Classroom Assessment in Fifth Grade Science Essay

A study was conducted to explore the hypothesis that performance assessments foster a more positive motivational orientation for students than supplied-response assessments which tend to truncate students’ learning strategies (Parkes & Stefanou, 2003). This was in response to general dissatisfaction arising from large-scale, high-stakes multiple choice testing, particularly among the older students who experienced higher levels of anxiety and mistrust with respect to standardized tests.   It partook of a cost-benefit analysis of the consequences of this particular type of assessment procedure to determine whether the positive outweighed the negative. Traditional paper and pencil tests (P&P), a laboratory task format of assessment (lab), and a performance assessment (PA) were imposed on three different fifth grade science classes, particularly involving Goal Orientations to supply quantitative data.   Qualitative output was also obtained through taped interviews of the three classes.   Quantitatively, goal orientation seemed to be influenced by the type of assessment used. When paired with the qualitative data, students seemed to perform well in P&P testing because they equated a good grade with competence and ability, and they believed that performing well in P&P testing reflected this competency (Parkes & Stefanou, 2003).   However, if receiving grades was removed from the equation, students became more receptive to PA testing and were motivated to take risks and explore actually doing science rather than just knowing science (Parkes & Stefanou, 2003). One of the limitations of the study was that qualitative information was necessary to complete the picture presented by the quantitative data.   Although the study was by no means definitive as to whether or not assessment types contributed to student motivation, it clearly showed that when paired with the stakes or consequences attributed to the assessment results, it affects the students’ goal orientations. Reference List Parkes, J. and Stefanou, C. (2003). Effects of classroom assessment on student motivation on fifth-grade science. The Journal of Educational Research, 96 (3), 152-162.

Explain the Muslim idea of Religious Authority Essay

Revelations are the way in which we receive knowledge of God and this is done through the Holy Books. In the Christian tradition there is an understanding that the Bible is a medium of revelation (Prepositional view), this is where the truths recorded by God are recorded, there is also an understanding that revelation is the way in which God acts with human experience through history (non-prepositional view) In Islam religious authority comes from God via the Qur’an through the process of tanzil. The Qur’an tells them about God and gives them guidance ‘this is the book in its guidance is sure without doubt’. The Sunnah and the Hadith are also sources of authority. The Sunnah, which is the life example of the Prophet Mohammad, is a source of authority because he was a wise and trustworthy man who settled tribal disputes. The Hadith is also a source of authority because Muslims look to Mohammad because he showed true obedience to Allah’s commands. The Imam also has authority, the Shi’ites believe the Imam possess spiritual ability and divine light but the Sunnis simply see the Imam as a leader of prayer who has no superior status. The Shariah is also part of religious authority because this is the Islamic law for Muslims and it gives all the basic rules and regulations as to how human beings should live and act in a political, economic, social and collective individual spheres. The Shariah looks at family life, inheritance, marriage, food regulations and divorce for example Muslims must eat halal foods, those that have been slaughtered by the neck vein being slit and blood drained whilst the name of Allah is invoked. Muslims follow the Shariah so that they are doing what is good and right according to God and removing evil from society, which works through the process of Greater and Lesser Jihad. Greater Jihad is about establishing maruf (right) and removing munkar (evil) from yourself ‘A Muslim learns to control his own bad desires and actions’. Lesser Jihad is the struggle of the Muslim community to remove haram from society. Evil will always exist in society and a Muslim must resist this by showing true dedication to Allah’s commands. In Islam Allah is the main source of religious authority and to help Muslims to show they are showing their authority towards God, Muslims believe that Allah allows evil and suffering in the world to see if they do what is right. Muslims have free will and believe that everything is pre-determined and that Allah knows the present, the past and the future of every creature but this does not mean that man has and freedom of will, its just that they have the choice to obey or disobey Allah and that this will show on the day of judgement whether they will go to Heaven/ Hell because all their actions are judged. Religious authority from the Qur’an is seen to govern every aspect of life for example women in Islam are seen as the most important in the family. She is the one who should keep a halal home and to make sure food and dress laws are kept. The teachings of Islam is that women should have total equality in religion and education but they can never be fully equal, for example the husband has more power but with that comes a lot of responsibilities to perform ‘ The man has full responsibility for the maintenance of his family’ therefore a man has more inheritance than a women’s because his need is seen to be greater. Through the 5 Pillars Muslims are seen to be showing obedience to Allah’s commands this is because they are a very intense and personal struggle to abide by and through reading the Qur’an Muslims believe that it enhances there spiritual development because it is the word of God. They believe it is the pure word of God because it is seen to be a perfect copy of a timeless document. In Islam the Qur’an is more important than the Bile/Torah because they where seen to be distorted to suit their believing communities and the revelations in the Qur’an are believed to be recorded when Mohammad received them. The other basic beliefs of Islam such as Tawhid are also seen as authority. Tawhid implies that everything is created by Allah; it is the belief in Allah with all his powers. It is a source of authority because this is one way a Muslim fulfils Allah’s commands as it reveals Gods loving and caring nature. From a non-religious perspective a philosopher would look to reasoning to emphasise human freedom to make moral choices. They would argue that all of humanity relies upon their conscience to decide what is right and wrong, and for many this authority does not come from God. However from a Christian perspective this higher level of consciousness comes from God. In Islamic terms we gain our conscious awareness from Quranic teachings about Akirah which gives us focus for this temporary life on earth, from taw hid which reveals the qualities of God that we should aim to develop in our own hearts (such as love and compassion), and Al Qadr which ultimately points to a pre-determined path which only God knows about he does not dictate.

Importance of Theory Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Importance of Theory - Coursework Example This gives the nursing profession distinction from the rest of science and medical professions. In nursing, the association between nursing theory and practice is symbiotic. As Basavanthappa (2007) asserts, theory without practice is unimaginative, and practice devoid of theory is visionless. In essence, theory is paramount to effective nursing practice and research. This essay will discuss the significance of theory in nursing practice through the help of Roy’s adaptation theory. This paper will discuss in details the significance and application of the theory of adaptation to nursing by identifying its role in the evaluation of the power of mind and body fitness in aged patients. Nursing has made efforts to institute exceptional body of knowledge that has been used to define its boundaries. However, since these limits are continually changing, perhaps it is more significant for the nurses to define their stance and their role (Basavanthappa, 2007). By offering nurses a sense of identity, Roy’s adaptation nursing theory helps patients, managers and other health care practitioners to identify the exceptional contribution of nurses in health care. In reference to Kim and Kollak (2006), Roy’s adaptation theory allows a review of physical activity and the growth of a theory-based intervention from a holistic and integrated nursing viewpoint. A well-defined body of theory such as Roy’s adaptation theory offers guidance for nursing practice in physical therapy and enhanced professional status for nurses. This theory is employed in physical therapy to assist the older patients with low physical activity (Basavanthappa, 2007). This theory has also been applied in chronic-ill patients as a strategy to foster adaptation and the quality of life. This theory has been used in nursing to guide the development of models that focus on the physical

Performance Management System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance Management System - Essay Example Management By Objectives (MBO) is the necessary tool and must form part of the management performance process. Staff reduction is mandatory as the company will not require the staff strength that used to oversee sales and distribution of fruit juices. The PMS is necessary to present management with holistic view of key strategic data to achieve the vision and mission of the company. Information across the company can be collected and used and reused from time to time (Performance Management System for Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company). Label V Enterprises is a merger of Italian soft drink producer Miradola and the British distributor Bottle One Enterprises in 2005. The company struggles to integrate the two divisions of production and distribution but without success. The producers in Italy do not increase the quantity of their output in order to maintain their exclusiveness. They want Label V to be sold only to the best restaurants in the world. On the other hand, the distribution division complains about the inflexibility of production with regard to not only quantities but also product positioning due to the increasing market for "lifestyle" products. The objectives of PMS are to include financial and non-financial measures, focus management activity on key performance indicators, align departmental goals with corporate strategy, link measures throughout the organization, allow senior management to consider all measures together, reflect the company's commitment to customer service, to prevent proliferation of unneeded measures, and to share with as many staff as is necessary (Performance Management System for Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company). The purpose of the PMS is to galvanize the Sales office into decision making department with internal capabilities to coordinate internal activities and also coordinate with other departments as well whenever necessary. McKonsby proposes to initiate a strategy of producing and selling more exclusive products. The margins for these exclusive products are significantly higher than in the mass market for fruit juices. There is the need to integrate MBO with PMS so that the Sales department can begin operations on a more knowledgeable note. The Sales department had started the MBO process earlier on and the Sales Manager is confident of making the right start with a known system. The Performance Management System will measure and monitor, analyze, plan, budget and forecast the Sales department's activities besides collecting information of the company as a whole. This will enable Sales maintain tabs on their activities and meet their targets. It will also enable Sales discuss their needs with other departments as needs arise. Staff Reduction The new process will start with appropriate sales team to manage sales and distribution. The shift to exclusive products will mean change in approach and management of the new clients. The former sales team had ready market and catered to these in sufficient numbers in accordance with the market requirement. This will

E-Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

E-Business - Essay Example The attributes are the various properties which are highlighted in ovals and represent the various features of the system. Frawley (2001) mentions that knowledge of the business system can be derived easily by using the logical designs of the database of the organization where information is very valuable to be stored for effective and efficient retrieval. The very organization of the hotel into departments and their location are the prime factors for designing the network topology and the technologies to be used for efficient communication and sharing of information (Physinfo, 2006). Using LAN the computers are interconnected within the office or building premises so that all the employees are able to get information on demand. The head office has a central server where all the information us stored in the database. The other offices are also networked using the LAN technologies. The switch is two layered and used to take care of the storing and forwarding mechanism as stated in Tanenbaum

The Ferret after It Is Prosecuted Under Section 5 as to How It Can Rel Essay

The Ferret after It Is Prosecuted Under Section 5 as to How It Can Rely Upon European Union Law and the European Convention on Human Rights - Essay Example On the first level, it must be noted that one area where judicial discretion is especially large is the area of free speech. While the right to free speech is a crystallized principle that has been placed almost since the beginning of time, enjoying a cherished position in the bill of rights of virtually all civilized legal systems, the interpretation of what constitutes free and protected speech still has yet to be perfectly refined. This provision has been invoked many times over in the course of history, whether within the European Union or outside, successfully and unsuccessfully; and Courts have had many opportunities to set standards and devise guidelines to determine if the speech in question should be protected or not. It becomes more difficult when the right to free speech competes with another right, in this case, the right of religious minority groups to tolerance and acceptance. In "easy" cases, all that should be done is look through jurisprudence until one finds the applicable case with similar facts. In "hard" cases with novel facts, the role of the judge becomes infinitely more difficult. The boundaries are ever-shifting; and internally, the judge will be trying not only to apply the law but to subject the text or speech in question to her own subjective inquiry in order to determine the intent of the message-bearer and what the material was trying to say. (De la Cruz, 2002) Social and political values inevitably come to the fore. To quote legal writer Thomas Streeter, "It is in the character of language, in other words, that a judge will never be able to look at the text of the Bill of Rights and legal precedents to decide whether or not flag burning is protected by the First Amendment; he will always in one way or another be forced to make a choice about whether or not he thinks it should be protected, and will always be faced with the possibility that a reasonable person could plausibly disagree." (Streeter, 1995) What distinguishes the area on free speech from other "legally-indeterminate" areas is that it is inextricably intertwined with and largely dependent on language which, as many eminent linguists have said, is arbitrary in the sense that meanings cannot be derived from anything logically-inherent in the words. These meanings are merely "assigned meanings" born of the collective experiences of people in a community and this system of interpretation is never static. As stated by Streeter, "Aside from language in general and perhaps some very deep-level aspects of syntax, there is very little that is universal, neutral, or mechanical about human languages." (IBID.) In this situation, it is clear that the European Convention on Human Rights secures both the right of the media to free speech, as well as the right of marginalized groups. But since the task is to find a basis to defend the newspaper in the existing Human Rights Convention, then it may be argued that the right to free speech is indeed a cherished ideal and is considered a sacrosanct freedom. If one compares the violation to the newspaper and the violation to the Muslims, without meaning to denigrate their suffering which we know is starkly real, the right against censorship and prior restraint appears to be more serious, than the right to "not be mocked."Â   Â   Â  

William Barton and the Australian Youth Orchestra Assignment

William Barton and the Australian Youth Orchestra - Assignment Example The ranges of the instruments are also different: the didgeridoo is unable to reach high pitches and, therefore, has a low range, whereas the orchestra with its instruments has a rather high range. The music has a compound meter. The didgeridoo also has no regular accents, it is possible to say that it is used in an impromptu music performance, while the orchestra has some of them and something similar to a structural organization. There are also no repeating rhythms in the music video analyzed, it is developed without them.  The contour of the melody is both ascending and descending, therefore, the overall contour of the melody of the analyzed music video is undulating. The music is disjunct because it contains leaps and intervals. The noticeable leaps occur when the didgeridoo fades and the orchestra starts playing, and the intervals are generally wide. The melody is also a wide-range one, combining the above mentioned low range of the didgeridoo and the high range of the orchest ra instruments.   It is possible to state that there is some dissonant present when the orchestra and the didgeridoo play simultaneously due to their different ranges and the ability to produce sounds of different pitches. The melody is also loud in dynamics, especially when the didgeridoo starts and goes on playing. There are also decreases and increases in loudness, when the orchestra is fading, the didgeridoo is louder, and the otherwise situation is also observed. The tempo of the music may be characterizes as moderate as there is no too fast.

Eastman-Kodak Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Eastman-Kodak - Essay Example In 1975, Kodak invented the first digital camera. Hence they didn’t miss the digital age. But Eastman Kodak didn’t market their new technology. They feared that it would hurt their own lucrative film business, in spite of the fact that the digital products were revolutionizing the market. Sony and Canon took this near-sightedness of Kodak and charged ahead with their own digital cameras (Mui, 2012). When Kodak ultimately realized what mistake it did, it was all but too late for them. They saw their market share plummeting. Kodak didn’t recognize the business which they were in. They focussed more on selling more products, instead of concentrating on the business they were in, sharing memories (Kotter, 2012, p. 1). They were more determined on earring revenues through selling film and they though the photography business didn’t fit their business model. Hence they ignored the coming tsunami of new technology in the market. As their film business went from b eing and essential business into old fashioned one, the company could never recover. What opportunities & why did Kodak miss them? For past 15 years, digital technology has changed the photography business drastically. But Kodak, champion of analogy film business, was left behind. Kodak missed the chance to grab the digital market thrice. First miss was Digital Cameras. In 1995 it launched its first digital camera in the market, DC40. But Kodak never took advantage of this situation. Their whole business model was involving the film and printing business. It was not until 2011, that the company came out with EasyShare line for the cameras. But by them they were too late. The Second Miss is the Photo Sharing business. Kodak in 2005 launched the world’s first Wi-Fi enable camera known as EasyShare-One. Figure 1: EasyShare-One But the camera didn’t earn much revenue for the company. Hence Kodak decided to kill this product. But if the company had to foresightedness of understanding that the photo sharing was going to be the way people interacted with the photo, they might had thought about it twice. The same year when Kodak killed it, a group of engineers’ launched Eye-Fi, which had the same concept as EasyShare-One and became hugely successful. Nowadays photo sharing app is a killer app earning millions of revenues for companies. The Third Miss is Photo Viewing. Kodak was working on digital printers and digital photo frames, though it couldn’t understand the demand of it in the market. But when Kodak started to push for the photo frames with distinguishing features like batteries, Wi-Fi, the prices of the technology were falling, and it resulted in thin margins for the company. What did the competition do differently? Kodak couldn’t enter into the digital market at right time when it should have entered. Rather

International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Marketing - Essay Example This was actually a result of proper planning which was influenced by the previous experience that the company had in Japanese market. In 2002 eBay had to withdraw its operation from Japan and it was a result of lack of proper planning. Cultural and social environment is one of the most important factors especially when business is done in the international market. However it is more important while a traditional product or service is marketed as compared to any online product or brand like eBay. In order to achieve success it is very important for the companies to modify their products and offerings according to the needs and demands of the customers. Like any other successful company, eBay has also modified its offerings. In 1998 the company launched an online automobile website where customers can buy or sell real cars. Before launching this site company realized the increasing demand of such a site where people can deal with real cars. Moreover PayPal was purchased by eBay with the objective of providing better payment options to the customers. Pricing is another crucial factor in order to stay ahead in the competition in the international market. eBay, when started did not charge any money for any auction, but with the increasing popularity they also started to charge a small amount as fee. eBay designed its pricing policy considering the demand of its customers throughout the world. It is very important to reach the target customers properly; as a result organizations always try to form an effective distribution channel. An online company like eBay do not has traditional distribution channel. It reaches it’s customers through the internet. People can purchase or sell various products by accessing internet from any where in the world. So, it can be said that internet is the main distribution channel for eBay to reach to its global customers. Promotion is another crucial factor for increasing awareness about the

Does Thoreau's Civil Disobedience suggest that he is a strong Annotated Bibliography

Does Thoreau's Civil Disobedience suggest that he is a strong anarchist - Annotated Bibliography Example Thoreau wrote on this doctrine in response and opposition to the Mexican-American War that occurred between 1846 and1848, and the slavery that was prevalent in the American society then. This work was later to have an overwhelming motivation to future political protests, particularly by Martin Luther King Jr. as well as Mahatma Gandhi who vehemently opposed political actions and regimes of their times. Whereas on the face of it Thoreau would be seen as advocating for anarchy and violence (Petrulionis Para 6 ) Thoreau’s radical concept is merely a strong condemnation of political injustices and abuse of political rights. Background to Henry David Thoreau   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry David Thoreau  had many talents and he worked tirelessly to develop them. Henry was born in 1817 and grew up close to John, his elder brother who worked as a teacher in order to raise money for settling the tuition fee for Henry at Harvard (Hoeltje 359). One of Henry’s childhood memories w as that he could sometimes stay awake at night just to look at the stars to find out if he could be able to spot God behind those stars. A look at his entire life may lead on to conclude that he never seized to look into the nature to find the ultimate truth. Henry also served as a teacher with his brother John till 1842 when John cut himself in the process of shaving and lost his life to lockjaw right in Henry’s hands. By then Henry was 25 and he was highly traumatized by the experience. He served as a surveyor and helped his father in making pencils for sometimes. When Henry was 28, that is in the year 1845, he decided to go to Walden Pond where he built himself a cabin an land belonging to Emerson. He went there with the aim of whiting his first book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thoreau did a lot of reading and writing at Walden besides spending a lot of time touring nature. He was at one point briefly imprisoned for failing to pay the poll tax. He went back to Concord after t wo years and two moths where he took to surveying and making pencils having realized that only a few people were interested in buying his books. For nine years, he did these activities as part time jobs but concentrated more on writing and rewriting his book, the Walden. In fact, he made seven full drafts of the text before finally trying to have it published. He did the surveying and made a few lectures mostly on the experiences he had at Walden pond to raise money for his support.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thoreau was strongly against the idea of the government waging the war in Mexico as evidenced in the text Resistance to Civil Government. He also held an abolitionist lecture against slavery basing his arguments on the brief experiences he had in jail, as recorded in Slavery in Massachusetts. After meeting him in Concord, Thoreau also became a strong supporter of the efforts of John Brown to bring slavery to an end, as recorded in A  Plea for Captain John Brown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  In 1862, when Thoreau was 44 years of age, he passed on as a result of tuberculosis. Thoreau left behind a lot of written work under his name including two books, several essays and a huge Journal which was later published in 20 volumes. One common feature in Thoreau’s works is the complex contradictions in them that stimulate the readers to creatively rethink their own lives as he did. About Thoreau’

Square Pharma Essay Example for Free

Square Pharma Essay The scope of the report was based on the annual reports web site, input from interviews of executives of the SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited. To analyze the situation in question, we worked on focusing on SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited and analyzing their objectives, market strategies, market situations, product mixes, etc. The analysis was based on the exposed and available information only. In-depth data were not always available on-demand due to some unavailable reasons. SWOT analysis of the company has been done. Objective of the study: The specific objectives aimed for this report is to analyze the environmental factors that influence the marketing sector of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited. Methodology: Information used to prepare this report has been collected from both the primary and secondary sources which together provided more comprehensive information. Collection of the data: An open discussion method was followed to gather primary information by informally interviewing the various executives of the company. Participants were purposefully selected as they commonly engaged in marketing directly or indirectly. Observations were also used to collect primary data while working in different desks. The secondary data was accumulated from two sources- a. internal and b. external. The former sources were annual reports, periodicals, articles and brochures published by the company. So in later we use journals, research papers and articles from various online sources. Limitations of the Study: This report suffered from several limitations: †¢ The most important of them was â€Å"time constraint†. Time was not adequate to complete the study more perfectly. †¢ Another important limitation was â€Å"inaccessibility in many section of the organization†. We confronted difficulties in getting appointment from the desired respondents as well as appropriate response from the selected respondents due to being confidential for the company. †¢ This report also suffered from inadequate secondary information. †¢ This report’s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. †¢ The findings may not be generalized to the SPL as a whole. About SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd: SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited is the largest pharmaceutical Company in Bangladesh and is leading the Pharmaceuticals sector from the very beginning. It has been continuously in the 1st position among all national and multinational companies since 1985. It was established in 1958 and converted into a public limited company in 1991. The sales turnover of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd was more than Taka 7.5 Billion (US$ 107.91 million) with about 16.92%market share (April 2006– March 2007) having a growth rate of about 23.17%. SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited is an organization with equal emphasis on Leadership, Technology, Quality and Passion. SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is the leading branded generic pharmaceutical manufacturer in Bangladesh producing essential and other ethical drugs and medicines by maintaining the quality. SQUARE today symbolizes a name a state of mind. But its journey to the growth and prosperity has been no bed of roses. From the inception in 1958, it has today burgeoned into one of the top line conglomerates in Bangladesh. SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the flagship company, is holding the strong leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh since 1985and is now on its way to becoming a high performance global player. SQUARE Pharmaceuticals started as a Partnership Firm in 1958. It converted into a Private Limited Company in 1964. The company made its initial price offering in 1995. It has achieved MHRA certificate as the first pharmaceutical company of Bangladesh. Environmental factors influencing the marketing activities of SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd: Environmental factors and forces that exist in our outside marketing affect marketing management’s ability to build and maintain successful relationship with target customers. And successful companies like â€Å"SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd† know the vital importance of constantly watching and adapting to the changing environment. Microenvironment of SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd: TheCompany: In designing marketing plans marketing management takes other company groups into account-groups such as top management, finance, research and development, purchasing, operations and accounting. SQUARE strives for best compensation to all the employees who constitute the back-bone of the management and operational strength of the company through a pay-package composing salary/wages, allowances, bonuses, profit participation, leave salary and superannuation retirement benefits. Suppliers: Suppliers like as- different in regents of making pharmaceuticals products, packaging related products and others. They provide the resources needed by the company to produce its goods and services. Supplier’s problem can seriously affect marketing. SQUARE strives for the best co-operation of suppliers who offer them at the best prices at the opportune moments. Marketing Intermediaries: Marketing intermediaries includes resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services agencies and financial intermediaries. SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd do not have physical distribution firms or marketing services. But they influenced by reseller and financial intermediaries to market their goods and services. Customers: The five types of customer markets are consumer, business, reseller, government and international market. Square strives, for top quality health care products at the least cost reaching the lowest rungs of the economic class of people in the country. Square values our social obligations. SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd have enough capturing power in all the customer markets. That is why they are in leading role in pharmaceuticals business in Bangladesh. Competitors: The marketing concept states that to be successful, a company must provide greater customers value and satisfaction than its competitors do. A team of scientific pharmaceutical experts who continuously conduct research development programs for improving quality of products, reduction of cost, adaptation of products that are free of intellectual property rights and innovative products. These efforts have enabled the company to add new products to its product lines every year to the benefit of the common men of the country and the shareholders. The success in this field has secured the leading position for the company in the pharmaceutical sector. Publics: Any group has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organizational ability to achieve its objectives. They are financial, media, government, citizen action, local, general and internal publics. SQUARE strives for best compensation to all the employees who constitute the back-bone of the management and operational strength of the company through a pay-package composing salary/wages, allowances, bonuses, profit participation, leave salary and superannuation retirement benefits. Square strives for practicing good-governance in every sphere of activities covering inter alia not being limited to, disclosure reporting to shareholders, holding AGM in time, distribution of dividends and other benefits to shareholders, reporting/dissemination of price sensitive information, acquisition of shares by insiders, recruitment promotion of staff, procurement supplies, sale of assets etc. all that directly and indirectly affect the interest of concerned groups the shareholders, the creditors, suppliers, employees, government and the public in general. Macro environment of SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd: Demographic environment: Demography is the study of human, populations in terms of age, density, location, gender, race, occupation and other. SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd is the pioneer of pharmaceuticals business in our country. So they our countries overall population and gradually they are capturing the international market. Square strives for equality between sexes, races, religions and regions in all spheres of our operation without any discriminatory treatment. Economic environment: This environment consists of buying and selling pattern, spending power, income, saving patterns of a group and this environment can discussed in two ways – (1) Subsistence and (2) Industrial economics. Square owes their shareholders and strive for protection of their capital as well as ensure highest return and growth of their assets. SQUARE pharmaceutical is influenced by the economic environment of our country directly. Economic conditions influence the growth and continuation of their entire business operations. Natural environment: Marketers take natural resources as input. Considerations of marketers in case of their awareness about natural resources are (1) Shortage in supply of raw materials (2) Increased population (3) Government interventions, SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd produce and distributes their product by their own. So they are aware of above and considerations for their betterment. Square strives for an environment free from pollution and poisoning. Technological environment: Incase of capture the following and need markets, marketers should consider the facts and they are (1) Accelerating pace of technological change, (2) New markets and opportunities, (3) Innovational oppurtunities.The international market become more competitive due to globalization. So technological environment and it’s considering factors are a matter of concern of importer and their marketing. SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd is endeavoring to upgrade and adopt new technology in production, quality control, distribution and administration of its products to patients. During the year (2007-2008) the company invested an amount of Tk. 36,424,234 in improving its Laboratory. Political environment: The considerations of political environment are- (1) Legislation regulation of business, (2) Changing government agency enforcement, (3) Increased emphasis on ethics and society, (4) Political situation. The political condition of our country is not so stable. So SQUARE pharmaceuticals Ltd faced many damage due to change in political condition of our country. Square strives for fulfillment the responsibility to the government through payment of entire range of due taxes, duties and claims by various public agencies like municipalities etc. Cultural environment: Incase of cultural environment, a company should think about following considerations (1) People views of themselves, (2) People views of society,(3) People views of organization (4) People views of nature,(5) People views of universe. Square strives for the achievement of millennium development goals for the human civilization. Square strives for an environment free from pollution and poisoning. Square strives, as responsible citizen, for a social order devoid of malpractices, anti-environmental behaviors, unethical and immoral activities and corruptive dealings.

Preparedness And Response Cyclone Nargis Health And Social Care Essay

Preparedness And Response Cyclone Nargis Health And Social Care Essay Background: The community awareness, preparedness and response to public health emergencies are essential for successful response to public health emergencies and the study is carried out to determine the community awareness and perception on health sector preparedness and response to Cyclone Nargis which is the worst natural disaster in history of Myanmar. Methods: Total of 6 focus group discussions are carried out in 3 villages which are severely affected by Cyclone Nargis. Manual thematic content analysis is done to determine the community perception by qualitatively. Results: Majority of the participants knew the warning for the cyclone but they are unaware on what the intensity and where to make landfall of cyclone. There are some gaps on preparedness due to lack of experience to previous cyclone and weakness in knowledge for how to prepare for cyclone. There is some training and education on public health emergencies management before the cyclone but the application and coverage of the training and education were not enough to make adequate preparedness by community. Almost all of the participants get some kinds of health services and relieve items by health sector with majority of them are positive attitudes towards health services given to them. However, most of the participants mentioned that they are not interested in health education given to them. Except for a few participants, they know how to prepare for future cyclone and the knowledge should be maintained. Conclusion: Based on the results, there was some weakness in community level awareness on how to prepare and response to cyclone before the Cyclone Nargis. However, community awareness is significantly improved after Cyclone Nargis but health sector should make sure to sustain the awareness for optimal preparedness and response to public health emergencies. Background Major emergencies, disasters and crises are approximately 450 to 800 major emergencies per year and are affecting social, economic of the community and public [1, 2]. Cyclone Nargis struck the coast of Myanmar on 2 and 3 May, 2008 and moved inland through Ayeyarwady Delta causing many deaths, destroying infrastructure, affecting on economic and social activities. It was the most devastating natural disaster in history of Myanmar and the most deadly cyclone in Asia since 1991 [3]. Although many emergencies are often unpredictable, but the impact of disaster can prevent and mitigate by strengthening the response capacity of nations and communities at risk [2]. Community level preparedness is also important because people at community level are first responder to emergencies and disaster [4]. It is also recommended that humanitarian action and health services in emergencies and disasters must respect for the culture and health perceptions of the affected communities [5]. Mortality due t o the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was concentrated in the first few days of the disaster [6] and community preparedness is essential for prevent unnecessary death. Focus group discussion is useful to assess the perception of disaster preparedness program and their attitude on disasters and emergencies [7]. The study done by Nozawa M also revealed that the awareness and behavior of the community are essential for following with evacuations advice [8]. By focus group discussion, it can also identify the socioeconomic and behaviors factors related to disaster preparedness and response and it is useful for disaster management in the specific area [9, 10]. It is also advisable that obtaining feedback from community about their perception on relief operations is essential for future planning and response to disaster [11]. By finding out the community perception on preparedness and response to Cyclone Nargis, the results will be useful for the future public health emergency preparedness and response in Myanmar. Materials and Methods Study design Cross sectional study design with qualitative method (focus group discussion) is used for determination on perception of community awareness on preparedness and response by health sector to Cyclone Nargis. Study population The study population is selected from Ngapudaw, Labutta, Bogale, Pyapon, Dedaye, Mawlamyinegyun, kungyangon townships which experienced high mortality due to Cyclone Nargis. The study is carried out in 3 villages, namely amar village and kyan-ka-dune village in pyapone township and mangalake village in kynechangone township which is severely affected by Cyclone Nargis. In each village two focus group discussions, one for community members and one for government personnel and community leaders, are carried out. Each focus group of between 6 to 9 women and men are selected according to criteria such as adult men and women with age above 18 years old and at least one third are women; one group compose of government service personnel such as health, education, agriculture, police and community leader and another group compose of ordinary community members. Survey instruments The questionnaires such as information, warning, education and training, public health services and curative health services given to the community by health sector prior to and after Cyclone Nargis are prepared for assessment of community perception on preparedness and response to Cyclone Nargis by health sector. The focus group discussions are recorded by tape and notes and the discussion time range from 65 to 95 minutes. Sampling methods Multistage sampling methods are used for selection of 3 sites for focus group discussion to assess the community awareness about emergency preparedness and response. Two townships are selected by simple random sampling methods among Ngapudaw, Labutta, Bogale, Pyapon, Dedaye, Mawlamyinegyun and Kungyankone townships which suffered the high mortality during Cyclone Nargis. Finally, one or two villages from each township are selected by simple random sampling methods. The participants for community members are choose from different occupations, education levels and different sections of village by purposive sampling. Data collection and analysis The ethical approvals from Ministry of Health, Myanmar and Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University are already getting prior to carry out the focus group discussion. The focus group discussion is carried out in April 2010. Two facilitators and two note takers are used to carry out the focus group discussion. The data from focus group discussion is coded by two persons to summarize the answers from participants on information, preparedness and response to Cyclone Nargis by health sectors. Agreement between the two coders is determined and if agreement is good, manual thematic content analysis is used to analyze by qualitatively to find out their experiences on information, warning, education and training, public health services and curative health services given to the community by health sector prior to and after Cyclone Nargis. Characteristics of participants The total of 22 community members is involved in 3 community members groups. The youngest is 18 years old and the oldest is 58 years old with mean age is 34.4 years in this group. Most of the community members are farmers and others are students, merchants, fishermen, manual labors, and dependents. There are 20 participants in government personnel, community leaders and NGOs member with 7 health personnel, 5 community leaders, 5 NGOs members and 3 from other government departments. The youngest in this group is 24 years old and the oldest participant is 67 years old with mean age is 41.1 years. Information related to Cyclone Nargis Most of the participants in community members groups knew the news of warning and there were some of the participants who still didnt hear the information. Many of the participants who knew the warning said announcement was made in frequent interval from radio and television. However, they noticed the warning only in short time before the storm made land fall on their area. Majority of the participants were not aware of the intensity and where to hit the Cyclone Nargis. I knew from the television and warning was announced after every song. However, I didnt even realize the cyclone was coming to my village and only knew the warning 2-3 hours ahead. (19 years old student) Almost all of the participants in the government personnel and community members noticed the information of the storm. But some of them still didnt notice areas which were hit by Cyclone and they didnt relay information to the villagers. As a village leader, I didnt relay the warning to villagers. Most of them (villagers) knew and they didnt expect this intensity. (42 years old village leader) For the source of warning, most of the villagers received Nargis warning from mass media such as radio and television. Most of the villagers knew from radio and they didnt do anything. Because of lack of electricity in my village, we relied on radio for information.(37 years old woman) Generally, the villagers knew the Cyclone Nargis information from mass media but they lack the knowledge on interpretation of the warning. The villagers noticed the warning in short time which is not enough to make adequate preparedness for the Cyclone. Perception and preparedness on Cyclone Nargis Majority of participants mention they didnt have almost none of preparedness due to lack of previous experience on how to response to cyclone. There were also due to gaps in knowledge on Cyclone Nargis heading to their area. A few mentioned on religious believe (KARMA) for doing nothing. Every human being has the birth and death as religious believe and I didnt prepare anything. (53 years old woman) I didnt have any preparedness because I have never experienced like this before. The warning didnt include how to prepare and it didnt disturb my meal. (39 years old women) They left their home after cyclone damaged their home and went to religious and public buildings for shelter. My house destroyed by Cyclone at 10pm, my family went to village monastery. Every villager went to monastery because it was situated in high ground and quite strong. Our village was quite fortunate with a few deaths to take shelter in monastery but in Laut-me village some causalities occurred. (23 years old woman) One participant from government personnel and community leaders mentioned stimulation exercises in his area after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2005 but villagers were not interested. Tsunami drill was carried out in my village at national level through division and townships after tsunami in 2005. Unfortunately, the villagers were not interested. (53 years old health staff) Overall, the villagers didnt know how to prepare for Cyclone due to lack of interest and weakness in education or training on Cyclone preparedness before Nargis. Training on disaster preparedness and response before Cyclone Nargis Majority of the participants pointed that there was some gaps or weakness of training on disaster preparedness and response in their area one year before Cyclone Nargis. One health personnel mentioned the receiving training for disaster management in undergraduate program before Nargis but she wasnt familiar with how to apply in public health emergency situations. In health assistance training program, the topic (disaster management) was included. I didnt relay the education on the villagers because they were not interested. (30 years old health staff) Some participants said the disaster preparedness topic was involved in basic education curriculum for school children but parents were not interested. Health services after cyclone Nargis All the villages from which the participants resided received some kinds of health services after Cyclone Nargis and on the other hand, the arriving of medical teams to their villages ranged from 2 days to 2 weeks. They took treatments from medical teams if they had the health problems and there were few complaints of inexperienced medical teams. Medical teams included both experienced and inexperienced teams. It is better to come by experienced medical teams. (35 years old farmer) Almost all of the participants received some relieve materials such as water and sanitation items, bed nets and medicines from health sector but difference in receiving relieve items among villages were mentioned by some villagers. First medical team arrived in 10 days after Cyclone and villagers seek treatment from the team. They distributed water purification tablets but the villagers didnt know how to use and the smell was quite strong. (43 years old man) Most of the villagers mentioned the success in sanitary latrine construction but the others said it was not successful in their villages due to the facts that the poor villagers could not construct sanitary latrine by supplying of only latrine pans. constructed the sanitary latrines for free and there was almost no sanitary latrine at the villages before Nargis. The villagers constructed them because the organization provide not only latrine pan, but also give construction cost. (45 years old farmer) Few villagers mentioned the lack of psychosocial health care and dead bodies clearance in their villages. Majority said they only went to health education if they were given some incentives such as relieving items. Health education on communicable diseases were present, most of the villagers did not join because they were busy and not settled. (24 years old woman) The health personnel also pointed out that the villagers were seeking treatments from medical teams that resulted in success of immunization program and others. However, they mentioned the lack of interest on health education by villagers. Generally, the villagers took health services given by health sectors if required but not interested in health education. Attitudes towards health care after Cyclone Nargis Almost all villagers said they were satisfied with health care provided but they preferred those who paid them all expenses including referral expenses. They also preferred the station medical teams to mobile teams due to availability of health services all the times. We were satisfied with all medical teams, they gave enough drugs. The diseases were also cured and villagers sought treatment. But, we preferred onsite team for seeking treatment in time of need. (19 years old woman) Most of the participants are positive attitudes towards relive items provided by health sector and community leaders also pointed out the villagers were satisfied with receiving relieve items because they are poor. We preferred organizations () for giving both treatments and relieve items. Most of the villagers were satisfied if the team gave relieve items. (42 years old village leader) Health personnel mentioned coordination between NGOs and township health department was good and some complaint of inappropriate or more than enough supply of items was provided to them. Township arranged the coordination meetings and there was no overlapping of medical teams in one area. But, some of items arrived in more than enough quantity such as malaria drugs, B1 tablets and surgical instruments. Our township was not malaria prevalent. (53 years old health staff) Majority of villagers mentioned lack of interest in health education because they were busy with their work. The health personnel also mentioned the success of some health programs such as immunization after Cyclone Nargis but stressed on lack of interest on health educations by villagers. Villagers came to health education if only given relieve items because they were poor and quite negative attitudes towards health education. (34 years old health staff) Generally, villagers had positive attitudes towards the medical teams and relived items given by medical teams. On the other hands, they didnt want to participate in health education due to several reasons. Common diseases and illness after cyclone Nargis The villagers pointed out that pneumonia, ARI, diarrhea diseases, injuries and mental health problems were common health problems in their area immediately and within 6 months after Cyclone Nargis. Health personnel also agreed with the common health problems mentioned by villagers. The health personnel also reported that there was no outbreak of communicable diseases within 6 months after Cyclone. The villagers suffered diarrhea, common cold, pneumonia especially in children, abdominal pain. Some suffered the injuries due to Nargis. We got enough drugs with no costs. (25 years old fisherman) Generally, the health problems mention by villagers was compatible with common diseases reported by health management information systems/INGOs after Cyclone (11). How to prepare for future Cyclone The villagers, community leaders and government personnel stressed the importance of construction of cyclone shelter and disaster resistance building, presence of life jacket, drinking water and food as preparedness for Cyclone. They also desired to store drugs, tents and water and sanitation items in health centers because of roads blockage after Cyclone. They would like to get advanced warning on Cyclone and carry out of drill and training on disasters. There are also a few villagers, who dont want to make any preparedness due to belief on KARMA (religious belief). Life jackets should be distributed to villagers and villagers should prepare for water containers and water because the ponds could not be used after Cyclone because of entrance of seawater. (47 years old woman) As a hospital, we should predisposition of essential drugs, water and sanitation items, and temporary tents for patients because the hospital can be destroy by Cyclone. Drill should be carried out as preparation for disaster. (53 years old health staff) Overall, the participants had awareness on how to prepare and response to future Cyclone and this knowledge should be sustained. Discussion Data from the study revealed that some villagers and community members will not be familiar with the weather warnings and there should be strengthening of education programs for community on familiar with weather warnings. Weather warnings should include how to prepare and response for Cyclone. Warnings should also be through village leaders because of unawareness the warning from mass media by some villagers. Education on common disasters term such as intensity of hurricane can increase the community knowledge about hazards risks [13]. It is also recommended that the warning should be advanced for enough time on evacuation and preparedness by community and should include how to prepare and response. The communities are first responder to emergencies and there is also advisable that strengthening of community based training on how to prepare and response to disaster [4]. The villagers will take shelter in public places and religious building in emergency situation and public and reli gious buildings should be disaster resistant. World Health Organization also recommended that construction of disaster resistant health facilities as safe hospital initiatives [14, 15]. Sometimes, it may take 48 to 72 hours to take outside medical teams to reach the disaster affected area [16] and community search and rescue team with predispositions of medicines and equipments should be strengthened at township levels based on need assessment for immediate response before the outside medical team arrived [14]. Topics on health sector disaster management should be strengthening in training of basic health staffs because basic health staffs are giving the essential health care at community level. Without proper coordination among different stakeholders, response to public health emergencies/disasters may have negative impact [17]. Good coordination for medical services between stakeholders in response to Cyclone Nargis should be maintained for future public health emergency response. The relief operation should consider the local context affected by disaster and sometime the relief operation fails to consider the local beliefs and contexts [5]. The most of the focus group participants are positive attitudes towards health services given to them but also consider the voices of concern from a few participants especially the vulnerable population in future public health emergency response [13, 18]. It is also recommended that distribution of drugs and medical equipments should be based on requirements at community level. Sustainability of community awareness is also important for public health emergencies management and health sector should also consider how to make attractive for health education given to disaster affected population [19]. In addition, Ricon et al revealed that previous exposure to hurricane may not have affect on better preparedness to future hurricane in United States [20]. Cyclone shelters should be constructed in big villages situated in stor m surge area because disaster resistance buildings reduce the risk of disasters [17]. Drill is the best practice for testing of public health emergencies preparedness and drill involving community should be done at least yearly for readiness for preparedness [4]. Limitations There are also limitations about the study. Firstly, study population will not reflect the perception of the whole population due to small sample size. Secondly, information bias may likely to come out because the study is carried out two years after the events. Conclusion There is some weakness in community awareness, preparation and response to Cyclone Nargis. Community level planning, awareness, preparedness and response are essential for prevention and response to public health emergency. It is found that community awareness is significantly improved after Cyclone Nargis and health sector must sustain the community level awareness because of the low frequency and high impact nature of major disasters. Competing interests The authors declare that there have no competing interests. Authors contributions NWM, JK, PS were involved in the conceptualization and design of the study. NWM prepared research instruments and other study logistics, collected data in Myanmar. KWT assisted in study management and data support in Myanmar. KC, PS, AKM, PP provided conceptual framework and technical support for the study. NWM and JK performed analyses and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Myanmar Ministry of Health for permission to carry out the study. We give special thanks to Pyapone District Health Department and Kungyankone Township Health Department and the participants for focus group discussions to take part in study. Thank you DAAD and SEAMEO-TROMED for their partially support in research grant.

Political and Social Development in Pakistan

Political and Social Development in Pakistan Table of Contents Research Report Introduction Objective Research questions Research Methodology 1.Primary data 2.Secondary data Literature review Variables Independent variable Dependant variable NGOs Definition of Variables NGOs Social development Political development Hypothesis Time frame Data Analysis Validity and Reliability Limitations Conclusions and Recommendations  ·Conclusion  ·Recommendations Introduction The utility of development is to achieve both economic and social structure for the transformation of society. Phenomenon of development is about effectively integrating the various elements that are required for state to develop; these elements are mainly economic, social, political and administrative. Pakistan is facing the problems in the context of both political and social development. People of the rural areas and the tribal areas such as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are still participating in electoral process that is the part of political development. Pakistan is on the extremely low rank on Human Development Index (HDI) that is the sub component of Social development. Presently Pakistan is standing on the rank 147th and is having the HDI value just 0.515 in the year 2013. Pakistan stands among the worst performers in child and infant mortality. Another area that needs to be socially developed is health and mortality. Under 1 year of age, the total number of deaths are 69 per 1000, and it needs to be brought down to at least 40, according to the goals that need to be achieved by 2015. The reasons behind child mortality in Pakistan are found to be, not only the medical/healthcare facilities available for the infant and mother, but also the poor sanitation in mostly rural and remote parts of the country. In accordance with the estimation made by World Bank in 2010, around 80% of the world’s most poor people live in just 10 countries, amongst which Pakistan has the 7th rank. The UNDP 2013 report states that 21% of the total population of Pakistan are earning less than $ 1.25/day and are living below the poverty line. Eradicating poverty is one of the Millennium Development Goals as well NGOs may prove to be effective to achieve the goals. These NGOs are having interventions on national level in the countries where they are operating. The NGOs can be involved at planning and implementation levels. NGOs’ impact on the grass-roots can be described as empowerment of the underprivileged people of society. There is a substantial amount of literature present on the activities carried out by NGOs that plays any role in relevance to social growth of Pakistan, but no study has been undertaken regarding the political development in relevance to NGOs. This study is an attempt to fulfill the gap in literature, and would prove to be the first brick towards the development of literature in this area. Objective: The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of various activities being carried out by NGOs on contribution towards political and social development of the state. Hypothesis: Limited role of NGOs in Pakistan’s politics has led to lack of accountability and transparency in various political processes and social development of the state. Research Questions: What role does NGOs play in social development of Pakistan? To examine if the NGOs succeeded or failed to deliver their services in the political development? To determine what possible course could be adopted if the part NGOs is inconsiderable in political and social development of state. Theoretical Framework: NGOs play their part as a soft power and helps in strong economic development; they show the positive side of human nature, their main focus in on individual so the Non Governmental Organizations came under the liberalist school of thought. I have discussed the role of NGOs in socio-political development of state and supported my arguments keeping liberalism in focus. Research Methodology: Set of working methods and procedures that are being adopted to forgo this research process are mentioned as under. 1. Primary Data Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Interviews The focus group discussion (FGD) is a rapid assessment, semià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ structured data gathering method in which a purposively selected set of participants gather to discuss issues and concerns base on a list of key themes drawn up by the researcher/facilitator (Kumar 1987). I have arranged a FGD between the students of Bahria University, National defense University, and International Islamic university who are living in Taxila, Wah Cantt and Islamabad. There were 2 sessions and each lasted about 1hour. No studies regarding Political development in context of Pakistan was found so primary data sources were being utilized such as the interviews of several individuals who attended the workshops arranged by the NGOs, for making them aware about the political processes were also taken. 2. Secondary Data Secondary data consists of the sources that do not contain firsthand knowledge or information. Books Internet News papers Case Studies Literature Review: Role of NGOs is described by many among which, Lewis summarized its three basic roles: Being the implementers, The catalysts and The partners. The implementer role is concerned with the mobilization of available resources to provide goods and services to deserving. Where as the catalyst role is the ability to inspire, facilitate or contribute to promote change and partner reflect the growing trend of NGOS to work with government. NGOs in the field are rapidly increasing but their potentials have remained unutilized because of diversity in their role. In 1980s, NGOs got attention in different areas of the development community. Crenea (1988) argued that NGOs came into the limelight after the attention was given by the individuals in area policies development. Hulme and David (1997), debated NGOs promote and utilize volunteerism; they can be more productive than government. NGOs encourage social change and protect individual rights by influencing social or market policies. (Kim, H., 2007) NGOs also participate in government policy formulation. NGOs in Pakistan are more active in the traditional social sectors: emergency support, rehabilitation health and education. Literature review pointed out the need for capacity building for NGOs in Pakistan. (Study of NGOs in Pakistan, 1999). In a research study of a NGO named Akhuwat, an Islamic MF provider, the authors (W. Akhter, N. Akhter Jafferi, 2009) found that an Islamic Microfinance provider is playing an important part in poverty alleviation, they cater the needs of clients, who have socially excluded themselves from the interest based conventional system, so they are providing hem interest free finances through which they can start their own new businesses. This NGO Akhuwat is thus contributing towards Social and human development. Variables: Independent variable Dependant variable Definition of Variables NGOs: Non-governmental organization(NGO) normally refers to institutions that are basically working for the benefit of society and do not operate for earning profits. They are usually formed by individuals, and can be financed by the governing parties, foundations or businesses. NGOs are engaged in different activities. NGOs may be fronts for various interest groups. Social Development: World Bank defines the Social Development as; â€Å"The process of increasing; The assets and capabilities of individuals to improve their wellbeing. The capacity of social groups to exercise agency, transform their relationships with other groups, and participate in development processes. The ability of society to reconcile the interests of its constituent elements, govern itself peacefully, and manage change.† Social development is to put all the focus on development of individuals in society. Which simply means that the party who is going to be benefit most out of development must be the people, that should not be limited to poverty alleviation but also a recognition that people, and the way they interact in groups and society, and the norms that facilitates such interaction, shape development processes. Political Development: Han Parks formal definition of political development is as follows: Political development may be defined in terms of the capacity of the political system to satisfy the changing needs of the members of the society (Park, 1984). Main Discussion: Objective-based NGOs: Most NGOs in Pakistan get resources and aid from foreign organizations. For example giant global networks like UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund Association), US-AID, UNESCO work with different NGOs in certain projects that ensure protection of human rights in Pakistan. With the expansion in NGOs, work towards political and social development has been initiated. The objective-based NGOs working in Pakistan are mainly focused on one specific target. There are NGOs working for rights of Human, Women, Children, Labour, Journalists, Religious minorities etc. There are plenty of organizations solely dedicated to working for welfare of youth, education, literacy and vocational training. Some NGOs work especially for adult-based education. There are plenty of NGOs working in health sector for mental health, maternity, population welfare, free eye care, drug addiction, cancer research, HIV aids, blood diseases, disability support etc. Rural, urban and community development programs are conducted by some NGOs. NGOs working for Social Development: NGOs have enormously worked on the social development of Pakistan. There are above 800 NGOs which are working in social development sector. Those organizations cover almost all the ignored aspects of society. Examples: Depilex Smileagain foundation is working for acid-burnt women. Their goal is not only to treat affected women but also to educate them enough to be a productive part of the society. This organization conducts special programs that train such women to stand up for themselves and continuous treatment gives hope to them. Along with conducting medical surgery, this NGO arranges for support groups and arranges for their job placement. Withholding to its name, this organization is voicing out its concerns about educating the society to end this issue once and for all and pleading to government for taking legal actions against it. There is an organization named Aahung, which has been working since 1995. The Aahung is an NGO operating all over in Pakistan has a name in working for human rights. Main purpose of this NGO is to give sexual and reproductive health awareness to men, women and adolescents. Since the topic of sexual education is taboo in Pakistan given our culture, society’s mindset and self-implied religious barricade, it’s a huge step on this organization’s part to implicate a medium of consciousness on this topic. In the long run, this will affect the country in most productive way if there is a possible way to control population. This can only be achieved if proper education and knowledge is spread amongst masses at a bigger level. Aahung is one such organization, which not only work towards providing services that protect sexual rights of an individual but it also collaborates with certain social and academic institutes in providing education towards this subject. NGOs working for Political Development: Given the political upheaval in Pakistan, there are very few NGOs which are working in political development sector. NGOs that are operating in this sector are not directly involved but they are indirectly working in cooperation with other organizations, which are either government operated or semi-government. Therefore, it’s hard to evaluate transparency of such organizations. NDI, IRI, UNDP, Aurat Foundation, SPO, The Asia foundation, DRI, PILDAT, FAFE are few organizations whose names are occasionally taken in media for working in political sector but the problem is that these organizations work seldom on political development sector or might be they are not getting acknowledgment from the government. NDI (National Democratic Institute) and PILDAT (Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency), are operating entirely independently and are focused in organizing different training sessions for youth, parliamentarians and women. Their goal is to strengthen the democracy and their recent projects were inducting training sessions for several party members and inviting them on one discussion forum. PILDAT is an entirely research based organization responsible for presenting legislations before parliament on issues like poverty-reduction, economy, trade etc. This governing body works closely with Parliament and Executive for guaranteeing a rational making of public policy, forming a think tank to attain progress. NDI is nowadays conducting an orientation for a policy-making group. This group consists of trainees who are recruited after a tough evaluation and they are responsible to come up with innovative ideas that can be translated in form of a policy. Therefore, youth is targeted as a tool to solidify the policy-making system of country and encouraging future policy-makers to understand the political system and take initiative. FAFEN (Free and Fair Elections Network), since 2009 has been actively involved in forming an enhanced framework for elections in Pakistan. Their recent projects include establishing election data center, mapping human rights organizations in Pakistan, strategic observation of election in Pakistan, mobilization of women voters etc. Their upcoming and on-going projects ensure eradication of mudded conduction of election, monitoring violence in elections and enhancing lucidity in elections for a long-term. NGO’s operating nowadays are focusing on RTI (Rights to information), therefore utilizing technology in their favor to accomplish their goals. NGOs like CDPI (Centre of Peace and Development Initiatives) and Bytes for All (B4A), work with ambition of utilizing digital platform for freedom of expression and protecting security and privacy rights. This organization works in both socio-political development sectors, utilizing communication mediums to achieve human rights and e-governance. Validity and Reliability: Validity refers to the accuracy or truthfulness of a measurement. In simple words it can be said as; are we measuring what we think we are measuring? There are no statistical tests to measure validity. All assessments of validity are subjective opinions based on the judgment of the researcher. Reliability is synonymous with repeatability or stability. A measurement that yields consistent results over time is said to be reliable. When a measurement is prone to random error, it lacks reliability. The same findings are being shown in context of social development with the help of qualitative research conducted on working of NGOs. Since 2009, NGOs are actively participating in goals that were only paper-based before. Limitations: The findings of this study are presented in view of certain limitations. Due to the scarcity of research studies, a lot of time was spent on gathering the relevant data material from the Internet or relevant books. Due to time shortage, interviews have only being taken from the individuals of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, which makes the findings limited. With fewer respondents, tracking the Political development of Pakistan was comprised slightly. Conclusions and Recommendations:  · Conclusion: Hence from the above discussion it can safely be concluded that NGOs play an active part in the social development process of Pakistan, whereas Policitcal sector is lacking a bit. In objectives of the NGOs, its mentioned that they are targeting this area but truthfully, a lot of work is being required for the Political development. Government of Pakistan should intervene to make necessary arrangements, providing funds and resources so that the gap in context of political development could be fulfilled.  · Recommendations: The objective of this research was to evaluate and examine the impact of various activities being carried out by NGOs on contribution towards political and social development of the state. Further work on this area is required for the country to prosper both socially and politically. The study needs to be done on countrywide level, to determine the gaps on part of institutions. Necessary course of actions must be taken to remove the obstacles that are coming in the way towards strengthening the country both socially and politically. Analysis: In news of 15th April, Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa government has agreed to give aid to active organizations that would renew their MOU (memorandum of understanding), thus the argument of NGO officials about lacking resources is nullified. Transparency can only be ensured if NGO operators put the funding in good use and work according to the objectives they mention on their official papers. Bibliography: Akhter, W., Akhtar, N., Jaffri, S. K. A. (2009). Islamic micro-finance and poverty alleviation: A case of Pakistan.2nd CBRC. Huntington, S. P. (1965). Political development and political decay.World Politics,17(03), 386-430. Kim, H. (2007). Discuss the impact of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their limits and opportunities in relation to social development and civil society, making particular reference to examples from a selected country or countries.Social Policy Analysis, SLSP,5112, 16-22. Lewis, D. (2014). Non-governmental Organizations, Management and Development. Routledge. Nye, J. S. (1967). Corruption and political development: a cost-benefit analysis. The American Political Science Review, 417-427. Park (1984). Grounding political development. Two recent conceptions of political development. Accessed online on 12-April-2014. References: http://www.ngos.org.pk/ Express Tribune 15th April, 2014 IIP Digital 1

Recognizing Depression Essay -- essays papers

Recognizing Depression Going to college is a new chapter in a student’s young life. They will face greater academic demands, financial responsibilities, exposure to new people, and being on their own in a new environment. Someone that already has difficulty dealing with the daily stresses of life may become overwhelmed with new challenges and become depressed. People who have problems with depression have both mental and physical symptoms (Frye, 1942). Some mental symptoms that a person may carry include guilt, low self-esteem, and feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy (NMHA, 2001). The physical symptoms include over eating as well as not eating enough food. Someone may also have problems with sleeping and may find it difficult to become interested in daily activities. Those with depression may also have little energy throughout the course of a day. College students have to deal with minor to serious problems every day of their lives. Two common problems that students face are deadlines for research papers and studying for exams. Both of these problems can create serious stress for a student, especially if that particular student is not capable of handling that pressure. If a particular person is mentally strong then they will be able to handle the situation accordingly (Anderson, 1993). However, if a student is having serious problems and cannot control the situation that surrounds them, many different solutions pop into their heads. One solution that one in 10 U.S. college students think of is suicide (Powledge, 2000). According to the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey, 463 students out of 4,609 strongly considered taking their own lives. Unfortunately, young adults from the ages of 15... ...iligenstein, E. (1996). Depression and academic impairment in college students. Journal of American College Health, 2(45), p. 59. Retrieved November 1, 2001 from Masterfile/EBSCO database. Hall, G. College Students and Depression. Retrieved December 1, 2001, from http://campusblues.com/stud_depress.html Kale, Kelly (2001). Lost on the campus. Time, 2(151), p.51. Retrieved November 1, 2001 from Masterfile/EBSCO database. O’Connor, E.M. (2001, September). Student mental health: Secondary education no more. Retrieved November 1, 2001, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/Sep01/stumental.html Powledge, T.M. (2000, April). Study: 10% of College Students Consider Suicide. Retrieved September 30, 2001, from http://www.apbonline.com.safetycenter/campus/2000/04/07/collegesuicide0407.html This reference discusses how suicide is linked with depression.

Terrorism and Culture of the Middle East Essay -- Muslim Cultural Reli

Terrorism and Culture of the Middle East Introduction In 1993, a Harvard political scientist named Samuel P. Huntington wrote a controversial article entitled â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations† in Foreign Affairs. At this point the Gulf War was still fresh in the minds of most Americans. The most poignant issues at the time were the threat of Suddam Hussein, nuclear weapons, and the establishment of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Also months later, the World Trade Center was bombed, which left six people dead and many more injured. These events were perhaps the beginning of Huntington’s hypothesis: â€Å"the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and different groups of civilizations.† Eleven years later, recent events have lead many to believe that Huntington’s prediction was correct. In a world where many global issues stem from opposing nations and/or cultures, Huntington’s hypothesis proves to be relevant. Based on the increased and more severe activity taken by non-western civilizations to preserve religion and customs in a world that is increasingly influenced by Western philosophy, cultural differences among civilizations has presented itself at the forefront of international relations today. Faith and religion go hand in hand, especially when you begin to examine the teaching of multiple groups. Although these two words have different meanings, they are often mixed up, merge and appear to have one meaning. Faith is defined as a belief in, devotion to, or trust, in someone or something without having proof. Religion on the other hand is taking these beliefs and turning them into attitudes that you live and govern your life by. As you see with the religions of the world today, ... ... http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/mepp/index.htm http://www.state.gov/ Huntington, Samuel P. â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations.† Foreign Affairs. (Summer 1993): 1-22. â€Å"Iraq and Straw; Israel and Road Map.† Israel National News. 23 Mar 2003. < http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=41128> Jenkens, Brian Michael. â€Å" The future Course of International Terrorism.† World Future Society. 2001. < http://www.wfs.org/jenkins.htm> Shibley, Telhami. â€Å"American Foreign Policy Toward the Muslim World.† Summer-Fall 2001. SAIS Review. Terrorism: Questions and Actions. May 2003. Remnick, David. â€Å"After Madrid.† The New Yorker. 29 March 2004. United Nations Home Page. 2000-2004. < http://www.un.org/english/>

A Two Tale Comparison :: essays papers

A Two Tale Comparison Thinking back to our childhood, we all remember hearing many kinds of fairy tales. Some of them inspired us others confused us, and most of them taught us valuable lessons. Through out centuries tales and stories have been used as a valuable tool to pass on our culture to new generations. There is a strong belief that these fairy tales mirror and influence society. All cultures interpret tales in their own unique way. They add and subtract various aspects of the tale to fit the needs of their particular society. The same tale in the United States is different from the tale told in Asia. A good example of tale evolution can be seen in one of the most famous tales ever told which is â€Å"Cinderella†. As a professor of women’s history Karol Kelley points out in her essay Pretty Woman: A Modern Cinderella â€Å"There are some 700 versions of Cinderella†.This fairy tale as many others has been changing for many years, and in recent years Cinderella has come under s ome criticism for its depiction of women’s roles in society. In present day society, where political correctness and equality are at the top of the priority list, by reading essays such as the one by Karol Kelley we find that this might not have been the case in earlier days. Fairy tales such as Cinderella have been found guilty of possessing subliminal socialization traits. Classifying genders as inferior and molding young girls into the female that society expects them to be. In Charles Perrault’s version, which is considered the most common, Cinderella is seen as passive, limited, dependent and inferior. As critics argue, these traits can hinder a child’s self esteem. Karol Kelley states that the â€Å"expectations and the promises of the Cinderella story are psychologically harmful to women.† (p648). The fact that Cinderella is a limited character may give the girl an impression that she should be happy with what she has and not have any or aspirations in her life. That is, until her Prince comes to rescue her. Since these comments were made, the Cinderella story has been modified and changed. In order to see how gender roles have changed in fairy tales from the old to the new, let’s compare the classic version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault to a recent version which is a movie that was released in 1998 called â€Å"Ever After†which was directed by Andy Tennant.

Japanese Culture and Politics Essay

The historical development of Shinto cannot be separated from the entire history of Japanese religion, culture and politics holding the Japanese mentality to the path of creative progress and versatility of self-development. From the fate of the Emperor’s courts in different eras, with the rise and fall of other religious orders such as the Buddhist groups and the overall destiny of the nation, the fate of Shinto is intertwined in every aspect. Shinto had already started to about 300 B. C. E. and was considered as the most significant religion in Japan. In reality, there is no specific dates nor enough data or hard evidence of Shinto’s origins, as such, it may trace back even before the 300 B. C. E. Just like Shinto’s origins, the origins of civilization on the Japanese islands remain cloudy. Various communities gathered together during the Stone Age. As early as the 300s and 200s B. C. E. , tightly knit societies were appearing, but the mountainous terrain of the home islands kept settlements relatively isolated. Although Shinto tradition traces the ancestry of the Japanese imperial family back to the 600s B. C. E., there is no evidence of an organized Japanese government before the 300s or 400s C. E. Body The history of Shinto is connected to the development of growth of states. The first imperial state was ruled by the Yamato family, starting in the 300s or 400s C. E. From the start, the Shinto religion- which remained important even after the arrival of new faiths like Buddhism- legitimated the emperors, declaring them descendants of the sun goddess. The Yamato initially ruled from Nara, which, until the late 700s, serves as Japan’s capital. During the Nara period (ca. 300-794 C. E. ), the foundations of the Japanese nation were laid. Japan also came into contact with Korea and China. The Chinese had a tremendous influence on the development of Japanese art, architecture, literature and religion. It was from China and through Korea that, in 522 Buddhism arrived in Japan (McCannon 2006). However, Shinto was already greatly present in early Japan, as such, they were able to develop their own state different from that of China Shinto has been considered to be the creative spirit, and on the contrary, as a firmly fixed source of nationalism in Japan. Although the roles need not be incompatible, the question draws attention to two faces of Shinto. There are folk origins as well as cults encouraged by governments, and these have not always coexisted harmoniously. During the development of State Shinto, the conflict and peace reaches its peak. The Meiji period government, in the interests of manipulating Shinto as a state ideology, was prepared to sacrifice the entire popular spirituality of Shinto to the extent of suppressing shrines and removing kami from communities. This underlines the dual origins of Shinto and the ways in which local and national interests have not always been harmonized. The august status of the Grand Shrines of Ise, the Amaterasu greatly shows how Shinto had affected the people’s respect towards the Imperial tradition (Picken, 1994). Shinto religion became the core of some social classes and basis for economy, traditions and customs. During the time when sengoku daimyo and the three great unifiers were struggling for political supremacy, they adopted and utilized various methods with varying degrees of success to overcome basic administrative difficulties. Sengoku daimyo and the national hegemons encountered difficulty in bringing the commercial segments of the society under their control. The existence of a growing national market in central Japan where most of the large scale transactions involving goods from the distant provinces were conducted in the sixteenth century and which remained relatively free of any political control during much of that century, did not permit the sengoku daimyo and the national hegemons to regulate the growing commercial activities to their advantages (Hall et. al. 1983). Through Shinto, the society was divided into classes, where many sengoku daimyo introduced the system of rule by law to strengthen their authority in their respective domains. Also, by focusing on Shinto religion, sengoku daimyo was able to have the absolute loyalty of its subordinates, discouraging localized or scattered loyalties. Moreover, early believers of Shinto greatly respected animals. They believed that these are God’s messengers and because of these, the early Japanese created statues such as â€Å"Koma-inu† on their temple grounds. Japanese culture also flourished with ceremonies correlated to the practice of Shinto and some of these include cleansing, prayers and dances greatly attributed to Kami. In addition to this, they also practiced Kagura, a dance perfected by its performers with an accompaniment of ancient musical instruments (Robinson 1995). Conclusion The historical development of Shinto cannot be separated from the entire history of Japanese religion, culture and politics holding the Japanese mentality to the path of creative progress and versatility of self-development. From the development or origins of Shinto, the states of early Japanese period came into realization. State Shinto is one of the great examples of the states created using Shinto as its foundation. Aside from its states, the rulers of state before the Tokugawa period were chosen with the blessings of the gods of Shinto. The divine providence given to these rulers strengthened their power over their subordinates. Just like the power of the sengoku daimyo during the Warring period. They were able to obtain absolute loyalty from their subordinates and the other classes. Shinto did not only create Japan’s early states and leaders, but also molded its culture, customs and traditions. Early beliefs on Shinto gave life to the Japanese society, illuminating it with dances and ceremonies. As a whole, early Japanese culture and politics developed its own identity becoming one of the countries with great sense of nationalism because of Shinto. Works Cited Hall, John Whitney, Nagahara Keiji, and Kozo Yamamura. â€Å"Japan before Tokugawa: Political Consolidation and Economic Growth, 1500 to 1650. † Public Affairs 53. 2 (Summer 1983): 332-34. McCannon, John. Barron’s How to Prepare for the Ap World History Advanced Placement. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , 2006.

Little Prince Reaction Paper

The Little Prince â€Å"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential Is invisible to the eye. † This line struck me the most in this book because it is definitely real. It is Important to see things not only through the eyes but through the heart as well. Seeing through the heart is like looking at life with love. Life has many problems and by seeing things differently, it would make everything feel better. Looking at things in a different perspective creates a big difference.People usually tend to take for ranted those people who love them. They usually look for others whom they do not really love. But whom they want. I learned a lot of things from this book because it is all about the adventure of a little prince who went to different planets to forget about his rose and the people he met in his journey. Including the narrator. He learns the secret of the importance of life on planet Earth. The book also emphasizes the difference between the minds of the children and adult.The adult tend to see things in a different way that coincides tit the point of view of the children. In the case of the narrator, his childhood was lonely because he dreamed of becoming a painter but he failed because the adults saw his drawings in a different perspective. He was disheartened by this and so he gave up his dream. The little prince had a different problem. He left the love of his life, the rose, In his planet. When he went to Earth, he saw a garden full of roses. He felt betrayed by his love because the rose told him that it was unique and one and only rose.He was disheartened but when he met a fox who made him realize that the rose was his rose because he loves it and so it was unique from all the rest. Another important lesson that I learned from the book Is that people should learn how to value friendship. Some people tend to forget some people who made an important mark in their lives. Having a true friend is rare and we all know that mone y cannot buy love and friendship. One of the lines in the book supports this idea. â€Å"men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops.But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends anymore†¦ † These close ties would make us happy because we need people who care for us and also we need to care for someone. Just like the little prince and the fox he met on earth, when the former tamed the latter, he felt responsible for the fox. When the little prince had to go already, the fox was sad because he was already attached to the prince. The little prince was unhappy because the fox wanted to cry and that he thought he only wasted the fox's time.The tofu eel important. I learned that caring for people is essential because it would make both parties happy. The feeling that someone loves you and someone wants to be with you is a very happy feeling that no one wants to live without. As a whole, thi s book gave me many ideas and realizations that I would treasure in my whole life. I realized that is should not take for granted the people who loves me dearly. I learned the value of friendship and preserving them. And lastly, I learned to see things in a different perspective by looking things from my heart.

ECCB & Property Development in Malaysia Essay

Marketers are either directly or indirectly involved in the efforts to promote environmentally conscious behavior amongst the consumers with a view to addressing the global concerns about the global warming (Rauschelbach, 2002). Governments have come up with various policies on climate change that companies and corporations, both national and multinational, must comply with. Consumers in Malaysia and other countries have started being environment conscious by consuming environmentally friendly products (Woolley & Kimmins). The environmentally conscious consumer behavior is a way the consumers ensure that environment around them is preserved, especially in view of escalating challenges of garbage disposal and depletion of the available natural resources. It is important to note that consumers are involved in environmentally conscious consumption because they have acknowledged personal responsibility for the environmental pollution problem (Hoyer, 2008). The influence on consumers to adopt the approach of environmentally friendly consumption has been enhanced by media campaigns organized by various stakeholders in collaboration with relevant government institutions. Producing and supplying environmentally friendly products is one of the effective selling points for most corporations all over the world. This paper will therefore discuss ways in which property development companies can target and then position themselves into the growing market arising from Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior in Malaysia. How property development companies can target and then, position themselves into the growing market arising from the ECCB in Malaysia Producing eco-friendly products is one of the most important promotional points for the 21st century corporations. This is facilitated by the fact that most product consumers in Malaysia are increasingly becoming aware of the need to conserve the environment, especially with respect to climate change; and the trend is the same all over the world. Consequently, this has resulted into a market where consumers are more drawn to environmentally friendly products than ever. Going by the statistics provided by the United Nations Environmental Programme (2007) property developments industry contributes approximately 30%-40% of the total global carbon dioxide emission arising from energy consumption. Coupled with the market arising from Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior, the property development sector is forced to reconsider the products it avails to the consumers in the property market. There are arrange of options available to the property developers in Malaysia that can enable them to target and position themselves in the Malaysian market arising from Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior. It is important to note that consumers are increasingly becoming concerned about global warming and one way through which they can effective participate is by holding producers accountable to global warming paying attention to whether the production process leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions (Fischer & Black, 1995). One of the ways through which the property development companies in Malaysia can use to target and position themselves in Malaysian market is reducing energy usage for the property in offer. The companies can ensure the lighting systems in their property utilize more environmental friendly energy sources. For instance, they can face out the use of traditional incandescent bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescent lighting tubes (Kelly, 2009). It is also crucial to note that a larger percentage of energy consumptions take place during the period buildings are in use than during the construction process. The energy usage during the life time of a building, energy usage may include heating, ventilation, cooling and lighting amongst other energy using appliances. In order to target and position themselves in the Malaysian property market, the companies can adopt the use of the most advanced technologies like thermal insulation, utilize solar shading and also fit their property with energy efficient appliances (Kelly, 2009). The Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) came up with a labeling program in which products are verified as environmentally friendly. The property companies ensure that they purchase their fittings from such suppliers whose products are genuinely labeled as environment friendly; this should be informed by the fact that as many of Malaysian consumers as possible are becoming aware of the labeling programme and hence are cautious with their consumption behavior. Besides, this can be reinforced by engaging more in environmental campaigns to convince the consumers that they seriously committed to the conservation of environment and its resources (Abdullah, 1999). The materials used in constructing property are very crucial in terms of environmental concerns. The property companies should use non-toxic construction materials that do not contain chemicals and substances like mercury and the in the process of marketing they should emphasize on such characteristics. Moreover, it is important to note that environment conservation groups are slowly increasing in number; these groups have attracted the attention of the advertising firms. It is of great benefit for property companies in Malaysia to use these groups and or advertise through the firms that have strong link with such groups (Wells, 2007). Disposal of household wastes are an important component of environmental conservation. Property companies should ensure that their buildings are equipped with safe, efficient and eco-friendly means of disposing wastes. This may include mobile waste bins which can be emptied in a track and waste transported to appropriate places. In addition to this, the sewerage systems should also encourage hygiene and have no health risks which are some of the major concerns for most consumers (Snyder, 2000). There are also a number of activities that companies can initiate and support amongst the Malaysian communities. They can fund eco-friendly initiatives like planting of trees and facilitating research towards finding alternative energy sources. Again, the companies can ensure that their property is located in a clean neighborhood. This has the potential to attract more of the Environmentally Conscious Consumers (ECC). Conclusion Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior has had significant effects on how property companies strategize on penetrating the market. The companies have to ensure their products are environmentally friendly so as to attract the Malaysian property buyers. However, there are range strategies that can assist the companies in targeting and positioning themselves in the Malaysian property market where consumers are increasing getting concerned with the conservation of environment. When the buildings are constructed with harmless materials which do not contain chemicals and substances like mercury, the companies are highly likely to get more buyers. Moreover, with label identity policy for eco-friendly products in Malaysia, most consumers will check on such labels before finally making purchase. It is therefore imperative that property companies should partner with such suppliers whose products meet the labeling standards (Abdullah, 1999). The companies can also ensure that lighting systems in their property are energy efficient. Instead of using the traditional lighting bulbs like incandescent, the companies can fit their buildings with energy efficient fluorescent tubes (Kelly, 2009). Besides, they can also support environment conservation initiatives in communities; this can also include using advertising firms that have strong links with environment conservation groups. References Abdullah, M. (1999). Small and medium enterprises in Malaysia: policy issues and challenges. Malaysia: Ashgate. Fischer, F. & Black, M. (1995). Greening environmental policy: the politics of a sustainable future. United States: Palgrave Macmillan. Hoyer, D. , et al. (2008). Consumer Behavior. London: Cengage Learning. Kelly, D. (2009). Community planning: an introduction to the comprehensive plan. U. S: Island Press. Rauschelbach, B. (2002). Cooperating for sustainable tourism: proceedings of the Forum International at the Reisepavillon, 2002. U. S: Kasparek Verlag. Snyder, C. (2000). Union County, Pennsylvania: a celebration of history. U. S: Penn State Press. United Ntaions Environmental Programme. (March 2007). Environment for development. Retrieved from: http://www. unep. org/Documents. Multilingual/Default. asp? DocumentID=502&ArticleID=5545&l=en[Accessed August 24, 2010]. Wells, W. (2007). Blueprint for greening affordable housing. United States: Island Press. Woolley, T. & Kimmins, S. (2000). Green building handbook: a guide to building products and their impact on the environment, Volume 2. New York: Taylor & Francis.