Antarctica Report †the environment and scientific research Essay

Introduction: The great icy continent of Antarctica is located at the south-most point on Earth and in the heart of the Antarctic Circle, referred to as the ice-cold desert. Antarctica covers the entire land and water region south of the latitude 600 S with no defined longitude, the continent spans around the entire Antarctic Circle. In reference to Australia, the eastern half of Antarctica ranges from a close 3,800km south of mainland Australia with Mawson Station located further west. Due to its location, early expeditions to Antarctica were usually carried out on boat with a stop at islands along the way i.e. Macquarie Island- now one of the four main Australian research bases in Australian Territory of the Antarctic Peninsula. Australia controls the largest part of Antarctica (43%) because of Sir Douglas Mawson’s expedition to Antarctica in 1929-31. During this expedition, Mawson and his team mapped majority of the Eastern coast, setting up camps along the way and eventually other Australian expeditions set up stations using these maps. Later when the Antarctic Treaty was established, this link with Antarctica and the fact that Australia was the first nation to map the eastern coast was considered, resulting in Australia’s claim to this area being granted, leaving them with majority of Antarctica. The governing of Antarctica is unique and very different from the rest of the world. It is governed by many nations that have all claimed parts of the continent for scientific research who all are guided and bound by â€Å"The Antarctic Treaty†. â€Å"The Antarctic Treaty† was designed and created by twelve original countries (there are now 38 countries) in 1961 to provide an agreement for the future care and use of Antarctica and to avoid territorial and other disputes. The Treaty encourages international co-operation in scientific research and in recognition of Antarctica being the last remaining â€Å"wilderness† on Earth, the ‘Madrid Protocol’ was established to help the conservation of the environment and peace on Antarctica. Elements of The Antarctic Treaty include: Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only (Art.1), Freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue (Art.2), Scientific observations and results from Ant arctica shall be exchanged and made freely available (Art. III). Lying at the south-most point on Earth, Antarctica is truly a unique continent, renowned for a very harsh climate and an environment that has caused both, humans and animals, to adapt to the extreme conditions. Despite minimum infrastructure, Antarctica houses various forms of extensive scientific research conducted at its numerous bases. Climate: Mawson’s climate is typical of much of the coast of East Antarctica where the ice caps are present at sea level. The climate of Mawson Station can be described and categorized into four main areas: rainfall, temperatures, wind speeds and direction and mean daily averages. One of the main features of Mawson’s climate are the extremely cold daily maximums and minimums present there through most of the year. The mean maximum temperature ranges from its hottest at about 2.60C in January to the lowest daily maximum-15.60C in the peak of winter (July, August, September). The annual mean for the daily maximum is -8.40C, around the same as the mean in March and October. The mean daily minimums are not vey different to the daily maximums, a contrast compared to most parts of the world where the daily minimum and maximum have a greater difference. The mean daily minimum is at its highest in the month of January at -2.60C, dropping down considerably in March by almost 110C to -13.30C, marginally warmer than the annual minimum average of -14.3. Similar to the mean daily maximums, the mean minimums are at their lowest in winter, leaving a gap/difference of about 60C between the two (maximum and minimum). Although the mean temperatures around Mawson are mostly in the negatives, they are still a lot warmer and pleasant than those experienced in majority of Antarctica’s inland as the station lies near the coast and at a lower altitude of about 1,200m compared to the inland where altitudes rise up to almost 3,00m above sea level. Another characteristic of Mawson’s climate is the incredible winds experienced at Mawson and their high speeds. Winds around Mawson blow predominantly from the east and south, heading in a northwest direction. The mean annual wind speed is almost 40 km/h at 3pm, with some extreme speeds go past 120km/h during the year in peak winter (3pm). The maximum gust speeds exceed 140 knots frequently with the highest recorded wind gust ever in the area reaching an amazing 248.4km/h early in the morning. Wind speed are generally stronger during the winters, rising up to an average of 44km/h in August at 3pm compared to an average of 27-28km/h in December/January. Most precipitation falls as snow in Antarctica with no significant rainfall recorded near Mawson Station. As a result of Antarctica receiving less than 50mm of rainfall per year, the Antarctic region is classified as a desert-the coldest and driest desert in the world. Snowfall occurs regularly throughout the year-mainly during late summer when the snow is still able to fall without freezing. Although this snowfall is not very significant, it still has an impact on the climate around Mawson Station. The lowest temperatures at Mawson vary greatly as the seasons change. During the seasons of autumn and spring, the lowest ever recorded temperatures for each month (during these two seasons) have been very similar. The lowest temperatures of March, April and May all range within the late twenties to early thirties, almost identical to those of September, October and early November. Where as, the lowest ever temperatures in winter and summer are in great contrast, as the lowest during summer goes down to a less extreme -17.30C in February compared to freezing -360C in August. The reason for Antarctica’s very cold climate and its frequent change of size is the concept of the Earth’s revolution. The Earth is constantly rotating around an axis that runs through the north and South Pole at an angle of incidence (leaving the Earth always at a tilt of 23.50), completing one rotation every 24 hours. The Earths rotation is the reason that day and night are experienced, as when a part of the world is facing towards the Sun, it would be day, and when it rotates around to be away from the Sun, it becomes night. While the Earth is rotating on its axis (completing a rotation every 24 hours), it is in constant revolution around the Sun (completing a revolution every 365 days). As the Earth is always tilted the same way, the stage at which the Earth is at during its revolution determines the concentration and strength of the rays hitting the particular area. For example, if it is December 21 in the southern hemisphere the angle of incidence will have this part of the Earth closer to the Sun/tilted towards it causing the Sun’s ray to be concentrated at a smaller area and thus being stronger and creating more heat. This is because; during summer the Sun is directly above the Earth due to the tilt. As the equator is in no hemisphere, the angle of the rays is the same throughout the year, creating the same season for 365 days. Where as, the poles, which are located at top of the northern hemisphere and bottom of the southern hemisphere, have two completely different seasons. During summer they rotate around the axis but are always facing towards the Sun, thus having sunlight for almost 24 hours per day. However, during winter, the poles- in this case the south pole- is tilted away from the Sun and when rotating on the tilted axis, it remains away from Sun for most of the time, thus having no sunlight. This process/revolution continues for the whole year, in which the South Pole has experienced both summer and winter. Because of this reason and that it is located around the South Pole, Antarctica experiences these extreme amounts of daylight and darkness. As a result of these extreme seasons, a huge amount of sea ice is formed during winter, as the temperature gets extremely cold, quickly melting as summer approaches and the temperature rises above freezing point. If Antarctica were located near the equator, this effect would not occur as firstly, the temperatures would not be as low because the suns ray’s are stronger there because of the angle of incidence, but also the change in seasons would not be as extreme with the hours of daylight barely varying throughout the year. Mawson Station: Location: Mawson is a particularly favourable location for a station, with excellent access to the hinterland/open inland areas and surrounding coastal waters. It is also located near a harbour sheltered from the main body of the ocean and with a large depth and mouth not too narrow, during the ice-free period usually experienced in February, a ship may anchor within 100 metres of the station. Barges carrying the cargo would take only a few minutes to travel from the ship to station as it is located right on the shore. There is also a â€Å"magnetic quiet area† for research and tests requiring very little magnetic interference. The Station: The base at Mawson has a very simplistic layout. It consists of many buildings in a spread out area (as shown in the image on the right) each for different purposes with the science related buildings located closer to the shore. Everyone lives in the main accommodation building (the Red Shed; located the furthest from the shore), in modern air-conditioned single-room bedrooms. The Red Shed also houses the surgery, lounge, kitchen, and dining room. The Red Shed at Mawson base has indoor climbing, a home theatre, photographic dark room, a library and several common sitting areas for passing time during the winters. As it is a multi-recreation and living building, neither scientists nor other workers conduct their research there but expeditioners use it for day-to-day work. The green store is another one of the buildings that dominate the skyline at Mawson. It is located in front of (closer to the harbour) the Red Shed and is where all the dry food and most frozen food are stored. The clothing store, field store and equipment spares are also located here. Inside is rock climbing wall and open space for games like volleyball. Similar to the Red Shed, the green store is used for day-to-day work rather than scientific research. The operation building (the yellow building near the green store) houses the Station Leader’s office, communications, the post office and the Bureau of Meteorology. It is the home for the work of the telecommunication technicians, station leaders and many electricians. The Main Power House (the blue building near the shore) is where all the electricity for the station is generated and is where many more of the electricians, technicians and mechanics work. Waste heat from the generators is piped around the station and used to heat the buildings. The trades’ workshop (known as Red Dwarf), located near the main power building, houses all the offices and work area for the trades such as the Diesel mechanics, plumbers and electricians. The waste management building is responsible for processing all sewerage and non-toxic liquid waste. It is located a bit away from the main part of the station with very few workers. The cosmic ray observatory (located near the airstrip and shore) contains telescopes that detect and measure cosmic rays coming from outside our solar system. It has a shaft going down in the rock to a vault to a second set of telescopes and also some seismic detection equipment. It is home for scientists working in the field of seismology, cosmic ray physics, meteorology and atmospheric physics. The Anaresat dome (next to the Red Shed) is the home to technicians in the field of telecommunications and scientists in the field of Cosmic Ray physics. The general science building (where the biologists and geophysicists work) is located behind the green store. The Aeronomy (home to atmospheric space physics and climate change studies) is where majority of the atmospheric physicists work and the white building is located at the far corner, away from the shore. The carpenter’s workshop is where the carpenters do majority of their work. The building is located near the middle of the station, standing out with its brightly coloured doors. The Magnetic Variometer hut- a special building that houses sensors that measure and record the changes in the Earth’s magnetic field- and the magnetic absolutes hut are located next to each other behind the waste disposal hut, write on top of a magnetically quiet area. At Mawson Station, there is also a emergency vehicle shelter where all the fire fighting equipment is stored, a high frequency radio-transmitter hut, one aircraft hanger, three helipads (used infrequently), numerous inflatable rubber boat sheds, the wharf (where cargo is loaded and unloaded), a Sun recorder building and two fuel farms all spread out around the station. Most of these buildings are located in a cluster together with few in a different location due to restriction and needs i.e. magnetically quiet areas. The scientific programs undertaken in and around Mawson include: * Middle and upper atmosphere physics. * Cosmic ray physics and meteorology. * Geomagnetism and seismology. * Biology and medicinal studies. * Automated upper atmospheric sciences. * Climate change studies. Although one of the harshest environments on the planet, Antarctica is also one of the most vulnerable and is rapidly being effected as a result of human behavior. There have been many effects on the environment and wildlife in Antarctica caused by humans- mainly tourists that come and go- and their activities. Humans travelling to and from Antarctica (tourists and scientists) are the cause of many impacts on the environment as their trips involve the ships, accommodation, vehicles and other amenities which all can have an impact on the environment. One of the major impacts humans are having on Antarctica’s wildlife, is that the usual feeding and huddling grounds for penguins and other animals are being disturbed and in some cases, destroyed, taking away the habitat and vegetation needed for them to survive. This is a result of many tourists and scientists using areas- that are important to wildlife- for their own needs and desires (i.e. camps, research facilities), leaving the wildlife to find new homes and adapt to conditions sometimes not suitable for their needs (i.e. not close enough to the water, not large enough or not the right climate). The mode of transport taken by most visitors, boats, is harming the marine life and destroying parts of their environment. Various shapes and sizes of boats are cutting through the Southern Ocean and arriving in harbours where the marine life and depth is quite shallow. In some occasions, fuel tanks are being scraped, creating a minor leak in them that, over a period of time anchored at the harbour, releases tonnes of fuel and other toxic chemicals, scarring the marine life. As a result of this and to prevent further release of toxic chemicals, The Australian government and the ADD have banned large ships or boats with old systems and engines from entering Antarctic waters, reducing the possibility of harm to marine life. As for the problem of destruction to wildlife habitats, the ADD has developed laws that prohibit the use of wildlife-important areas for human use. As a result of this, scientists and visitors are banned from using areas with high importance to animal activity (i.e. breeding grounds and huddling areas) and instead forcing them to work in already human-developed areas like stations. Another impact that humans are having on Antarctica’s environment is the increasing amount of environmental pollution being released in forms of excess waste being dispersed into the oceans and environment in the form of litter. Due to an increasing number of people in Antarctica every year, tonnes of extra waste are being produced and dumped everywhere, releasing toxic chemicals which can become concentrated in the bodies of local wildlife, such as seals, penguins and whales, harming them in the long term. The issue of excess waste polluting the environment is also a result of original waste management strategies not being adequate or designed for a situation like this where the amount of humans present in Antarctica is much more than forecasted. Until relatively recently, waste disposal management in Antarctica was similar to elsewhere in the world with open tips, land fills and the burning or discharging of most sewage into the sea, as well as the practice of ‘sea-icing’ – dumping rubbish onto the sea ice during winter to float away and sink during the summer, with the areas around stations being contaminated from oil and chemical spills. Now, after new laws protecting the environment of Antarctica, waste is being split into many categories, each with a different strategy to stop the release of it into the environment. Hazardous materials such as polystyrene beads and radioactive materials are prohibited from entry into Antarctica; most other wastes are to be incinerated in a two-stage high incinerator with the resultant ash returned to Australia, metals, plastics, paper, cardboard and glass are separated and returned to Australia for recycling and the installation biological sewage treatment plants are all strategies that the Government of Australia are using to prevent pollution- as a result of excess waste- into the Antarctic environment. Adaptations to the Antarctic Environment: Human Adaptation: Comparisons Between Mawson’s Expedition and Today Mawson Today Transport * Wooden sleds pulled by dogs- not very stable and efficient. * Large wooden boats and ships with sail and masks. * Feet- walking around and pulling sleds with back. * Wooden, mechanic carts for transporting things around bases. * Used the ship Aurora Australis when it was fist made in 1950s. * Small planes that can land on large strips of ice. * Helicopters for shorter distances or rescues. * Small cruise ships with navigation, etc. * Off road vehicles for driving around the station. * Emergency vehicle shelter for vehicles used in emergencies. * The inflatable rubber boats for summer months when ice has blown out. Equipment * Wooden shovels, a compass and mostly non-automated equipment. * Signals to communicate and fire for heat-no phones or electrical heat. * Basic survival equipment- a limited amount taken on expeditions- food, necessaries, etc. * Basic tents prone to being destroyed in strong winds-not completely water tight. * Some metallic, some wooden tools to dig, cut and carry items in. * Telecommunication and navigation ways like phones, GPS’s and full-proof maps. * Waterproof tents with firmness to withstand strong winds. * Metal tools to dig, cut, gather water and cook meals. Good quality equipment. * Normal da to day equipment like boxes to keep samples in. Clothing * Several layers of basic warm clothing-no proper insulation-weighed more than modern clothing. * Gloves, fabric headgear (beanie like0 covering most of face with no proper insulation for the nose. * Insulated clothing with minimum weight. * Brightly coloured clothing to stand out and be easily spotted. * Clothing that can get wet and dries quicker than most. * Gloves, beanies, and nose protection with maximum insulation. Humans have adapted to the Antarctic climate with the use of new technology, more user-friendly equipment like automatic vehicles rather than human –pulled sleds and clothing that not only protects expeditioners from the cold with better results than clothing used in Mawson’s expedition, but at the same time is also comfortable to wear, allowing activities to be completed with ease. Todays transport in Antarctica- off-vehicles, portable rubber boats and small aircrafts- are all much more efficient than those used in Mawson’s expedition- human or dog pulled sleds and wooden carts. They require less human strength and energy that can instead be used in conserving body heat, are a lot less time consuming allowing more work to be completed or a greater distance covered in an expedition and most of all, the new forms of transport are much more reliable with a less risk of breaking down or failing in the middle of an expedition. Another adaption humans have made to help battle the Antarctic climate is their improved clothing that has better insulation, conserving more heat. This clothing has made humans feel as if they are feeling the same temperature as in other cold places around the world with very little extra weight on themselves. They have also been able to carry tools around on expeditions that can dig, cut and build with greater ease than those of Mawson’s expedition. This adaption has allowed humans to not be prevented and stopped by physical barriers on Antarctica and instead overcome them, using stronger tools like those used around the world. Animal Adaptation: Every environment is subject to changes that vary from season to season and from year to year. Even in Antarctica where it is always cold the variations can be quite marked. For example, the number and intensity of storms and blizzards can vary from year to year as can the time at which the sea-ice forms in autumn or breaks out in summer. These environmental changes are likely to have an influence on the animals that live there. Nature has provided the emperor penguin with a need to adapt to the extreme conditions of Antarctica. Standing 1.2m tall, over time the largest penguin has developed many physical and behavioral adaptations that leave it as a truly amazing bird, which not only easily survive the Antarctic winters, but also are also capable of doing almost anything during the time. Emperor Penguins have excellent insulation against the cold in the form of several layers of scale-like feathers that take very strong winds (over 60 knots) to get them ruffled. They have a very small bill and flippers, which conserve heat and are not as exposed to the temperatures due to their size. Their nasal chambers also recover much of the heat that is normally lost during exhalation. They also possess strong claws in their feet for gripping the ice and slippery surfaces, allowing them to waddle instead of sliding around on their bellies all the time. Another special physical adaptation of the emperor penguin is the ability to ‘recycle’ its own body heat. The emperor’s arteries and veins lie close together so that blood is pre-cooled on the way to the bird’s feet, wings and bill and warmed on the way back to the heart. Emperor penguins have large reserves of energy-giving body fat to use during low-level activities during winter. The emperor penguin also possesses many behavioral advantages to survive in the climate of Antarctica. They are very social creatures, and one of their survival mechanisms is an urge to huddle together to keep warm. To keep warm, the males close ranks to share their warmth. Even though Emperors are large birds and when carrying their incubation fat, they are about as large around the chest as a human, they still huddle on very cold days, with as many as ten packed into every square metre, cutting heat loss by as much as 50%. This huddling instinct means that they do not defend any territory (the emperor penguin is the only species of penguin that is not territorial) and instead radiate heat and keep warm together. Another behavioral technique used by the emperor penguin to survive the conditions in Antarctica is their ability to mate and reproduce during winter rather than in summer and take care of their eggs. Like most penguins, emperor parents closely share parental duties. What is unique about emperors however, is the co-operation between males while carrying out their parenting duties. Once the egg has been laid during winter, the male emperor puts the egg under his brood flap to keep it warm at about 380C so that the egg can eventually hatch instead of dying inside. During this period of a few months, the male does not eat anything and instead closes together with the others to stay warm himself and to keep the egg warm while the mother goes off to find food. When she comes back after winter is almost done, the chick, which would have hatched around the time, is fed and looked after until December at which stage, they are almost the same size as their parents. Because of this cycle formed by the emperor penguins and the ability to breed during winter, the young are hatched and brought up during the early summer instead of peak winter, giving them a higher chance of survival. Conclusion: From the harsh and extreme climate to the rocky and wildlife-populated shores, the continent of Antarctica is unique in almost every way. Larger than two continents combined, covering the South Pole and the driest of the deserts every seen, along with the majestic ice sculptures found nowhere else on the planet, Antarctica draws hundreds of tourists every year to experience these wonders from the welcoming surroundings of world renowned stations established by expedition leaders like Sir Douglas Mawson. No doubt, both humans and animals have had to adapt to the frantically changing climate, but now that they have, they too are enjoying the beauty of Antarctica. References A Livingston Technologies Production. (2012, February ). Design Your Logo. Retrieved April 6, 2013, from Cool Text: http://cooltext.com/Logo-Design-Bad-Acid Australian Government. (2002, June 04). Aurora Australis. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from Australian Antarctic Division : http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/travel-and-logistics/ships/aurora-australis Australian Government. (2002, June 5). Mawson. Retrieved April 9, 2013, from Australian Antarctic Division : http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/stations/mawson Ford, A. B. (2013, February). Antarctica. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Encyclopaedia Britannica: http://school.eb.com.au/eb/article-24711?query=Mawson%20Station&ct= Gaidos, S. (2009, February 2). Antarctica warms, which threatens penguins. (Science News For Kids) Retrieved April 10, 2013, from Earth: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2009/02/antarctica-warms-which-threatens-penguins-2/ Harrowfield, D. (1997). Living and Working in Antarctica. (University of Canterbury – Christchurch, New Zealand) Retrieved April 9, 2013, from Gateway Antarctica: http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/resources/living.html Judge, A. (2010). Antarctica Discovery (Vol. 1). Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Pearson Australia. Maugans Corporation . (2012, July). Antarctica. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from Destop Nexus: http://nature.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/117302/ Oxford University Press. (2010). Mawson Station. Retrieved April 6, 2013, from Oxford Atlas: http://203.166.81.53/secondary/NewOxfordAtlas/VFW/MAWSON/activity.html Royal Geographical Society. (2011). Making Claims. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from Discovering Antarctica: http://www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk/9_claims.php Ward, P. (2001). Antarctica Climate and Weather. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from Cool Antarctica: http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/antarctica%20environment/climate_graph/climate_weather.htm Wienecke, B. (2011, March). Emperor Penguin. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from Sisters School District: http://ssdstudent.net/SMS/2010_11/spro/penguins.htm Appendix Oxford Atlas Virtual Fieldwork 1. Mawson station- an Australian scientific research base named after Sir Douglas Mawson- is located on the eastern side of Antarctica currently claimed by Australia at 670S 620E and south of the Antarctic Circle. Mawson is situated along an isolated outcrop of rock on the coast in Mac.Robertson Land and the south eastern shore of Horseshoe Harbour. Although usually considered closer to Hobart than any other Australian city, Mawson Station is actually situated about 5,475km from Hobart, further than the 5223km southwest of Perth. Relative to Australia’s main cities, Mawson Station lies far to the west of them, falling between South Africa’s Cape Town and Perth in the Southern Ocean. Australia owns and maintains three permanent scientific research bases all located within Australia’s main Antarctic region and one on Macquarie Island in the sub-Antarctic. The three stations are evenly distributed along the coast of Antarctica with Mawson being the most westerly of the three continental stations and the first one built and established. Davis is the most southerly of the stations and is situated SSW of Perth, on the Ingrid Christensen Coast of Princess Elizabeth Land and between the other two. Casey is located in the Windmill Islands, just outside the Antarctic Circle and the only one of three located outside the Antarctic Circle. 2. Mawson’s climate is typical of much of the coast of East Antarctica where the ice caps are present at sea level. The main features of Mawson’s climate are the extremely cold temperatures present there through most of the year. The mean maximum temperature ranges from about 2.50C in January to -15.50C in the peak of winter (July, August, September). Although temperatures around Mawson are mostly in the negatives, they are still a lot warmer and pleasant than those experienced in majority of Antarctica’s inland as the station lies near the coast and at a lower altitude. Winds around Mawson are predominantly from the east and south with the mean annual speed being almost 40 km/h while extreme speeds go past 120km/h in peak winter and maximum gust speeds exceed 140 knots frequently. As it lies south of the Antarctic Circle, the Sun does not rise at Mawson for approximately six weeks from the first week in June and does not set for the same period from early December. During those six weeks in June and July, the day consists of a few hours of twilight. 3. The Aurora Australis is Australia’s Antarctic flagship and was named after the aurora emitted around Antarctica. Designed as a multi-purpose research and resupply ship, the Aurora was built for the Australia Antarctic Program by P&O Polar and launched in September 1989. The ship is 94.9 metres long and 3911 tonnes in weight. It has a cruising speed of 13 knots, and accommodates 116 passengers plus crew. It is capable of breaking ice up to 1.23 metres thick. The Aurora regularly sails across the Southern Ocean where storms can generate 10 metre high seas and winds of 120–150 km/h. The Aurora Australis, designed specifically for trips to and from Antarctica, has many features for this instance. Six of these features are: * Installed in the ship are ways for satellite communications (not present on mainland Antarctica), allowing people on the ship to phone anywhere in the world at any time or stay in touch by email. * The ship’s kitchen can go through 4500 eggs, 1000 kg of potatoes and 280 litres of ice cream. The ship can produce up to 45,000 litres of fresh water per day for use on board for both drinking and other uses. As the trip to Antarctica and back can easily take up to six weeks, a large kitchen and food supply are extremely necessary. * The ship’s colour, bright orange, is painted all around it so that it can stand out in the ocean and making it easier to spot for rescue teams. * Three helicopters can be housed in the hangar and operate from the dedicated helicopter deck at the rear of the ship. They can go to and from the ship ahead to Antarctica or rush back to Australia in an emergency via the ship to refuel. * The ship is well equipped for marine science research with a commercial sized trawl deck, and a commercial hydro acoustic system for the assessment of Southern Ocean organisms such as krill. It also has a general-purpose lab for processing net samples, a hydrographic lab, fish freezer, meteorological lab, five multi-purpose laboratories, a photographic dark room and a scientific workroom. * The Aurora Australis is painted a very bright orange, thus allowing it to be easily seen and spotted in ice-spread waters. 4. Mawson base was first established on 13 February 1954, when an expedition led by Dr Phillip Law landed on the shore of Horseshoe Harbour (located on the coast of Mac Robertson Land), naming the new station in honour of Australia’s greatest polar explorer, Sir Douglas Mawson. Law had chosen this place to establish the station after viewing photographs of Mac Robertson Land from the expeditions of 1929-1931 led by Sir Douglas Mawson and 1946-47 by an aircraft from an American expedition. He chose the location because of its key locality near the coast, the large natural harbour (Horseshoe Harbour), a major hotspot for wildlife to conduct scientific research on and the permanently exposed rock present there for building, requiring very little to be shipped over. During the first year, living quarters, a works hut, the engine shed, two store huts and a carpenter’s shop were built and by 1966, the number of buildings had increase to fifty including the construction of the first aircraft hanger in Antarctica. Mawson’s location lies on the coast with Horseshoe Harbour spread around it. At the southern end of the station, (Horseshoe Harbour), ice sheets cover the waters surface near the shore, leading out into the Southern Ocean. The Mawson region is one of the richest areas for seabirds in the Australian Antarctic Territory, and supports living colonies of emperor and Adelie penguins, petrels and seals. The base at Mawson has very comfortable living conditions. It consists of many buildings in an area (as shown in the image on the right) each for different purposes. Everyone lives in the main accommodation building (the Red Shed), in modern air-conditioned single-room bedrooms. The Red Shed also houses the surgery, lounge, kitchen, and dining room. The Red Shed at Mawson base has indoor climbing, a home theatre, photographic dark room, a library and several common sitting areas for passing time during the winters. The green store is one of the buildings that dominate the skyline at Mawson. It is also where all the dry food and most frozen food are stored. The clothing store, field store and equipment spares are also located here. Inside is another rock climbing wall and open space for games like volleyball. The operation building houses the Station Leader’s office, communications, the post office and the Bureau of Meteorology. The Main Power House is where all the electricity for the station is generated. Waste heat from the generators is piped around the station and used to heat the buildings. The trades’ workshop (known as Red Dwarf) houses all the offices and work area for the trades such as the Diesel mechanics, plumbers and electricians. At Mawson Station, there is also a waste management building, emergency vehicle shelter where all the fire fighting equipment is stored, a high frequency radio-transmitter hut, one aircraft hanger, three helipads (used infrequently), a cosmic ray observatory, The Anaresat dome (a large satellite dish), numerous inflatable rubber boats, the general science building (where the biologists and geophysicists work), the Aeronomy (home to atmospheric space physics), the carpenter’s workshop, Magnetic Variometer hut- a special building that houses sensors that measure and record the changes in the earths magnetic field, magnetic absolutes hut, the wharf (where cargo is loaded and unloaded), the Sun recorder building and two fuel farms. Facilities At Mawson Station Transport Scientific Other Amenities * The emergency vehicle shelter with fire-fighting equipment and other vehicles. * The three helipads and one aircraft hanger and airstrip (currently out of use). * The post office and the high frequency radio transmitter hut for communication. * The inflatable rubber boats for summer months when ice has blown out. * The wharf (the cargo dock). * The cosmic ray observatory and the Bureau Of Meteorology. * The Anaresat dome with the large satellite dish. * The photographic dark room and the library inside the Red Shed. * The general science building where majority of the science is conducted. * The Aeronomy- atmospheric space physics. * The Magnetic Variometer Hut. * The magnetic absolutes hut. * A Sun recorder building. * The Red shed’s living quarters, surgery, lounge, kitchen, dining, theatre and recreation rooms. * The facilities in the Green Store: frozen food storage, clothes store, equipment spares, field store and rock climbing wall. * The waste management building, offices and the main powerhouse. * The gym building (formerly a general room). 5. The four main priority programs undertaken by Australian research scientists in Antarctica are: * Climate processes and change. * Terrestrial and Near-shore Ecosystems: Environmental Change and Conservation. * Southern Ocean Ecosystems: Environmental Change and Conservation. * Frontier Science Climate processes and change: Climate Processes and Change investigates the role of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the global climate system. Its main focus and importance is to address uncertainties identified in â€Å"The Fourth Assessment (2007)† report, which highlights the lack of climate data around the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. It also investigates the role of the region in slowing climate change and the future behavior of the ice. Terrestrial and Near-shore Ecosystems: This program investigates the effects of environmental change on Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic terrestrial and coastal ecosystems. This program provides the scientific basis to guide and develop enhanced environmental protection for these ecosystems. Southern Ocean Ecosystems: the Southern Ocean is facing many threats to its marine life and ecosystems as a result of physical and biological changes that are being caused because of fishing, climate change and acidification. Scientific research under this theme is helping scientists understand the impact of global change on Southern Ocean ecosystems, the effective conservation of Antarctic and Southern Ocean wildlife and the sustainable, ecosystem-based management of Southern Ocean fisheries. Frontier Science: The focus of Frontier Science is to encourage and support research that falls outside the priorities of the other research departments along with focusing in the environmental science in the other categories. It is basically about learning about sciences beside climate change and the causes and effects of them. 6. If you were travelling to a penguin colony 90 kilometres away from Mawson Station, you would most likely travel by a small plane or helicopter capable of landing without requiring a constructed airstrip or helipad. These to options would be far better than by land as conditions along the way could potentially halt your journey-leaving you stranded without support or rescue, it would take a lot longer and a lot more supplies and clothing would be required. Adequate clothing would be required to battle the cold temperatures especially during winter. You would carry and wear a thermal, a suit that constrains heat, thick gloves, headwear that covers majority of your face as well, long insulated pants, thick jackets and other items of clothing usually warn also in Northern Russia and Canada. 7. The area of Antarctica is almost double the size in September than in March as a result of sea ice freezing during the winter (September) and melting during the summer (March). Over a 12-month period, the sea ice begins to melt and the size of Antarctica begins to decrease towards the end of September. It continues to do so until March, when it is almost half the size. Once again, when winter begins around the beginning of April, the sea ice begins to gradually freeze; increasing the area of Antarctica every month until September before the cycle begins again. Scientists use a variety of technology to research these changes. They use drones and satellites to examine the area and measure the increase of size. The satellites map out the area and give an aerial view for scientists to examine and interpret. They examine the oceans, atmosphere and climate patterns to describe and prove how the change occurs. An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheets, most commonly from the polar ice caps or high mountain glaciers. As the ice forms from the incremental build up of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper, and an ice core contains ice formed over a range of years. The properties of the ice and the recrystallized inclusions within the ice can then be used to reconstruct a climatic record based around the age range of the core, normally through analyzing their elements. This enables the reconstruction of local temperature records and the history of atmospheric composition as they contain information about the past climate. 8. Over time the emperor has developed many physical and behavioral adaptations that leave it as a truly amazing bird, which not only can survive the Antarctic winters, but also are capable of doing almost anything during the time. Unlike other animals that have inhabited Antarctica, emperor penguins spend time on both land and water throughout the year, being able to do what they like without the fear of fearful predators and possibly not surviving through the winter. Emperor Penguins have excellent insulation against the cold in the form of several layers of scale-like feathers that take very strong winds (over 60 knots) to get them ruffled. They have a very small bill and flippers, which conserve heat and are not as exposed to the temperatures due to their size. Their nasal chambers also recover much of the heat that is normally lost during exhalation. They also possess strong claws in their feet for gripping the ice and slippery surfaces, allowing them to waddle instead of sliding around on their bellies all the time. Another special physical adaptation of the emperor penguin is the ability to ‘recycle’ its own body heat. The emperor’s arteries and veins lie close together so that blood is pre-cooled on the way to the bird’s feet, wings and bill and warmed on the way back to the heart. Emperor penguins have large reserves of energy-giving body fat to use during low-level activities during winter. The emperor penguin also possesses many behavioral advantages to survive in the climate of Antarctica. They are very social creatures, and one of their survival mechanisms is an urge to huddle together to keep warm. To keep warm, the males close ranks to share their warmth. Even though Emperors are large birds and when carrying their incubation fat, they are about as large around the chest as a human, they still huddle on very cold days, with as many as ten packed into every square metre, cutting heat loss by as much as 50%. This huddling instinct means that they do not defend any territory (the emperor penguin is the only species of penguin that is not territorial) and instead radiate heat and keep warm together. Another behavioral technique used by the emperor penguin to survive the conditions in Antarctica is their ability to mate and reproduce during winter rather than in summer and take care of their eggs. Like most penguins, emperor parents closely share parental duties. What is unique about emperors however, is the co-operation between males while carrying out their parenting duties. Once the egg has been laid during winter, the male emperor puts the egg under his brood flap to keep it warm at about 380C so that the egg can eventually hatch instead of dying inside. During this period of a few months, the male does not eat anything and instead closes together with the others to stay warm himself and to keep the egg warm while the mother goes off to find food. When she comes back after winter is almost done, the chick, which would have hatched around the time, is fed and looked after until December at which stage, they are almost the same size as their parents. Because of this cycle formed by the emperor penguins and the ability to breed during winter, the young are hatched and brought up during the early summer instead of peak winter, giving them a higher chance of survival. Scientists are continuously researching and discovering new behavioral and physical facts about the emperor penguin. They capture the penguins for a while to examine them, using state of the art technology undertaken by biologists both on Antarctica and back in Australia. Some of the research includes: learning about the emperor’s breeding habits, physical body, behavior habits and they are adapting to the changing climate. 9. Tourist travel to Antarctica for a wide range of reasons including an opportunity to experience and view the unique environment with incredible icebergs, auroras, ice arches and wildlife only seen and present there. Tourists usually make the boat trip to Antarctica during the summer between October and February as the climate is at its best, the pack ice is at its lowest, the Sun is high in the sky for most of the day and wildlife is most active at the time, wondering out into the open. A typical journey taken by a tourist to Antarctica usually begins in either: Ushuaia (Argentina), Hobart (Australia), Cape Town (South Africa) or Christchurch (New Zealand) with most choosing the first two. A large boat or small ship is taken from one of these locations, before a long few weeks spent on the waters in more than adequate living conditions. During the journey, tourists can take part in many activities normally present on basic ocean cruises. These include activities like swimming, movies, dining, whale watching, witnessing sights found nowhere else on Earth and other activities to pass time. Once arriving at a station in Antarctica, tourists spend their time on the continent in and around the station, undertaking numerous activities ranging from casual indoor activities like rock climbing, viewing scientific programs and spending time in the library to outdoor activities like watching the penguins, taking a sea kayak to get a close up on sea birds and whales, trekking past and up majestic mountains, scuba diving, walking on the ice and exploring historic huts left behind by various expeditions. There are many impacts on the environment and wildlife in Antarctica caused mainly by the tourists that come and go. The tourism industry to Antarctica involves much more than just the tourists as it involves the ships, accommodation, vehicles and other amenities required for the tourists. Because of this, the wildlife is having a major impact with usual feeding and huddling grounds for penguins being disturbed ad in some cases destroyed along with other places for other species like the rocks being used for construction, taking away the habitat of the seals. Tourists also have an impact on the environment like they do all around the world with specific places being developed especially for them. Parts of Mawson Station has been developed and built recently just for tourists, destroying parts of the natural environment as many of the materials like rocks come from Antarctica instead of being shipped over. The transport in which tourists arrive, boats, also have effect the waters as oil spills- regular due to the ice- pollute the waters harming the whales and other marine life. As a result of this, large ships have been prohibited from the waters around Antarctica as they not only pollute the water, but also disturb and crack the ice. Waste management is another problem occurring at Mawson Station with tonnes of waste accumulating on the continent, creating a major headache for workers to clean up before it’s the toxic chemicals start having an impact on the environment.   

Jonathan Wild †Henry Fielding Essay

The History of the life of Jonathan Wild is the philosophical disposition of a criminal in a right sense belonging to the group of â€Å"Thief Takers†, he emerged as one of the â€Å"Greatest man† in the world of Crime. With the irony as a tool and a satirical disposition, English novelist Henry Fielding’s bought the real Jonathan Wild into his words who was great but goodness was not his vocation and caliber. Jonathan Wild belonged to the genre of Thieve Takers of London. Thieve takers were the ordinary men and women who were rewarded by the police man if they successfully capture highwaymen or law breakers and hand over them to the police or prosecute them themselves. Majority of them were men and they find this work very lucrative. The rates of each Highwaymen, coiners and burglars were worth ? 40 and additional ? 100 was rewarded to them if the crime was committed within the range of five miles of Charing Cross. Jonathan Wild was the most popular and clever of all thief takers at his contemporary period. In the beginning of the eighteenth century he had caught and put before the magistrate many criminals of London. Besides, he would also help in recovering the stolen goods and would demand hefty sum from them. His disposition towards crime created before him an image of a respected citizen in front of not only the authorities but also of whole of London. This attitude in him narrator defined as â€Å"Greatness†, but what nobody knew behind his Greatness lies a most clever and hard-core criminal and a thief. Here the complexity in the nature of protagonist comes in as confined within his nature was a hidden â€Å"bad man†. The recovery of the stolen goods was the part of his great plan. He build up his own empire, with several gangs who had their bases in several districts of London. These gangs had the only business of robbing and pick pocketing. He had also set up specialized gangs for looting churches, gangs over prostitutes, gangs who used to collect protection money from but he never came forward to head the gang but only give them direction. Anyone found neglecting his work or cheated him was immediately reported to police with solid evidences and witnesses who were themselves Wild’s man and in return Wild would get cash reward, therefore narrator abruptly described him as not â€Å"Good. † He was a great hypocrite and was so clever that he always go himself scotch free as no one could prove him guilty. He always would show his gratitude to those who would favor him and show his loyalty towards him and would go to any extent to punish those who would show disloyalty towards them. He would also give protection to those who would seek his to escape from law but also in several cases would himself hand these very people to the authorities not found worthy of him or if get tired. He would never handle the stolen goods himself but had large warehouses where the goods can be altered or repaired and would himself pass the information about the travelers to highwayman. Authorities had complete knowledge about all his illegal activities but were not able to lay their hands on him because of lack of proof. But as there is an end of every bad man, Wild end had also come near and he was finally arrested and given death sentence. Fielding showed Wilde as a courageous soul. At Newgate prison he asked prison clergyman about the â€Å"Theological consequences† of suicide, as he attempted to kill himself by drinking laudanum. Fielding crafted Wild as a bold character with preposterous energy and unswerving disposition. As said by Claude Rawson â€Å"We must not however omit one circumstance, as it serves to show the most admirable conservation of character in our hero to his last moment, which was, that whilst the ordinary was busy in his ejaculations, Wilde in the midst of the Shower of Stones, which played upon him, applied his hands to the Parson’s pocketr, and emptied it of his bottle screw, which he carried out in the world with his hand. â€Å"(Rawson, pg 75). Jonathan Wilde was bold, and had a very strong attitude that he remained with it until the death which narrator aptly termed â€Å"Conservation of Character. †, and truly he was. Works Cited Julien Rawson Claude, The Cambridge Companion to Henry Fielding, Cambridge University Press, 2007. Fielding, Julien Rawson Claude, Bree Linda, Jonathan Wild, Oxford University Press, 2003.

Bubble Popping

â€Å"Aren’t you hot?† â€Å"Were you forced to put that on your head?† â€Å"How many scarves do you have?† These were all questions I had received upon making my decision to wear the hijab, or Muslim headdress. However, there was one question that had not been asked. The answer had been lounging in the back of my mind since July, dangling on the edge of my tongue and waiting to exercise. And finally, â€Å"Why do you wear that?† accompanied with a circular motion around the head. I looked up and found a boy staring back at me, wearing a genuine expression on his face, one of solemn curiosity. I had been preparing for this question for months, yet I did not want to launch into a 20-minute speech preaching about my religion, so I opted for a relatively simple answer. â€Å"I wear this,† pointing to my scarf, â€Å"because it’s a really important part of my religion. It represents modesty, so people won’t judge me by my body shape or appearance, but they’ll like me for my personality and character.† An uncomfortable silence followed. â€Å"Does that make sense?† I prodded. He smiled thoughtfully. â€Å"Yeah, it actually does.† I breathed a sigh of relief and a wave of satisfaction washed over me as I realized I had taken a huge step toward reaching my goal. More experiences similar to this one arose, yet one in particular seemed to clear away the uncertainty of my dreams and aspirations. Every Wednesday the Global Relief club would drive down to El Cajon, California and tutor Iraqi refugees at Emerald Middle School. It became my favorite day of the week—the eager children waiting for us outside the classroom, the Arabic circulating around the room in rapid breaths, and the feeling of contentment I received when I knew I had helped someone. That Wednesday was different though. As we approached the regular classroom, I noticed a small girl standing alone against the wall, staring down at her sneakers. I walked over to her, smiled, and said hello. She replied back in a small voice, and from her accent, I deduced that she had recently immigrated. I knew I could never imagine what she had been through, but I immediately felt a connection to her. In that scared, self-conscious girl, I saw my previous self. Her name was Rana, and she had the quiet, nervous voice I had adapted when I started wearing the hijab. She avoided direct eye contact and almost all conversations that were not in Arabic. My constant attempts to engage her in conversation were dismissed. Communication with her was difficult. While I tutored her, we struggled to understand each other, but after experimenting a few Arabic words in a horrible accent, I managed to make her smile. I learned to say, â€Å"Is this right or wrong?† and â€Å"friend.† In retrospect, I learned many new Arabic words, but those held no hope with my terrible language skills. Instead, Rana taught me other things. By the end of the year, Rana was speaking English at a fast pace, and, laughing, I had to tell her to slow down so I could understand her. She bickered with young boys who were bothering her, and giggled with other girls her age. The same girl who was standing alone against the wall was now chattering away in the large group of kids that waited for us outside the classroom. I watched her grow, and in a way, Rana showed me how much I had grown in the past year as well. Coming from a Muslim background and wearing the hijab has had a lasting impact on who I am, and my dreams of who I wish to be. An ordinary engagement with a peer, a learning experience with a young girl, and the feelings that followed pushed me in the direction of helping others, breaking down barriers, and overcoming communication obstacles. I have learned to communicate with and relate to people who may not be in my immediate religious circle, yet have faced similar experiences of discovering identity and trying to fit in. After a long year of struggling to blend in with 2,500 students, I have not succeeded, yet this â€Å"failure† has benefited me in the long run. I am now not afraid of what people think of me, I can speak my opinions without stuttering, and I do not hesitate to make silly faces at friends across the classroom, just to earn a smile. At some point in each of our lives, we have stared up at the tall, intimidating walls of difference, contemplating the best way to jump, climb, or dig under them to make it to the other side. Some may walk away from these walls, ignoring wonderful opportunities to meet someone who may be different from them, but someone who, nonetheless, they may be able to form a connection with. Our ability to tear down these walls, break out of our molds, and communicate with and relate to others is what truly makes us unique, social beings, and I believe that, with the help of many, including Rana, I have succeeded.

UNIT 5 DISCUSSION BOARD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

UNIT 5 DISCUSSION BOARD - Essay Example Other government funded interests such as education, military and infrastructure will suffer greatly as well. According to the Commerce Department, the yearly payment on this debt, the deficit, reached $725.8 billion. This represents a 17.5 percent increase from 2004 (Armstrong, 2006). These figures are well past most peoples’ comprehension. If, for example, a person were to spend a million dollars a day since the birth of Christ, they would have to continue the spending spree for 700 more years to have spent one trillion dollars. Multiply that amount by eight. That still does not equal the current national debt. Started in 1791, the national debt was, by those days’ standards, an incredible $75 million. Due to President Andrew Jackson’s prudent approach to government spending, the national debt was lowered to, again adjusted to today’s standards, a much lower level – $37 thousand (Suter, 2004). The Reagan/Bush administrations of the 1980’s ran the debt up by historic proportions. When President Clinton took office in 1993, the debt stood at $2.4 tr illion. The massive increase of debt was not used for infrastructure, education, public programs or even to finance a war. As a result of Reagan’s ‘trickle down’ economic theory, the money wound up in the pockets of the rich. In the early 1990’s, Congress adopted a ‘pay-as-you-go’ policy and federal spending cuts which resulted in budget surpluses for four consecutive years. Clinton announced that the nation could pay off the debt by the year 2013 if it stayed on the present course (Schoen, 2006). That optimistic predication has long since been forgotten. Since 2000, the debt has tripled. The ‘pay-as-you-go’ policy expired in 2002 allowing Congress to cut taxes, a politically advantageous move while also increasing spending (Schoen, 2006). The current President Bush administration cut the taxes of the rich while increasing military

How does the imagination of disaster (Susan Sontag) function in Essay - 1

How does the imagination of disaster (Susan Sontag) function in depictions of urban catastrophe in film I Am Legent' (2007) - Essay Example Susan argues that the film thrives on the sensuous connection with the audience through the arresting images and the immediacy of the experience as observed on the screen. The author traces the main stages of development of the sci-fi film in terms of the emergence of a situation that disturbs harmony, to the stages of disbelief, tragedy, threat, destruction, feelings of vulnerability, and the heroic antics of a lone actor who eventually designs some kind of remedy that prevails against the formidable foe. The main features in Sontag’s analysis are manifest in the post-apocalyptic film I am Legend, which was directed by Francis Lawrence with Will Smith featuring as the military virologist Robert Neville, the main protagonist (Lawrence, 2007). In the film, Neville finds himself facing the odds of a horrific destruction wrought by a scientific experiment gone awry leading to a virulent strain of a virus that has depopulated nearly 95 percent of the world population. Neville has to put aside his own pain of losing his wife and child and struggle to save his own life and the lives of the few surviving humans by developing an antidote that would rescue the infected and the few survivors. The task is daunting and the odds are nearly insurmountable for the lone hero but he has to endeavor to contain the horror. The film represents the good and bad of science in the sense that it captures both its threat to humanity and its near limitless potential to provide solutions to the same thre ats. Sontag argues that scientific films are mainly dominated by the theme of massive destruction (Sontag, 1966). The focus, she argues is the scale of destruction, which is usually captured on an enormous and shocking scale. Destruction is captured in grim details that involve the potency of powerful machinery, a determined destructive force, and great humanitarian suffering. Most of these films anticipate calamities and apocalyptic

Individual project 5 Final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Individual project 5 Final - Assignment Example The market research was conducted through the pragmatic approach. The pragmatic approach secures effective cost benefit analysis of the current business environments (Bradley, 2007). Nordstrom Inc is a fashion store targeting the high-end American market. It was initiated by John Nordstrom and Carl Wallin; and its current headquarters is in Seattle area of Washington DC. The company started with the shoe business; but it has grown tremendously and currently stocks cosmetics, accessories, jewelry, handbags and clothing fragrances. Currently the company has over 260 stores in 35 states in America. The competitors for Nordstrom Inc in the luxury clothing sector include Lord and Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomindales and Neiman Marcas. The company is also implementing global strategies; for example it has operational stores in Canada. In the USA luxury clothing industry, Nordstrom Inc has the largest share of the store locations, and the biggest geographic representation (Gupta, 2005). Segmentation analysis entails dividing a big population into small segments so as to realize socio-demographic determinants of desired behaviors. The characteristics of members of the subpopulation are relatively similar statistically. Common factors of study in segmentation are demographic, behavioral or psychological variables like; education, age, attitudes, income and even sexual orientation (Kotler, 2006). Segmentation analysis integrates these factors into correlated attributes that identify specific population segments. Segmentation enables companies like Nordstrom Inc to produce the desired goods and services that address the requirements of the unique market segments. This will ensure increased market share, and thereafter improved sales and profit margins. Business segmentation analysis supports decision making in companies like Nordstrom. Segmentation is applied in clothing industry to ensure adequate understanding of the lifestyles, concerns or values of the

The Security Professional and their role in Emergency, Disaster and Essay

The Security Professional and their role in Emergency, Disaster and Contingency Planning - Essay Example It also explains the measures and techniques that the security professional use to handle different emergencies or disasters. An emergency refers to an unforeseen combination of circumstances whose resulting states of nature require immediate attention and actions. An emergency may be serious to the extent that if no immediate attention is provided, it can result to crucial and fatal situations. A contingency, on the other hand, refers to an event that has the possibility of either occurring or not occurring in the future as predicted. A disaster can occur if people live near hazardous areas like unstable slopes where landslides are most likely to happen active volcanoes or close to rivers that are likely to burst and flood any minute. Introduction Security professionals are a group of low voltage contractors, individuals, or firms that specialize in the installation of security systems (Fischer, 2008). These systems are installed either at homes, offices, business premises, military camps, or even sport centers and clubs. Security professional also engage in maintenance and servicing of the security systems installed at any given destination. The different types of security systems include fire alarms, burglar alarms, 24 hour emergency service, access control, internet and cellular monitoring, closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems, 24 hour UL monitoring system, home theatres and outdoor intrusion detectors. Security professionals ensure that they provide the necessary security system for all destinations. For example, in providing for home security, there are different systems that can be provided and they include fire alarm notification and detection, medical emergency notification, intrusion detection and carbon monoxide detection (Fischer, 2008). The installation of home security is vital for any home because it provides 24 hour security to an individual’s loved ones especially when one is absent. This is because it aids in watching o ver one’s valuable possessions while absent from the house at any given time of day. This kind of protection is necessary since it reduces chances of burglary and intrusion. To aid in home security, also available are both wireless and hard wired systems that have a battery backup which keeps the homes protected even if power goes off. Security camera systems and video surveillance have gained popularity in protecting business areas like banks and other retail stores. Security cameras and videos have aided in improving security of these facilities because they tend to attract huge numbers of people that frequent their premises on a daily account. Security professionals have also had an upper hand in improving security in travel depots like air strips, shipping and port security, and the road transport security. Air port security is of utmost importance because a lot of people travel by plane. Security professionals seek to ensure that no passengers board the plane with prohib ited items that could cause a plane hijack or a staged bomb. This is done by ensuring that items like knives, pen knives, fire arms, scissors, box cutters, inflammable objects and other sharp objects are confiscated upon discovery at the checking points (Fischer, 2008). In road transport mainly operated by the buses, action plans are

Business process mapping analysis for achiffa snack foods Essay

Business process mapping analysis for achiffa snack foods - Essay Example The company management has come across a number of gaps within the various systems and operations associated with the production, logistics, supply and warehousing departments. The management had in the past focused on increasing the product line by adding new products to its portfolio, and did not stress on improvement and service. Presently, there are a number of issues that are being faced the company on various fronts. There is an urgent requirement for changes in the facilities and the marketing fronts, customer handling, product pricing, product line system maintenance, packaging and storing of products. The image of being a quick service and supply chain of Achiffa Snack foods has been diminished of lately, resulting in losses to the profit margins of the organization. With pressure to get back on track with better profit margins, it is time that the Achiffa management thinks about implementing changes and improvements and devise a proper improvement strategy that focuses on e nhanced operations and better customer satisfaction. SECTION 1 BUSINESS PROCESS MAPPING ANALYSIS FOR ACHIFFA SNACK FOODS Business process mapping is related to identification of activities that are involved in the business of Achiffa Snack Foods. The process map clearly defines what the business does, the various procedures that are involved. The business process mapping of Achiffa clearly defines the various tasks involved throughout the whole supply chain of the company, from the order placement to the final delivery of the order to the customer. Business process mapping will help the company to identify where the gaps exist within the chain and which task needs more attention from the management and whether or not improvements can be made to the current process, (Kim 2006). Below is the business process mapping for Achiffa Snack Foods. The entire business of the company is divided between six departments which are identified as below – 1. Customer department – This department is in charge of functions likes order generation and collecting payments from customers on time. 2. Sales Department – This is concerned with maintaining the sales of the company at competitive levels. 3. Credit and Invoicing department – This is concerned with the accounts of the entire business. 4. Production Control Department – This is concerned with the production management of the products manufactured by Achiffa Snack foods. 5. Copying Department – This is concerned with the production scheduling and warehousing and logistics scheduling of the final delivery product. 6. Assembly and Shipping – This department is concerned with proper packaging, labeling and shipping of orders on time. PARETO ANALYSIS FOR ACHIFFA SNACK FOODS One of the recommended quality tools for Achiffa Snack food case study is the Pareto Analysis that has helped in identifying and solving the most common problems and concerns within the Achiffa

It can be in firms' interests to source components they need from Assignment

It can be in firms' interests to source components they need from competitors. Explain how this can be the case and examine an - Assignment Example The ability to plough back the profits into the business operations gives the firm a competitive advantage over the competitors. Buying of the competitors products may mean the increase in the economies of scale to the firm, which buys the components. This may also come up with the risks associated with the changes in the market structure to torment the operations of the firm (Cennam, & Santalo 2013, pp. 1346-1349) The Benefits When the firm buys the component of the competitor, the firm enjoys vast economies of scale. When the size of the firm increases, the competition wrecks, since the production of the major competitor ids impeded. The competitor the economic scale increases with great efficiency of the firm to solve the huddles of the markets. The costs of operations decrease in the sense that the firm will not at the verge of strong competition to demand a lot in their production mechanism. Being able to control the market gives the firm another heightened advantage as the pric e is set by the major producer of the products. This is further motivated also by the low costs of production that the firm enjoys due to the wide base of economies of scale (Long & Wijeyaratne, 2013. pp. 21). ... More customers would be attracted to the firm’s products. This would attract more customers to buy the firm’s product (Pukeliene & Maksvytiene, 2008. pp. 40). The firm will be able to offer more benefits on its products than the competing products from other firms within the economy. This ability to deliver better services to the customers, improves the firm’s ability to satisfy the growing demands in the contemporary markets (Cummins & Xie, 2013. pp. 151-153). The firm is able to make economic profit margins by having the opportunity to choose from the best alternative due to the diverse products from the firm. The bought components of the competitor can be released to the markets at the firm’s most convenient time. This give the firm the widest base on the opportunity cost (Long & Wijeyaratne, 2013. pp. 80). The markets may demand the products, the firm is at a better position to select on the demanded product, and offer at the firm’s own set pric e. The advantage of the firm to select on the best and readily available product to sell to the market, gives the firm more profits since they sell at their own set prices. When the demand of a given product goes up, the price increases significantly (Dichter & Sala, 2012). This gives the firm an opportunity to sell it at their own set price. This increases the interests of the firm, which it can use to further control the markets based on the wide economies of scale. For example, if the firm decides to release a product, which is highly demanded for to the markets, and the difference in the profits accrued is the opportunity cost. At such a time, the value of the demanded product is higher than the actual value of the other similar products and that of the product itself when the demand is low (Spiller, 2011.

Research Proposal Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Research Proposal - Dissertation Example As a consequence, the globalisation commitment entered into by countries in multilateral agreements was met with slow progress and considerable suspicion by political and civic groups. Businessmen were quick to see the advantages, however, of gaining access to new markets opening up across borders. In deciding upon entering a foreign market, a firm takes on considerable risks, but foresees that there is an opportunity to earn considerable returns as well. It will therefore base its decision on whether or not there is a favourable trade-off between risks and returns – that is, whether the chances of earning returns significantly higher than it would in the local market would exceed the risks that it may be facing. This is the crux of the normative decision theory. On the other hand, behavioural theory suggests that a firm may also consider entry into foreign markets depending on the trade-off between the relative availability of resources in the targeted site compared with the home site, as against the degree of control that may be exercised, which is seen to diminish the more distant the host site (Agarwal & Ramaswami, 1992). In the course of this study, the purpose is to gain possible insight into the evolving dynamics involving the entry of UK firms into foreign markets, particularly (though not exclusively) emerging markets. It expects to develop new insights into stakeholders’ perceptions about those considerations that would tend to favour one mode of expansion of foreign direct investment over another, the implications on control and risk, and the nature of the target market in relation to the home economy. 2. Objectives This dissertation aims to accomplish the following objectives† 2.1 To determine the impact of firm-specific factors on the choice of entry mode into a foreign market; 2.2 To determine the impact of host country factors on the choice of entry mode into a foreign market; 2.3 To determine the impact of home country factor s on the choice of entry mode into a foreign market. 2.4 To determine whether or not the location of the firm within an industrial district has any bearing upon the choice of entry mode. 3. Research questions In order to accomplish the objectives set forth in the preceding section, the dissertation shall seek to provide answers to the following research questions: 3.1 What are the effects of the following firm-specific factors on the choice of entry mode of a UK firm into a foreign market, namely: 3.1.1 Firm size; 3.1.2 International business experience; 3.1.3 Organizational culture? 3.2 What are the effects of the following host country factors on the choice of entry mode of a UK firm into a foreign market, namely: 3.2.1 Cultural distance; 3.2.2 Country risk; 3.2.3 Market attractiveness? 4. Critical Review of Literature 4.1 International marketing strategy The various modes of entry into a market include exporting, joint venture, sole venture, licensing and franchising, and more co nventionally, the internet and international agencies (Wind, Douglas & Perlmutter, 1973; Hisrich, 2009; Pride &Ferrell, 2010). It is generally acknowledged in studies on entry modes that these modes vary more prominently with respect to level of control exercised by the firm over its offshore subsidiary, either whole or

Higher education Essay Example for Free

Higher education Essay Security, quality education, access to healthcare, prospects of a reasonable job on merit and sound economy are the ingredients to be provided by the state to its citizens to run the state and the society smoothly. Growth of successful nations is denoted particularly to the education. There was a time when people believed that higher education should be available to people of all social classes and, obviously, it was freely available to all who wanted it. The fact that it is not, that public education was once available and now it is very hard to access is indicative of deep problems in Pakistan. Encouraging colleges and universities to raise their own resources by charging higher fees has clearly excluded a significant section of students belonging to poor sections of the society. Education in Pakistan is now so expensive that poor can’t even imagine of their children becoming doctors and engineers. Our education system is passing through a very bad phase now and it is regarded as perhaps amongst the poorest in the world. Cream of the Pakistani brain is either becoming idle due to non-availability of ever rising cost of education or going to other countries. UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS Article 1 provides; every child has the right to have equal access to an education, irrespective of their color, creed, nationality, ethnicity, or social and financial status, so they may obtain gainful employment and contribute to the growth of their society, being born free and equal in dignity and rights. Life for a common man in Pakistan in this so called â€Å"democratic† regime has already become difficult owing to the all-round price rise across the country. Inflation, combined with policies of privatization, has caused a complete deterioration in living standards of the people. Frankly speaking, there is no such thing as democracy in Pakistan. This type of â€Å"democracy† has often left the common man in constant struggle for survival. Majority of Pakistanis are living in poverty and unsustainable economic conditions; when they are struggling for their livelihood education loses its utility in their eyes and it becomes far from their desire. But for the riches and powerful corrupt politicians, things are very rosy. Pakistan is suffering terribly for that, with socio-political and economic crises strewn all over the society like a straw hut in a typhoon. Lack of good education and unemployment in Pakistan would contribute many social ills, including crime, prostitution, and the break down in law and order. In Pakistan, providing education to the masses had always been state responsibility. Now there has been a major push for the private provision of educational services. Moreover, corrupt politicians, feudalism, injustice are such problems which have further pressed the most pressed people of the country. Education is a tremendous tool for social change as well as an opportunity out of poverty traps. People trapped in the lower classes have trouble climbing out of it because they lack the tools to do so, because they live in a feudal society that actively works to keep them there, and education can be a form of escape hatch. But Education System in Pakistan In Human development Report Pakistan is placed at 136th position for having just 49. 9% educated population. In addition to that, Pakistan is ranked at 113th out of 120 registered UN members according to the research conducted by UNESCO et. all. Some of the very basic flaws of the education system in Pakistan contribute to the economic, ethnic and sociopolitical crisis within the country. Flaws of Education System in Pakistan Firstly, the education system of Pakistan is based on unequal lines. Medium of education is different in both, public and private sector. This create a sort of disparity among people, dividing them into two segments. Such a distraught infrastructure is a basic cause of high illiteracy rate in Pakistan and high drop out rates in rural areas and public school. Secondly, regional disparity is also a major cause. The schools in Balochistan (the largest province of Pakistan by Area) are not that much groomed as that of Punjab (the largest province Of Pakistan by Population). In FATA, the literacy rate is deplorable constituting 29. 5% in males and 3% in females. The third major cause of flawed education system in Pakistan is gender discrimination. The current primary school ratio of boys and girls is 10:4, which is a cause of huge concern. For the last few years there has been an increase in the growth of private schools. It is believed that Pakistan is among the most prominent states affected by gender discrimination. That not only harms the quality of education in Pakistan but create a gap among haves and have nots. Fourthly, the lack of technical education is a biggest flaw in the education policy that has never been focused before. Therefore, less technical people means low standard of education. Fifthly, the allocation of funds for education are very low. It is only 1. 5 to 2. 0 percent of the total GDP. It should be around 7% of the total GDP. At that budget allocation, the illiteracy rate in Pakistan would not decrease but rather increase. The federal and provincial governments need to cut down their expenditures in other areas and spend a bigger proportion of income on education. Moreover, the quality of education in most of the public schools and colleges is well below par; the teachers in government schools are not well trained. People who do not get job in any other sector, they try their luck in educational system. They are not professionally trained teachers so they are unable to train a nation. Quality of teaching needs special attention in rural areas where the teachers lack in all departments. In America, Europe and most of the developed countries, the emphasis of the states is on developing virtual education systems i. e. provision of education through online networks. The idea of online education is gathering momentum and many online institutions have been set up which offer online courses and online degrees. The Higher Education Commission and Education ministry need to focus on developing a strong online education network so that students through out the country can benefit. Universities such as Harvard, Berkley and MIT are offering online courses and degrees. It reflects the importance of online education in todays modern high tech world. Finally, Poverty is also another factor that restrict the parents to send their children to public or private schools. So, they prefer to send their children to Madrassas where education is totally free. The government has to make changes to financial infrastructure to improve the situation. Bank loans for education purposes should not be interest based as it discourages the people of Pakistan to acquire loans. Education loans are offered at low rates through out the world and it enable people to acquire quality education. Social awareness regarding all these issues need to be spread and we, the people of Pakistan have to work hand in hand with the government authorities to improve the current system. Our children should not be deprived of their basic right to acquire knowledge. All these issues contribute to high illiteracy rate, which in turn result in economic crisis in shape of high unemployment rate and below-par quality of labor. Moreover, the country suffers on social, political and technological front! There are hundred other problems which need attention but the core-issues need to be addressed as soon as possible. You can read my article Pakistans Educational System which is an overview of the education infra-structure within the country. In todays world, the benchmark for excellence is education. Moreover, if a country has a distraught academic infrastructure, the chances to survive in current competitive world are petite. The illiteracy rate in Pakistan is alarmingly high which calls for critical attention. The federal and provincial governments need to work together towards elimination of flaws of education system in Pakistan. The first time I thought about education and its significance to this society was when I went on a field trip to a school set up by an NGO in the late 1990s. It is now a rightly famous NGO but back then during my sixth grade field trip it just seemed like a project of a group of cranky Karachi businessmen who had decided to spit against the wind of the government’s non-interest in providing education to its people. These rich grouches had  gotten together in the chaos of 1995 Karachi and seeing the government more interested in massacring hard-boiled militants than provide social services, they decided to simply pool their own money and build their own schools. How benevolent of them. I would love to see these rich men’s tax receipts. The citizens of a country shouldn’t be dependent on the benevolent charity of rich men. Through their own democratic political process, citizens must enforce upon their richest members the income taxes necessary to fund an education system that reaches every child in the state. The fact that Pakistanis have not done so points towards the weakness of their political system in dealing with its population’s educational needs. There is no real shortcut from the state actually enforcing a tax system that extracts the adequate revenue needed to fund the creation of a school near every human settlement in Pakistan. The goal I have described of having a school near every human settlement in Pakistan, is what Pakistan is obligated to do under its current international treaties and the simplest and most straightforward way it can be done. It is certainly not impossible. Pakistan has managed to make sure that no human settlement lacks a mosque. The same needs to be done for schools. Where we went wrong Nationalisation of schools, as was done by the Z. A. Bhutto administration, was a shortcut that cannot be used, and was actually instrumental in ruining government schools. The provincial governments that ran education departments became overstretched then to the point of breaking. The schools that were nationalised saw the prospect of future capital and human investment in them pointless, as the former owners were now dispossessed of their old stake in the schools. Good teachers left, rather than become government employees to be posted in far flung places, and the lack of good teacher training colleges, a necessity unacknowledged up until recently, saw little competent replacement. By nationalising the missionary (Christian), faith-based (Muslim) and private schools, an unwieldy, unplanned expansion of Pakistan’s school system reduced the status of government school teachers to the corrupted, incompetent, ineffective place it finds itself in today. Teachers do not come to classes, and if they do, they are ill-prepared to teach. It becomes difficult to weed out and penalise underperforming teachers because their status as government employees prevents them from being penalised as they would be in the private sector. As much as this rhetoric may sound similar to the United States, Pakistan’s teachers’ unions continue to shelter wildly incompetent teachers, who beyond being simply bad at teaching, many times do not even show up. Anti-participatory environment We are not helped either by large class sizes, low teacher to student ratios, non-production of teachers in a sufficient quantity and quality by the low number of Pakistani teacher-training colleges. Central to this remains the criminally low expenditure on education by Pakistan, and the failure to collect or divert enough revenue to the education sector. Taking the education emergency of Pakistan seriously would mean finding means to increase the amounts spent on education in Pakistan, on a war footing. Students cannot themselves push for an effective learning environment. Despite the fact that some students actually do want to learn, the environment that exists in classrooms, does not brook dissent. This discourages students from bringing up flaws in their educational setting. This anti-participatory environment in classrooms is facilitated by excessively large class sizes, which discourages teachers from having more individualised interactions with students. This anti-participatory trend in classrooms is complemented by an anti-democratic trend in schools, where no voting is done to elect new prefects or monitors, rather the relevant students are appointed by the school administration. Giving students an opportunity to actually vote for their school leaders might inculcate democratic and participatory values in them at an earlier age, and teach them the responsibility of making their own decisions. If and when these students reach Pakistani universities, they can adequately recognise the entrenched authoritarianism accumulated in many of Pakistan’s universities over the last three decades. Student politics This persistent anti-democratic trend within Pakistan’s educational establishments has reinforced the low academic quality of these institutions. There is little legitimate input from the student bodies on how their education is conducted. Since the 1980s student union elections have been either banned or delayed, witnessing unrest in a violent country like Pakistan ripple into campuses as violence, as opposed to measured  debate. The situation turned chaotic in the 1990s when the general mayhem of the city of Karachi coincided with violence on the Karachi University campus. The presence of such violence made the students of that decade disinterested in participatory politics. This suited the authoritarian and bureaucratic administrations of varsities, as well as the sclerotic, unelected leadership of Pakistan’s political parties. They did not mind that the students of Pakistan slid into political apathy. However, the importance of student politics was re-kindled in the 2007 lawyer-led movement against the dictatorship of General Musharraf. The importance of student politics was even acknowledged by the government that won against Musharraf in 2008, when it lifted the ban on student and trade union elections. However, the twist in the tale has been the glaring domestic democratic deficit of this government. The anti-participatory atmosphere on campuses has not lifted as no memorable student elections have been held. Neither have any well-publicised trade union elections been held. And most significantly, no internal party elections have been held in any party that maintains a decisive number of seats in parliament. What the lack of student democracy has to do with Pakistan’s state of education is that there is no feedback from students, who are the objects of education. There is no diminishment in the cruel authoritarian atmosphere of Pakistani government classrooms, where teachers, in negligent enough environments can still use sticks to punish students. I never really thought about education in society as a child. That would have been expected of any 11 year old. But when I visited a third grade NGO school classroom in the late ’90s and saw another 11 year old struggling with phrases I would read just for fun, it hit me how serious the problem of illiteracy was for Pakistani society. In a misbegotten decade as that one, beyond the Gordian knot we had witnessed of Karachi’s bloody politics, the reality of children’s mis-education struck me as a crueler fate, a dire issue that had to be resolved immediately. That’s because these ill-educated children would not remain children much longer. They would soon be badly-educated adults. And if this cruel act of omission by Pakistani society was not amended quick enough, then one more generation would see their adulthoods wasting away under the 21st century curse of illiteracy. Tax the rich, teach the kids. We have an education emergency on our hands. The Education System of Pakistan is divided into five levels 1. Primary level (Class 1 to 5) 2. Middle level (Class 5 to 8th) 3. Secondary level (S. S. C) 4. Intermediate level (H. S. C) 5. University level (Graduation, Masters and Research) Another division of Education System in Pakistan according to the School System 1. 1. Public Schools or Government Schools These schools are managed and financed by the government. Unfortunately, the majority of the schools are in poor condition.  » There is no any merit system; teachers and other staff are appointed by the ministers on their own wishes.  » There is no any accountability; a large number of GHOST SCHOOLS AND GHOST TEACHERS are listed in the documents. They are receiving funds and pays, but, in reality they did not exists.  » In Rural areas, the buildings of public schools are mostly held by Waderas and Feudal. They use them as marriage halls, otaks, bethaks etc. â€Å"Public schools are the nurseries of all vice and immorality. † (Henry Fielding) 1. 2. Elite Class Schools (private schools) Due to badly failure of government in providing the Education, the Elite Class Education System in Pakistan got successes very quickly. Today, even poor prefer to send their child in these private schools but because of high fee structure many aspirants are unable to part this Education System. It is generally accepted that, the standard of Elite Class Education System is more reliable and first-rate than Public Schools and Madarsas. There is accountability, transparency and checking system. Generally, the students of private schools are more competent than those of public schools and Madarsas. The government should take lessons from this Education System. These are successive models for the government i. e. CITY SCHOOL, BEACON SCHOOLS, PAK-TURK SCHOOLS etc. 1. 3. Madarsas Madarsas are the largest NGOs of the world. Today in Pakistan about 8000 Madarsas are working. They provide not only Education but also accommodation and food. They provide Islamic as well as worldlyEducation. Mostly, poor parents who are unable to educate their child prefer this Education System. The government should introduce the reforms for the Madarsas and improve their standard. This will be helpful in two ways. Firstly, it will provide free of cost education to poor child. Secondly, it will lessen the burden the government. Before the 18th Amendment, the EducationSystem in Pakistan was the responsibility of Federal Government. The Ministry of Education at Federal level was responsible for formulating Policies, Planning and Promotion of Educational facilities across the country. But, after the passing of 18th Amendment, the responsibilities of Education System are divided among the Federation and the Provinces. The responsibilities of the Provinces 1. To set the Curriculum 2. To set the Syllabus 3. Standards of Education up to Grade 12 (F. Sc, H. S. C, I. Com, etc). 4. Islamic Education The responsibilities of Federation are following 1. Planning and Policy 2. External Affairs; Signing, implementation and monitoring of Bilateral and Multi-lateral Educational Agreements, Pacts, Protocols, MoUs 3. Controlling of Libraries, museums, and similar institutions 4. Federal agencies i. e. FATA 5. Special Studies 6. Inter-provincial matters and co-ordination. † 7. Legal, medical and other professions. 8. National planning and national economic coordination including planning and coordination of scientific and technological research. 9. National Education Policy and clear cut Domain over the following acts. 1. 1. Centres of Excellence Act 1974 2. Area Study Centres Act 1975 3. Pakistan Study Centres Act 1976 4. National Book Foundation Act 1972 5. Fed. Board of Intermediate Sec Education Act 1975 6. Federal Directorate of Education Isb. [Article 142 (d)] 7. Federal Supervision of Curricula, Textbooks and Standards of Education Act 1976 8. National Education Foundation Ordinance 2002. Source: http://www. defence. pk/forums/national-political-issues/125588-education-system-pakistan-good-bad. html#ixzz2PKkMjbtM Flaws hovering over Pakistan’s education system Filed under ISSUES 0 According to the reports of Human development our country is placed at 136th with just 49. 9 percent educated population. There is lack of uniform education system. Private and Govt. educational institutions has different syllabus. The flaws in education system lead to sociopolitical, economic and ethical issues in our society. Our education system is based on uneven lines. Even the medium of education is different in private and public educational institutions. This inequality has divided people among two segments. Such a distressed educational infrastructure is a crucial cause of increasing rate of illiteracy in Pakistan. The regional discrepancy is also main reason illiteracy in Pakistan. The schools in largest province of Pakistan Baluchistan are not establish and sparked as schools in Punjab. There is lack of awareness among people about the significance of education. In FATA the literacy rate is very poor constituting 29. 5% in men and 3% in women. The gender discrimination is also one of the major causes of educational flaws in country which is projecting the boys and girls primary schools ratio 10:4 correspondingly. In the last few years many new primacy schools for girls and boys are established but still there is need to establish more and more primary schools to meet the educational needs of increasing population. In the last decade the growth of private sector schools is tremendously increased. The private schools trend not just harms the quality of education but also created a huge gap between rich and poor. The people of lower class couldn’t afford the fees of private educational schools and colleges. In public schools there is lack of quality education. There is also shortage of required facilities like qualified, train staff, furniture and school buildings etc. Our educational policy doesn’t focus on technical education. There are very few technical institutions and less technical trained people in country. The funds allocated for the education are not sufficient the funds are just about 1. 5 % to 2. 0% of total GDP. Although to promote the education the funds must be about 7 percent of total country GDP. With increased education budget the literacy rate in country will surely increased. The provincial and federal Government both need spend a larger portion of their income on promoting education. Author: Rizwan Ghani Posted On: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 Source/Reference: www. pakobserver. net Total Views :1320| After 18th Amendment, improvement of education in Pakistan to international standards can be done with help of international frameworks including Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and boards like National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Federal and provincial governments have to address the issue of teaching language (English, Urdu or regional languages), standardization of curriculum, and dealing with two-track education system- Urdu and English medium to take local and international exams. These tested frameworks can bring the progress of decades in Pakistan while saving billions of dollars. Thus, Pakistan needs to adopt appropriate policies to raise education standards, sustain economy and earn foreign exchange. The political, social and education complexities of teaching language can be controlled with help of international frameworks. PISA does not require the member states to change curriculums, teaching languages and teaching methodologies. It allows governments to periodically monitor outcomes of national education systems within internationally agreed framework. It provides a basis for international collaboration in defining and implementing educational goals and skills that are relevant to adult life (professional and social). PISA reading, mathematics and general science frameworks help bring national education at par with international standards. Around half a million 15-year-olds from 75 countries representing 28 million students, participated in PISA 2009 assessments and surveys. Pakistan can use PISA to improving national education standards in all provincial languages (www. pisa. oecd. org). Teaching in local languages can improve Pakistan’s education standards internationally. According to the 2011 Writing Framework for National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of America, good writing instruction empowers students to acquire new knowledge and to develop critical thinking skills. This is true of writing in all subject areas, not just English language http //www. state. nj. us/education/assessment/naep/results/writing/2011naep. PISA and NAEP framework rubrics allow student evaluations irrespective of language. Learning and teaching in mother tongue is a universal human right recognized by UN. China, was a top scorers in 2009 PISA testing http //www. nytimes. com/2010/12/07/education/07education. html. It shows education in mother tongue does not affect nation’s international competitiveness and national education standards. Since education is a provincial subject, therefore provinces should be free to impart education in local languages, make English and Urdu as optional languages. Provinces can issue degrees with pass/fail with English/Urdu or both to free the country from politics of language. It will allow students to continue higher education without passing compulsory languages, which is a major contributor to school and college dropouts. It will allow the students to join job market who do not wish to continue with further education. The employer can omit or consider language(s) pass/fail status of candidate at the time of employment. On the other hand, the higher education institutions can keep compulsory languages as part of admission criteria. In line with many American universities, a six months period can be given to first year university students to clear compulsory languages. In terms of syllabus, international frameworks and boards can help Pakistan’s policy makers develop required syllabuses, fulfill demands of local market, and meet national education objectives to bring national and international education at par. They allow improving exam testing and incorporating modern technology in reading and writing. In addition, they facilitate linking of national boards to international boards like NBME (www. nbme. org). NBME model allows state medical qualified doctors to take national level exams, upgrade national education and examination standards and link them to rest of the world. It allows tens of thousands of international medical graduates to take United States Medical Licensing Exam without actually studying in American medical colleges. It is equally true for British, Australian and New Zealand medical boards. This model can help cut cost of professional education and fight poverty in Pakistan. Based on these frameworks and models, federal and provincial governments of Pakistan should collaborate to standardize local education and bring it equal to international standards. Islamabad should hold annual summits with China and western countries in line with reports of annual Indo-US higher education summits planning collaboration of universities in both countries. In addition, Pakistan needs to allow private publishers to print books according to the contents of given courses. It will improve concepts of students, standard of books and education. The existing control of federal government on higher education needs to be changed by allowing provinces complete control of universities, scholarships, hiring, training etc. Federal government needs to become a regulatory body instead of controlling authority and facilitates provinces to standardize higher education, provincial education and bring it equal to international levels. Federal education setup should work with ministry of labor and manpower to identify and develop human resource for interprovincial and overseas market, work with foreign missions to issue annual forecast of overseas jobs and train foreign workers and students. Pakistan needs to organize education to cater to local and international needs, attract foreign investors and earn foreign revenue. Reportedly, America and Britain earned $31bn and ? 8 bn in 2010 from foreign students respectively. China is charging $5333 boarding lodging fee annually for a five-year MBBS and one-year internship. It is also offering seven-year specialization degree programs (5 years MBBS and 2 years specialization) in most medical fields. Beijing has gained international recognition through standardized tuition fees, transparency, qualified staff and allowing foreign students and teachers in local universities (http //www.4icu. org/cn/). The Chinese model can help Pakistan cut prices of professional education by 50 percent and train surplus number of local and foreign students to sustain domestic and international needs. In line with China, Pakistan should also take necessary steps to attract flocks of foreign students, interns and investors. Finally, a debate is going on in China on two-track system- one for national college entrance exam (the gaokao) and other for international exams. Imran Khan’s PTI is deliberating about single education system. Pakistan can overcome challenge of teaching language, two-track system (English and Urdu medium) and bringing local education at par with international with help of international frameworks, NBME and more freedom to provinces. | Pakistans Education System and Links to Extremism Author: Jayshree Bajoria October 7, 2009 * Introduction * A Dysfunctional System * Government Reform Plans * The Madrassa Myth? * Reforming Madrassas * U. S. Policy Implications - Introduction Pakistans poor education system has increasingly become a matter of international concern. Lack of access to quality education, which in turn limits economic opportunity, makes young Pakistanis targets for extremist groups, some experts say. The World Bank says nearly half the adult population of Pakistan cant read, and net primary enrollment rates remain thelowest in South Asia. Experts say the system suffers from inadequate government investment, corruption, lack of institutional capacity, and a poor curriculum that often incites intolerance. In August 2009, chief counterterrorism adviser to the White House John Brennan, summing up a concern held by many U. S. terrorism experts, said extremist groups in Pakistan have exploited this weakness. It is why they offer free education to impoverished Pakistani children, where they can recruit and indoctrinate the next generation, he said. There have been some efforts by the Pakistani government, Western governments, and the World Bank to reform the system, but serious challenges remain. A Dysfunctional System According to the Pakistani governments National Education Policy 2009 (PDF), three parallel streams in educationpublic schools, private schools, and Islamic religious schools, or madrassashave created unequal opportunities for students. Of the total number of students going to primary school (grades 1 to 5), 73 percent go to public or government schools, 26 percent to private schools, and less than 1 percent to madrassas, according to the Karachi-based policy research institute Social Policy and Development Center. Within the public and the private sector, there are elite schools catering to a small minority of students. The majority of students attend low-quality private and public schools with poor curriculum, limited teaching materials, and inadequate number of properly trained teachers, or in many cases absent teachers. [N]o Pakistani leader has had the courage to implement serious [education] reforms- Pervez Hoodbhoy The government-mandated curriculum is a major concern for Western observers who say it encourages intolerance and a narrow worldview. Except in some elite private schools, which do not follow the government-prescribed curriculum, all public schools and registered private schools have been required to teach Islamiyat, or Islamic studies, for nearly thirty years. In addition to Islamiyat, many scholars have noted that the government curriculum uses Islam for a wide array of controversial ideological objectives, writes C. Christine Fair in the 2008 book The Madrassah Challenge.