Potential ranges of consequences of a development failure Essay

The concept of society and culture has a long history associated with it, similar to the most other aspects of social science. The culture has always progressively developed with time, and is an indication of â€Å"improvement†. However, there have been doubts with the quality of the progress, and how has the so-called development helped in evolving the culture into a successful social structure. There is a school of thought that believes that development of societies and culture has only resulted in failure. The failed development has had quite adverse consequences over the society too. Success or failure of a project is dependent on the policies taken towards the process of development. In today’s world where most development projects are government initiatives with political motives, the word â€Å"development† can be often associated with failure, keeping in mind the complete social structure and culture of the particular region. In the book, â€Å"Whose Development? An Ethnography of Aid† the authors Emma Crewe and Elizabeth Harrison raise the ultimate question in the very first line: â€Å"Is development a failure? † If the third world countries, especially in Asia and Africa, are considered, the development projects had been undertaken over fifty years ago, and yet there is poverty, hunger and lack of education every where. So, the question that automatically comes up is how development has affected the people in half a century? The so-called development projects have only made the rich nations richer, and the poor poorer. Crewe and Harrison also believes that the success or failure of a development depends upon the gap between the project plans, and their final outcomes. Often, the field staff has not always been able to implement the plans accordingly, resulting in the failure of the overall project. However, going deeper into the issues of field workers, Crewe and Harrison feels that it the opportunities and limitations provided by the society and the staffing organization, that influences the choices or decisions taken by the field staffs. This in turn influences the worker’s field-level activity and thus development failure can stem from the lack of attention to the field-level workers. According to them, the bureaucratic approach to implementation of the project leads to such development failures, and often results in increased power imbalances, and a predetermined section of the society will rise up to take control and would discourage any flexibility in the society. On the other hand, James Ferguson takes another approach to the development failures, where he particularly documents the failure of the Lesotho project. The project, which started off as a â€Å"livestock project† grew in magnitude with time, and soon the plan was to develop a new society out of the mountainous region, with means of arable agriculture in the mountains. Eventually, the whole â€Å"development† project failed. The author attributes this failure to the lack of a common purpose. The plans grew in stature but it diverted from the original purpose. This lack of understanding between the government and the development officials led to the failure of the project. The main aim of the project should have been to maintain the livestock without much of human intervention. However, with foreign aids coming in for the project, the evil intentions of the government surfaced, and a complete social transformation was planned. The author feels that the foreign aids led to the eventual consequence of the failed project. After ten years of commitment, the costly project did nothing to enhance the living standards of the people in the region, and it is claimed that the quality of village life has actually declined as a result of the pullout of the project. The project might not have done any good to the people, but the roads that were made during the implementation helped the Lesotho government in gaining a stronger position in the region. The case of Rwanda genocide provides an insight on the consequences of development failures. Peter Uvin, author of the book â€Å"Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda† documents the reasons that led to the eventual genocide, and how it was the result of irresponsible actions of aid providing institutions. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) had kept on providing funds and aids to the government of Rwanda without any investigation of the social situation in the nation. Over the years, the aid had kept increasing, and finally resulted in the government-sponsored genocide of the Tutsi by the Hutus. The author feels that the aid given by the institutions promoted violence in the region. The basic aim was to help in the development of the African region, but the purpose was not sufficient enough, as the aiding institutions should have looked deeper into the social and cultural trends of the society. The institutions failed to implement their development plans properly, which not only led to a development failure, but also gave rise to a catastrophic disaster, which took away 500,000 lives approximately. This is also the largest genocide incident registered in the history, and it is quite alarming to see how the failure of a â€Å"development† project could lead to such a destruction of society and culture. Mary B. Anderson, in her book â€Å"Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace-or War† presents a similar approach as Peter Uvin, where she provides an insight on how international assistance can become a factor in a conflict-affected area. According to her, outside help, aimed at development of a certain region, can either be helpful in resolving a conflict or prolong the conflict by helping a particular group involved in the conflict. Anderson believes that it is not possible for international assistance to remain separate from the conflict. Most assistance is given with the purpose of reducing tensions in conflict settings, and helps the region to develop. However, these development initiatives can turn into a failure, which would mean that the aid is actually reinforcing the conflict in the region. She urges to aid providers to take a step back, and look closely how the aid might have a negative effect on the conflict. The impact that is created by the aids often decides the success and failure of its developmental purpose. If the impact is destructive, the conflict increases, and leads to war instead of the desired peace. Through these four books, the authors provide a similar aspect to the cause of development failure: external aid. In spite of the fact that external aid is mostly essential for development to take place, it is also important to carry on the implementation in a proper way. While Crewe, Harrison and Anderson specify the general effects of such development failures, Ferguson and Uvin has presented similar views with the help of specific development failure cases. The instances given in all the four books maintain the importance of local aspects while planning a development project for a particular region. The social, political and economic trends are to be studied carefully before implementing a development idea. The consequences are mostly devastating, and reach out to the society and often result in power imbalance and discrimination. References Crewe, Emma & Harrison, Elizabeth. Whose Development? An Ethnography of Aid. London: Zed Books Ferguson, James 1994. The Anti-Politics Machine: Development, DePoliticization, and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Uvin, Peter 1998. Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press Anderson, M. 1999. Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace-or War. London: Lynne Rienner Coletta, Amy. Book review on Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda. Praxis: Fletcher Journal of Development Studies A. M. Hassan, Fareed. Lesetho. African Development Bank: Operations Evaluation Department. O’Reilly, Kathleen. Responding to Intervention: Gender, Knowledge and Authority.

Netw410 Week2

Lab Report 1. What are the business goals? (10 points) Business Goals for this project include addressing the growth of on-campus and online students. To accomplish these goals a centralized server located in new IT wing of the administration building providing online backup of all data. Replacing the PBX-based telephone system with a VoIP based system and connecting all buildings providing high-speed wired network connection for all facility offices will be implemented along with controlled wireless access for students.Wireless access for students and general population will be provided outside the building. These steps are necessary to build a solid infrastructure for the network and allow for and to plan growth. Funding has been established to purchase land 15 miles away and as the campus expands this will be the next site for expansion.The actual business goals for this project is to offer new and better services and support, open the network to key constituents, build relationsh ips and information accessibility to a new level, as a basis for the network organizational model, avoid business disruption caused by network security problems, avoid business disruption caused by natural and unnatural disaster, modernize outdated technologies and reduce telecommunications and network costs, including overhead associated with separate networks for voice, data and video. 2.What are the business constraints? (10 points) The business constraints are like all companies and they include budgets, personnel, policies and schedule. None of which have been defined in our design lab scenario. Budget costs include equipment purchases, software licensing, maintenance agreement and staff training. Personnel constraints related to the business constraints to be considered include the availability of existing trained personnel and if existing personnel must receive additional training to implement and maintain the proposed network changes.Policies of the organization must be cons idered and since this a community college determination of protocols, standards and vendor selection must be determined. The final business constraint addressed should include the schedule of the implementation as not to interfere with current operation by faculty, staff and students. 3. What are the technical goals? (10 points) Technical goals of the project include improving responsiveness and throughput of the network as many users are added along with additional applications, especially the VoIP based system.Simplifying network management is obtained by centralizing the server(s) and backup in a newly built IT wing in the administration building. By this centralization and backup improvement should be obtained to the security and reliability of applications and data along with decreased expected downtime. By offering high speed wired network connections to each faculty office and controlled wireless access for the students modernizing outdated technologies shines as one of the t echnical goals. With all these proposed improvements scalability of the network is achieved. . What are the technical constraints? (10 points) The current system equipment must coexist with the new equipment and as already discovered there must be increased bandwidth. Existing wiring should either be upgraded to accommodate upgraded speeds. The new or expanded network must not interfere with the current applications. Any new network or expanded network should also ensure IPv6 compatibility. 5. Diagram the existing network. (10 points) The actual Visio drawing is also submitted 6. Describe the existing network traffic. (10 points)Current network traffic is at 73% or more utilization based on a five minute average with sustained spikes to 100% on the Cisco FastHub 400s installed in each building. Approximately 42 students are logged into each wireless access point. This is creating lag times and most assuredly dropped packets. While dropping packets with data is troublesome it is disa strous for voice or video. According to our text there should be no shared Ethernet segments that are saturated (no more than 40% network utilization. ) The current system is working at 73% utilization. Network traffic must be improved. 7.Complete this table for all of the applications that currently run over the network. (10 points) Application Name| Type| New or Existing| Criticality| Comments| Google Apps for Education| Email / Web Site| Existing| X| | MS Office| Productivity| Existing| X| | Web Browser (IE)| Productivity| Existing| X| | Catalog / Checkout System / Library| Database| Existing| | Administration Building only| Data Share| Productivity| Existing| X| | Terminal Emulation Program (AS400) | Productivity| Existing| X| Administration Building only| Blackboard Learning | Management System (CRM)| NEW| X| Internet Connection|

Journal about working people Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Journal about working people - Coursework Example Burnout is associated with increased risk for development of cardiovascular disease. It is therefore particularly important to check the level stress among employed people. Employees can begin by determining whether they suffer from burnout or not. This can be through an assessment of mental and physical conditions of welfare i.e. anxiety, headaches etc. individuals can also prevent stress by first appreciating that this are tough economic times, change expectations and taking time to exercise. In cases where burnout is already present; employees could reverse the situation by striking a balance work and personal life. Meditating also helps lower the amount of stress hormones being released by our bodies. Also connecting with others and sharing experiences is important in managing stress. For managers, trying to let people work on their own, concentrating less on business targets and having other people know that they are valued will help reduce stress levels. In conclusion therefore the modern workplace is a major source of stress and stressful lives can result into medical conditions such cardiovascular disease, impotence and many others. It is important therefore for individuals to accept the conditions as they are, change their expectations worry less about their jobs. Employers should also motivate employees and take care of their psychological needs to increase

Reason and Faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reason and Faith - Essay Example Faith is the opposite of reason, and it does not require any evidence for an individual to believe in a given issue or authority. On this basis, faith is a demonstration of assent or trust (Albl, 22). Faith, therefore, involves an act of commitment that emanates from the believer, in relation to a given belief. Religious faith involves the belief of an individual to a supernatural deity or God. The root cause of this faith always comes from an individual revelation of God, or the workings of God (The Bible, 3). On this note, revelation can either be direct, personally experiencing the powers of God. It can also be indirect, that is experiencing the powers of God through the testimonies of other people. Faith that emanates from religion is of two types, namely evidence insensitive faith, and evidence sensitive faith. Evidence sensitive faith is built upon by demonstrable truths, which includes testimonies brought forth by believers or people who ascribe to the same Faith. Mueller (27) denotes that this type of faith is also built on the teachings and lives of people who believed in God. On the other hand, Mueller (29) denotes that evidence-insensitive faith is built upon the individual experiences of a person with his God. All (26) explains that it is possible for a person to believe in God, through faith, or through reason. This paper takes a stand that the Bible is the main book that provides guidance on an individual’s Christian faith. The reason is only used to confirm and provide support for the various religious beliefs. Prickett and Robert (36) denote that the main factor that led to the problems associated with reason and faith comes from the concept of revelation. All religious beliefs are based on revelations. Revelations always entail an individual’s experiences with God, which in turn they are described through sacred pronunciations (Prickett and Robert, 33).  Ã‚  

Iran's Nuclear weapons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Iran's Nuclear weapons - Essay Example It is therefore very important for the US to carefully evaluate policy options available in order to take the most appropriate possible course of action on Iran’s issue. Iran is a signatory to the NPT and thus agreeable to international regulations with regard nuclear proliferation, Iran has always been open and permitted inspection of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA and has constantly maintained that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful reasons permitted in the NPT. There is no evidence to convince anyone that Iran’s program is intended at developing weapons to attack any nation or the US for that matter. Additionally we have seen our forces go into Iraq on grounds which were later to be proved false. Most important to consider is the fact that Iran is located in a region rich of oil which very crucial to the US and world economy hence an incursion on Iran will definitely interfere with the flow of oil at such a delicate time when a slight increase in oil price could take the world economy back to recession. With this background information in mind therefore the United States have four key policy options consider on approaching Iran. The first option is employ military action as the threat appears real and close. America should therefore take action on its own to stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons and passing to other nations. But the Iraq experience tells us that war is more costly that good and therefore our effort should be geared at ending the problem and not going to war. It should be noted that Iran does not have a history of aggression without provocation, it won’t be easy to eliminate the nuclear facilities, and military action will just compound the issue and affect oil flow in the gulf region. Another option is to use the American military and overthrow government in Iran since it is not possible to dissuade them from

Art Management-festival comparison Literature review

Art Management-festival comparison - Literature review Example Additionally the works of the extremely powerful artists of those eras, like Gyula Kaesz and Lajos Kozma, the show displays the furniture of such, all but forgotten presently, which was once very admired, designers as Gyà ¶rgy Frà ¤nkel, Zsuzsa Kovà ¡cs, Pà ¡l Và ¡gà ³, Gyà ¶rgy Kà ³rà ³dy and Kà ¡roly Nagy, as well as those equipments that make a living space a residence, like textiles, lighting fittings and ornaments. Music Festivals are specially organized events oriented towards the culture of not only domestic people, but also for international visitors. It is also focused towards the leisure time of both the general and business to business customers. Music Festivals are known as culturally oriented tourism (Koutoulas, N.d.). Although cultural tourism shows a little favoritism towards the â€Å"elite† culture and associated people, much of the contemporary culture revolves around â€Å"folk† culture (Walle, 1998). A cultural tourism event attracts not only large diversified customers, but it also attracts potentially lucrative sponsors and in turn, the sponsors can also communicate to a large number of target audiences (Walle, 1998). Music festivals can be understood as a result derived from the increasing demand of culture along with increased availability of time for leisure and holidays (Frey, 1994). It was observed that number of foreign visitors in Finland was increased in the year of 1980-1990. It is from that time, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, based in Finland, went into the pre-internationalization process. After 1990s, it is observed that after the sudden increase in the year 1990s following by the deep recession, consumers’ willingness to join music festivals had also been changed (Tikkanen, 2008, pp.127-133). From the year of establishment in the year 1970 to 1975, it was known as â€Å"Local Chamber Music Festival†. At that time, due to scarce financial and labor resources, voluntary

Analysis of White-Collared criminals with Power Theory Essay

Analysis of White-Collared criminals with Power Theory - Essay Example Chase Manhattan is now part of New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets. Crime: Bennett is charged with defrauding investors of Refco Inc., a financial trading company to a tune of around 550 million Dollars by concealing the information that an "INVESTOR" is due to the company. In this case, the unnamed investor is Bennett himself. Bennett takes the company's money on roller coaster with junctions being Liberty CCS, RGH, Refco, and the money finally lands at RGH, which is owned by Bennett. When this roller coaster ride of money is bought into light in October 2005 which consequently leads to his arrest and plunge of 45% of the company's share value resulting in a $1bn loss in market value, he then surrendered around 450 million dollars and thus enabling himself of pleading not guilty to the court. A perfect case of White-Collared crime. Gelegenheit macht Diebe - Opportunity creates Thieves - indicating that it is opportunity that causes us to misbehave, not any particular sort of depravity. And opportunity is, of course, nothing but another word for the seemingly critical volume of power. Even a confirmed thief will not steal if he has no chance of getting away with it. On the other hand, even an honest man will misbehave if he has the opportunity, the power to do so. 2) For no one co

New Waterford Girl Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

New Waterford Girl - Essay Example The feminist concept of subjectivity can be seen in Mooney's character as Mooney Pottie is feeling suppressed by the small-mindedness that surrounds her. Seen as freakish by her family for her incessant reading and a desire to move to New York, Mooney refuses to temper her thirst for knowledge and attend the booze-fueled make out parties her classmates live for. Enter Lou, a tough boxer's daughter from the Bronx who moves into town with her dance teacher mother. Before long, Lou is helping Moonie see the town through new eyes, improving Moonie's social life in the process. But when her sympathetic teacher, Cecil Sweeney, informs Mooney that he has gotten her accepted at an Arts High School in New York, she is prepared to do whatever it takes to escape her oppressive origins. As Mooney, will do everything to get out of New Waterford so the assistance comes in the form of a new neighbor, Lou, whose family moves there from New York. The two girls devise a plot to get Mooney out of New Waterford by ruining her repute, persuading everyone she's pregnant (she's never really had sex), and getting her shipped off to have the baby. All through the film there is a subplot where Lou gets hired by local girls to blow their jerk boyfriends for some crime or another. The belief is that if they're culpable, they'll fall - and nearly all of them do. The film is a magnificent story of two independent girls being true to themselves. The only thing on youthful Moonie Pottie's mind is to get out of small town New Waterford. She imagines of being in a cosmopolitan city like Paris, Berlin or New York. Her teacher (Andrew McCarthy) sees the talent in the girl, and submits her name to an arts school in NYC. When Lou, a girl from New York and the offspring of a disgraced boxer, moves in next door, she and Moonie gradually become friends. Together they find out about themselves in this coming-of-age story set in grey and harsh Cape Breton. When Moonie gets the admission to the school in New York her parents do not allow her to be there, and Moonie comes up with her own shocking scheme to get out of New Waterford Balaban is Moonie Pottie, a 15-year-old loner in this small coal-mining town in the mid-1970s. The town is poor, the housing overcrowded Moonie is one of five siblings and a sister-in-law in the house -- and the citizens are good, God-fearing Catholics. The only girls who flee New Waterford are those who are pregnant, and they leave to have their children away from discomfiture before returning. Moonie thoughts of getting the hell out; she stands by the border with a cardboard sign that has "Mexico" scribbled across it, but always ends up hitching a travel with a guy who's simply driving into town. She knows all about other places through her insatiable reading, and that's part of her difficulty, really: She knows too much. Life is tolerably intolerable only through the understanding of a couple of outsiders. Moonie's hip teacher, Cecil (Andrew McCarthy) resides in a mobile home and seems to be running from life ("I don't exactly jump out of that rollaway bed in the morning," he accepts). But because he is an stranger looking in, he can full well appreciate an insider trying to get out. Then it is Lou (Tara Spencer-Nairn), a girl from the Bronx who has shifted to New Waterford with her mother (Cathy Moriarty), because "that's where the tracks end."

Should the united states pull out of afghanistan Essay

Should the united states pull out of afghanistan - Essay Example The initial dispatch of troops to Afghanistan was to either capture or kill Osama bin Laden who was the master mind behind the attack and to decimate his network Al Qaeda. If this is the principal reason for the war, now that Osama bin Laden is dead and the Al Qaeda decimated to only 50 members in Afghanistan, is it not time to pull out of Afghanistan. If the reason for our continuing presence in Afghanistan is based on the lofty ideals of nation building of that strife torn country and install democracy, then it cannot be achieved since Afghanistan itself is against that concept and western type of democracy is a fallacy there. We have deployed 100000 troops in Afghanistan and lost nearly 1600 American lives so far and 11541 have been wounded and maimed, many of them seriously and their lives will never be normal. Having accomplished the mission for what they have been sent for, the American troops are longing to come back home. It has been reported that there is no purpose served for prolonging the troops stay over there. The war has a devastating effect on the life of personnel leaving them traumatized. About 25 percent of US army personnel serving in Afghanistan suffer from traumatic stress disorder and close to 16 percent of troops is under medication for mental illness. According to Andrew.J.Belvich â€Å"American Soldiers are now said to face the prospect of perpetual conflict†( Andrew J Belvich). The cost of this longest war in Afghanistan becomes unmanageable with $120 billion a year or $10 billion per month. The Unites State has pumped in $18.8 billion as foreign aid and so far has spent $444 billion on the expenses. The amount so far spent has aggravated our fiscal problem. Our federal government has burgeoning national debt of $1.5 trillion this year which has to be taken care of. Unless we attend to this problem the nation could default on its debt and debt servicing. If we pull out from

Fashion and False Hype Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fashion and False Hype - Essay Example What do you plan to accomplish with this essay? What do you hope the reader takes away from this argument? This is intended to illuminate the truth behind the fascination of fashion trends and fashion industry. During the research for this Rogerian essay, I came across with some critical aspects regarding the social inequality and individual’s social behaviour in which fashion plays a significant role. I aimed to deliver the grave negative factors which fashion industry implies on society. 2. What did you learn from completing this assignment? Did you experience a new understanding of the topic? Did you change your perspective after completing the research? I learnt about the ideals of modernity which is highly constructed on the bases of the principle of equality. In addition, I was exposed to the social role of fashion in our lives which have significantly negative impact on our society. Most importantly, I found the alternative ways to spend money rather on following fashio n trends and wasting too much money on fashion wears. 3. What difficulties did you encounter during the research, writing, or editing phases of the assignment? There were few difficulties mainly in the understanding of the criticality which this argument contains. The biggest reason is my presuppositions about fashion and fashion industry which were well conforming to the developed stature of fashion. The deliverance of the argument in which fashion leads to self centric thinking in writing was a challenging task for me. 4. What did you enjoy about this assignment? The most interesting factor in this assignment was the involvement of both, supporting arguments and the critiques. The aspects which are the positive aspects of fashion are, on the other hand, have negative aspects which are more intense than the positive implications. 5. What made you decide to write about this particular topic?  Is this a topic that you are discussing in another course?  Is this a topic that concer ns you in particular? As we all know that fashion is one of the most important parts of our lives. My interest in fashion leads me to explore about it and the research made me develop the argument against fashion and fashion industry. I am immensely concerned with fashion which made me chose this topic for this assignment. 6. Is there anything else you would like for me to know before reading your essay? It poses an intense critique regarding fashion in contemporary world and it largely deals with social and humanistic aspects which are associated with fashion and fashion industry. [Student’s Name] [Instructor’s Name] [Course Title] [Date] Fashion and False Hype Introduction and Claim Fashion has become one of the most necessary industries in the contemporary world of modern age. Numerous trends in fashion are being acquired by millions of individuals in concordance with their regions, religions and cultures. Almost every single individual in this world aims to appear good and attractive. This desire of millions is fulfilled with those trends of fashion which are produced by the global fashion industry. From a child to teenager and from a young adult to middle aged individual, every single individual spends large amounts on meeting the fashion trends in the contemporary times. As fashion has become an essential part of today’s life, there are numerous negative aspects which are associated with the fashion industry. It consumes a good amount of time and money to keep one’s self updated with the latest trends of fashion along with the unjust which is associated with the labours working in the fashion industry (Cross 155-161). Despite the fact that fashion has become an essential part of the contemporary life but the number of negative aspects involved in fashion propose that the importance of

Emergency management Essay Example for Free

Emergency management Essay The safety of child will always be my number one priority. I will always try my best to protect children in my care from hurting themselves, however, accidents do happen. My premises have been checked and they meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage in England. I also regularly review, update and practise my safety routines, including fire drills. As a registered childminder, I am legally required to have a valid first-aid certificate. I can administer basic first-aid treatment, and my first-aid box is clearly labelled and easily accessible. It is stored in my utility room. Parent contact numbers are with the first-aid box. †¢ I hold written permission from parents in Childs Record Folder to seek emergency treatment for their child if it is needed. †¢ All accidents will be recorded in an accident book. †¢ As a registered provider I must notify Ofsted of any serious accidents, illnesses or injuries or the death of any child whilst in my care and any action I may have taken within 14 days of an incident occurring. If I am in need of support or advice regarding a serious illness or incident involving a child in my care I may contact National Childminding Association who will log information regarding the incident with regard to their safeguarding policy. A NCMA designated officer will be assigned to my case and all the information given to them will be kept confidentially unless their appears to be a child protection issue which will be reported accordingly. If an accident or incident involving a child in my care may result in an insurance claim I will contact my public liability insurance provider to discuss my case and be allocated a claim number. This may involve discussing details of the child in my care with a third party. I also have an arrangement with another registered childminder to provide emergency back-up cover if necessary. In the event of an accident whilst child in my care: †¢ First, I will reassure the injured child while making sure that the other children in my care are safe. This may mean strapping a baby in a buggy or sitting an older child somewhere where I can see them. †¢ Then, if possible, I will deal with the accident. If not, I will ring 999 for help. †¢ If I have to accompany or take a child to hospital, I will either take the other children with me, or call my emergency back-up cover. This will be another registered childminder or known responsible adult. These people will be known to you (please see below) If there is an accident or emergency, my emergency back-up cover may contact you and you will be expected to collect your child straight away. If I manage to deal with the accident myself, then I will tell the affected child’s parents immediately. If I accompany or take a child to hospital, I will contact their parents and ask them to meet me at the hospital. If I have an accident, I will get the nearest responsible adult to help, while my emergency back-up people are being contacted. After every accident, however minor I will: †¢ Record in my accident book †¢ Ask you to sign the report and then provide you with a copy If the incident requires any medical treatment: †¢ Inform Ofsted within 14 days of an incident occurring †¢ Inform my Insurance †¢ Contact the NCMA for advice/support In the event of an accident in the Childs home: †¢ Parents must inform me on child arrival of any accident at home and record it in the back of the accident book. †¢ If I will see an evidence of injury on a child which has not occurred whilst in my care and has not been reported to me, parents will be asked for information on the incident and instructed to write in the accident book I will do my best at all times to make sure the children in my care are safe, reassured and kept calm. Emergency back-up cover |Back-up registered childminder |Known responsible adult I have read and understand the Accident and emergency policy. I give my permission for the named emergency back-up people to have my contact details for use in an emergency. I give permission for my child ________________________ to be taken to hospital and be given emergency treatment providing every effort has been made to contact me. |Childminder’s name | | |Childminder’s signature | | |Date | | |Parent(s)’ name | | |Parent(s)’ signature | | |Date | | | | | |Date policy was written | 27/07/2011 | |Date policy due for review | 27/07/2012 | Illness and emergencies policy I appreciate that as a working parent you need to be able to go to work, however if your child is unwell then they will be bettered cared for in their own home. It is my policy to keep children safe when they are in my care, promote good health and take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection within my childcare setting: †¢ I will promote hand-washing in warm soapy water before eating or handling food and after using the toilet †¢ Each child will also have access to kitchen towel, which I will provide for each child under my care †¢ I will promote the use of tissues for children with coughs and minor colds †¢ All children in my setting who are excluded due to having an illness or an infectious disease such as a severe cold or stomach upset will not be allowed to return until they have been free from illness for 48 hours. This is in order to minimise the risk of the transmission of an infection to other children, myself or members of my family †¢ If a child arrives at my setting with a disease or illness I believe to be infectious or that poses a risk to the other children in the setting or myself I will expect the child not to attend my setting until they have been well for the recommended period of time (In accordance with the contract agreed with parents I expect to be paid for the child’s place even if they are excluded from my setting due to an illness or infectious disease) Children and babies can often become unwell with very little warning, if this happened whilst child in my care: †¢ I will contact you and expect you to pick up your child immediately and not return to the setting until your child well again †¢ If you cannot then an emergency contact will be called instead †¢ All parents are expected to provide emergency contact numbers other than their own in case they are unavailable to come and collect their child themselves I will inform the parents of the other children in my setting if there a child I care for has a diagnosed infectious disease If I, or one of the members of my family have a confirmed infectious disease, I will inform you as soon as I am able. (As I will not be able to offer my childminding service I will not charge you for the time the service is unavailable, as agreed with you in our contract) I am happy to care for a child with common coughs and colds providing they can join in with a normal day and do not need medication I will not accept a child with a high temperature as this is usually the first sign of illness and a very high temperature can sometimes lead to convulsions (Please do not bring your child if they are obviously ill as I will refuse care. Remember that I will not be able to give your child the extra atten tion that they need whilst care for other children.) I will ensure Ofsted is notified of any serious accident, illness or injury to any child whilst in my care, and the action taken in respect of it. Notification must be made as soon as is reasonably practicable, but in any event within fourteen days of the incident occurring. If you knowingly bring your child when ill this is a breach of contract and trust and in serious cases could result in termination of our contract By signing this policy you are agree that you have read and adhere to Illness and emergencies policy. |Childminder’s name | | |Childminder’s signature | | |Date | | |Parent(s)’ name | | |Parent(s)’ signature | | |Date | | | | | |Date policy was written | 27/07/2011 | |Date policy due for renewal | 27/07/2012 | Behaviour policy Behaviour policy statement: I aim to offer a quality childcare service for children and parents. I recognise the need to set out reasonable and appropriate limits to help manage the behaviour of children in my care. †¢ By providing a happy, safe environment, the children in my care will be encouraged to develop social skills to help them be accepted and welcome in society as they grow up. †¢ I do not, and will not, administer physical or any other form of punishment with the intention of causing pain or discomfort, nor any kind of humiliating or hurtful treatment to any child in my care. †¢ I endorse positive discipline as a more effective way of setting boundaries for children. Behaviour Procedure: †¢ I keep up to date with behaviour management issues and relevant legislation by taking regular training from NCMA and Early Years Service and by reading relevant publications, such as Who Minds? †¢ I agree methods to manage children’s behaviour with parents before the placement starts. These are discussed with parents during initial visits before the contract is signed to ensure appropriate care can be provided. A copy of the house rules will be given to the parent to encourage positive behaviour. †¢ Wherever possible I try to meet parents’ requests for the care of their children according to their values and practices. Records of these requirements are agreed and kept attached to the child record forms. These records are revisited and updated during regular reviews with parents. †¢ I expect parents to inform me of any changes in the child’s home circumstances, care arrangements or any other change which may affect the child’s behaviour such as a new baby, parents’ separation, divorce, new partner or any bereavement. All information shared will be kept confidential unless there appears to be a child protection issue. †¢ I offer regular review meetings with parents to discuss their child’s care and any issues or concerns, preferably when the child is not present. If I do not share the same first language as the child’s parent, I will find a way of communicating effectively with them. This may include seeking guidance from the local early years team. †¢ I work together with parents to make sure there is consistency in the way the children are cared for. A consistent approach benefits the child’s welfare and helps ensure that the child is not confused. †¢ I will only physically intervene, and possibly restrain, a child to prevent an accident, such as a child running into the road, or to prevent an injury or damage. †¢ All significant incidents are recorded in an incident book and will be shared and discussed with the parents of the child concerned so that together we can work to resolve any behavioural issues. †¢ From time to time children will have difficulty learning to deal with their emotions and feelings and this is a normal part of child development. I will acknowledge these feelings and try to help children to find constructive solutions in liaison with their parents. †¢ Distracting and re-directing children’s activities are used as a way of discouraging unwanted behaviour. †¢ I encourage responsibility by talking to children about choices and their possible consequences. †¢ I aim to be firm and consistent so that children know and feel secure within the boundaries I set. †¢ I will respond positively to children who constantly seek att ention or are disruptive. †¢ I will help children maintain their self-esteem by showing I disapprove of their bad behaviour not the child themselves. I encourage appropriate behaviour by: †¢ Setting a good example, I aim to be a positive role model as children copy what they see. Children learn values and behaviour from adults. †¢ I readily praise, approve and reward wanted behaviour, such as sharing, to encourage it to be repeated. Using praise helps to show that I value the child and it helps to build their self esteem. †¢ I praise children to their parents and other people when they have behaved as expected. †¢ I try to be consistent when saying â€Å"no† and explain reasons why it is not appropriate and considered unwanted behaviour. †¢ My expectations are flexible and realistic and are adjusted to the age, level of understanding, maturity and stage of development of the child. †¢ I try to involving children in setting and agreeing house rules. Children are guided away from doing things which: †¢ Are dangerous or hurtful or offensive to someone else †¢ Are dangerous to the child †¢ Will make the child unwelcome or unacceptable to other people †¢ Damage other people’s property. By signing this policy you are agree that you have read and agree with my behaviour policy. |Childminder’s name | | |Childminder’s signature | | |Date | | |Parent(s)’ name | | |Parent(s)’ signature | | |Date | | | | | |Date policy was written | 27/07/2011 | |Date policy due for renewal | 27/07/2012 | Safeguarding policy Safeguarding policy statement: My first responsibility and priority is towards the children in my care. If I have any cause for concern I will report it, following the local Safeguarding Children Board procedures in England. I understand that child abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, neglect or a mixture of these. I must notify Ofsted in England of any allegations of abuse, which are alleged to have taken place while the child is in my care. Procedure: †¢ I keep up to date with child protection issues and relevant legislation by taking regular training courses and by reading relevant publications. This helps me be aware of the signs of abuse or neglect and what to do if I have a concern. †¢ I have copies of, and am familiar with, the local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Every six months I check that I have the latest version of the relevant procedures. †¢ I have a copy of the relevant booklets and guidance; I have read them and understand them. If I am concerned about a child’s welfare, I may contact the local authority, the NSPCC, the National Childminding Association (NCMA), or other relevant support services for advice, providing this does not affect confidentiality. Child protection concerns that could identify a particular child are kept confidential and only shared with people who need to know this information. Parents must notify me of any concerns they have about their child and any accidents, incidents or injuries affecting the child, which will be recorded. I work together with parents to make sure the care of their child is consistent. If I notice: †¢ significant changes in behaviour †¢ unexpected bruising or marks †¢ any comments made which give me cause for concern †¢ deterioration in general wellbeing which causes concern I will implement the local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures in England, without delay to minimise any risk to the child. I will call the local social services’ duty desk and follow it up with a letter within 48 hours. I will keep a factual record of the concern and will ask the parents for an explanation, providing it would not put the child at risk. The national standards for registered childminders in England and Wales require me to let Ofsted know of any concerns that I have reported without delay. If a child tells me that they or another child is being abused, I will: †¢ Show that I have heard what they are saying, and that I take their allegations seriously †¢ Encourage the child to talk, but I will not prompt them or ask them leading questions. I will not interrupt when a child is recalling significant events and will not make a child repeat their account †¢ Explain what actions I must take, in a way that is appropriate to the age and understanding of the child †¢ Write down what I have been told using exact words where possible †¢ Make a note of the date, time, place and people who were present at the discussion †¢ Then report my concerns immediately to the duty social worker who has the experience and responsibility to make an assessment of the situation. If an allegation is made against me, I will report it to Ofsted and social services following the Safeguarding Children Board procedures in England. I will also contact NCMA’s safeguarding children service on for advice and support. In all instances I will record: †¢ Child’s full name and address †¢ Date and time of the record †¢ Factual details of the concern, for example bruising, what the child said, who was present †¢ Details of any previous concerns †¢ Details of any explanations from the parents †¢ Any action taken such as speaking to parents. It is not my responsibility to attempt to investigate the situation myself. By signing this policy you are agree that you have read and agree with my Safeguarding Policy |Childminder’s name | | |Childminder’s signature | | |Date | | |Parent(s)’ name | | |Parent(s)’ signature | | |Date | | | | | |Date policy was written | 27/07/2011 | |Date policy due for renewal | 27/07/2012 | Useful telephone numbers NCMA allegations and complaints service for anyone concerned about the welfare of a child 0845 880 0044 NCMA Safeguarding Children Service 0845 880 0044 NSPCC child protection helpline – 24-hour helpline for people worried about a child 0808 800 5000 Equal Opportunities Policy Equal opportunities statement: I always aim to offer a quality childcare. I give all children in my care the opportunity to reach their full potential. Sometimes this means adapting an activity to the child’s ability and stage of development, providing additional resources or giving one child more attention and support than others during a particular activity or routine. I value and respect the different racial origins, religions, cultures and languages in a multi-ethnic society valuing all children equally, and treating each with equal concern and without discrimination. All children in my care are given the opportunity to play with all the toys (subject to health and safety with children under 3 years of age). No toys are just for girls or just for boys. I try to ensure my toys reflect positive images of children and people from different cultures and with different abilities. I have toys and resources that challenge stereotypical ideas on what careers are open to men and women. Equal Opportunities procedure: No child in my care will be discriminated against in anyway, whether for their skin colour, culture, gender, ability or religion. I will challenge any remarks that I feel are inappropriate. I will make sure that I actively promote equality of opportunity and anti discriminatory practices for all children: †¢ I encourage the children in my care to learn more about their own culture and to find out about the culture and religions of other children. We do in this in a fun way through sharing books, colouring sheets, cooking and eating food from around the world and celebrating special festivals. I provide resources such as woks and chopsticks, dressing up clothes, crayons and pencils. †¢ I encourage the children to develop a healthy respect of each other’s differences and to value everyone as an individual. †¢ I encourage Parents to share with us any festivals, special occasions or artefacts, which may enhance the children’s learning and understanding. By signing this policy you are agree that you have read and agree with my Equal Opportunities Policy |Childminder’s name | | |Childminder’s signature | | |Date | | |Parent(s)’ name | | |Parent(s)’ signature | | |Date | | | | | |Date policy was written | 27/07/2011 | |Date policy due for renewal | 27/07/2012 | Emergency Evacuation Procedure In order to keep the children and myself safe I have developed the following procedure to evacuate my home in the event of an emergency. This may be as a result of a fire, flooding, gas leak etc. The children will regularly practice the evacuation procedure with me so they will not be alarmed in the event of the situation being real. Practices will be carried out on different days of the week to ensure all children practice and the details recorded in the evacuation log. †¢ Sound the alarm (this is a whistle) †¢ Evacuate the children using the safest and nearest exit available (Babies and toddlers will be carried to safety) †¢ Take: o Attendance Record for the day o Contact numbers o Mobile phone †¢ Assemble across the road from the house (at the end of the garden if leaving via the rear of the house) †¢ Contact the emergency services †¢ Comfort and reassure the children †¢ Arrange safe place for the children to stay until parents can collect them †¢ Follow the instructions of the Emergency Services †¢ Do not return to the building until the Emergency Services have declared it safe to do so Unexpected Closure of Childminding Service I will do my best to provide a service for the hours and times that I have been contracted to work however very occasionally it may be necessary to close my childminding service. This may be as a result of me being unwell and therefore unable to work. If I have a cough or a cold I will continue to work, however if my illness is contagious then I will not be able to work, until I know I can not pass on the infection to the children or their parents. I will try to provide as much notice as possible if I am unable to work. There may be other occasions when I am unable to provide a service, for example: †¢ Following emergency evacuation of my premises (see evacuation policy) †¢ Loss of power to my home †¢ Mains water turned off †¢ Heating broken †¢ Flooding †¢ Medical emergency for myself or a member of my immediate family †¢ Death within the family I will advise parents as soon as I can if I am unable to provide a service. I will work with parents where possible to find temporary emergency childcare from amongst local childminders. I will not charge you if I am unable to provide a service. Childminding Safety On Outings Policy When taking Children on Outings it is essential that proper planning is done to ensure the safety of all children involved. I obtain written parental permission for all routine and special outings. I inform parents of any planned special trips for example to the coast or a local farm. I ensure that I take with me everything I may need, emergency Contact cards for the children, First Aid Kit, Nappies and changing bag (if required) spare clothes, mobile phone, drinks and a healthy snack. I have developed plans on what to do in the event of an emergency. I carry a contact card for each child. I have also a card on me that explains that I am a registered Childminder. I will make sure to organise outings to fit in with the needs of the children, and ensure that I have the necessary equipment and resources to keep them safe. Olly’s house rules My workplace is also my family home and I would expect all adults and children that I welcome in my home to treat me, my family and my belongings with respect. I have a few house rules that all children will be taught and expected to follow whilst in my home. This is for the safety and well being of everyone. †¢ We keep our coats, shoes and belongings tidied away †¢ Adults/Children leave dirty or muddy shoes at the door †¢ We wash hands after going to the toilet/touching the animals/before and after eating †¢ We like eating our meals at the table †¢ We walk in the house (Running, jumping, throwing, fighting or wrestling we enjoy when we play outdoor) †¢ Older children not allowed pick up babies or toddlers †¢ We say please, thank you and sorry when needed †¢ We will be kind to each other and look after each other †¢ We play nicely with the toys †¢ Sharing is a good thing to do and good manners should be used at all times †¢ We all walking together hading hands when out and about †¢ And we remember to have fun!!! (

Fonterra Cooporative Group Limited globalization and competitive

Fonterra Cooporative Group Limited globalization and competitive In this report is are discussing about the how the Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (Fonterra) can gain the competitive advantage in the market and what strategies has been adopted by the Fonterra company through globalization, under the finding of this report it will evaluated the SWOT analysis of Fonterra company ,by using the SWOT analysis how Fonterra can clearly know the companys key business structure and operations, history and products, strength ,weakness ,Opportunity and weakness ,beside that it also discuss about the porter five forces about how Fonterra have adopted the strategies to gain the competitive advantages in global market and how Fonterra compete with the competitor . Beside that this report also discuss about how the Fonterra adopted the total quality management, brand strategies, product repositioning and supply chain in order to sustain it success in long term Some research has been done to write this report. All the research sources are based on book, website, journal articles, and media articles. The information from the sources helped to discover how Fonterra the increase the market share in some market such as using alliances strategies in some high competitive market ,how to repositioning to gain more market share and how their establish the brand into the consumer mindset 1.0 History of Fonterra Company Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (Fonterra) owned by New Zealand dairy farmers and it representing 96 per cent of all dairy farmers in the country. As we know the Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited was established in year 2001 from the merger of the two largest cooperatives which is New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies. (http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/fonterracom/fonterra.com/our+business/fonterra+at+a+glance/about+us/our+history) through the merging within 2 companies, Fonterra gaining the monopoly control of the New Zealand domestic and export dairy industry. The headquartered of Fonterra the office is in and employs 15,600 people. Beside that Fonterra supplies nearly 40percent of the global whole milk powder (WMP) market (http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nzx-launches-milkpowder-futures-103322) and with revenue exceeding NZ$16 billion and they become one of the worlds largest dairy companies. The operating profit in year 2009 was was NZ$922 million as comp ares to the year 2008 the operating profit have been increased around NZ$ 324million .and the net income in year 2009 also increased around 73% compared to year 2008 which is NZ$244 million.( http://www.foodista.com/book/MB5XFZ2M/fonterra-co-operative-group-limited-swot-analysis) As we know Fonterra is a supplier of dairy products and dairy ingredients. It principally engages in collection, manufacture and sale of milk and milk derived products. The company supplies value added dairy products to the customers around the world. In addition it also provides dairy ingredients which include, ready-to-serve beverages, butter, ready-to-serve creams, yoghurt, cheese, milk, ice cream, desserts and.  Its ingredients are used to manufacture a wide range of dairy products for markets around the world. We know that Fonterra is a dairy and dairy ingredients supplier. It is mainly engaged in the collection, manufacturing, and milk and dairy derivative product sales. The company offers value-added dairy products to customers worldwide. In addition, it provides dairy ingredients which include ready to drink beverages, butter, ready to serve cream, cheese, milk, yogurt, desserts, pre-proofed frozen pastry, and ice cream.a its ingredients are used in the manufacture of a wide range of milk Products in world markets. Some of the brand of Fonterra product we can easily found in market such as BROWNES, Anlene, FERNLEAF, ANCHOR, SOPROLE and TIP  TOP. (^ Leo Paul Dana, Jason Schoeman (2010). An Entrepreneurial Innovation: Mega Cooperatives. Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 4 (1): 67-88. http://jbia.jp/jpeg/APJIE4-1.pdf.) 2.0 SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis can essential the sources for top level company data and information .by using the SWOT analysis we can inspects the structure of business and the operation of the company .beside that it also will provides summary analysis of the main source of revenue lines and strategy and also the key competitors and major products and services. The figure 1.0 below is the analysis the SWOT of Fonterra company Strength Have the stable and secures supply of the milk resources in long term even the global demand is outstripping supply because of the uniqueness shareholder relationship within the farmer Due to the Fonterra is merging from 2 large of company of the large company in New Zealand so they pursue growth of the economic scale with the various resources. New Zealand is a higher productivity environmental for daily product. Large number expertise worker within the industry in the company. Weaknesses Due to the relationship of the supply is the vital of company to secure supply of the milk resources. The competitor could be pinch the supplier with the better price. Because of the merge the company the resources and infrastructure are overlapping and got resistance o restructure and relocation the infrastructure and resources Too reliable on climate and ecology .less efficiencies of the productivity compare to competitor. Opportunity They can reduce the barriers of entry in most market. WTO trade negotiations due to the lowest cost suppliers. The can increase the clean green image and value added of nutrition of it product. Threat Some of the country may increase the tariffs to protect the local suppliers. Some of supplying competitor may start to adopt more global Strategy. The legal and media crisis due to some issue. Too rely on exchange rates 2.1 Porters five forces analysis Porters five forces is a one of the strategies which can analysis the existing market and business strategy. By using these strategies Fonterra Company can develop effective strategies to raise your profitability, power, and competitive and understanding the competitive forces in your industry. 2.1.1 New Entrants Due to the de-regulated market structure of New Zealand and them also one of the member of the free trade country. In this way they might attract entrants competitor who are based for export oriented supply and processing .most of the Participants are mostly of the global entrants who preferring the low cost supplier nation with strategy of increasing export share. 2.1.2 Supplier Fonterra having the advantages in cost of items bought from suppliers because the have uniqueness shareholder relationship within the farmer. in the way the can get the lower cost supply and due to the relationship even the global demand outstrips supply of the milk resources they also will get the stable supply in long term. Beside that they also increase the efficiency of production in certain country such as India, china, Poland. For example they expending farm operation to increase production in china due to the current supply of high quality fresh milk cannot keep up with the demand of the current market for more information it can refer to http://www.sharechat.co.nz/article/9e40bb66/fonterra-milking-chinese-demand-expanding-farm-operations.html 2.1.3 Buyer Buyer is plays an important role in the market because they is the one who create the demand in an industry .as we know dairy product is a standardized product .Fonterra are facing the volatile price of the dairy product because of the changes in supply and demand of the product this is because most of the consumer are changing the eating habit beside that due to the floods in the dairy producing country it already affect the global stock. So they introduce a new online sales channel for its dairy commodities which can quickly notice to the price change of the dairy product. (http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Product-Categories/Dairy-based-ingredients/Fonterra-develops-online-trading-for-dairy-commodities) 2.1.4 Substitutes Dairy milk is a natural product how ever it also got some substitutes for it product such as soya milk, goat milk and other it will affect the demanding of the milk product in this way it might affect the profit of the Fonterra Company 2.1.5 Internal rivalry As a global company, Fonterra have to compete with the competitor such as Nestle, Kraft and other which are the global operation industry and rapid growth in the share market. Even a Fonterra company is a merge from the 2 large in New Zealand but they also face the threat from the global competitor because they might using the free trade to increasingly global market strategies .Fonterra have been consolidate dairy resources in the industry by being merged into larger and more efficient competitor . 2.2 Total Quality Management (TQM) Because fonterra is daily industry, the hygiene and health of the product should be awareness so that quality of the product are important to them because it might affect the image of the company if some customer was food positioning after taking the companys product .so the internal quality control of the product are plays an important role to build the competitive advantages in the market and also meet the customer satisfaction .Total Quality Management (TQM )system have been introduce to their company. Through the TQM they can increase the ISO accreditation because this is one of the ways for them to control the quality of the product. By this way company will have high confident to their product and also can easily get the trust from the customer as well for example New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra said Wednesday it is 100 percent confident in its milk supplies to a Chinese company under investigation over claims of tainted milk powder. (WELLINGTON, 2010)appendix 1 because of the TQM system they will highly defined the procedure and standards of their product. Beside that they also provided the training to all the staff evens the truck driver they also ensure they are well train and professional driver and meet the industry standard. 2.3 Strategies Repositioning Business repositioning is a critical marketing concept that is often only poorly understood. Most businesses will benefit greatly from some careful thought about strategic repositioning and product repositioning (http://www.m-insights.co.uk/business-repositioning.html) for the Fonterra they are keep on investing in the consumer product division ,new Zealand milk well this is an option or decision from Fonterra .but in this way the core supply competencies of Fonterra will be overlook . We know that Fonterra is a unique export-oriented global cooperation. They have won because of its experience in and knowledge of organizational respect for the dairy industry. In Asian countries, Fonterra has been re-positioning their Anlene product with the new clinically test which is protect bone strength within 4 week if women are drank 2 glass of Anlene hi calcium milk a days which able to reduces the amount of bone loss in post-menopausal after 4 week .thought the research Fonterra company has spent more than us$50 million on bone health research and it has conducted 18 clinical trials relating to bone health. In Indonesia Fonterra have gained the market share risk from 43% to 72% of the high calcium milk adult dairy product category and it become the market leader of the high calcium milk adult dairy product category across Asia and has experienced a 15% increase in growth this financial year 2009 due to the repositioning of the product Fonterras Anlene gets boost in Asia. (http://milk-brand.chikaworldfood.com/T_13248_____fonterra%E2%80%99s-anlene-gets-boost-in-asia.htm) 2.4 Supply Chain The supply chain can be define as the a collection of activities and organizations involved in moving products for example, raw materials from one point such as a manufacturers facility to another such as a customers distribution center. It includes the exchange of both material and associated information flows for example, shipment notices. (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/publications/ftat_user_guide/sec5.htm) From the supply chain analysis, Fonterra can how and where the product resources from and how and where their selling end product. We know that Fonterra dairy is owned by the dairy farmers in New Zealand .they got approximately 13,000 milk suppliers and they also one of the shareholder of the company .beside the shareholders milk supply .Fonterra also got other addition milk supplier where from the other country such as dairy America and DFA from the united state, Nestle from the America,Bonlac from Austria and other because Fonterra is a international dairy companies. Fonterra have 80 plants around the world which for processing and manufacturing the resources. Beside that they also got 3 main research and development plants which at Massey (New Zealand), Mexico and Germany. Fonterra is a worlds largest multinational food companies and they have a good global distribution network for distribute the end product to whole world because they have been exported milk out of New Zealand around 20 year ago. They are exported the end product to Asia Middle East, Africa due to the high demand of the dairy product. Due to the production of dairy product is much more then the demand on it country. Fonterra are more widespread to use of rail to shipping their products throughout the country. This will enable us to get more frequent, flexible and reliable shipping options by this way it can give their customers greater confidence that our products can be delivered on time. In order to gain the market share and competitive advantages in the high competitive market .Fonterra are alliances with existing national dairy company in country to expanding dairy market. By using the alliance strategies they can expend dairy market in the country with the minimum cost. For example they have announce that a new joint venture in the United Kingdoms highly-competitive yellow fats market thought the alliances they establishment a new company that to be responsible for distributing and market of the product of ANCHOR brand in the UK country domestic market and developing the new product for the yellow fats market in British Isles and EU respectively. Fonterra mainly have divided the market place into 4 channels due to wide product range the four channels which is foodservice channels which is restaurants, hotels, bakeries. Retail channels such as supermarket, wholesalers, by product channels such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and consumer channel which is milk powder, cheese, yogurts and other. Each channel has different demand on the dairy product. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-79373875.html) (Chen, I. J., Paulraj, A. (2004): Towards a theory of supply chain management: the constructs and measurements. In: Journal of Operations Management, 22/2: 119-150) 2.5 Branding Strategies By using the branding strategies Fonterra can understand the customer preferences and expectations from the brand beside that it also can make you product different from other product .thought the branding it can build a strong position on the product and make it become more unique ,sustainable and valued place in customer mind . A good brand strategy builds the customer loyalty which customer will continue purchase your product without reflect on the price. Fonterra are dividend their consumer business into three major regions which is Australia and New Zealand, Africa, Asia , Middle East and Latin America and it bring compound annual growth rate around 20% for the last four year By using the branding strategies it bring the growth at 4-5 % per annum in the Asia Middle East and the market price is worth NZD$12.5 billion .by the estimate the consumption of the Fonterra product will continuing raise due to Asia and Middle East are starting focus on their health and wellness. The most successful product brand strategy in the Asia and Middle East is Anlene. As we know the Anlene was create in year 1991 in Asia which are the high calcium milk to maintain the strength of the bone and prevent the osteoporosis, by the successful brand strategies today Anlene has bringing in over $320 million per year which represent almost one-fifth of the total sales revenue in the Asia country .Fonterra have invest around $2-3 million annually on bone health research and looking how to develop new format and formulation of the Anlene product. A research report from the International Osteoporosis Foundation showed that 286 million people in China will suffer from osteoporosis or low bone mass by 2020, and this figure may rise to 533 million by 2050.in this way they have launched the Anlene in china market. Instead of earning money they also conducted over 3 million bone scans in Asia country since 2006 beside that the also educated the consumer the risk of the osteoporosis and how to prevent it. For example they provided a free service to Malaysian consumer about the bone health check and beside that some of the consultant will give the advice on the consumer about what is going on and how to overcome the situation .for more information it can refer to appendix 1 Beside the milk powder of Anlene product, the Anlene Concentrate also have launched in the Asia country to target on different segmentation consumer .to build a good reputation of the Anlene product beside education some knowledge consumer and the boned check service they also hired Michelle Yeoh which is the action movie star in Asia and become spoke person of its product .it this way they manage to sell Anlene with the premium brand with is 30-50% expensive compare to the normal milk. (http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/418dd400440c080d84b29e9906727cef/240610%2B-%2BCEO%2BAndrew%2BFerrier%27s%2Baddress%2Bto%2BSIDE.pdf?MOD=AJPERES) (http://www.agro.uba.ar/agro/agroneg/pdf/strat_manag.pdf) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ireland, R D, Hoskission, R E Hitt, MA 2009, The management of strategy concepts, 8th edn, South-Western Cengage Learning, USA à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Singh, K, Pangarkar, N Heracleous, L 2010, Business strategy in Asia a case book, 3rd edn, Cengage Learning Asia, Singapor 3.0 Recommendation

Legal Rights and Requirements for Children with Disabilities

Legal Rights and Requirements for Children with Disabilities Outline the legal and regulatory requirements in place for children with disabilities or specific requirements†¦ Every child regardless of age, ability and circumstance has legal rights and entitlements. A child with a disability has the right to be treated equally and fairly. Tutt R (2007) Every Child Included, Great Britain, Paul Chapman Publishing quotes ‘Every child not only matters, but matters equally’. Acts and laws have been put into place to ensure children’s disabilities are not discriminated against. Children with SEN have extra-legal stipulations that ensure their inclusion and protect them from further discrimination. These include The Equality Act 2010, which states that provision be mad e for people with disabilities to be able to access public and private services the same way an able bodied person does. Adjustments to public places should be made, such as ramps for access and wider doors. Services such as toilets adapted for disabled people and braille on signs for visually impaired children, accessible seating areas at events and amenable transport .The Special Education Needs Code of Practice provides help schools to ensure inclusion and equality. One of its most important aims is to give early intervention for children with SEN, with the best suited support. A child with SEN should have their needs met, this will normally be in mainstream school being included in the National Curriculum at a relevant level with an appropriate approach. From the 1St September 2014 all schools must adhere to this practice. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document giving rights to children regardless of their needs and circumstance stating that children’s’ views should be taken into consideration when decisions are made, where possible for their education and care. Whilst the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is specifically for children with disabilities. It is aware that although they have different challenges they should still equally enjoy their human rights with non -disabled children. Article 7 outlines that the child’s best interests should be paramount and their right to express their opinions should be taken seriously. Article 31 says information must collected be collected with disabled people and shared so that a better understanding of the barriers can be overcome. Article 24 states a child should receive inclusive, free primary and secondary education within their community with quality teaching and individual support. Each country has to report to the United Nations committee showing how t hey are putting this convention into practise. These acts and bills that have been passed to protect the children are such an important aspect of disabled children and Sen children’s life. They provide good quality early intervention which will continue to help improve the long term outcome of all children. Explain why it is important to work inclusively with children with disabilities or specific requirements†¦ It is so important that children with disabilities are able to access main stream school education and be able to work alongside and with children without disability or additional needs. A child’s needs, strengths and interests should be built upon, with other children, to develop them under your care. (This is otherwise known as a child –centred approach) People’s opinions and the way they treat disabled children fall into two categories Medical Model of Disability and Social Model. The medical model sees disability as an illness to be made better. It focuses on their condition rather than the individual as a person. This labels a child as ‘sick’ instead of looking at their achievements and interests. If a setting chooses this approach they are not inclusive as they’ve chosen to focus on the disability. A social model sees that everybody is an individual with rights and feelings and this gives value to their choices .Society is responsible for the way we treat disabilities, our attitudes and behaviour determine whether we embrace and include disability into our everyday lives or we wrongly treat it like an illness. Lindon J (2012) Equality and Inclusion in Early Childhood, Great Britain, Hachette UK ‘Words matter because they are a reflection of deeply entrenched attitudes in our society’ By incorporating a child as a person with individual needs and listening to them a child will feel respected which will increase their self -worth and well- being. A child will feel safe and secure in their environment and the other family members will equally feel that they are respected too. Planning is a very important part of inclusion, if the child has a special interest in something (i.e. animals) this can be incorporated into learning bringing in resources to count, sort, describe and write about etc. It will keep the child interested and motivated to continue learning. A practitioner needs to show an understanding towards the child’s feelings and points of view and not pity as this would not be productive in any way. Thinking from the child’s point of view will enable you to adapt the setting to the individual needs of the child. Children should be encouraged to take responsibility and have independence as this gives them belief in their abilities and future skills and by watching able bodied children complete tasks they learn what can be achieved. Gaining an understanding of how a child’s disability affects them their learning would greatly help to include each different disability to ensure they aren’t excluding the child even unintentionally. A child needs to feel welcomed; this could be as easy as a smile or calling their name. All pictures should display positive images of different disabilities around the classroom to provide a positive environment. All role models need to maintain a positive attitude to make these changes and by working in an enthusiastic team inclusion can be achieved which has to be the best thing for all children. This poem written by an 8yr old girl describes how she feels about her friend in her class who cannot walk or talk and shows how beneficial inclusion is. Tutt R(2007) Every Child Included, Great Britain, Paul Chapman Publishing. Evaluate the benefits of working in partnership with parents and professionals when working with children†¦ All parents should be constantly involved and consulted when making decisions about a child with special educational needs as this enables a parent to feel they are respected and their child is valued. A parent sees their child as a whole person with interests and characteristics and not just a child with an illness or condition. They have the best source of information on the child, their personality, personal skills, social abilities and emotional state as well as their physical situation. They are also able to relay their coping techniques and what methods they use to produce results for development and behaviour. Parents have a right to contribute to the decision making according to the Code of Practice as does a child have the right to be involved in choices and preferences .This is a good idea as each child is a sensitive individual with individual needs. Having this parental partnership helps outside agencies such as Social Services , Speech and Language therapists , Doctors and Paediatricians form a clearer picture and understanding of the child they are involved with and are able to build on this knowledge to know where their child is in their learning and development to give them the best help , For example a Physiotherapist will suggest exercises to do at home , a Speech and Language therapist would devise a plan that would be implemented at school and home. A Social worker will also have a vital role in supporting a family with a SEN Child giving support and guidance where necessary and also practical help. As children with SEN are seen to be potentially vulnerable they also help with their protection and safe guarding and working closely with a family is the best way to do this. Parents will often need additional information to help support their child in the best way as this will be a new experience and learning curve for them too. Additional information would help these parents and support them in preparing them for meetings they would need to attend. A parent will also need their own personal support as this is an emotional and difficult time they are trying to cope with. They should be respected and contact should be professional but with understanding and compassion as sometimes there is unacceptance of the situation too. Each school now has to have a designated member of staff as a SENCO who is responsible for providing provision for each child. The SEN code of practice says they must ensure each child should be valued and equality and inclusion must be provided and early intervention where required. Details of the SEN policy have to be provided for parents and carers and support when required. It is so important for parental involvement to continue with all these different parties and for strategies to be worked out together for the best interests of the child. Describe how PR actioners can adapt their existing practice to support children with disabilities or specific requirements†¦ It is the responsibility of the setting or employer to make sure premises are suitable to cater for the needs of all children with disabilities, so they can participate within their school and their community. The environment is a key factor to helping support the children , access to a building is vital ,this could be achieved with a ramp , possibly a lift or simply moving a classroom to a more accessible place i.e. nearer the entrance. It is important to look at the child’s actual disability, to look what they are able and aren’t able to do. For example if a child has limited movement and in a wheelchair, to adapt the area might include changing the table layout, a door entrance widened to accommodate a wheelchair. Resources would need to be kept at a lower level (but not on the floor) and labelled so the child can reach them, maybe choosing the activities and resources they prefer at an achievable independent level. Any floor activities could be adapted for a child to do at the table and be changed to adapt a wheelchair. If a child is visually impaired you would need to make sure they have a seat at the front of the class enabling them a better view of the whiteboard and t eacher, maybe a magnifying glass. It might be possible to have Audio Description, as hearing is heightened when vision is impaired. Labels around the classroom and lots of sensory and tactile resources should be available. It might be that resources need to be in braille and assisted help required. A visually impaired child would benefit from a classroom not being changed around so they are familiar with the layout of the room and can avoid obstacles and move about safely. You need to look at a classroom from a child’s view and adapt with this mind set, it is also important for the area to be regularly checked for safety reasons and the children should be encouraged to help to understand the importance of this . All ages and stage appropriate activities need to readily available. SEN children may also need additional help with their personal care, fastening buttons and zips; these can be made easier with Velcro fastenings to encourage independence. Some children find it difficult to make their own choices and feelings; this can be helped with visual aids such as a choice board to enable a child to make a simpler independent choice or a feelings board to express their emotions appropriately. For inclusion to work the adults involved have to have a positive attitude to any changes and adaptations needed. Practitioners should ensure activities and resources are ability appropriate and meet each child’s individual needs. Positive beliefs and a passion to help the children will help build an environment inclusive to all.

Kodak Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eastman Kodak Eastman Kodak went through a considerable transformation change since it was founded. The organization structure at Eastman Kodak was a typical classical hierarchy with the CEO overlooking the entire organization. Later in 1984, the company went through a transformation change in which it was reorganized into 29 separate business units grouped into four lines of business. It included Photography (PPG), Commercial and Imaging Group (CIG), Chemicals (EC), and Health (HG) and three international segments. Each group operated under its own general manager. Later again in 1988, Eastman Kodak launched an Information Systems Department (ISD) which was responsible for development of business applications and management of small-scale computer network operations. After going through change management organization, Eastman Kodak made alliances with IBM, DEC and Business Land. The new organization consisted of three distinct organization entities: Kodak’s Corporate IS organization; Kodak’s Business Group/ Business Unit IS organizations and the Alliance organization. The strategic stand during the transformation change at the beginning was focused on downsizing its business core units by cutting employment by 10%. Cutting costs was also a priority as they moved to outsourcing of some of its business processes, especially in the IT area if it met its core function of the company or if there was value in it. ISD was responsible for management of large data centers and voice and data communications. Eastman Kodak had its own IT management department that supported services that were not outsourced. The type of culture that existed at Eastman Kodak was also transformed significantly. The major change was when part of its business processes was outsourced to other companies because employees had to adapt to whole new environment even though it was not a total change. Employees that had worked for Eastman Kodak for years are the ones that may have been affected most because they probably were used to the hierarchical type of leadership. I think organization structure is the one that must have had an impact on other elements like IT because mainly after outsourcing some of its services. It meant that whatever decision these other element make or change, they had to consider the new allied division so to make sure its strategies a... ...asing a pc for a Kodak end user. The advice I would give Hudson concerning long-term management of Eastman Kodak’s networked IS organization is that she would want to consider automating the business processes with the Alliance organizations if they plan on outsourcing their services for over a long period of time. The benefit would be cost reduction time wise and faster service and product to customers. Some of the processes I noted are used on their websites (www.kodak.com), for example, delivering pictures to customers through email. I think, as a company grows bigger, like Eastman Kodak has, its business processes become complex, and in this case, its complexity includes outsourced services. I think Eastman Kodak can benefit from this and so can the allied partners. An example is given in the case over service deliver process in which it says, â€Å"a Kodak end user acquiring a personal computer from Business Land had to contact not only Business Land but also IBM to establish a mainframe account, and DEC to install network connections.† I think there are processes that have not been realized yet that can be supported by an automated system but can only be realized as time passes.

The Drug Codeine :: essays research papers

The Drug Codeine We used several different sources to gather our information. We go information from Jay Moser and Sue Peterson, our two local pharmacists. We researched medical encyclopedias, journals, and magazines. Codeine is known medically as methylmorphine. It is a drug derived from opium, a poppy plant. It was discovered in 1832 by French chemist Pierre-Jean Robiquet. Codeine constitutes about 0.5 to 2.5 percent of this plant substance. The drug has been in use since the early 1900's and it shares most of the pharmacologic characteristics of morphine, the other alkaloid in opium. Codeine is classified as a narcotic, it has the same painkiller effect as morphine but is only one-sixth to one-tenth as strong. Codeine occurs as a colorless or white crystals or as a white, crystalline powder and is slightly soluble in water and freely soluble in alcohol. The phosphate and sulfate salts of codeine occur as white, needle- shaped crystals or white, crystalline powders. Why is it used? Codeine is most useful in the relief of mild to moderate pain. It is also used as a cough remedy because it suppresses the part of the brain that triggers coughing, and as an anti-diarrheal drug, because it slows down muscle contractions in the intestinal wall. There are possible adverse effects. The most frequently observed adverse reactions include lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, nausea, vomiting, and sweating. These effects seem to be more prominent in ambulatory patients and in those who are not suffering severe pain. Other adverse reactions include the following: (1) Central Nervous System- Euphoria, dysphoria, weakness, headache, insomnia, agitation, disorientation, and visual disturbances. (2) Gastrointestinal- Dry mouth, anorexia, constipation, and biliary tract spasm. (3) Cardiovascular- Flushing of the face, abnormally slow heartbeat, faintness, and syncope. (4) Genitourinary- Urinary retention of hesitancy, anti-diuretic effect. (5) Allergic- skin rashes. Most drug manufactors list specific warnings to be aware of when taking codeine. (1) Codeine sulfate can produce drug dependence of the morphine type, and therefore has the potential for being abused psychic dependence, physical dependence and tolerance may develop upon repeated administration of Codeine. (2) Codeine may impair the mental and or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery. (3) Patients receiving other narcotic painkillers, general anesthetics, tranquilizers, or other central nervous system depressants, including alcohol with codeine may exhibit an additive central nervous system depression. Who shouldn't take codeine? Pregnant women should not use codeine because safe use in pregnancy has not been established. Children below the age of three shouldn't be given this drug for that age group hasn't been established. Codeine should be given with caution to certain patients such as the elderly or

Deficiencies In Development Of Cocaine Children :: essays research papers

It has been estimated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that every year 40,000 babies are born to mothers who have used cocaine during their pregnancy. Unfortunately, the outcome is unfair for these children, because the mothers do not take into consideration that they are responsible for another person’s life. These children have various levels of deficiencies in the learning process and in the way that they behave. The levels of deficiencies in children vary in accordance with the mother’s consumption of cocaine. Thereby not only are there defects at birth, but also later on in the developmental years. Women who use cocaine while pregnant cause a great damage to their children during the developmental years; especially in the aspects of cognitive motor and social/ behavioral deficiencies. Cognitive deficiencies are those that deal with an individual’s thinking and reasoning process. These abilities are seen in the beginning school years, not at birth, but are the subtle characteristics that only through the school environment can be recognized. In a class environment, the deficiencies of a cocaine child are often confused with those of a disruptive child. The underlying truth is: teachers are not able to cope with them on an individual basis and give them more attention. An initial sign that some children demonstrate is a lack of concentration on virtually every task. Excessive disorganization beyond that of regular children along with being more than just the class nuisance can be characteristics of cocaine-exposed children. While most children are able to stay on task, these children will be easily deterred if given the opportunity. These children tend to exhibit a lack of exploration of the environment which results in less pretend play (Cates, 68). In a study done by Mayes, â€Å"when given a box of toys, for example they [spend] less time exploring the new toys than [do] the control children† (Vogel, 39). Another pending issue is that cocaine-exposed children do as well as regular children in settings with no distractions, such as a one-on-one quiet room session. The truth is that in real life there are a plethora of distractions. A study conducted at Wayne State University, in Detroit found â€Å"that teachers rated 27 cocaine-exposed 6 -year-olds as having significantly more trouble paying attention than 75 non-exposed children (the teachers did not know who was who) (Begley, 1997, 63). Imitative play is a way of learning for toddlers, which drug-exposed children are less likely to demonstrate.

Promoting Gender Equality Essay

For centuries women were not treated equal to men in many ways. They were not allowed to own property, they did not have a Share in the property of their parents, they had no voting rights, they had no freedom to choose their work or job and so on. Now that we have come out of those dark days of oppression of women there is a need for strong movement to fight for the rights of women and to ensure that they get all the rights which men have or in other words a movement for the Empowerment of Women. The present seminar has been planned with a view to discuss the various issues related to the Empowerment of Women and to suggest measures for achieving this end.The body of research on women‘s empowerment has conceptualized and defined this construct in many ways and used different terms, often interchangeably, including ―autonomy,â€â€"―status,â€â€" and ―agencyâ€â€" (Lee-Rife and Edmeades 2011; Malhotra et al. 2002; Upadhyay and Hindin 2005). see more:examples of gender equality A review of the literature also shows different measures for the same conceptualization. For example, studies often measure women‘s autonomy with an index that assesses their participation in decision-making in various household issues. This index represents women‘s degree of control over their environment. Some researchers include both major and minordecisions, while others include only major decisions, excluding day-to-day household decisions and those that are traditionally within the woman‘s domain. Women‘s empowerment encompasses many dimensions, including economic, socio-cultural, familial/interpersonal, legal, political, and psychological (Malhotra et al. 2002), which contributes to the wide variation in conceptualizations of women‘s empowerment. Given this variation in conceptualization, it is difficult to measure women‘s empowerment consistently. Kabeer (2001), whose definition is widely accepted, defines empowerment as ―the expansi on of people‘s ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them. Two central components of empowerment are agency and resources needed to exercise life choices (Kabeer 2001; Malhotra et al. 2002). Even with a clear definition, these constructs are difficult to quantify in a standardized way.Additionally, to measure empowerment at an individual level, researchers must translate the amorphous constructs into a set of specific questions that population-based surveys can ask of individual respondents (Kishor and Subaiya 2008). Another challenge is the variation in cultural contexts that affect the measurement of women‘s empowerment. It is desirable to use standardized questions that enable cross-cultural comparisons of empowerment. Yet a measure that captures empowerment in one context may have limited relevance in another, as is the case with measures that assess mobility in a community where women‘s free movement is the norm. While many existing measures of empowerment were originally conceptualized and developed for the context of Asia, and for South Asian countries in particular (Dyson and Moore 1983; Mason 1987), measures that are universally applicable regardless of the gender equity environment, such as those used in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), are most useful for cross-national comparisons. Using the available standardized measures of women‘s empowerment among several population-based samples from sub-Saharan Africa will allow us to make comparisons and better understand whether the available measures adequately capture empowerment in these settings. It is still unknown whether the same dimensions of empowerment that were developed elsewhere are relevant in sub-Saharan Africa, where the gender environment is completely different than in other regions. In Africa, empowerment is likely to look different than elsewhere because of such differences as more working women who have control over their earnings, more polygamy, more nuclear families (as opposed to extended families), and larger ideal family size, and because women‘s status is often tied to their fertility. EMPOWERMENT AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH A broad body of research exists on women‘s empowerment and reproductive outcomes. Substantial research, primarily focused on Asia, demonstrates that women‘s empowerment is associated with contraceptive use (Gwako 1997; Morgan and Niraula 1995; Schuler et al. 1997; Woldemicael 2009), lower fertility (Balk 1994; Dyson and Moore 1983; Hindin 2000), and longer birth intervals (Upadhyay and Hindin 2005). Some researchers have suggested that women‘s empowerment is a key pathway through which education influences fertility (Jejeebhoy 1995; Mason 1987). To operationalize women‘s empowerment, much of the research literature uses the previously mentioned index of participation in house holddecision-making. The standard DHS questionnaire includes a set of questions about household decision-making. Other approaches include assessing women‘s acceptance of reasons that a husband is justified for beating his wife, and also reasons that a wife is justified in refusing sex with her husband (Ethiopian Society of Population Studies 2008). The DHS includes questions about these issues. Such gender-role attitudes measure the extent of women‘s acceptance of norms that justify men‘s control over women. As expected, they are associated with lower levels of power over household decision-making among women (Dhaher et al. 2010; Hindin 2003; Linos et al. 2010). MAJOR OBSTACLES TO THE PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT Notwithstanding the widespread commitment shown through the ratification of international and regional gender equality frameworks, normative gains are not yet fully reflected in substantial changes in women’s lives, as shown in the preceding section. Large gaps remain between policy and practice and it is the aim of this section to discuss some of the major challenges that have been experienced. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity The continued presence of long standing cultural and traditional practices that discriminate against women and girls’ have constrained the progress towards achieving gender equality. Discriminatory practices and public attitudes towards the advancement of women and gender equality have not changed at the same pace as policy, legal and institutional frameworks. Lack of ratification of the instruments that promote gender equality Previous sections have identified the status with respect to a number of regional instruments, particularly the African Women’s Protocol. Some countries are yet to sign this instrument, while a considerable number are yet to ratify it. Ineffective institutional and policy implementation mechanisms Thirteen years after the adoption of the BPFA by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, the greatest challenge facing countries and regional institutions is the effective implementation of the adopted commitments. Good policies that do not have well formulated implementation plans and resources render the policies ineffective. In some countries, the capacity of gender machineries has also contributed to the slow pace. Some policies are not effectively implemented because they were not developed in a participatory way inclusive of both men and women. Lack of targets with well defined time-frames are also some of the factors that have hampered effective implementation of policies. Lack of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms also plays a significant role in the lack of implementation. Moreover, some policies tend to focus on the symptoms rather than addressing the persistent underlying causes of gender inequality. African women, especially those living in rural communities and those with disabilities, still face exclusion from participating in development processes that can empower them and improve gender equality. It is crucial to undertake inclusive participatory approaches in policy development that involve women as equal partners. Lack of adequate resources Lack of human and financial resources severely limits gender mainstreaming to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. Even in situations where a comprehensive plan of action for gender mainstreaming has been developed, countries may not have adequate resources to implement the plan. In particular National Gender Machineries (NGMs) experience limited financial and other material resource base to enhance the implementation of gender equality mandates, roles and responsibilities. In addition, there are gaps in human capacity, there is generally a challenge with respect to gender competence skills of officers in the NGMs to influence the engendering of macro-economic and sector policy frameworks. There is high staff turn over of experts, and low staff retention, most countries are facing difficulties of retaining and sustaining staff with the necessary expertise. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity in education In taking decisions with respect to the education of their children, some families continue to have preference for educating boys rather than girls. As noted female-to-male school enrolment, retention and completion favor boys in a majority of countries. Very few countries have female to male enrolment rates that favor girls over boys and these countries have been making progress to redress the situation. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity in health Some cultural and traditional practices continue to inhibit progress in the area of sexual and reproductive rights. Women and girls continue to risk death from maternal mortality. There is need to provide accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare services and education to reduce maternal mortality. Such interventions need to address the roles of both men and women. The rate of HIV infection is much higher among women than men and in this regard, governments must establish and monitor strict legal frameworks to address the vulnerability of women and girls. Furthermore, access to anti-retroviral treatment should be ensured. Lack of enforcement of laws that promote gender equality and lack of knowledge of laws In some countries laws that promote gender equality are in place, however lack of enforcement of such laws leads to the perpetuation of gender inequalities and violence against women. In some countries, laws are in place, but interpretation of these laws is lacking and as such, they are not enforced. Lack of full involvement of men and boys Changing cultural and traditional beliefs including patriarchy requires the involvement of men, and boys in the promotion of gender equality through innovative rights-based, culturally sensitive programmes and continued education and sensitization. Continued lack of recognition of women’s unpaid work The continued lack of recognition of unpaid work (domestic, reproductive, care and support) performed by women hampers the development of policies that can effectively promote gender equality. There is therefore need for such work to be given due recognition in the computation of national income. Limited role of the media The media can play a major role in promoting gender equality beyond what it is currently doing. In particular in creating awareness, sensitization and education campaigns to change patriarchal attitudes. As noted before establishing new laws alone is not enough; existing gendered social relations and cultural norms may quickly shape these laws. There is need for measures to counter preexisting social forces through education and training of both men and women. The media can make a major contribution towards promoting these gender equality messages. Lack of sex disaggregated and gender responsive data Sex-disaggregated data and information from gender-sensitive indicators are often not collected, lost in aggregation of published data, or not used. Gender responsive data would help in tracking the progress made towards achievement of gender equality. SUGGESTED RECOMMENDATIONS Translation of commitments and policies promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment into action on the ground remains a major challenge in Africa. Based on the findings of this study, this section highlights some recommendations that can help countries successfully implement the commitments and policies aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Improved research and collection of gender responsive statistical data It is important to systematically collect accurate sex and gender disaggregated data and conduct research that is essential for monitoring and evaluating progress towards achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. More efforts are needed to build capacity of national experts to collect gender disaggregated data in order to enhance integration of gender perspectives in the development process. Strengthen documentation and dissemination of information on promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment Sharing of information is important within countries, between countries and internationally and is critical to the success of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. There is need to intensify documentation of experiences with successful and unsuccessful practices and widely disseminate this information. It is important for member States, development partners and international and regional bodies to identify information exchange systems that can facilitate wide exchange of this information in the region. CONCLUSION The Empowerment of women has become one of the most important Concerns of 21st century not only at national level but also at the international level. Efforts by the Govt. are on to ensure Gender equality but Government initiatives alone would not be sufficient to achieve this goal. Society must take initiative to create a climate in which there is no gender discrimination and Women have full opportunities of Self decision making and participating in the Social, Political and Economic life of the Country with a sense of equality. As countries around the world work to promote gender equality and empower women as part of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it can be expected that demand for smaller families will follow. Additionally, family planning programs can address women‘s empowerment as part of their mission to help women and couples have only the number of children they want. Such programs are likely to generate interest in family planning services, create demand for smaller families, and also reduce unwanted fertility. REFRENCES _Abadian, S. 1996. Women’s Autonomy and Its Impact on Fertility. World Development 24(12):1793-1809. _Gwako, E.L. 1997. Conjugal Power in Rural Kenya Families: Its Influence on Women’s _Decisions about Family Size and Family Planning Practices. Sex Roles 36(3-4):127-147. _Jejeebhoy, S.J. 1995.Women’s Education, Autonomy, and Reproductive Behaviour: Experience _from Developing Countries. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. _Jejeebhoy, S.J. 2000. Women’s Autonomy in Rural India: Its Dimensions, Determinants, and the Influence of Context. Pp. 204-238 in Women’s empowerment and demographic processes: moving beyond Cairo, edited by H. Presser and G. Sen. London: Oxford University Press. _ Lee-Rife, S.M. 2011. Women’s Empowerment and Reproductive Experiences over the Lifecourse. Soc Sci Med 71(3):634-642. _Linos, N., M. Khawaja, and M. Al-Nsour. 2010. Women’s Autonomy and Support for Wife Beating: Findings from a Population-Based Survey in Jordan. Violence Vict 25(3):409-419. _ Mason, K.O. 1987. The Impact of Women‘s Social Position on Fertility in Developing Countries. Sociological Forum 4:718–745. _Morgan, P.S. and B.B. Niraula. 1995. Gender Inequality and Fertility in Two Nepali Villages. Population and Development Review 21(3):541-561. _Westoff, C. and A. Bankole. Reproductive Preferences in Developing Countries at the Turn of the Century. Calverton, Maryland: ORC Macro. DHS Comparative Reports No. 2. 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