external debts in the developed world, and is a net lender in terms of net external debt (the total value of assets vs. liabilities in debt instruments owed abroad), which as of 2011[update] stood at a surplus of US$58. 7  billion. Days of working time in Israel are Sunday through Thursday (for 5 a days ‘week'), or Friday (for 6 a days ‘week').In observance of Shabbat, in places where Friday is a work day and the majority of population is Jewish, Friday is a â€Å"short day†, usually lasting till 14:00 in the winter, or 16:0 0 in the summer. Several proposals have been raised to adjust the work week with the majority of the world, and make Sunday a non-working day, while extending working time of other days, and/or replacing Friday with Sunday as a work day. Israels economy faces mamny challenges, some short term and some long term challenges, the short term side, it is inability to duplicate its success in telecommunication industry into other growing industries hampers its economic outlook, its inability to foster larger multinational companies in the last decade also questions its ability to employ large numbers of people in advanced industries.On the longterm side, Israel is facing challenges on high dependency of the growing number of Ultra or Thudox Jews who have a low level of official labour force participation amongst men, and this situation could lead to a materialy lower employment –to-populationratio and a higher dependency ratio in the future , the governor of the Bank of Israel Stan ley Fitcher stated that the growing poverty amongst the Ultra or Thodox is hunting the Israel economy. According to the data published by Ian Fual rsman, 60% of the poor households in Israel are of the Haredi Jews and the Israeli Arabs, both groups together represent 25-28% of the Israeli population NATURE OF GOVERNMENT The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary Democracy, the prime minister who is Benjamin Netanyahu is the head of government and the leader of the multi party system.Executive power is exercised by the government, Legislature power is vested in the Knesset, the Judiciary is independent of the Executive and Legislature. The political system of the state of Israel and its main principles are set out in basic laws, Israel does not have a written constitution. For governmental purposes, Israel is devided into six districts. Central District, Haifa District, Jerusalem District, Nothern District, Southern District, Tel Aviv which is the capital city of Isra el is the six district. The districts are further subdivided into fourteen subdistrict and into fifty natural regions, administration of the districts is coordinated by the ministry of interior.In the State of Israel, as in other democratic states, rule is rooted in the following liberal principles and institutions: basic laws that lay down the order of government and the rights of citizens; the holding of elections to the house of representatives based on the principle of the rule of the majority, with the rights of the minority guaranteed by law; the principle of the separation between the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judiciary, to which the institution of state control has been added; freedom of the press. The Electoral System The elections in Israel are general, equal and secret. On the national level they are held at least once every four years, and on the municipal level at least once every five years. Israel has a system of proportional representation, an d the whole state is considered a single constituency. Every party running for election presents a list of candidates, and the number of candidates entering the House of Representatives is proportional to the percentage of support the list receives.Every citizen over the age of 18, whose name appears in the list of voters, may vote. The Legislature Branch; Knesset The Knesset is the house of representatives of the State of Israel. The Basic Law: The Knesset, states that the seat of the Knesset is Jerusalem, and that upon election it will have 120 members. The law deals with the elections to the Knesset and with the essence of the service, the work and the immunity of the Knesset, its committees and its members. The law does not define the authority of the Knesset and details regarding the way its functions appear in its regulations. A new Knesset starts to function after general elections are held, which determine its makeup.The President of the State opens the first session of a ne w Knesset and immediately passes its running onto the eldest Knesset member. At this meeting the Knesset members declare their allegiance, and the Speaker of the Knesset and his deputies are elected. The Knesset fulfils its functions by means of two arms: the plenary in which all the Knesset members sit and the Knesset committees. The plenary holds debates within the framework of legislation, government statements, motions for the agenda, motions of no confidence and questions, and the deliberations usually end with a vote. The Knesset plenary decides on most issues on its agenda by means of a vote, and resolutions are adopted by a majority.A majority usually means the majority of those present at the meeting. There are, however, resolutions which require an absolute majority, and others which require a special majority. The function of the committees, in addition to dealing with bills, is to supervise the work of the Government Ministries and to hold debates on issues within the re alms for which they are responsible, and which are of public interest. By means of the committees, the Knesset maintains direct contact with the Government Ministries, and receives information from Ministers or their representatives. There are four types of Knesset committees that function on a regular basis: 1. Permanent Committees (12)Committee for Advancing the Status of Women; Constitution, Law and Justice Committee; Economic Affairs Committee; Education, Culture, & Sports Committee; Finance Committee; Foreign Affairs & Defence Committee; House Committee; Immigration and Absorption Committee; Internal Affairs & Environment Committee; Labour and Welfare Committee; Science & Technology Committee; and the State Control Committee. 2. Special Committees Committee on Drug Abuse, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Committee for Foreign Workers. 3. Parliamentary Inquiry Appointed by the Knesset Plenum  to deal with particular issues viewed as having special national importance. 4. Ethnic Committees Responsible for jurisdiction over members who have violated rules of ethics of the Knesset or who have been involved in illegal activity outside of the Knesset. In addition, there are two types of committees in the Knesset which convene only when needed: 1. The Interpretation CommitteeIt  deals with appeals against the interpretation given by the Speaker during a sitting of the plenum to the Knesset Rules of Procedure or precedents. The Committee is made up of the Speaker and eight Knesset members chosen by the House Committee. 2. Public Committees It is established to deal with issues that are connected to the Knesset. The members of public committees may be experts in a particular field, public figures, or current or past Knesset members. An example of such a committee is the Public Committee for the Draft of Ethical Guidelines for Knesset Members. The members of the committees are appointed during the first meetings of every new Knesset with the help of an â⠂¬Å"arranging committee,† which is selected for this purpose. Basic LawsEven though it was stated in the Proclamation of Independence that the Constituent Assembly, which turned into the First Knesset, would draft a constitution for Israel, this was not done due to differences of opinion with the religious parties. In place of a constitution, it was decided to legislate a series of basic laws, which in the future would together form the constitution. Even now, more than 60 years after Israel's establishment, the task of drafting a constitution has yet to come to fruition. There are several articles in the existing basic laws which can only be amended by an absolute majority (the support of more than 60 MKs) or a special majority (which is large than an absolute majority) of the Knesset members. The existing basic laws are:President of the State (1964) | The Knesset (1958) | The Government (2001) | The Judiciary (1984) | The Israel Defence Forces (1976) The Capital Jerusalem (1 980) | The People's Lands (1960) | The State Comptroller (1988) | The State Economy (1975) Human Dignity and Liberty (1992) | Freedom of Occupation (1994) The Executive branch; the Government Until after the elections to the 13th Knesset, it was the President who assigned the task of forming a new Government to the head of the list with the best chances of succeeding, who was also usually the head of the largest party in the Knesset. The Government required the approval of the Knesset, so that it needed to represent a coalition supported by a majority of the Knesset members, even if not all of its supporters were actual members in it.The 32nd Government of the State of Israel, which was formed in March 2009, is made up of the following Ministries: Agriculture and Rural Development | Communications | Construction and Housing | Culture and Sports | Defence Diaspora Affairs | Education | Energy and Water Resources | Environment | Finance | Foreign Affairs | Health Immigrant Absorption | Industry and Trade | Justice | Prime Minister's Office | Public Security | Religious Services | Science Social Affairs and Social Services | Strategic Affairs | The Interior | Tourism | Transport The President The President of the State is elected by the Knesset in a secret vote, and primarily fulfils ceremonial functions as head of State. Candidates for the presidency are customarily proposed by the large parties, and are usually well-known public figures. The President is appointed for a period of five years, which can be extended by a further five years. The functions of the President are defined in the Basic Law: The President of the State. In addition, the President assumes public functions and activities in accordance with the customs which have crystallized on the issue, and with his personal inclinations.Amongst the President's formal functions are signing laws (even though he has no control over their content) opening the first meeting of the first session of a new Knesse t, receiving the credentials of new ambassadors of foreign states, approving the appointment of civil and religious judges, the State Comptroller and the Governor of the Bank of Israel, pardoning prisoners or commuting their sentences, etc. In the past it was also the President who decided who to approach after general elections with the task of trying to form a new Government, but this function will cease to exist as of the elections to the 14th Knesset, when the Prime Minister will be directly elected. The Judiciary The courts deal with cases of persons charged with a breach of the law. Charges are brought up by citizens against other citizens, by the state against citizens, and even by citizens against the state. The sessions of the courts of law are usually public, unless it is decided to hold closed hearings under special circumstances.When more than one judge is presiding, and the judges do not agree on a verdict, the opinion of the majority is decisive. Israel does not have t rials by jury. The cases brought to the courts are of two types: criminal cases and civil cases. A criminal case is one involving a transgression of the social order, and its intention is to punish the offender, if his guilt has been proven. In a civil case the plaintiff is a private person or association and the defendant is a private person or association. The subject of the trial is the demand that a contract signed between the parties be fulfilled, a debt is returned or compensation is paid for damages caused.In a civil trial there is no punishment, but a duty to pay financial or other compensation. Freedom of the press The institutions of government in Israel are subject to public scrutiny by the written and electronic media. Public scrutiny is one of the marks and foundations of a democracy, and in Israel it is secured in the principle of freedom of expression which is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, and is currently being secured in a basic law. REFFERENCE 1. Gl obal servey (2006); Middle East Progress Amid Global gains in freedom. 2. Wells, John V. (1990); World Economic Outlook 3. Latest population statics for Israel; Jewish Vitual Library 17th Sep 2012 4.Berger Earl; The covenant and the Sword; Arab- Israel relations, 1948, London 5. Bregman Ahron ; A history of Israel; New York; Palgrace Macmillan 2002 6. A Arnon and J. Weinblatt; Soverighnity and economic development; The case of Israel and Pakestine SECTION B INTRODUCTION The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the early 20th century. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between the Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman and then British rule. It forms part of the wider Arab–Israeli conflict.The remaining key issues are: mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Isra eli settlements, Palestinian freedom of movement and finding a resolution to the refugee question. The violence resulting from the conflict has prompted international actions, as well as other security and human rights concerns, both within and between both sides, and internationally. In addition, the violence has curbed expansion of tourism in the region, which is full of historic and religious sites that are of interest to many people around the world. Below are the key factors that contribute to the conflict between Israel and Palestine in detail. Mutual RecognitionIt is often said that the fierceness of the struggle between the two stems from the fact that both the Israelis and Palestinians claim the same territory as their historical homeland, the main matter here is that for decades Israelis and Palestinians deny each other rights to exist as national entities, this mutual rejection is much more than a conflict over territory, as territory can be fought over, compromised on, c urved up and eventually shared, but when each party claims exclusive ownership of the disputed land and is profoundly convinced that the other has no right to exist, there is no way of the quagmire only a fight to finish. Israel often argue that if Palestinian and Arab leaders had not repeatedly refused any compromise over the disputed land especially if they had not rejected out of hand the 1947 UN resolution on the partition of the mandatory Palestinian into two states, one Arab the other Jewish, a decision satisfactory to both sides could have been worked out in time, the Palestinians could not even imagine sharing the land they felt that they were sure that Palestine was theirs by right and there’s only thus the emergence of the State of Israel in 1948 descended upon them as an individual and national tragedy.The Palestinian systematic rejection of Israel’s national existence and their dogged refusal to countenance any form of territorial compromise year after year , decade after decade, played into the hands of Israelis leaders from Ben–Gurion in 1948 to Golder Mier and Yitzhak Rabin in the 1970s and 1980s, it enabled them to ignore and deny Palestinians national rights and with a good conscience of that. The Oslo peace process was based upon Israel ceding authority to the Palestinians to run their own political and economic affairs. In return, it was agreed that Palestinians would promote peaceful co-existence, renounce violence and promote recognition of Israel among their own people. Despite Yasser Arafat's official renunciation of terrorism and recognition of Israel, some Palestinian groups continue to practice and advocate violence against civilians and do not recognize Israel as a legitimate political entity.Palestinians state that their ability to spread acceptance of Israel was greatly hampered by Israeli restrictions on Palestinian political freedoms, economic freedoms, civil liberties, and quality of life. It is widely felt a mong Israelis that Palestinians did not in fact promote acceptance of Israel's right to exist. One of Israel's major reservations in regards to granting Palestinian sovereignty is its concern that there is not genuine public support by Palestinians for co-existence and elimination of terrorism and incitement. Some Palestinian groups, notably Fatah, the political party founded by PLO leaders, initially claimed they were willing to foster co-existence depending on the Palestinians being steadily given more political rights and autonomy.However, in 2010, even Fatah leaders such as Mahmoud Abbas refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, while the leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which is the official Fatah's military wing, publicly disclosed Fatah's â€Å"ultimate goal† to be the destruction of the Jewish state, and that Abbas would lie about recognition of Israel following â€Å"Zionist and American pressure† for â€Å"political calculations† as one of the means to achieve the aforementioned goal. In 2006, Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council, where it remains the majority party. Hamas has openly stated in the past that it completely opposed Israel's right to exist, and its charter states this. Following the release of Gilad Shalit in 2011, Abbas praised his capturing by Hamas and reassured the Arab public he would â€Å"never recognize a Jewish state†. Israel cites past concessions such as Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip in August 2005, which did not lead to a reduction of attacks and rocket fire against Israel—as an example of the Palestinian people not accepting Israel as a state.Palestinian groups and Israeli Human Rights organizations (namely B'Tselem) have pointed out that while the military occupation in Gaza was ended, the Israeli government still retained control of Gaza's airspace, territorial water, and borders, legally making it still under Israeli control. They also say that mainly thanks to these restrictions, the Palestinian quality of life in the Gaza Strip has not improved since the Israeli withdrawal. Israeli Security Concerns Throughout the conflict, Palestinian violence has been a concern for Israelis. Israel along with the United States and the European Union, refer to the violence against Israeli civilians and military forces by Palestinian militants as terrorism. The conflict between Palestine and Israel is not only basically a question of Palestinian terrorism that largely threatens the security and existence of Israel, it is also a question of Israeli Military ccupation that started in 1967, which provokes Palestinian resistance which then threatens the security of Israel, to go on speaking about Palestinian terrorism without seeing the right of the Palestinians to their freedom and to end their occupation is condemning oneself not to see reality and to remain impotent in reaching a solution, what do the Palestinians want? They want their independent state, and what do the Israelis want? They want their security inside secure borders protected from all attacks or threats, the two requirements are interdependent, after the end of the occupation will bring cessation of all violence and hence the security of Israel, but instead of putting an end to the occupation, the Israeli government maintains it and follows ways-reprisals and recently they declared war which just led to the opposite of security i. e. more Palestinians reaction, violence and hence Israelis insecurity.Oppression and humiliation imposed upon the Palestinian people can only produce violent Palestinian reactions that threaten the security of Israel. The motivations behind Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians are multiplex, and not all violent Palestinian groups agree with each other on specifics, however a common motive is to eliminate the Jewish state and replace it with a Palestinian Arab state. The most prominent Islamist groups, such as Hamas, view the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as a religious jihad. Suicide bombing is used as a tactic among Palestinian organizations like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and is supported by as much as 68% of the Palestinian people.In Israel, Palestinian suicide bombers have targeted civilian buses, restaurants, shopping malls, hotels and marketplaces. From 1993–2003, 303 Palestinian suicide bombers attacked Israel. The Israeli government initiated the construction of a security barrier following scores of suicide bombings and terrorist attacks in July 2003. Israel's coalition government approved the security barrier in the northern part of the green-line between Israel and the West Bank. Since the erection of the fence, terrorist acts have declined by more than 90%. Since 2001, the threat of Qassam rockets fired from the Palestinian Territories into Israel is also of great concern for Israeli defense officials.In 2006—the year followi ng Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip—the Israeli government recorded 1,726 such launches, more than four times the total rockets fired in 2005. As of January 2009, over 8,600 rockets had been launched, causing widespread psychological trauma and disruption of daily life. Over 500 rockets and mortars hit Israel between January–September 2010. Since mid-June 2007, Israel's primary means of dealing with security concerns in the West Bank has been to cooperate with and permit United States-sponsored training, equipping, and funding of the Palestinian Authority's security forces, which with Israeli help have largely succeeded in quelling West Bank supporters of Hamas. Rights on Water ResourcesOf the water available from the West Bank aquifers, Israel uses 73%, West Bank Palestinians use 17% and illegal Jewish settlers use 10%, while 10-14% of Palestines GDP is agricultural, 90% of them must rely on rain fed farming methods, Israels agriculture is only 3% of their G DP but Israel irrigates more than 50% of their land, three million West Bank Palestinian use only 250,000,000 cubic metres per year while six million Israelis enjoy the use of 1. 954million cubic meters which means that each Israeli consumes as much water as four Palestinians, Israeli settlers are allocated 1,450m cubic per person per year. Israel consumes the vast majority of the water from the Jordan river despite only 3% of the river falling within is pre-1967 borders.Israel now diverts one quarters of its total water consumption through its national water barrier carrier from the Jordan river, where Palestinians have no access to it what-so-ever due to Israeli closures, Israel does not allow new wells to be drilled by Palestinians and has consificated many wells for Israeli use, Israel sets quotas on how much water can be drawn by Palestinians from existing wells when supplies of water are low in the summer month, the Israeli water company closes the values which supply Palestin ian towns and villages so as not to affect Israeli supplies, this means that illegal Israeli settlers can have their pools topped up and lawns watered while Palestinians living next to them, on whose land the settltment are situated do not have enough water for drinking and cooking. In the Oslo II Accord treaty, both sides agreed to maintain â€Å"existing quantities of utilization from the resources. In so doing, the Palestinian Authority established the legality of Israeli water production in the West Bank. Moreover, Israel obligated itself in this agreement to provide water to supplement Palestinian production, and further agreed to allow additional Palestinian drilling in the Eastern Aquifer. Many Palestinians counter that the Oslo II agreement was intended to be a temporary resolution and that it was not intended to remain in effect more than a decade later. Indeed its name is â€Å"The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement. † This agreement also established the right o f the Palestinian Authority to explore and drill for natural gas, fuel and petroleum within its territory and territorial waters.It also delineated the major terms of conduct regarding regulations on the parties' facilities. In 1999, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it continued to honor its obligations under the Interim Agreement. The water that Israel receives comes mainly from the Jordan River system, the Sea of Galilee and two underground sources. According to a 2003 BBC article the Palestinians lack access to the Jordan River system. Numerous foreign nations and international organizations have established bilateral agreements with the Palestinian and Israeli water authorities. It is estimated that a future investment of about US$1. 1bn for the West Bank and $0. bn is needed for the planning period from 2003 to 2015. In order to support and improve the water sector in the Palestinian territories, a number of bilateral and multilateral agencies have been supporting many different water and sanitation programs. There are three large seawater desalination plants in Israel and two more scheduled to open before 2014. When the fourth plant becomes operational, 65% of Israel's water will come from desalination plants, according to Minister of Finance Dr. Yuval Steinitz. Palestinian Refugees of the 1948 War Palestinian refugees are people who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.The number of Palestinians who fled or were expelled from Israel following its creation was estimated at 711,000 in 1949. Descendants of these original Palestinian Refugees are also eligible for registration and services provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and as of 2010 number 4. 7 million people. A third of the refugees live in recognized refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The remainder live in and around the cities a nd towns of these host countries. Most of these people were born outside of Israel, but are descendants of original Palestinian refugees. Palestinian egotiators, most notably Yasser Arafat, have so far insisted that refugees have a right to return to the places where they lived before 1948 and 1967, including those within the 1949 Armistice lines, citing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN General Assembly Resolution 194 as evidence, although they have privately countenanced the return of only 10,000 refugees and their families to Israel as part of a peace settlement. Mahmoud Abbas, the current Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization accepts that it is â€Å"illogical to ask Israel to take 5 million, or indeed 1 million. That would mean the end of Israel. † The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 declared that it proposed the compromise of a â€Å"just resolution† of the refugee problem. Palestinian and international authors have justified the right of return of the Palestinian refugees on several grounds; * A few authors included in the broader New Historians assert that the Palestinian refugees were chased out or expelled by the actions of the Haganah, Lehi and Irgun.The New Historians cite indications of Arab leaders' desire for the Palestinian Arab population to stay put. Shlaim (2000) states that from April 1948 the military forces of what was to become Israel had embarked on a new offensive strategy which involved destroying Arab villages and the forced removal of civilians. * However, historian Benny Morris states that most of Palestine's 700,000 â€Å"refugees† fled because of the â€Å"flail of war† and expected to return home shortly after a successful Arab invasion. He documents how all around Palestine, Arab leaders advised the evacuation of entire communities as happened in Haifa, 1948. Morris considers the displacement the result of a national conflict initiated by the Arabs themselves. Karsh notes tha t the Palestinians were themselves the aggressors in the 1948-49 war who attempted to â€Å"cleanse† a neighboring ethnic community. Had the United Nations resolution of November 29, 1947, which called for two states in Palestine, not been subverted by force by the Arab world, there would have been no refugee problem in the first place. He reports of large numbers of Palestinian refugees leaving even before the outbreak of the 1948 war because of disillusionment and economic privation. The British High Commissioner for Palestine spoke of the â€Å"collapsing Arab morale in Palestine† that he partially attributed to the â€Å"increasing tendency of those who should be leading them to leave the country† and the considerable evacuations of the Arab effendi class.Huge numbers of Palestinians were also expelled by their leadership to prevent them from becoming Israeli citizens and in Haifa and Tiberias, tens of thousands of Arabs were forcibly evacuated on the instru ctions of the Arab Higher Committee. * The Israeli Law of Return that grants citizenship to any Jew from anywhere in the world is viewed by some as discrimination against non-Jews, especially Palestinians that cannot apply for such citizenship or return to the territory which they were expelled from or fled during the course of the 1948 war. Since none of the 900,000 Jewish refugees who fled anti-Semitic violence in the Arab world was ever compensated or repatriated by their former countries of residence—to no objection on the part of Arab leaders—a precedent has been set whereby it is the responsibility of the nation which accepts the refugees to assimilate them.Although Israel accepts the right of the Palestinian Diaspora to return into a new Palestinian state, Israel insists that their return into the current state of Israel would be a great danger for the stability of the Jewish state; an influx of Palestinian refugees would lead to the destruction of the state of Israel. Control over Jerusalem Israel remains one of the core issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and latter annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem including the Old City was captured by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem during the six day war and subsequently annexed it. The border of Jerusalem is a particularly delicate issue, with each side asserting claims over this city.The three largest Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—include Jerusalem as an important setting for their religious and historical narratives. Israel asserts that the city should not be divided and should remain unified within Israel's political control. Palestinians claim at least the parts of the city which were not part of Israel prior to June 1967. As of 2005, there were more than 719,000 people living in Jerusalem; 465,000 were Jews (mostly living in West Jerusalem) and 232,000 were Muslim s (mostly living in East Jerusalem). The Israeli government, including the Knesset and Supreme Court, is centered in the â€Å"new city† of West Jerusalem and has been since Israel's founding in 1948. After Israel aptured the Jordanian-controlled East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, it assumed complete administrative control of East Jerusalem. In 1980, Israel issued a new law stating, â€Å"Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel. † At the Camp David and Taba Summits in 2000–01, the United States proposed a plan in which the Arab parts of Jerusalem would be given to the proposed Palestinian state while the Jewish parts of Jerusalem were retained by Israel. All archaeological work under the Temple Mount would be jointly controlled by the Israeli and Palestinian governments. Both sides accepted the proposal in principle, but the summits ultimately failed.Israel has grave concerns regarding the welfare of Jewish holy places under possible Palestinian control. When Jerusalem was under Jordanian control, no Jews were allowed to visit the Western Wall or other Jewish holy places, and the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives was desecrated. [63] In 2000, a Palestinian mob took over Joseph's Tomb, a shrine considered sacred by both Jews and Muslims, looted and burned the building and turned it into a mosque. [64] There are unauthorized Palestinian excavations for construction on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which could threaten the stability of the Western Wall. Israel, on the other hand, has seldom blocked access to holy places sacred to other religions.Israeli security agencies routinely monitor and arrest Jewish extremists that plan attacks, resulting in almost no serious incidents for the last 20 years. Moreover, Israel has given almost complete autonomy to the Muslim trust (Waqf) over the Temple Mount. Israel expresses concern over the security of its residents if neighborhoods of Jerusalem are placed under Palestinian cont rol. Jerusalem has been a prime target for attacks by militant groups against civilian targets since 1967. Many Jewish neighborhoods have been fired upon from Arab areas. The proximity of the Arab areas, if these regions were to fall in the boundaries of a Palestinian state, would be so close as to threaten the safety of Jewish residents.Nadav Shragai states this idea in his study for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, â€Å"An Israeli security body that was tasked in March 2000 with examining the possibility of transferring three Arab villages just outside of Jerusalem – Abu Dis, Al Azaria, and a-Ram – to Palestinian security control, assessed at the time that: ‘Terrorists will be able to exploit the short distances, sometimes involving no more than crossing a street, to cause damage to people or property. A terrorist will be able to stand on the other side of the road, shoot at an Israeli or throw a bomb, and it may be impossible to do anything about it. The road will constitute the border. ‘ If that is the case for neighborhoods outside of Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, how much more, so for Arab neighborhoods within those boundaries. Palestinians have voiced concerns regarding the welfare of Christian and Muslim holy places under Israeli control. Some Palestinian advocates have made statements alleging that the Western Wall tunnel was re-opened with the intent of causing the mosque's collapse.Israel considers these statements to be totally baseless and unfounded, and to be deliberately intended to incite aggression and public disorder, and stated this in a 1996 speech at the UN. Israeli Military Occupation in West Bank Occupied Palestinian Territory is the term used by the United Nations to refer to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip—territories which were captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, having formerly been controlled by Egypt and Jordan. The Israeli government uses the te rm Disputed Territories, to argue that some territories cannot be called occupied as no nation had clear rights to them and there was no operative diplomatic arrangement when Israel acquired them in June 1967.The area is still referred to as Judea and Samaria by some Israeli groups, based on the historical regional names from ancient times. In 1980, Israel annexed East Jerusalem. Israel has never annexed the West Bank or Gaza Strip, and the United Nations has demanded the â€Å"termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for an acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force† and that Israeli forces withdraw â€Å"from territories occupied in the recent conflict† – the meaning and intent of the latter phrase is disputed. See Interpretations.It has been the position of Israel that the most Arab-populated parts of West Bank (without major Jewish settlements), and the entire Gaza Strip must eventually be part of an independent Palestinian State. However, the precise borders of this state are in question. At Camp David, for example, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Yasser Arafat an opportunity to establish an independent Palestinian State composed of 92% of the West Bank, Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, and the entire Gaza Strip and dismantling of most settlements. Yasser Arafat rejected the proposal without providing a counter-offer. A subsequent settlement proposed by President Clinton offered Palestinian sovereignty over 94 to 96 percent of the West Bank but was similarly rejected.Some Palestinians claim they are entitled to all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Israel says it is justified in not ceding all this land, because of security concerns, and also because the lack of any valid diplomatic agreement at the time means that ownership and boundaries of this land is open for discussion. Palestinians claim any reduction of this claim is a severe deprivation of their rights. In negotiations, they claim that any moves to reduce the boundaries of this land are a hostile move against their key interests. Israel considers this land to be in dispute, and feels the purpose of negotiations is to define what the final borders will be.Other Palestinian groups, such as Hamas, have in the past insisted that Palestinians must control not only the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, but also all of Israel proper. For this reason, Hamas has viewed the peace process â€Å"as religiously forbidden and politically inconceivable†. Control of the Air Space During the Camp David Summit during the summer of 2000, American military experts raised the question of whether the Israeli demand for control of a unified air space over all the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River was ess ential. Among the justifications provided by Israeli representatives was the danger of aerial terrorism. The Israeli explained their need to be prepared in the event of a suicide attack, carried out by a civilian air craft laden with explosives.Access to the Israelis air space from the Mediterranean sea to the west is permitted only to planes that have identified themselves and have been identified before they come within 100meters of Israel The Palestinians have demanded control over the Kalandia (Atarot) airfield in Jerusalem, to have it become the international airport of the Palestinian state. They also intend to establish additional airports for internal Palestinian air traffic. Israel opposes handing over Atarot airfield to the Palestinians since a Palestinian airport adjacent to Israel’s capital poses an unacceptable risk. The operation of a Palestinian airport in the West Bank would also entail substantial risks – both in terms of security and in terms of fligh t safety. Israel would lack the sufficient flight safety.Israel would lack the sufficient response time required to intercept a hostile response time required to intercept a hostile plane on a mission to attack an Israeli target. In addition, there is the danger of traffic overload in the international corridor between Israel and Jordan, and an overlap of activity (circling) involving Ben-Gurion Airport, Israeli military airports, and civilian airports in the West Bank. The Palestinians repeatedly argue that they The Palestinians repeatedly argue that they insist that peace will bring security. Therefore believe their own interests take precedence over Israel’s. Conversely, Israel views its security as a necessary condition for maintaining peace and stability, and cannot agree to proposals that would base its vital security needs solely on diplomatic agreements.It is only through a mutual understanding of the other party’s needs – and by building an effective co ordination apparatus to provide fitting solutions to demands on both sides – that a stable and viable agreement can be implemented. In light of the special time, space and topographical conditions of the area, it is not possible to divide the airspace and the electromagnetic spectrum between Israel and a future Palestinian state. For both of these, unified solutions are